Organizations Books

The author breaks down each possible career path within the nonprofit sector, explores each career, and offers advice for obtaining each job.

The jobs go from the bottom rung all the way up to executive positions. This book is thorough and is a must have for anyone new to the nonprofit world who wants to be informed and has a desire to advance.

Great Book.

The nonprofit career guidebook was an easy to read manual and would be helpful for any student or recent graduate who is interested in exploring the nonprofit sector. The guidebook did a great job of providing a general overview of the types of nonprofits, included details about the various positions that exist in the organizations and testimonials/advice from professionals who have worked/work in the nonprofit field. The book made me realize how a variety of my interests and skills can easily be used in the nonprofit field and also gave me great tips to use when applying or interviewing for a job.
I definitely recommend this book, especially because even after a full read, I still use it for a quick reference when I am applying to jobs or wondering what a specific position entails.

The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference

For anyone interested in learning about or pursuing a career in a nonprofit organization this is a must reading. The book is clearly written and provides a wealth of information about the nonprofit sector. Most people would be surprised to learn about the wide variety of fields that nonprofits serve -- from the traditional role of providing services to the underserved to developing affordable housing for the poor and groups with special needs to the Arts and Cultural Affairs to health care organizations and organizations involved in promoting social entrepreneurship. A nonprofit organization may be a one person effort to help their community or a mega corporation like the United Way or the College Board.

This guide is useful for college students who are exploring career choices and for more seasoned professionals who may be considering a career change. It is also useful for individuals who want to remain active after their primary career is over and "give back" through service and are looking to learn more about the nonprofit sector.

The book reminds us of the importance of service and serving others. It highlights how important mission and purpose of organizations that make up the nonprofit sector in the US.

I will be using it as part of my course on nonprofit management for undergraduates to help them gaining a deep understanding of the organizations they will work at while completing a 150 hour field work requirement.

At $16.50 this book is a great bargain.

Shelly Cryer has compiled a useful tool for college students who are examining their options following graduation. The Non-Profit Career Guide - how to land a job that makes a difference, serves as a nuts and bolts directory that can prove useful for entry into the world of Not for Profit organizations. This manual is laid out logically and is easy to use. The appendix and endnotes are of particular help to first-time job-seekers or even those making a career change. A must have for your Career Guide Reference Collection!

Gabriela A. Cipollone
Reference Librarian, Iona College

I never thought I would review a career guide, but this one deserves it. As a student, I found this guide to be indispensable. Not only does it thoroughly cover the non-profit sector, but it also offers advice and insights that can be applied to any sector.

Cryer begins by profiling the sector and highlighting future trends. Notable is the observation that salary in the nonprofit sector depends on field of work and size of organization--in certain fields, nonprofit pay is higher on average than that of their private or public sector counterparts. Furthermore, as the sector grows in prominence, more attention is being paid to salary as a means of recruiting talent. Other trends include a growing need for leadership and increased diversity. The meat of the book is in lively chapters covering sector subsections (arts, education, health international, etc.) and job functions (management, communications, development, consulting, etc.). Its snapshots of different people working in the industry provide a good sense of what to expect from the different avenues the sector has to offer.

This book made me see my career options in a new (and organized!) light.

This book provides an excellent overview and details of the various types of funding for endowment plans - what to do, how to do it. It's useful for 501(C)3's even if there are no plans for an endowment.

This book is essential. It is easy to read, and you can use it as a reference for when ever the hard questions come up. Everyone on your staff will need a copy by their desk. Diana Newman has done it again, I loved Opening Doors-- and this is just a great addition to my understanding of nonprofits.

Diana Newman has written a wonderful book on endowment, appropriate for the thousands of non-profit organizations who deserve to live in perpetuity, and yet don't have large fund development programs. I ordered it March 2005, and have since included it in curriculum for educating my nonprofit clients. Their feedback? The book is easy to comprehend, and full of useful information.

Ms. Newman's understanding of the issues, and her practical suggestions, are right on!

Endowments really make the difference in which non-profits are going to survive for the long term. The steady income from an investment portfolio provides a base that can sustain the existance of the non-profit during bad times.

The techniques needed for obtaining endowment funding are quite different than those used to secure funds to answer immediate needs. The author has been a professional fundraiser for many years. Yet, when she started she was assigned a series of tasks including fundraising, a membership program, a volunteer corp, and "Oh yes, establish an endowment."

As she says, this is the book she wishes she had had to start her fundraising career. This is a combined how-to book and a how-to-think book. It talks of every aspect of endowment funding from what is an endowment to measuring the success of your efforts. Inbetween are stories of projects that have been conducted by successful fundraisers.

There are very few books on endowments, this is the most recent and reflects the current state of the investment marketplace and what has been successful lately.

Easy to read and practical ideas to get your organization started or jump-started again. Do yourself a favor, buy this one for yourself and your new staff. It's a handy reference guide for anyone serious about the topic.

If, lets imagine, the library of Management Literature would be destoyed tomorrow, there's three treasured books I hope will be preserved somewhere, safe and sound. This is one of them.

Dee Hock's book transmits an extraordinary passion for human growth, organisational transition and hope for a better future. Why are organisations increasingly unable to manage their affairs? Why are individuals increasingly in conflict with the organisations of which they are part? Why are society and the biosphere increasingly in disarray? The answers (please do not expect to receive simple ones) to these questions spring from a powerful vision of what makes us humans both passionate and creative. A vision that has inspired the creation of VISA.

Dee Hock has been recognised as one of the eight individuals who most changed the way people live in the previous quarter century. I really hope this book will have equal impact on how we manage our lives and businesses. Essential reading.

No, it would not, by the way, be usefull to hand you the two other titles I hope wouldn't be lost... Just read this one and enjoy!

Loved the subtitle on this book enough to pick it up blind and was not disappointed. Hock delves into leadership at a level that leaves you feeling invested in his -- VISA -- and reflective of yours.

Edit of 30 Dec 07 to add comment and links.

New comment: something big is happening, in both politics and business. Moral green open transparent memes are in overdrive. See links.

I read a lot, a solace and a life line out of the madness of today. I finished up my week-end with this most unusual gem, and it is with some emotion that I put it down and take the time to write this review.

In my lifetime, there have been fewer than four individuals able to understand me and manage me, and Dee Hock now joins that number, sight unseen. This is one of the *good guys*! If he and Bill Bradley and Jim Turner (Transpartisanship) can come together, we can remake the world.

The book benefits from a Foreword by Peter Senge, who notes that VISA as it emerged was a disruptive concept that threatened traditional powers. Senge also notes the importance of distinguishing between enabling technologies, such as the Internet, and what is enabled, such as democracy or equitable wealth creation and sharing. Finally, Senge observes that global complexity requires distributed democracy, to which I and the author would both be quick to add: "and moral capitalism."

The book is at root about the failure of all of our instititutions, and the need to find a third way between over-bearing centralization and anarchic decentralization. The author coins the word "chaordic" to deswcribe an even-handed and often-changing balance between the two.

Dee Hock is a philosopher-king, and I am reminded of "Voltaire's Bastards" and "Consilience" as I read his denouncement of the Western concept of separability and his own understanding that complexity is about never-ending and alway-changing relationships. In one example with the US Army, he explores how rules-based organizations waste 45-85% of the time and value of their employees. He specifically notes that human ingenuity is the ultimate resource and is abundant, but too often constrained if not crushed by schools, armies, corporations, and so on.

The author's morality shines forth as he describes non-monetary exchanges of value as the best possible foundation for what others call reciprocal altruism. At one point he observes that "leadership is not necessarily constructive, ethical, or open."

The entire book is about the creation of an organization in which participation is the primal element, agreement is dynamic, and trust and tolerance are the prevailing values. He states that organizational heaven is purpose, principle, and people. Purgotory is paper and procedure. Hell is rule & regulation.

He realizes early on that fraud and theft are major challenges, and that information is, as he quotes Gregory Bateson, "a difference that makes a difference."

I have a big note: this is a smart, ethical, practical, inspiring person--one of the good guys!

The author is deeply and empathetically aware of the discord between our industrial era understandings and perceptions, and the bio-cultural realities of the Earth and all its processes. He sees clearly what the "true cost" or natural capitalism literature seeks to teach.

A line jumps out, in which the author is lamenting that we have such a wealth of information, yet have drifted into "collective madness."

He clearly sees that our current form of predatory immoral "bandit" capitalism specializes at the socialization of cost and the capitalization of gain, which is fancy wording for looting the commons and stealing the profit. He also points out that we are putting the debt on to future generations.

He clearly describes the current form of corporations as inimical to the commons.

The book concludes strongly, lionizing the will to succeed when joined with the grace to compromise, placing VISA on a par with the Internet and LINUX as an organizational model for the future, and noting that growth comes from failure.

On page 284 he lists the following ten attributes from a living organization in Spain that represents the best of the chaordic model:

01 Open membership
02 Democratic organization
03 Worker sovereignty
04 Instrumental subordinate nature of capital
05 Participation in management
06 Wage solidarity
07 Cooperating between cooperatives
08 Social transformation
09 Universal nature
10 Education (he might have added, life-long, unconstrained, free of the prison-rote we now suffer, and teaching sharing as well as learning)

He ends with the story of his recall from his wanderings in the wilderness, to explore examples, models, the intellectual foundation, and organizations by which we might save the Planet and our species, to include the necessary means of mind-crafting for the future.

I actually had goose-bumps as I put this book down. I felt, very strongly, that I had been within the aura of a great leader, a gentle person, a world-class humanitarian, a capitalist Dalai Lama if you will (don't laugh--this author strikes me as quite amazingly special).

I cannot say enough about this book. It joins the very short list of books I have posted on moral leadership through open source intelligence, and it places Dee Hock up there with Buckminster Fuller, Margaret Wheatley, Robert Buckman, and a tiny handful of Senge's and Druckers.

I hope I meet him one day. Right now, he joins Bill Bradley as one of just two people I'd be willing to leave my mink-lined bunker to follow into battle. This book and this author's mind and clarity of communication have simply blown me away.

See the two images I have loaded here to illustrate concepts that I share with this author. You can see other images at Earth Intelligence Network, where you can also use the Amazon Base Page to get access to my 30 lists of books for each of the ten threats, twelve policies, and eight challengers. I am also creating Amazon discussion pages for each of these.

Related books:
The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)
The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda For Business Leaders
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming

When I saw this new recommendation from Amazon, I was thrilled. I loved Birth of the Chaordic Age, and was eager to learn what new wisdom Dee has to share with us. I checked out the reviews and table of contents and was disappointed to see that One from Many ... is the same book under a new title. Too bad.

Dee Hock, Founder and CEO Emeritus of Visa, not only recalls the intriguing events that led to the creation of Visa, but shares the roots of his personal journey that took him to that place and time. This book chronicles Hock's exploration of the nature of organizations that go well beyond anything that had been done to that point in time. As a byproduct, he helped save a credit card industry that was bleeding money across a sea of large and small financial institutions.

Shelby Stanton's 1991 book "Order of Battle, U. S. Army, World War II" is a reference you can't get along without if you're serious about researching the history of the major tactical units of the Army ground forces from battalion through division. Within this framework are included all armored, cavalry, tank destroyer, coast artillery, antiaircraft artillery, infantry, chemical mortar, and engineer units. That's not everybody that on occasion served in a frontline rifleman capacity, Stanton acknowledges, but he had to limit the work to keep it manageable.

Stanton's "Order of Battle" is every bit the equal in scholarship (and size, too!) of the volumes known collectively as "U.S. Army in World War II", the official record published by the U. S. Army Office of the Chief of Military History and its successor, the Center of Military History. One has to wonder why Stanton's book was not published as one of the volumes of the widely-known "green books" series.

But it apparently is claiming a place among the minutely-detailed and factual histories of the Army in World War II. If you're into that sort of thing, you see Stanton's book cited ever more frequently in discussions of fine points.

"Order of Battle" is likely in fewer libraries than the volumes of the official "U.S.Army in World War II". But it's worth looking for.

Shelby Stanton, an attorney, was born after World War II, in 1948, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, graduated from Louisiana State University, and served in Vietnam as an infantry captain.

This book sets what should be the standard for all order of battle books. Units down to battalion level are detailed. Not only the composition of the units is given but also the location of the unit and campaigns participated in are listed. I have yet to see another o/b book this detailed.

I found this book to be the most helpful source of information on unit histories for all ground troops in World War II for the U.S. Army. If you are a World War II history buff, and you really want to know the facts about how each group won the war in the European Theatre, this is your book. It also gives some general history for each unit before and after the war.

Oder of Battle: US Army, WWII is the way to start from. Covers all major formations during the war and covers the Combat regimental assigments during this period. As a general source of information this book can not be rivalled. This also gives the reasearcher a start on working on a day by day OB for the US Army in WW2. I highly recommend this book to all students of military history.

I found my copy of this large (9 1/2" x 12") and somewhat heavy (4 lbs or so), well-made, well-organized book in a military collector store in Pineville, NC for $20. I see now that it is out of print and is bringing $120 used. My copy is in excellent condition, save for a small tear on the dustcover jacket. Anyway, to the review.......... This book is the main staple in my enormous WW2 collection. At 604 pages, it stops at nothing to give you in painful detail the US Army organization in WW2. It's all here - divisions by number, infantry, armor, cavalry, tank destroyers, field artillery, coast and anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, campaign key codes, ghost and deception divisions, and color photos of infantry and armored shoulder patches. Every unit is broken down into unit history, camps and forts activated and stationed, casualty numbers, commanders (generals) and their service dates, and a play by play timeline of campaigns, areas of battle and battles fought. I'll never give up my copy of this book. It is my side-arm for knowledge. If you can find a means to pick one up, I strongly suggest it.

This book is an optional reading assignment for my United States history class. It is hard to find in the bookstore because it was first published in the 1950's.

Whyte's book is a fascinating read, still, after so many years. It is wonderfully written, filled with anecdotes and telling examples -- and it is above all else to the point: large-scale bureauratic structures have evolved a functionalist climate that thrives on its own logic of operation. Organizations make for an environment that incessantly shapes the conformist functionary, and that drives the creative, intelligent, free-spirited, and self-conscious type of person 'out of business'. The very first pages reveal how salient Whyte's concerns are today, more than fifty years after the first publication of the book. My favorite chapters are 16-18 about the 'education' (read: stultification) of future functionaries and the dubious/odious role big corporations play in this context. A short glance at the role of nowadays educational institutions suffices to have this circumstance confirmed ...

William Whyte, who was an editor at Fortune magazine, argues in this 1956 bestseller that some people not only worked for an organization, but sold their psyches to them as well. These "organization men" willingly subordinated their personal goals and desires to conform to the demands of corporations and other organizations. This is different than modern-day workaholism -- the "organization men" of the 1950's hoped to gain loyalty, security and "belongingness" in exchange. In their view, the organization is a friend, not a foe; it's should be co-operated with, not questioned.

Whyte argues that the ideology behind the organization man is a "social ethic." Its core beliefs are that the group is superior to the individual, and individuals lack meaning and purpose outside of that group. "Belongingness" is assumed to be the ultimate emotional need of the individual, and to achieve it society should not hesitate to use a bit of social engineering. The result, however, is an ethos of over-conformity at any price.

As Whyte looked around the world in the mid-1950's, he saw the ethos of the Organization Man everywhere. He saw it in college graduates who joined big corporations, pledging their loyalty with visions of a safe stable life in exchange. He saw it in corporate executives who willingly pulled up their roots every time the company wanted to transfer him. He saw it when educators were asked to teach kids social skills so they could get along, rather than teaching academic subjects that forced kids to think for themselves. He saw it in engineering companies that said that there are "no geniuses here; just a bunch of average Americans working together" (although studies show that innovative engineers and scientists are fiercely independent, thus the direct antithesis of the company-oriented man).

So what to do? Whyte says we must realize that although we need the organization, we must know when and how to resist it. We must tread the fine line between self-interested cooperation and psychological surrender. We must realize that although the group can be a friend, it can also be a tyrant.

Even though this book was written about 50 years ago, many of Whyte's messages still ring true today. Yes, times have changed, and worker loyalty to corporations is passe'. Yet this book is worth reading, if only for its historical perspective on the mood in the 1950's. Also, it's well written - after all, Whyte was an editor at Fortune. Recommended.

The secondary title applied to this excellent work was " Moulding Team Players for Free Enterprise" The principal idea was how Big Business through the educational system and the prevailing culture indoctrinated a generation of aspiring corporate executives and middle managers into company men - similar to armed forces indoctrination of career officer cadets.
This excellent work is applicable today as it was 50 years ago, and is an invaluable work to all who wish to understand corporate culture. One only has to think of the many examples of Corporate interest over riding individual executives concience to see the relevance.

College students who are majoring in history, business, sociology, and industrial psychology should read this book. Also, anyone just interested in challenging the status quo will find inspiration within its pages.

an extremely helpful church encyclopedia, including up-to-date information on people, the pope's writings, encyclicals, and curia, travels, etc.

it is just what I wanted, an up todate review of the Catholic Church

Need the name or biography of an American bishop or a cardinal? How about a list of Beatifications by Pope John Paul II? Or perhaps information on Catholic colleges, religious movements, or the Catholic Press? How about a Reader's Digest-condensed version of Pope John Paul II's encyclicals?

Whatever Catholic bit of information you are seeking, the chances are pretty good that Our Sunday Visitor's 2001 Almanac will have what you are looking for.

Next to my dictionary it is one of the most used books sitting on my shelf.

Updated annually, it provides addresses, phone numbers, and web addresses to all things Catholic.

The 2001 edition also features special Jubilee year coverage, in-depth coverage of the revelation of the "Third Secret" of Fatima, extensive coverage of the Pope's trip to the Holy Land, articles in defense of Pope Pius XII, the Vatican list of the greatest films, and much more.

Whether you're a Catholic student, writer, professor, or lay person you will find this small book indispensable in your work.

This book is filled with historical information as well as current information for Catholics. I am going to try to get one every year.

This book is a complete Catholic reference with sufficient sources for additional information. Excellent history of the church and catechism brief reference.

Fantastic books! The detail and information is great. These are not "spec" books of German tanks. The wonderful inclusion of original correspondence between Beck, Fromm, Guderian, etc is fascinating reading. The extensive usage of original German terminology makes for difficult reading (unless you are fluent in German) but is very much appreciated to avoid errors of translation.

Thomas Jentz's book proves to be a fantastic source of information regarding the German Panzer forces during World War II. This volume covers the period from the early 1930s to 1942. It uses primary German sources that revealed the evolutionary stages of the German panzer formations, their weapons and numbers as the years rolled by. The book also reflects on German perception of how they did, how their tanks performed and needs for changes.

The book reflects the closeness to the source German material. The author expects the reader to have a fine tune knowledge of the German military prior to reading this book. If you have to look up to see the difference between a Panzer 38(t) to Panzer IVd, this book is probably not for you. The unit organization tables are done in the unfamiliar German symbolism instead of your usual NATO symbols so that can be confusing to the novice.

The book seem to be written for people who wants a greater understanding of the German panzer formations and thier gradual metamorphosis. The second volume covers the second half of the war when the German forces were mostly on the defensive mode.

Overall, highly informative reading material, not for the casual reader since this book don't exactly read like a best seller.

This is perhaps the most usefull book on the German panzer forces in World War II, and anyone interested in the subject needs a copy.

In the first portion of the book, Jentz provides a thorough history of the development and employment of panzer formations. This includes initial formation of the first units, the development of prototypes and early equipment, as well as German armored doctrine and tactics.

The remaining portion of the book covers the employment of the Panzer divisions in war from 1939-1942. In this section, Jentz provides a wealth of information. One very usefull feature is that the organization of panzer companies, battalions, and divisions are tracked (along with the translated text of orders changing the organizations) and presented in tables or figures. Given that the Germans frequently changed the organization of these units, this is very valuable information.

Jentz also presents tank strengths and tank types for each division at the start of major operations as part of orders of battle for the panzer divisions. For example, it is thus possible to quickly look up how many Panzer II tanks were available for the invasion of France, and the amount that each division had.

The end of the book has a number of appendices, which provide data on monthly on-hand strength of each tank as well as technical data on for German and a variety of Allied tanks.

I also strongly recommend Jentz's follow-up to this, which is Panzer Truppen volume II, and covers 1943-1945.

I agree with the other reviewers. These two books are excellent! If you have any interest in German panzer, tactics and deployment i strongly recommend you to buy them. The 'combat reports' from the officers writing about there experinence during there fight with the enemy, trying to explain the good and bad how to use there tanks is great and gives you a deeper feeling of the problems they had. A must buy!

Both this volume and volume 2, are excellent sources of primary documentation. Both use war diary, and after-action reports to describe tactics and weapons evolution. As I said in a review of vol.2, by allowing the crews and their platoon-battalion commanders to speak the book has an immediacy that can't be duplicated in other works of the same subject. The author assumes the reader has at least general familiarity with German operations, and knowledge of German WWII military terms and ranks. Probably not for a general interest reader.

Allen is remarkably clear and easy to read, yet he does not sacrifice scholarship or content to be so. This volume packs an amazing amount of material in its 280 pages, containing every big name in the history of philosophy. Yet this book is not simply a historical overview of the major tenets of the discipline; it is focused at every turn on showing how philosophy has impacted Christian thought. While Allen covers all one would expect from Plato and Artistotle to Hegel and Kant, he makes a deliberate effort to show how such leading Christian thinkers as Augustine and Aquinas interpreted and applied philosophy to their theology. This text is a superior introduction to the relationship between philosophy and theology. Highly recommended.

Not only does Diogenes Allen deliver what he promised (i.e., an explanation of those philosophic systems pertinent to theology) but he delivers a history of philosophy (albeit restricted) from the pre-socratics to the present that is easily understood and enjoyable!

this is a good book for diving into the crux of philosophical issues in relation to christian theology through the centuries. A very good overview and in some detail. This book is not for beginners though, despite it's medium size. One needs to have some philosophical and theological familiarity in order to plow through this work. Another good one, and a bit more manageable, is: Consequences of Ideas by R.C. Sproul.

"Philosophy asks unanswerable questions; theology gives unquestionable answers." Quoted in John Caputo, Philosophy and Theology,



Prologue:
Before starting this book review, I acknowledge with Sir James Jeans, "I need hardly add that my acquaintance with philosophy is simply that of an intruder, and nothing could be further from my intentions than to pose as an authority on questions of pure philosophy." Preface, Physics and Philosophy. It is also in order to share with Professor Sidney Griffith, Catholic University of America his declaration in a book review, "One does not mean to complain immoderately, nor to appear ungrateful for what is on its own term a good study of a timely and an important topic; nor does one want to review a book the author never intended to write."

Theology's Philosophic Languages:
In recent decades, members of the Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches have met, coming together to a clear conviction that both branches have always maintained loyalty to the same Orthodox Christological faith, with an unbroken continuity of the apostolic tradition, though they may have used differing terminologies in different ways (of differing philosophical traditions). The 'Joint Commission of the Theological Dialogue' between the Eastern and the Oriental Orthodox Churches', for the first time since the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when division started within the Orthodox Church due to differing Christological expressions (on confessions of the nature of the Christ), has stated after fifteen centuries that, "On the essence of the Christological dogma, we found ourselves in full agreement! Through the different terminologies used by each side, we saw the same truth expressed!"
This is a very good example why Professor Diogene Allen was to write his book, to explain "How Philosophy Shapes Theology,'" as written by Frederick Sontag fifteen years earlier. But did the eminent Princeton philosophy professor provide what he promised, in the title, to clarify Christian dogma with the tools of them prevailing philosophic systems?

Faith & Understanding:
Faith in search of understanding, therefore, writes Jaroslav Pelikan, had the duty of clarifying these various senses in which words were used. he quotes Maximos Confessor, "To say something without first distinguishing the meanings of what is said is nothing less than to confuse everything" and to obscure instead of clarifying. ... but one had to be careful to note the distinctive meaning acquired by such philosophical terms when they were employed for Christian doctrine." The Christian Tradition II
"Philosophy and theology enjoy a peculiarly intimate relationship because they have been traditionally concerned with many common issues: the existence and nature of God, the postmortem survival, free will and human responsibility, and a host of questions about ethics of life and ways of living. Such familiarity breeds territorial disputes and theologians have sometimes been annoyed with us for messing with their stuff." Harriet Baber, Professor of Philosophy, U. of San Diego

Foundation of Theology:
Many contemporary theologians regard North African Tertullian as the first Western Christian to write theology, defending Christians against the hostility of the Roman Empire, while he argued against Marcion, Praxeas and theosophical fantasy. But the first great systematic theologian, is reckoned by most as Origen of Alexandria, (ca. 185-214), who invented the word 'theologia', he constructs on the foundations laid by Clement, in late second century Alexandria, who wrote a substantial trilogy of which Paedagogus an ethical guide, and Stromateis which he written to provide biblical themes in the language of Greek philosophers. Origen, no doubt, is the father of Theology, the language of Christian faith; he is par excellence, the founder of both speculative and Patristic theology brought to perfection three centuries later, by his Alexandrine school while retaining the seal of his genius. Most distinguished and influential of all the theologians of the early church, were his pupils, including Athanasius, Basil, the Gregories, Dedymus the blind, Cyril of Alexandria, Augustine, and Pseudo Denis Areopagite. Origen was the first to establish church doctrines laying the foundations of the science of Biblical criticism, of the Old and New Testaments. He built on earlier generations of Alexandrine philosophers, Philo, Athenagoras, Pantaenus, and Clement, who struggled with the problem of defining a philosophic basis for an intellectual expression of Christianity. Together with Amon Saccha, his pupils Plotinus, Longinus and Origen contributed to develop Neo Platonism, the vehicle of Alexandrine theological expression, and Orthodoxy until Thomas Aquinas retrograded to Aristotelian philosophy. Eusebius of Caesarea, Church historian and Origen's admiring biographer, who lived a generation after, devotes nearly all of Book VI of his Ecclesiastical History to the life of Origen.

Issues for Clarification:
The book failed to underline that Christianity, a Hebrew Messianic hope expressed in Greek ideas by the Oriental Church fathers, led by clement who were keen to defend orthodoxy contra Gnosticism and mystery religions. Christian Theology was established by the great Alexandrine Church teacher Origen, whom the author ignored, although his theology was propagated by his disciples allover the Mid Orient. They debated the basic Christian Doctrines of formidable Alexandria who utilized its own Neoplatonic terms to establish and defend Christian Orthodoxy against the Antiochine school in Aristotelian language. Neoplatonism (reformed Middle Platonism) was in fact an Egyptian reformation of the archaic Greek philosophy launched by Amon Saccha and his school in second century Christian Alexandria.
Augustine is a good example, against the book exposition, converted from Manichaenism to NeoPlatonism on reading Victorinus, Origen's student, before becoming a Christian Augustine's views on Free Will and Predestination were not biblically anchored or philosophically defended, and never considered Orthodox by the Eastern Churches. As for Thomas Aquinas, Allen may have raised him from Chesterston dumb Ox to the holy Ibis of Theology and Philosophy. He tried to defend him as the rescuer of Aristotle from Averroes, and failed to mention what is common knowledge, that Aquinas used John Philoponus own commentaries on Aristotle, to achieve his goals.
These are few examples of his reluctance to tell the full story, as W. Kaufmann warned three decades earlier, "It is easy to underestimate the originality of St. Thomas because he seems to synthesize Scripture and Aristotle, making ample use of all the labors of his predecessors. Butas Gilson says..., St. Thomas made "Aristotle say so many things he never said." Critique of Religion & Philosophy, pp.144

Philoponus' Philosophy Revolution:
"To treat the nominalism of the fourteenth century in a chapter ... may seem strange," is what the crafty author wrote, pp.151, and he is right. He quotes the eminent historian H. Butterfield for an assessment of the scientific revolution. Butterfield who though started logically with the historical importance of Philoponus' Impetus Theory, as the breakthrough point in the obsolescence of the body of Aristotelian physics, he failed to identify Philoponus, who effectively deconstructed it into rubble in sixth century Alexandria. In 'The Copernican Revolution', Kuhn wrote on page 119 that, "John Philoponus, the Christian commentator who records the earliest extant rejection of Aristotle's theory, ..."
It was known when this book was written, that John Philoponus (490-570), was not only a millennia ahead in his scientific genius, but was equally so in articulating Orthodox doctrines, of 'Creation ex Nihilo,' and the 'Resurrection.' His 'Diaetetes', was adopted later, by John of Damascus in his 'Doctrina Patrum.' In the 'Tmemata,' his polemic against Chalcedon, written at the time of the second Council of Constantinople (553), he implied a condemnation to the Chalcedonian pseudo-Nestorian expression, by citing Cyril's twelve anathema. He condemned the Chaledonian canons and criticized Leo's Tome exposing its philosophical inconsistency, and theological weaknesses.

Theology & Postmodern Philosophy:
The second part of his book, which is well written, is too condensed to be of real help to the ordinary reader who looks for modern philosophy to understand the Postmodern theological currents of the day. Recent strides in physics and developments in philosophy have superseded some of the scientific and philosophical concepts that were foundational for the modern world view. So, Whitehead, in a most explicit statement on the end of the modern era, in a critical evaluation of William James' essay on 'Existence of Consciousness, 1904', Whitehead infers as the denial of any difference in its essence from the core and milieu of the physical, suggesting that, with his formulation of a dualism between matter and mind, can be considered the thinker who pioneered the modern epoch, with his challenge to Cartesian dualism, starting a new chapter in philosophy. Having categorized the thought of that period as distinctively modern, scientific philosophy, Whitehead own philosophy, that united the philosophical implications of relativity and quantum physics wrapped into James' rejection of dualism, implied as distinctively postmodern, without using the term.
We are suspicious of religious authority since the 'Age of Reason', but we despair of the rescue of reason. Kant foretold us, the present legacy of postmodern skepticism, that theology must be confined within the limits of reason alone. Yet, Nietzsche has demonstrated that a boundary guard reason has failed to deliver on its promises, for its claims are but disguised power plays. Accordingly, it would seem that neither philosophy nor theology can avail, and we are left merely with a heap of unanswerable questions striving to shout out unquestionable answers.

Epilogue to a review:
This good introduction to philosophy falls short, according to the book intended scope, of justifying any of the basic Christian Doctrines. While the first part took many pages in explaining irrelevant concepts, the second part of the book, though well crafted, is too concise, and not as thorough as Colin Brown's 'Philosophy & The Christian Faith,' or could hardly be recommended to serve as introduction to Malcolm Diamond's Contemporary Philosophy and Religious Thought. A pitfall of the suggested reading list, of which a majority is overlapping, was to ignore Walter Kaufmann's Critique of Religion and Philosophy, and the indispensable reference work of Yale's Jarslav Pelican, 'The Christian Tradition', in 5 volumes.

On Christian Theology (Challenges in Contemporary Theology)
20th-Century Theology: God and the World in a Transitional Age

Allen, of Princeton Theological Seminary, writes here of the interrelatedness of philosophy and theology within the history of Christian thought and ideas. He covers the important influence of philosophical thinking on theology from the early years with Plato and Aristotle up to today. A must read for all serious about maturing in their theology. A very helpful book for those wanting to begin the process of being theologians themselves. We are in Allen's debt for writing such an informative and readable book.

It's no secret that Judaism got a massive makeover in the wake of the Babylon Beat-down of 586 BCE. This book tracks that shift, offering a comparative overview of how different groups within the religion responded to past and then-present situations, sharing equal focus on theological and physical innovations within ritual, practice, and thought.

APG manages to maintain a non-biased tone throughout, so readers of any Judeo-Christian faith will learn about their own heritage plus the "other side."

A central premise of APG is that post Babylonian Judaism and Christianity are not so much father/child religions but more on the line of a sibling relationship. I found this to be a novel take, and the evidence presented for their case was fairly compelling.

Although I knew much that was in this book, I had forgotten a chunk of it in the past few decades, and it was nice to get a refresher. Probably the part that intrigued me most was an exploration into the term "Jew" in its historical use - I was surprised to find this is a very late term and one which is apparently the frequent subject of subjective translation. I also enjoyed the time spent on Talmudic Judaism, a subject I know next to nothing about.

All in all, a good job. Personally, I found the book best "sipped": read a chapter, mentally digest the contents for a few days, then crack the spine for the next section. I plan to reread it again, and don't doubt I will get nuances out of it that escaped me the first time.

A Portable God should attract a wide readership. Whichever tradition one claims, misperceptions and half-truths are a part of much religious education. With persuasive clarity and good humor, Moore and Kohn cut through some of these misperceptions. They show how Judaism and Christianity evolved together out of an ancient Israelite tradition. This readable book is a refreshing combination of strong scholarship and engaging, careful thought. It is a pleasure to read.

This book is a scholarly, yet readable, look at both Judaism and Christianity. I found it interesting, enlightening, and accessible. Having studied many of the world's religions, I appreciated the authors' fresh perspectives.

Professor of Hebrew Bible and Judaism Risa Levitt Kohn and associate professor Rebecca Moore present A Portable God: The Origin of Judaism and Christianity, an exploration of Christianity and Judaism as sister religions tracing their lineage back to the common parent of ancient Israelite religion. Written to be accessible to readers of all backgrounds, A Portable God discusses the legacy of the Israelite religion, divine presence as recognized in the absence of the temple, the question of the messiah, and much more. "...successors of ancient Israel use the Torah, the Prophets, and some Writings, such as the Psalms, as their guide to understanding what it means to be Israel. in order for these texts to remain meaningful, communities read them in light of their current experiences and, by doing so, interpret or reinterpret these writings anew. This process is further complicated when a number of different communities share the same texts but have different experiences and different interpretive views. Each community interprets scripture uniquely." A glossary and index round out this welcome and astutely thought-out contribution to modern Judeo-Christian studies and dialogues.

Extremely well-written and interesting topic about the common origins of Judaism anc Christianity. Uniquely put together by two female professors who write jointly, not in series, of their expertise, Risa Levitt Kohn and Rebecca Moore are writing essentially a curriculum for their course teachings. They explore the presence of God in the absence of a temple and the question of a Messiah. A good read with a different and fresh perspective.

by Joe from Providence.
This is a devotional book; it is meant to fit in your carryall or bag at all times: so that when you decide to go to Adoration, it is with you. I have had three copies of this little book (I left two in the pews at churches and chapels after adoration). If you want to learn how to enrich your Holy Hours or visits with Jesus, present in the Eucharist, this book will offer you a multitude of short-enough passages to contemplate the Eucharistic Presence. If you have been a participant in Adoration for a long time, this book will enrich the experience for you. Without a doubt, you will return to this book again and again, oftentimes TO CENTER YOURSELF when you enter Christ's Presence. The book is a marvel in miniature.

This little book of readings and prayers has been very useful for me during Eucharistic Adoration.

This book does not just contain prayers to say during the time with Our Lord, but inspiritations and insights from Fr. Grouschel and many saints that will cause readers to think and contemplate the Real Presence during their visits to the Lord in the Eucharist. Small enough to bring with you every time.

After reading Fr. Groeschel's insightful book, Arise From Darkness: What To Do When Life Doesn't Make Sense, and pushing it on everyone I know, I did not think that Groeschel would be able to top that. But he did. Whether you are a skeptic of the Real Presence of Christ, or believe beyond all doubt; whether you think this an invention of man or of God; whether you are a spiritual and intellectual weakling or a superman, this book is for you. The voice of Groeschel's inner city life and Bronx-style attitude shine through. That, coupled with his humble wisdom and faith, places him among the very best Christian writers. Enjoy.

A marvellous selection of readings prayers and meditations, conveniently categorised for Eucharistic devotion.

The correct title is:

Praying in the Presence of Our Lord - Prayers (not Players) for Eucharistic Adoration