Perspective Books

This is the best book so far on this topic. I found the chapters on theory and research were comprehensive but easy to digest.

This book provides a strong foundation for assessment in care and protection matters, and it is full of practical advice. It is a good text for graduate students studying forensic psychology, and for seasoned psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, and judges who practice in this area.

It was very inspiring, everytime I am down,I just sit down and read this wonderful collection of beautiful gathering of poems.

This book reamins one of my favorites even though this was a gift to me I just had to leave a review for it. This book has been intelligently put together with genuine words and a heart felt message that the author allows you to read in each of his tales of real like moments a heart stopping book!! I recommend this book to anyone who want to read something different and wants to be surprised in each tale I love it!
Enjoy as I have!!!

Passionate Dialogues is a book well worth reading even though Mel Gibson's film came out some time ago. The articles in this book highlight many reasons why we, Christians and Jews, should not let the flurry of conversations and opinions and feeling that the movie sparked die out. The editors did a great job of pulling together a rich array of perspectives that dig deeply into everything from film making to the war on terror and Biblical scholarship.

These are my comments, section by section:

Historical perspecitives:
Denova's article is a trove of clear and concise information culled from extra-Biblical sources. She uses this scholarship to help inform us of Gibson' manipulation of the Passion Narrative. She shows us that his primary focus on who was responsible for Christ's death overshadows the very real tragedy of Jesus' betrayal by all. She makes a compelling argument that Gibson's film is unfortunate because its portrayal of Jesus' death as atoning sacrifice continues what J. D. Crossan calls the "largest lie" in Christianity.

Richard Miller's article continues on with the atonement. His quite original work compares Gibson's traditional portrayal as Jesus as victim - an atoning, universal sacrifice for sin, with an older tradition culled from 2 and 4 Maccabees and other Hellenistic sources. His argument that Jesus, following a strong theological and historical precedent for martyrdom in his own time, determined to attain martrydom to foment a radical change, is meticulous and compelling.

Anne Brannen's article points to a place that I identified with strongly as I watched the movie - there was no point of contact for me to implicate myself into Christ's passion as a perpetrator. She describes a medieval resource that Gibson overlooked in his medieval treatment of the story: The York play "Crucifixtion." Using the perspective present in this play, people would have been drawn into the realization of their own sin and redemption, much like a modern day David Mamet play can do for an audience today.

In "From Stage to Screen," Ziva Piltch discusses quite well the translation of the somewhat parallel tradition of medieval Passion Plays to the genre of film Her analysis is very thought provoking. I found myself fascinated by her revelations about how film direction, editing and photography moves us in ways that are more limiting than the techniques of the medieval playwrights. Her insights into anti-semitism in Gibson's film are key and exacting.

Dorothy Chansky's easily accessible article is a great look at the more homespun modern passion plays in North America. I appreciate her bias completely. Especially good are her observations that when these plays are "preaching to the choir" their underlying purpose of conversion, like Gibson's film, marginalizes anyone from outside the community. She makes the point that theater can be used to critique and reinvent stereotypes such as the evil Jews or a Caucasian Jesus. Gibson wasted this opportunity.

Literary perspectives:
Ray Keck's literary analysis is inventive and powerful. He sees a certain awful beauty in the violent portrayal of the sacrifice of Christ in Gibson's movie. Mentioning several Spanish authors and works - Lorca and Miro - he identifies the Passion of Christ as a modern day metonymy for the state of our world today. Much as "the bottle" has become a metonym for the disease of alcholism - Christ's passion has become a metonym for our reality.

In a dialogue with the writings of Flannery O'Connor, Williams does a beautiful job of upholding Gibson's portrayal of Satan and the ongoing battle between him and Jesus. Using the vehicle of transubstantiation, he makes a case for placing Gibson's vision on par with great literature. This disturbs me because he fails to see, I think, Gibson's failed attempt to "present violence s a vehicle to understanding the world." (p. 120) I wonder if Gibson's personified Satan does anything except place our own hands on the mallet and nails (as Gibson claims.)

In the article "What Gibson Really Meant", Wilhelm Wurzer seems to echo things that preachers, probably even including Jesus, have long known: "the real spirit of Gibson's film is not limited to ... the various incidents... on screen." (p. 137). I think what "Wurzer really meant", but never says, is that the Holy Spirit can be relied upon to allow a picture of Jesus that is alive and in the world, inspite of Gibson's alternative purposes. This unlimited quality, along with the masterful cinematography and score lead Wurzer to dub the movie a "work of art."

Sarah Haeglin examines Gibson's cinematic decisons and declares that his intense scrutiny and portrayal of the scourging of Jesus is an ethical failure. She argues convincingly that his flashback technique - cutting violence with loving moments with the women - subverts the message of Christ and the mystery of salvation by shifting the historic theology of the cross to the theology of the whip.

Psychoanalytic perspectives:
Don Carveth take on Gibson's film claiming that its violent picture of Jesus' death supports a less evolved understanding of the atonement - limiting it to the substitutionary model. He recognizes a more "advanced" understanding of the atonement (that I like except for the hiearchy he attributes to it.) This is one that allows good and evil to be experienced and held in tension with one another. He, therefore, judges Gibson's film to be narrow and primitive by supporting a view of Christianity that denies many of its central truths and paradoxes.

Philip Gundersn sees Gibson's film as another voice in the "language of sacrifice" (p. 180) that has taken over in neo-conservative rhetoric since 9/11. He argues rather brilliantly that the old Freudian model of psycho-sexual development, wherein we sacrifice pleasure for delayed gratification at some stage in our lives, is played out in extreme in this film. This same CHOICE for sacrifice is being called for in the war on terror by the power that be today.

Britton Johnston's argument that Gibson portrays Jesus as the ultimate Lethal Weapon is compelling. Using the anthropological/literary work of Rene Girard, Johnston shows that Gibson's work totally reverses and undoes the hopeful message of the whole Bible - that humanity can say NO to its ancient and mythic patterns of scape-goating as opposed to grace and mercy.

Interfaith Perspective:
David Shtulman write a very well balanced article on how Gibson's film provides a teachable moment for Jewish/Christian relationships. He highlights the progress of this reconciliation starting with Vatican II. And, while not ignoring the anti-Semitic aspects of the film, he cautions Jews not to over react or expect to tell Christians how to tell their own story.

Daniel Burston finishes the collection with an article that takes us back to the beginning articles. He cautions Christians to deepen their understanding of why Jews don't necessarily appreciate the universalism of humanity's culpability for the death of Jesus. He feels that Gibson's movie is an anachronism that has reversed the ideal of a vibrant and humane religious pluralism" (p. 239) He also outlines, with brave honesty, what he sees as a "Faustian bargain" that exists between Evangelicals and Israeli Jews and also between more mainline factions of both faiths as we band together against the Muslims. His discussion of original sin was eye-opening.

This is an amazing book that deserves wide circulation. It is not simply a book about Mel Gibson's movie - it's a frank and scholarly discussion of the role of religion in American life. The editors - Daniel Burston and Rebecca Denova - have done an excellent job of assembling a wide-array of opinions on Gibson's movie. Indeed, Burston and Denova deserve our gratitude for insisting on essays that are both challenging and contrary to the editors' own view. This book does not bash Gibson's movie. That would be too easy and not particularly edifying. Rather, the editors have done what Gibson himself is constitutionally incapable of doing - they have treated religion as something problematic, as something that needs to be thought out, and as something not to be used as a bludgeon to force people into line.

The book has 14 chapters, organized by 5 themes. The first section is Historical Perspectives, which looks at Gibson's movie from a number of different perspectives. The lead essay by Denova gives a very good overview of the meaning (to both Christians and Jews) of passion plays, the crucifix, the arrest and trial of Jesus. Overall, Denova writes a very measured essay, criticizing Gibson for emphasizing conflict over love. This, of course, could be criticized, for Gibson is hardly deserving of one's moderation; but Denova has written a fine historical essay that is very thoughtful and sensitive.

The other essays in the section are less rigorous, but no less interesting. Richard Miller thinks that Gibson is courageous to tell the story as he does, but he doesn't back that claim up; Anne Brannen dislikes the use of "medieval" as a synonym for reactionary, and tries to revive an alternative understanding of that concept. She finds that Gibson's medievalism may not be the most salutary understanding of that term.

Piltch and Chansky both discuss the meaning of the Passion play in western culture. It seems clear that Gibson knows that Passion plays incite anti-semitism and hatred; it is hard to divorce the meaning of these plays from innocent religious theatrics.

The next section discusses Gibson's movie from literary perspectives. The two essays are short but incisive commentaries on the role of violence in Gibson's movie.

The next section is on Film Studies. These two essays are perhaps the best of the book. The first essay by Wurzer is a strange one. He not only tries to revive Nietzsche as a rightwing philosopher, but he brings along Mel Gibson and Jesus too. Wurzer is clearly having fun using rightwing postmodernism to his favor. His essay suffers, however, from his desire for play at the expense of locating Gibson's excesses, his stupid anti-semitic remarks, his paranoia, his historical inaccuracies, and his bloodlust within the tradition he is trying to revive. Sarah Hagelin's essay rectifies some of Wurzer's omissions. She discusses the film from the standpoint of film studies. She finds problems with the movie as well as with its theology (which Wurzer doesn't address). She rightly places the movie in context with other movies on Jesus' life (Scorcese), as well as within a literary tradition, emphasizing the movie's violence as part of the larger American culture and Mel Gibson's filmography. It's an essay well worth reading.

Daniel Burston is a professor of psychology (see his other books on Amazon), and no doubt encouraged some authors to discuss essays from a psychoanalytic perspective. This was a brilliant idea. In this section, there is one short essay, a medium essay discussing Rene Girard, and a longer one that discusses the movie through a Lacanian and Deluezian perspective. This essay too is one of the finest in the book, and a good corrective to Wurzer's.

Finally, there are essays on inter-faith dialogue. It's clear that Gibson's movie has irritated the issue, with conservative religious people defending the movie without acknowledging its major defects, its distortions, its use of violence, its antisemtic imagery. Dan Burston clearly feels the pain of Gibson's efforts. He writes a sensitive essay on the damage done by Gibson to interfaith dialogue. But Burston, one feels, is an optimist, and the book reflects his overall efforts to bring diverse people together. Bravo!

This is a fine book on a difficult topic. Burston and Denova are sensitive and fine scholars of their respective fields. Although the movie came out some time ago, this book is not untimely. The issues it addresses are contemporary issues. It is fair, open, moderate, and dedicated to the finest spirit of liberalism - all things, unfortunately, Mel Gibson seeks to rid us of.

This book is a good and scholarly critique of the New Perspective on Paul (e.g., Sanders, Raisanen, Dunn, and Wright). This book which is an offshoot of Kim's previous work "The Origin of Paul's Gospel" further extends and updates the debate regarding Second Temple Judaism, the Law, and Paul's view of justification. Kim's main thesis is that the Gospel preached by Paul in his letters was the same Gospel he received from the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus road--that salvation is to extend to the Gentiles and is received by grace/faith alone apart from the works of the Law. Kim heavily interacts with the views of James D. G. Dunn. To Dunn and other New Perspectivists Paul preached the message of salvation by grace/faith alone as a reaction against the Jewish exclusivists (in Antioch, Galatia, etc.) and that he formulated this doctrine (salvation by grace/faith alone) much after his Damascus road experience (in fact, the whole first chapter is an intense examination and critique of Dunn's view). In chapter two, Kim argues persuasively that Paul taught salvation by grace/faith alone in one of his earliest epistles--1 Thessalonians. This proves that Paul did NOT develop this doctrine years later in reaction to the Jewish exclusivists (or Judaizers). In chapter three, Kim shows that Paul used Isaiah 42 as a way of telling his readers that he is an Apostle commissioned by God (through the endowment of the Spirit) and was representing Christ during his ministry. In chapter four, Kim deals with the relationship between the Spirit and the Law. This chapter is probably the best in the book. According to Kim, Paul saw the Law as obsolete and powerless to bring about obedience among sinners (including the Jews). What was needed was a transformation of the heart and the indwelling of the Spirit. However, faith in Jesus Christ (along with the sealing of the Spirit) will bring about forgiveness of sin and the ability to fulfill the just requirements of the Law. Chapter five deals with Paul's Adam-Wisdom christology. Kim argues that he received this christology through the Damascus road experience. According to Kim, Paul saw Christ as the Last Adam and those who incorporate themselves to Christ through faith also become part of the Last Adam (hence, the Church also becomes the Last Adam). In chapter six, Kim analyzes 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 and the origin of the doctrine of reconciliation. He argues that Paul's doctrine of reconciliation originated in his Damascus road experience and that God reconciles sinners to Himself through the atoning death of Christ. In chapter seven, Kim deals with the "mystery" of Romans 11:25-26. He argues that this "mystery" is a mystery Paul received on the Damascus road and deals with God's future plan ("Heilsplan") to bring "all Israel" in His salvific blessings after the Gentiles have come in (this motivated Paul in part to evangelize the Gentiles). This observation by Kim destroys the typical "Dutch Interpretation" of Romans 11 where it sees no massive conversion of Jews before the Parousia (according to the "Dutch Interpretation", "all Israel" means the remnant of saved Jews during the whole Church dispensation). In chapter eight, Kim convincingly argues that Paul knew about the Jesus tradition and proves this by examining various Pauline passages (1 Corinthians 7:10-11; 9:14; 11:23-25; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 5:1-7; Romans 8:15; 12:14-21; 13:7, 8-10; 14:14, etc.) and various Pauline themes (justification by faith, the kingdom of God, etc.). Paul was not ignorant of who Jesus was and what he did--in fact, he wanted to fully follow his Lord's example and discipline. Thus, there is no conflict or opposition between Jesus' theology and Paul's theology. This book is a good intermediate-advanced level discussion on the origin of Paul's Gospel and the New Perspective view. However, it is a difficult read and a reader should first get a good understanding of Biblical Greek before tackling this book. Overall, though, a good, scholarly, and convincing book.

With this one-start with the summaries and then read the chapter. Hard stuff. Kim's book was foundational for me because it showed me (convincingly) that Paul's Damascus road event shaped his theology, Christian faith, and writings. I wish there was something like this on the lay-level (Ah, a future book project for me!), but there isn't. The closest is Richard Gaffin's book, Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul's Soteriology: A Study in Paul's Soteriology (P&R Press, 1993). Kim's book helped form my exegetical method, while showing me how Paul developed his.

This is unlike any other book I've ever read on bullying before. It really sheds light on the bullying epidemic and explores effects on both the bullies and the targets in a way that is long overdue. The author makes no excuses for the bullying epidemic. She is very honest with her treatment of the subject and tells it like it is!

I would recommend it for parents of bullied children as well as for adults who either still have scars from being bullied as children or have been bullied in the workplace as adults.

This book is an excellent primer on the varied types of bullying/peer abuse. It speaks to the long term effects on the victims and empathizes with what they endure. It speaks to the abusers, who are usually in denial over their behavior, and spells out clearly that if you are targeting someone in one of these many ways, you are guilty of abuse.
Ms. Bennet shares sad stories of abuse of varying degrees. She tells us of families who have suffered and have had the strength to use their experience to help others.
Bullying/Peer Abuse is an issue whose time has come. Recent events in the news are the tip of the iceberg of this epidemic. Ms. Bennet's book should be required reading for all educators and probably all children of middle school age. It is step one to gaining the knowledge and ending the abhorent terrorizing of our children that takes place in our neighborhoods and schools. This affliction is widespread and does not limit itself based on socioeconomic status.
Ms. Bennet's bio tells us of her ongoing work to support victims and families. Her experience in this area is a bonus as it helps her to provide the keen insight evident in this book.Thanks to Ms. Bennet for this book.

I used this book to supplement material in a graduate level Crisis Intervention class, and found it to be invaluable. There is a smattering of theory, but the bulk of the material focuses on understanding the human situation behind common crises such as suicide, loss, HIV, homelessness,victims of violence, health care crises, voiolent people, and life-change crises. Very practical and readily applicable, the text lends a firm backbone to anyone working in the crisis management field for the first time, and even for old timers who have never felt quite comfortable with suicide, etc. Takes the guesswork out of understanding the issues behind the problem, and empowers the worker. I highly recommend this book.

As a college professor teaching courses in the school of social work, I found Dr. Hoff's book an excellent text. The book covers all aspect of crisis intervention and illustrates the concepts with case examples. It was rated very highly by all the students in the class, as well as professional colleagues in the field. As a clinician providing crisis intervention to dirverse populations on a daily basis, I found the book to be a great help, and a wonderful teaching tool for staff and interns in the field as well. I hightly recommend it to anyone. I especially appreciated Dr. Hoff's philosphy on life and strenth of the individuals

Received the book in a timely fashion in the exact condition as stated.

This book illustrates that psychological understanding in the West (especially the US) gleaned from studies of Western subjects (usually college students) is NOT especially generalizable to other cultures.

Instead, while a few simple universals do appear to exist, the main finding is that culture has a major influence on how people think, feel, and behave, so a true study of human psychology (as opposed to only Western pscyhology) must draw on cross-cultural research, as is the case with cultural anthropology and other comparative areas of the human sciences.

This book provides an excellent introduction to cross-cultural psychology. It is easy to read and, despite being fairly short, it gives plenty of fascinating concrete examples covering many areas of human psychology (development, cognition, emotions, perception, abnormality, etc.) to demonstrate just how much difference culture makes.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the human sciences, and perhaps required reading for those particularly interested in psychology.

This book has little to no text. However, with a very basic understanding of perspective (vanishing points, horizon line, boxes, spheres, etc.) you could create almost any one of the excersizes found in this book. There are incredible drawings of architectural elements all showing the perspective points, thus enabling the reader to copy relatively easily. This is a must for your reference library. If you're a complete beginner you will need to learn the basics first, but don't let that stop you from purchasing this reference work.

It's a great book for those interested in two and one point perspective. Drawings done by Jan Vredeman de Vries are amazing and enchanting. If you are someone, who is looking for challange in perspective drawing, you got it. It is one of my favorite books. Enjoy.

This book breaks everything down so it is easy to understand and categorize. It has all the important definitions in the margins as well as bold within the text and it has many pictures and diagrams to supplement the text. Well organized, and logical content, Perspectives in Nutrition is the best book for a study in Nutrition.

An amazing book if you want a great overview of nutrition with attention to current policies and recommendations. There are numerous supplements on special topics throughout the book. I have already recommended this book to every other student in my nutrition program. I would like to point out that this book does not describe the biochemical detail of the nutrients and other topics - get another book for that.

As a student I was required to purchase this book.

I certainly did not expect this book to be so enlightening to read. Not only were the articles interesting, but mostly nice and short. Also I liked how it was divided into twenty chapters, some of which include film and television, media studies, criminal behavior, terrorism and war, & education.

One day, I was just flipping through the book, and because I had in interest in the criminal behavior chapter, I read all of the articles on my free time. Oh wait, but that is unheard of!

The book's pretty niffty. And in combination with the fact that I can't sell it back for jacksquat, I'm keeping this badboy and using it for some nice leisure reading.

Ackley's text is quite simply a work of pedagogical genius. As a college professor, I have used this text with remarkable results. It not only introduces the reader to a broad spectrum of thought provoking issues, but also helps to strengthen his/her thinking skills, unfortunately a forgotten art for many of today's college freshmen. As the title indicates, the book covers a wide range of subject areas from rock and roll to bisexuality. The student is motivated to react, and therefore think about, the various issues raised in the readings. The exhaustive section on the writing of a research paper is a great help for the instructor as it is so thorough that no extra information is required. This book certainly receives an A+ from this professor.