Baker Books

I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, all of Emilie Loring's books. Obviously some more than others. This one and the one with Penelope Garth are among my favorites. I find myself re-reading these books, especially when I feel blue or lonely or despair of our world in such terrible shape. I'm in the middle of them again.

A Candle in Her Heart is one of my favorite Emilie Loring books, and she has 50 published under her name! Leslie Blake lives in a small New England Town called Claytonville. Her Father, a distant relative, has inherited the estate when Douglas Clayton dies heroically during the Korean war. Enter the "mysterious" stranger, Donald Shaw, as a new chemist at the Clayton Textile Company. Add some intrigue, reconciliation and romance and you have Emilie Loring at the finest! A Must Read for any Emilie Loring Fan!

Boucher obviously had a grand time writing this outlandish whodunit, and you will have an equally fun time reading it if you let yourself be taken along for the ride.

Boucher wrote a few golden age mysteries and science fiction tales, but was more prolific as a reviewer and critic of other people's work. His reviews from his years with the San Francisco Chronicle have been compiled in two volumes by Francis M. Nevins and published by Ramble House in 2002. These are great volumes to peruse while looking for other golden age mysteries to read (and avoid.)

Having read thousands of other mysteries, Boucher was qualified to write some of his own. "Irregulars" has some of the elements of the typical golden age mystery: a house where murder occurs and all the suspects are gathered under one roof for the duration, an impossible crime, and a plucky heroine. It also has elements that I can't resist: charts showing suspects and alibis, a diagram of the house, graphic representations of the clues and solution. The only thing missing from the Carrol & Graf paperback edition I have is a crime map on the back cover.

If you are prepared to have your leg pulled for 250-odd pages, dig in.

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~ ~ This book is not at all your average Who- Dun-it! It is a neat little mystery but so much more. The cast of the "Baker Street Irregulars" includes amateur detectives with some strikingly similar styles to some of the top detectives in Mystery fiction at the time (set in the 1940's).

~ ~ After the obligatory obnoxious and odious character is murdered, there is naturally a nice damsel in distress whose name needs to be cleared. Each of the amateur detectives (all members of the Sherlock Holmsian exclusive club), seizes upon a slightly different bit of evidence and goes off on their own private investigative track, each coming up with wildly different results.
Each of these sections in narrated in a style closer to the different authors that created each detective. The result is just wonderful for anyone who's read enough mysteries to recognize at least 3 or 4 detectives. Any that you don't recognize specifically will be recognizable by type.

~ ~ I lost my copy of this book a long time ago, probably lending it out to other mystery lovers. I was so thrilled to see this listing at Amazon[.com], that I not only had to write a review, I'm putting it in my shopping cart immediately for my next purchase. I can't wait to reread it.

~ ~ Maybe the best thing about the book is that while Boucher, a talented critic himself, is mocking other detectives, it is very clear that he himself has enjoyed reading tales of these beloved detectives himself. He could never write such an accurate spoof, without being an addict himself.
This is one of those rare books you want to share with everyone! Definitely 5 ***** stars!

Betty Spohr's frank first-hand observations about a devasting disease help those who follow her solid path as a care giver to her husband.. Her overriding love for her husband powers her to use her considerable creative resources to shepherd him (and herself) as the effects of the disease accellerate. If readers dread plunging into a book about one of the most feared downsides of the increased life span phenomenon, this book has a surprisingly light-handed touch.

Originally published as "To Hold a Falling Star", I bought a hardcover edition of this book years ago out of sheer curiosity. While I was browsing through the bookstore, this was a featured selection & I flipped through. What interested me the most, at the time, was the format of Betty's book. It is truly a diary, short & sweet, with a drawing accompanying each entry.

Not only is it a touching story, but it is also very educational. It explains the tasks of a caretaker in a way that anyone can understand. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of things to remember---a mix of legal, personal, & spiritual things.

Ironically, shortly after I purchased the book, my grandmother suffered another of many strokes. This one caused her to act as though she had Alzheimer's. Doctors labelled it "dementia" & theorized that it was caused by a dislodged particle of plaque that travelled to her brain.

Although Granny wasn't as progressed as an AD patient, she relied on my parents to care for her from then on & she never recovered. Just like a person with AD, she would be acute in some areas (beating everyone at dominoes) while being completely "not there" in others (not bathing, not eating yet perking up whenever ice cream was around.)

Betty's book helped to serve as a warning of things my parents could expect & ultimately had to deal with at one time or another.

Until I read this wondrous book, I had no idea that Catherine Booth, the conservative Co-Founder of the Slavation Army, embraced women's rights, animal rights and vegetarianism. The author provides many documented instances when Catherine would intervene and stop people from being cruel to dogs, horses, donkeys and oxen. He also mentions the Booth's and their Children loving an array of pets. I always knew that Catherine Booth was a groundbreaking Christian and Humanitarian, but Roger Green surprisingly informed me about Catherine Booth being an animal-loving vegetarian. Too bad today's Christian leaders have failed to emulate her reverence for all God's creatures' creed !

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Catherine Booth. I had known she was a vital part of the team, but I didn't realize the extent of her influence on her husband. This is a book I'm keeping in my library. It's well worth the space

Carolyn Nabors Baker explores women of the Bible unlike any book on the shelves today. Regardless of whether one considers herself a Christian or not, this book is for any woman dealing with everyday life: stress, hope, hurt, love, love lost, etc. There is a woman in this book who you can relate to--someone who went through what you are going through now and made it. As the cover of the books states: "Inspiring Stories of Women in the Bible," this book is just that and more. This book is a must-read, and after you've read it, you'll want to get a copy for your sister, mother, best friend, and maybe even your worst enemy! If you've lost hope, need encouragement, or just need to be inspired, CAUGHT IN A HIGHER LOVE is a great choice......L2D

She's right--this is a splendid book. Baker makes the women of the Bible multi-dimensional for me--before they had been cardboard cutouts with whom I could not relate. Now I see them as I see other women around me--what an illuminating book!

This book is exactly what every teacher needs to have on his or her desk. It's as if Mrs. Murphy has read the mind of every elementary teacher out there and written down a prayer for every situation! This book offers exactly what you need to get you through the day. If you do not have this book, GET IT! You certainly won't regret it. It is a book to which every teacher can truly relate. This book is uplifting and helpful. You will find yourself coming back to it again and again for inspiration and encouragement.

This little book offers heartfelt ENCOURAGEMENT to teachers--at a time when they need it perhaps more than ever before. Teaching is much more difficult than it was just a few years ago (the paperwork alone is a nightmare), and the meditations in this book can help teachers put things in perspective. As Bill Martin says (on the back cover), "This book will remind you that teaching is a high calling and a joy."

If dealing with another culture whether moving or in America. This book explicitly talks about serveral major differences we need to face and work within

"Change Across Culture" (CAC) is a masterful exposition of the innate intricacies in transforming cultures using redemption as the "valid basis for cross-cultural ethics." Bradshaw rejects functionalism upfront insisting that for "innovations" to be implemented within culture in a "sustainable way" they must be integrated into the "cultural narratives" of the community.

Bradshaw eloquently defines narratives as the "stories that govern our lives." They (the narratives) "are templates through which we interpret reality and the means through which we seek continuity in our lives." The Christian narrative, says Bradshaw, is centered "on Christ and his redemptive relationship with creation." He further argues that the Bible, rather than being a narrative, is in reality a meta-narrative because instead of making "all cultures look alike" reconciliation in fact is an "effort to offer all people in all cultures values that will empower them to enhance their lives." This is done, says Bradshaw, through the transformation of the "values that shape their cultural narratives."

Bradshaw argues that redemption is "God¡¦s reconciling work in creation" and can be used as a basis for ethics because it is "universally valid and culturally specific." "The validity of redemption," says Bradshaw, "is that it is a unifying theory bearing witness to God as the agent of causation because it bears the meaning of it¡¦s agent."

Using redemption as an ethical basis for cultural change, Bradshaw moves on to tackle some difficult and significant problems facing the world today. He maintains that before cultures can be managed, the "worldviews that are buried within" them "need to be excavated." By "excavating" the worldviews of modern Christianity he concludes that "Gnostic creation stories" have had more influence than the "Biblical creation stories" in shaping contemporary Christian worldviews. He convincingly shows how this "Gnostic legacy" is the root of the "ecological crises in Christianity" today.

In later chapters the author shows how redemption can liberate people from serving their cultures and how positive transformation enables them to become masters of, rather than slaves to, their culture. Bradshaw asserts that "theological doctrine" alone is not able to create sustainable change. "Encounters with people of other faiths," says Bradshaw, "do not begin with discussions of doctrine. Instead they begin when people express their faith through their efforts to cope with the struggles of daily life." He concludes that "lasting change only occurs when people are empowered through the redemptive work of God through Christ to transform the elements within their culture that disempower them."

Bradshaw shows how the powers that be are redeemed when the "Church challenges their authority by exercising their moral agency and empower people to transform the narratives of their cultures to embody the redemptive work of Christ in creation." He argues that this type of transformation can only be achieved through subordination to the authorities and accepting the consequences of exercising their moral agency. Christians and the Church cannot compromise and must be the moral voice that challenges society and governments to act in an ethical manner. Bradshaw shows how redemption has the ability to empower women and to liberate them from cultures that oppress and abuse them. He argues that early Christianity did not discriminate against women but rather enabled them to be leaders in the early Church.

In a later chapter Bradshaw tackles economic exploitation and acknowledges that "people who have any hope of achieving economic viability in the modern global economy can no longer assume that nature is the source of their wealth." He argues that Small Enterprise Development (SED) is the way to tackle exploitation and that "Christians establish SED programs on the assumption that the redemptive work of God is embodied in the mundane structures of society." Bradshaw affirms that SEDs can be redemptive and can contribute to the well being of the whole community.

CAC is a book that addresses a broad range of problems but retains the centrality of Christ and never loses focus on God as the agent of redemption. Throughout this volume the central role of Christ in the transformation of demeaning and oppressive cultural values is never lost.

CAC is a stunning achievement written by a man of experience. It is not a theoretical treatise, but an intelligent, practical aid to understanding how to achieve sustainable transformation of cultural ethics that disempower, degrade, deceive, control, and exploit millions of people today. Bradshaw writes with compassion that is rooted in reality. He has been an eyewitness to some of the most devastating human tragedies of our era. By using specific examples of real people he returns humanity to those who have been downtrodden and abused by the cultures in which they live. His understanding and desire to help change those things that de-humanize humans is a lesson to us all, and should be heeded. Whether we like it or not, we all live within narratives that govern our lives. The only question is will we have the courage to change those values within our own narratives that de-humanize others and make us slaves. Will we, as individuals, allow the redemptive work of God to redeem not only ourselves but also those values that destroy us, our friends, and even our enemies?

Good book. It goes into different trends and contemporary issues when it comes to missions. Some of the subjects covered are globalization, postmodernism, contextualization, majority world christianity, etc...It is written by evangelical missiologists from the west. This is an awesome book. Get it.

If you think you're fairly well informed re: church and mission issues, think again. The authors of this book cover the mega issues of our time and the challenges we face as Christians in addressing them. I'll read this book again before I'm ready to talk about it, there's so much here.

Books that take you from undergraduate physics to a nontrivial understanding of nonlinear dynamics, chaos and fractals are rare. Chaotic Dynamics does the job ellegantly. The familiar pendulum is used to illustrate the basic techniques and concepts in nonlinear dynamics. The reader is gently introduced to phase diagrams, Poincare sections, basins of attraction and bifurcation diagrams. Computer code is included in the Appendix. The interested reader can use this code to further illustrate the lessons of the text or to embark on his/her own exploration of the pendulum and other dynamical systems. Having used the pendulum to establish a firm conceptual platform, Baker and Gollub progress gracefully into the logistic map to illustrate concepts such as period doubling, Lyapunov exponent, entropy, stretching and folding, and various measures of fractal dimension. The presentation is nicely rounded off with studies of other maps and nonlinear dynamical systems from a range of fields in physics, chemistry and fluid dynamics.

The gateway to experimental chaos research comes through here! The mathematics, the examples and code that illustrates the book is here. It is somewhat narrow in it's beginning approach, but delivers after careful study a beginning of understanding with some real industry. Not for the mathemaically shy or Professors like Ruelle, but for real people wanting real answers! Your unique Associates ID is: thefractaltransl.

This was a great book I could not put it down. It made me think of what it would be like to go back to the Old West from the 21st Century.Trey and Amanda's reactions to their different worlds keeps the story moving right along.I like to read historical romances and this is one of the best.It makes me want to look for a white horse to show up in my yard. I would highly recommend this book it is a good light summer read,one that helps you to escape from the real world for a while. I give this book 5 stars.

This is my favorite book ever! I love reading Western Romance, historical or contemporary, so this book was right up my alley. Madeline Baker is my favortie author, I have never read a book of her's that I didn't like. This book was very vivid and made me feel like I was there. Read this book, I promise you'll love it!