Escape Books

I liked this book because it's EXCITING! It's like any droon book. There's a spidertroll in it and its name is Max! One of my favorite characters is Keeah. (I am 7 years old.)

It isn't exactly like the other Droon books. Most of them are about going into another world, but this book is about going into the past of Earth.

My favorite part was when a goblin was asking a boy what the magic words were. The boy said that his mommy taught him that: "Please" and "Thank you"!

If you liked the other Droon books, than this special edition is about the same characters. I think that you'll really like it!

--JTP, age 9

I liked this book because the fat dragon Jabbo's first appearance was in this book. An evil sorceress(I don't want to tell you her name.)planned to take over the world! Eric,
Neal, Julie, Keeah, Max the spider troll and Jabbo have to
stop her! A very good book. (I am 6 years old).

I thought it was the best book ever. Very good stuff. my fave character was Neal.My fave book was book 4.

A KID'S REVIEW
What would you do on your summer class trip to Europe? Would you meet a cute guy? Well in Mates, Dates, And Great Escapes by Cathy Hopkins you can find out what lucy and her friends will do. My favorite character is Nesta. Lucy exotic and beautiful friend.
This was one of the Great books in the series. I personaly thought it was the best. I love to read realistic fiction like this. It is romantic, funny, and had great ideas for things to do in a fashion crisues. As you can probably see this book is recommended to teen age girls that love fashion and cute guys.
Cathy Hopkins, the writer of this book lives in England with her 2 cats and her husband. She gets all of her ideas from teen age girls that live in her neighborhood. She even got an idea from me. How cool is that?
If you like this book by Cathy Hokins than you would really like the book Bra's and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski.
Be sure to check out the rest of the her series.

A KID'S REVIEW
What would you do on your summer class trip to Europe? Would you meet a cute guy? Well in Mates, Dates, And Great Escapes by Cathy Hopkins you can find out what lucy and her friends will do. My favorite character is Nesta. Lucy exotic and beautiful friend.
This was one of the Great books in the series. I personaly thought it was the best. I love to read realistic fiction like this. It is romantic, funny, and had great ideas for things to do in a fashion crisues. As you can probably see this book is recommended to teen age girls that love fashion and cute guys.
Cathy Hopkins, the writer of this book lives in England with her 2 cats and her husband. She gets all of her ideas from teen age girls that live in her neighborhood. She even got an idea from me. How cool is that?
If you like this book by Cathy Hokins than you would really like the book Bra's and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski.
Be sure to check out the rest of the her series.

I love all of these books!!!!!! Anyway, its about a school trip to Italy and Lucy meets this hot American dude and so they like hang out and crap.

It is Lucy's turn again and she has decided to lose her virginity to Tony. Her friends try to talk her out of it. Then she learns of a classmate who has gotten pregnant while being careful. Lucy decides to wait but Tony puts on the pressure and the result is a break-up. To make matters worse, the rest of the mates are of to Florence on a school trip but Lucy's family's finances won't let her go.

Well, things happen and Lucy manages to go on the school trip after all. There, while trying to avoid thinking about Tony, she winds up meeting and falling for a rich American boy. Romance blossoms and Lucy manages to overcome some insecurities. But all good things must come to an end and the vacation is over and its time for a new book.

This was one of the better entries in this series. I have always liked Lucy. This book manages to deal with some strong issues in a good way and still maintain a lightness one associates with these books. Well done.

What a book!! Caputo brings us to the REAL battlefield in flesh and blood. Caputo's narrations are more alive than any live coverage of CNN or BBC. The book offers a great "means of escape" from boring routine in those of us who are living in average industralized societies.

Philip Caputo is probably one of our nation's best writers to emerge from the Viet Nam War, up with Tim O'Brien and James Webb. Caputo's reputation rests on his memoir A Rumor of War, and several novels he's written since, all of which deal with people whose lives are impacted, in some way, by military service. This book is a series of vignettes, a sort of fragmented memoir, of the author's experiences throughout his life. The one area where he doesn't spend much time is Viet Nam, having covered that pretty thoroughly in A Rumor of War.

The author grew up in a working-class suburb of Chicago, the child of Italians who weren't far from the old country (they or their parents had immigrated) and he apparently suffered from a wanderlust for much of his early life. He imagined seeing an individual, a sort of magic character who appeared to him in various disguises (a recruiter for the Marine Corps, a hobo on a passing train, an editor offering him an oversees assignment) but his real name was Oneway Ticket, and old Oneway regularly convinces our hero to hop a plane, bus, train, or other conveyance and go off and see the world. By the time he gets shot in Lebanon (after having already been kidnapped, on a separate occasion) you begin to wonder about the author's sanity. When he follows up the Lebanon fiasco by limping into Afghanistan on a leg still pained from the Lebanese shooting, I was certain he was nuts.

Regardless of his sanity, though, Caputo's strength is that he can write. This book is divided up into a series of these accounts of his adventures in exotic corners of the world, separated by short fictional pieces the author has written, apparently for this book. The result is the author's depiction of war as a complex, random, vicious catastrophe that ought to be avoided at all or most hazards. While he doesn't outright condemn war or the impulses that drive men to it, he does come close, and he is very eloquent in describing the human cost of war. He's also very eloquent generally. From his comparison of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the Ventura Freeway at rush hour to his description of terrorist interrogation techniques as "Applied Kafka", the author's a wonderful prose stylist, and you wind up enjoying every page, the narrative moving along quickly and the characters standing out, interesting, weird, or bright.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, and would recommend it to anyone interested in modern conflict and journalism. While the book is a bit dated (the forward is dated 1989-90) the subject matter is relevant anyway, and the writing is wonderful.

I picked this book up, after someone suggested it to me. I couldn't put it down. It is a very honest account of what war correspondents went through. Mr Caputo seems to have led a rather interesting life. All I can say is that I am glad I have never been to war, and hopefully never will. It gives an interesting perspective into what human nature can be. I urge you to read this book.

Mr. Caputo's book is an incredibly moving analysis of the tragedies of war and its devastating effect being forced to live with war can have on the human persona. I applaud Mr Caputo and thank him for sharing his experiences with us in such a moving history.

This is the second book of Horror Short Fiction I have read this summer from the author Robert S. Rhine.

These are quite enjoyable, summer-by-the-pool stories.. If you are looking for a quick read, these will fit the bill nicely, or I should say : grotesquely. In particular, I enjoyed: "What if Clouds were UFOs " , " Taking out the Garbage" and "My Brain Escapes Me".

I picked this book up after being directed to Books of Blood by Clive Barker. I thoroughly enjoyed both. I recommend this highly for those of you who dig horror.

If Hannibal Lecter were a writer he would write stories like these but probably not as well as Robert Steven Rhine.

I bought this book at Borders when I was searching the "literary" racks for something better to read than the horrible mass-produced sludge (Tom Clancy's NetForce, the Left Behind series, most anything written by a best-selling author other than Stephen King) that now clogs the paperback sections. My one complaint is that the book wasn't packaged and marketed for a larger audience. The writing is sharp, fast-paced, and intelligent - as if our best science fiction writers had suddenly decided to write horror. The stories remind me of Richard Matheson at his best. This is the only book I've read this year that didn't immediately strike me as either pretentious (like Fight Club's ill-advised use of "avante-garde" prose stylings or Hannibal's sophomoric sermonizing) or insultingly stupid (like the Left Behind series - oh, the pain!). Maybe Sun Dog will keep this book around and bring it back in an affordable, mass-market edition that can connect with the thousands of readers out there who want something intelligent and entertaining, but who can find neither.

A great collection of horror, Sci-fi, and dark comedy. Robert Steven Rhine has a sick mind and he's not afraid to show it. The Raoule stories were by far my favorites! It's obvious from these yarns that Robert Rhine has some insidious knowledge of L.A.'s seedy underworld...maybe he's been there...or wants to be! From this collection of goods it's obvious that Robert Rhine will be horror's newest rising star!!

Are you one of those people who hates crowded, commercialized destinations? My idea of a vacation is NOT fighting traffic and waiting in lines and seeing row upon row of tacky giftshops that are all the same.

If you want to get off the beaten track a bit (but not totally away from civilization), this is the perfect book to help you plan your family vacation! It lists 77 towns - the maps are great of course, the pictures are captivating, and they tell you what's so great about the town, where to stay, where to eat, and even where to shop, if you're so inclined.

I can speak for only two of the destinations listed in the book, but both of them are fantastic. We've been to Ephraim, Wisconsin (in Door County) twice now and we're going back too! The other town we've been to is Ouray, Colorado. Even though we were just passing through there, and only got to stop for lunch, I can see where this town is a great destination all its own.

Get this book, pick a location, and pack up the car and you'll have a great vacation!

Happy traveling!

Escape for a Season or So

Every so often someone comes along who tells me that if they won "the Lottery" one of the things they would like to do is travel. Well, I would, too, except that I want to
do more than just pay a visit, I want to stay a while... perhaps a season or so.

This book just whets my appetitie for such travel. I have been to a number of the towns in this book. Just for one example, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is as good as it gets. If you visit Eureka Springs in the Autumn, the trees of the Ozarks are gorgeous. Coming in from the west, you might even see a cloud in the one of the valleys below. You'll probably pass by Thorncrown Chapel which is one like no other. Once in Eureka you'll find the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway and the only church in the world through which you will enter through the bell tower, St Elizabeth's. Ripley's Believe It or Not once mentioned this story. You'll want to stay for more than a visit
to Eureka Springs because nearby is the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield just to mention one.

This book is about places like this one from one coast to the other. I have visited some of them and they are all just as fascinating. I wish that I could see them all.

For anyone who enjoys the out-of-the-way small towns and villages, this guide book is a must. It is so well-written that the unique feeling you get about each place compells you to make an actual visit there. A perfect example is the story about Cutchogue, Long Island, New York. After reading so much about the movie stars, the Clintons and other glitterati in the Hamptons on the South Fork of L.I., I was utterly amazed that there is such a small undisturbed rural paradise (at least until this Guide was published)on the North Fork across Great Peconic Bay. The wineries, farm stands, historic sites and great seafood restaurants made our brief weekend visit a true delight. The Guide gave just enough data to locate Cutchogue and its environs to make the drive easy. The Cutchogue residents we encountered were amazingly friendly and helpful in giving directions to a few haunts of the locals that made this a definite "come again" destination. I trust the other places listed in the Guide are equally as wonderful as the one we experienced.

This was one of our "most valuable" books when we took our year long adventure around the USA. The towns they describe are really worth exploring -- they are the way towns used to be in this country. We came back from our adventure and wrote "Live Your Road Trip Dream" to help other road trippers actually get move from the dreaming to the doing for their trip of a lifetime.

A little boy who doesn't like to read much is entranced by these Jack Sparrow books. They're well written for kids with a sense of adventure. Like the Hardy Boys or a dozen other series before them, they deliver a consistent and familiar character in cleverly worked plots. The one thing I'd like to change would be to add few more illustrations. All you get here is the illustration on the cover.

The shipment was on time. Honest description of the product. I got what I was hoping to get, it was received sooner than anticipated. My 11year-old son for whom this book was purchased, was especially happy to get the book wihtin three days. Will most likely purchase other products from this seller.

Both my son and I love this series. Even as a young man Captain Jack is true to himself. He hasn't changed a bit!!!!

I question whether Rob Kidd actually exists. For the Disney people to have come up with William Kidd would have been too obvious. So they came up with Robert, which is just as 17th century sounding a name as William.

This being said my nephew seems to love these books, which is good. He seems to have little interest in the true literary swashbuckling classic "Treasure Island," which is unfortunate. I do not think, however, that we should blame Disney and its team of Kidd writers for that...yet.

As I said, my nephew loves this series and while they are not R. L. Stevenson they are mildly entertaining and not long, so no a lot of time is consumed reading them. There are some definite holes in the plots and inconsistencies but they are not the kind of thing that 9-year-olds typically tend to overlook.

I would love to be reading something of more literary merit with my nephew but that is not to be, not at this time anyway. In the end it is not the worst book you could choose to bond with a child over.

This book is fantastic! When my son was telling me about it, he gave me more details and descriptions of what happened than any other book he's read. He was reading it and would go "do you know what happened now, Mom?" We just ordered the next two books and hope they are just as good!

Though there are some mystery series available for young kids, there are no secret agent or spy series. And this one is great. It can be read aloud to young kids or by themselves for early elementary aged children. Our son loves identifying with Jack, a young child who belongs to the GPF - Global Protection Force - a super secret international agency, whose detectives are all young. And the books are complete with all the super "high-tech" gadgets one would expect from a James Bond type series set for a much younger crowd. (In fact, for adults, the series is a bit of a spoof of the adult James Bond version.) The books are not meticulously researched like the Magic Tree House series. The educational component consists of introducing children to different parts of the world. As a parent, I've enjoyed reading them to my 7 yr old son (and they made a great follow up to a visit to the International Spy Museum in Washington DC). For the most part though, these books are really, really fun reading in a an action, spy, secret agent genre that is not otherwise available for kids. I have the next two books on pre-order and can't wait for them to come in! We've even started gifting them for birthday parties.

Jack Stalwart is a 9 year old secret agent. He receives missions from his ordinary looking globe and jumps into the map on his wall to travel around the globe to his adventures. This is a great read for youngsters who long for adventure. There are great gadgets and this volume has a rampaging dinosaur loose in New York City. Karen Woodworth Roman wwww.librarians.info

My 5 year old son loved this book! If I didn't make him put it down to go to bed he would have read it all in one night. When I woke up the next morning his light was already on and he was reading the rest. He needed help with some of the words but understood most of it. My son tends to get bored quickly so this was one book that really held his attention (it also helps that he is really interested in dinosaurs as well).

It's a nice introductory chapter book with very short chapters that are 5-7 pages long. The illustrations every couple of pages help hold the kids attention.

The book begins by introducing Jack Stalwart and his bag of high-tech secret agent gadgets such as a fly board, neutralizing spray, and goo gel. Jack solves mysteries with the help of his magic map that allows him to transport himself anywhere in the world. In this book he travels to New York City to solve a mystery involving a missing dinosaur bone. With his quick thinking and assistance from his gadgets, Jack solves the mystery in the end. The gadgets really excited my 5 year old and at the end he was wondering if the map lets Jack travel through time if he returns one minute later.

If you're looking for a book that is more scientifically plausible, this is not it, but this is a great story that fires up the imagination and is a nice introductory chapter book if your child is starting to move beyond Curious George and Dr. Seuss.

This is a great book. You should definitely get it for anyone who is interested in magic. I am 6 years old and I liked finding out what happened to Harry Houdini.

This is a book aimed at children, but as an adult fascinated by the legend of Houdini--I enjoyed the story and the artwork very much. It is told from the point of view of a young boy and his uncle who are in the audience of one of Houdini's underwater escapes. It really gives the feel of what it must have been like to watch one of these legendary performances. The artwork is very beautiful too.
The book captures the excitement and impenetrable mystery that Houdini as an artist was able to create. And has a nice little message about finding our own secret inside ourselves and escaping any bonds that try to hold us back from it. Any kid into magic or an adult interested in Houdini should love this book.

This is a great book. You should definitely get it for anyone who is interested in magic. I am 6 years old and I liked finding out what happened to Harry Houdini.

The figure of Houdini, so prominently referenced in Michael Chabon's, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," gets the mythic treatment in this beautifully illustrated, ambitious book by Robert Burleigh and Leonid Gore. It features alluring, poetic prose from six different voices: The third person narrator ("The crowd is so still that even from far off the lock's tiny click can be heard as it snaps shut"), young Sam ("Is he afraid?"), his wise uncle Ezra(Everyone's afraid sometimes....The Great Houdini goes where he has to go"), a Greek chorus of other Houdini watchers ("He won't make it out!"), a man narrating Houdini's attempt to escape (while bound in chains) from a submerged, locked box, and the real or imagined words of Houdini, questioning the readers' beliefs:

I am Houdini.
I escape the hold of all things.
I free myself.
Do you believe me?"

Sam wonders and worries about Houdini's safety, but his uncle offers him reassuring metaphors"
"Sam looks at his own thin wrists. `Handcuffs?' Uncle Ezra Looks out of the corner of his eye. `Handcuffs are paper bracelets to the great Houdini.'" As Sam and the other spectators wait 30 seconds, I minutes, 2 minutes for Houdini to emerge from the river, Uncle Ezra recalls some of Houdini's prior feats, all of which will amaze young readers. Burleigh's vivid text brings you into Sam's anxious thoughts and over-identification with Houdini: "Locked in a trunk. Oh, locked in a trunk! Sam remembers the little click. He feels terrified fingers trying to pick and claw and force the lock."

The man yells, "Two Minutes at the Bottom of the River. Two. I repeat: Two Minutes. THE GREAT HOUDINI." Sam again imagines himself as Houdini; the crowd calls for an ambulance, but we "hear" Houdini again (in bolded italics, to differentiate it from the rest of the text):

I am Houdini.
I confound the sleeper.
I amaze the unwilling-to -believe.
I mystify the all-too-sure.

Leonid Gore's soft-focus blend of pastel and ink is equally adept in capturing the youthful emotions of Sam, and the mystery of Houdini beneath the waters. The first pictures show Houdini as Greek god, but when Houdini finally escapes, he looks unexpectedly tired and very human: "[He] awkwardly climbs the rope ladder." Houdini's current and past exploits are astounding, but Uncle Ezra reminds Sam that Houdini calls them "secrets," not tricks. IN the book's thematic close, Sam asks his Uncle what the secret is. Ezra explains, "It's a mix of many things. It's bravery and hard work and practice...," but then says" But maybe you shouldn't wonder so much about his secret... What's really important is finding your secret--something that becomes like a seed inside you--that will grow as you grow up." While one reviewer thought this "prim," and another, "unneccesary," it's consistent with the figure of Uncle Ezra and will get at least some (slightly older) kids thinking about their potential. It's slightly more concrete and not nearly as false-sounding as a few anachronistic New Ageisms that are not easily understood. Here's one example, a "quote" in the voice of Houdini:

"Mysterious is the water I move through,
(deeper than all of my doubters)
as a fish swims in the sea.
Do you believe?

This faux-Zen comment is too artful and forced, and puts the attention on the author rather than on Houdini or Sam. Similarly, Uncle Ezra's metaphors get a bit tired after a while; it begins to feel like you're hearing a loop of David Carradine lines in "Kung Fu." However, the otherwise well-written text, the building suspense, the interwoven biography of Houdini (there's also an afterward with a brief bio), illustrator Gore's atmospheric portrayal of mood and emotion, and the slightly ambiguous, thought-provoking conclusion make up for these few false steps. Note: Sam's vivid imagination of the terrors of Houdini's escape and the crowd's fear may scare some toddlers and others--use your judgment.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Scruggs' book. It is written in such a manner that it draws the reader into the family circle while providing an amazing amount of detail into the history of the Legion and the personal recollections of Jud, the author's great grandfather.

I enjoyed reading Grandpa Scruggs' account of his experiences in Company K, Holcombe Legion of South Carolinians fighting for their state's freedom from the tyranny of the Union. The format of night time stories told by Grandpa Scruggs to his grandchildren kept a dramatic tension in the book that helped keep me reading. We learn about the courage and commitment of Judd and other soldiers to their cause. We learn of the hardships, boredom,and horror of life as a foot soldier. The ways captured soldiers were treated changed as the war progressed. Judd experienced both ways. Because of the personal focus of this book, we also learn how the war caught up extended families and effected them. We also get glimpses of life back at home while the men were at war. I highly recommend Eugene Scruggs' book.

Eugene Scruggs has made a valuable contribution to the history of the War Between the States with his account of the exploits of his great grandfather, Judson Puryear Scruggs, as an enlisted man in the Holcombe Legion, South Carolina Volunteers. To be sure, Scrugg's book is another in the "Johnny Reb and Billy Yank" tradition of oral history accounts from the point of view of the ordinary foot soldier. However, it is given context by a body of historical research, and a truly insightful introduction to some of this conflict's enduring themes. For many readers, the most interesting parts of the narrative will be those about life under horrible conditions in the POW camp at Elmira, NY, Judson's resourceful escape therefrom, and his traverse through enemy territory to Virginia.
In my opinion, however, as an avid student of the conflict rather than a professional historian, Scrugg's finest achievement was in his reconstruction of Judson's narrative within a quasi-fictional framework, in which he recreates not only the voice of his great-grandfather, but also that of the grandchildren who are auditors of the story. This teachnique not only creates a sense of immediacy in the flow of the narrative, but instills a kind of novelistic suspense which makes it enjoyable for the reader. This approach also permits Scruggs to render narrative as a truly "oral history," in that he has recreated the language of the period --- the regional dialect of 19th century Southerner. His handling of the artistic problem of the use of "eye dialect," moreover, is deftly handled: instead of generating pages of mangled orthography, Scruggs includes only occasional phonetic spellings, opting instead for the dialectal phrase, the idiom, and the speech rhythmns of his people. Professional historians may take issue with Scrugg's decision to treat his material in this way; other readers may enjoy it as thoroughly as I did.

Roger Cole
January 29, 2007

With the help of his older relatives, Gene Scruggs has gathered together the oral history left by his great grandfather, Sergeant Judson Scruggs, who served in South Carolina's Holcombe Legion during most of the Civil War.

Almost nothing has been written about this effective fighting unit which was organized early in the war by Peter F. Stevens, a former superintendent of The Citadel. 'Shanks' Evans, whose brigade included the infantry regiment of the Holcombe Legion, regarded it as his best fighting unit. During Lee's 1862 campaign, the accomplished Stevens often led Evans' entire brigade on the many occasions when Evans was posted to the divisional level.

In his stories, Judson recalls training camps around Charleston, the battles of Malvern Hill, Rappahannock Station, Second Manassas, Lee's First Maryland Campaign, Kinston (NC), and Jackson (MS). In the summer of 1864, the Holcombe Legion was detailed to guard the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad and (luckily) was not with Evans' Brigade at the Battle of the Crater. However, Judson was captured while guarding the Stoney Creek (VA) station and bridge and sent to the infamous Elmyra (NY) Prison. Perhaps Judson's most interesting stories recount his tunnelling out of prison in October 1864 and his experiences of running, hiding, and working his way home by late May of 1865.

Gene Scruggs includes glimpses of the daily lives of his Spartanburg District ancestors as he fashions the war stories as if his great-grandfather was telling them to his grandchildren in nightly installations. This is a "good read" for anyone interested in this troubled time in American history.

Leave it to the bibble thumpers to say what is good and what is bad. This book serves no purpose.

Dad never taught me that the way man-woman relationships areportrayed on TV is unrealistic. No dad could know how to respond toall the temptations and thoughts that a young man faces, but this book tells more than the average dad knows. It exposes the sexual myths that are rampant in our country. It explains how our thought processes concerning unhealthy sexual activity can be reshaped with the help of the Word of God. There is a wonderful example of reprograming your thoughts: A cup of dark brown coffee represents your mind darkened by lustful, sinful, even criminal thoughts. But you can't empty your mind, so what can you do? The answer: Spoon in an ice cube, and then another, and another, and so on until the coffee has been diluted so much that it now looks almost clear. The ice cubes represent the good, pure, wholesome, kind, healthy thoughts which you can think daily and every time you are challenged by unhealthy thoughts. This book gives hope for freedom from sexual problems all the way from looking at pornography to rape,incest and even homosexuality. The steps to freedom in Christ are fully explained so that anyone can follow them. I recommend this book highly in my counseling practice.

"If you saw only their behavior, you would never let your son or daughter marry one of them or let your children be around them. Ironically, they are your sons and daughters, other family members, friends, and coworkers." (Page 5, Acknowledgements)

Although this book is about "Freedom from Sexual Strongholds" in general, my review of this book will center primarily around a subject called Infantilism, to include ABDL (adult baby / diaper lover). This subject has, to my knowledge, received no coverage from any major Christian media. Hard to believe, since the only real prerequisite (for the most part) is to have worn a diaper as a baby. Infantilism is when an individual (almost always male) wishes to wear diapers (adult diapers, of course, i.e. Depend) again or to be treated as a baby. The problem may be psychological in origin, but after puberty, it becomes a sexual problem as well. Some want to wear a diaper every now and then, while others want to wear diapers 24/7. Some only want to wear diapers, while others want to eat baby food, drink from a bottle, etc. If you've never heard of this, then you probably think that nobody in their right minds could ever enjoy something like this. But make no mistake about it, they love it! They enjoy it just like an alcoholic enjoys another glass; just like a cocaine addict loves another "high"; just like you enjoy your secret sins.

And this isn't just the behavior and thoughts of some perverts in the bad part of town hanging out at the adult bookstores and porno-theaters. These are also born again Christian people (mostly young men) who serve in churches, sing in the choirs, and pay their tithe.

But most importantly, if you told them there was a way out of all this, they would jump at the opportunity in a heartbeat. "The Way of Escape" points to the way out and helps to guide the Christian (in this case, the Christian struggling with infantilism) to the exit door. In "The Way of Escape", Neil Anderson does a good job of pinpointing the thought patterns of a person trapped in sin. He sins (and enjoys it), feels bad about it, repents and gets right with the Lord (and purges his life of anything related to the sin), does well for a matters of weeks or even months, and goes right back to it again.

Mr. Anderson instead gives his readers a formula to help them better fight against these destructive cycles. For one thing he reminds us that we are DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE IN CHRIST. An ABDL might say, "I am dead to infantilism and alive in Christ." Galatians 2:20 says that we have been crucified with Christ. Romans 6:7 says that we have died to sin. These are all past tense. Mr. Anderson asks the reader to put his feelings on hold for just one moment (since you may not feel dead to infantilism at this very moment) while considering what the Bible is commanding us to believe. For instance, some mornings you wake up and "feel dead". But you're obviously alive. In that instance, do you follow your feelings or your beliefs?

Mr. Anderson also asks the infantilist to practice something called he calls "Threshold Thinking". He says, "If we are going to take the way of escape from sexual bondage that God has provided for us, we must avail ourselves of God's provision and change how we respond at the threshold of every sexual temptation. We must take those first thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. If we allow ourselves to ruminate on tempting thoughts, we will eventually act on them." (Page 156)

At the end of the book, there is something Neil Anderson has put together called "the 7 Steps to Freedom". I won't go over them all, but just a few of them include,

- Renouncing (out loud) all non-Christian spiritual experiences. Fetishism is inlcuded in the "Non-Christian Spiritual Experience Inventory".

- Forgiving everyone who has ever hurt you, no matter how bad their deeds were. "By not forgiving them, you are still being hurt by them." (Pages 210-211)

- Getting a fellow believer to hold you up in prayer and keep you accountable. This means if you're in infantilism, you need to find another brother-in-Christ, make sure he has a good reputation and a consistent Christian walk, and confess this problem to him. The ideal person would be a minister, deacon, or Bible study leader.

"People who have been caught in the trap of sin-confess-sin-confess may need to follow the instructions of James 5:16: 'Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.' Seek out a righteous person who will hold you up in prayer and to whom you can be accountable." (Page 217)

These are just a few of the gems featured in this book. The book reads like the author knows exactly where you're at in your life, and just how desperate you are to break free.

This book was one of the first books I read on freedom from sexual sins through Christ. It is very helpful especially for young men who struggle with sexual temptations and those who aspire to be free. Dr. Armstrong should follow this with a more comprehensive book.