Day Books

After I read this book, I could feel much closer to my god.
From the very beginning there was something going on in myself I could not describe with words.
Something very positive. After 6 month now I look back and can say my life took a better direction. More calmness,
a feeling of security and guidance which I cannot imagine
to life without anymore.
I wish everybody this direct communion and this book is a wonderful guidance for everybody.
I speaks honest from daily life of us and our God !

After I read this book, I could feel much closer to my god.
From the very beginning there was something going on in myself I could not describe with words.
Something very positive. After 6 month now I look back and can say my life took a better direction. More calmness,a feeling of security and guidance which I cannot imagine, that I have lifed
so long without of it.
I wish everybody this direct communion and this book is a wonderful guidance in finding what is in all of us.
It speaks very honest from our daily life and how much our God
desires to be a part of.

Reading the book and close it, reading it again and close it again. The things I experience are eventualy not in this book but it "goes and exists" inside each one of us. Everybody knows that any spoken language is many times a poor substitute for the living energy that exists within the very core of our heart and soul. Real communication is not easy at all. So what I want to say is that beyond the words written down in this book, there is an everyday-feeling which will bring us all to understandable Common Grounds. It is a TRUE book.

When I speak of the word "Dialog," I am speaking of my own on-going personal travelling search for communication with Diety. This book is written in such a way that it can either be an introduction to God for those who are not familiar with the critical fundamental relationship which resides within the heart, because all their efforts have been invested in an external religion...but also for those of us who are familiar with The Dialog and wish confirmation, continued connectivity and reaffirmation of our internal established relationship with God independent of an external world framework. The "Message" is always the same, no matter the avenue, when it is original and proceeds, from The Source. That message is, We Are ONE. Indeed, any kind of separation from God is of our own making.This book uses familiar Christian concepts such as "The Fall" to describe the external world mental separation we have created as a barrier to our Key Fundamental Relationship. So long as we look for God "Out There" instead of "In Here," we will continue to reinforce the barriers which have prempted our rightful and inherent relationship with God. The fundamental principle that God resides WITHIN US and that is where we must look to renew our relationship...not within the confines of external doctrines or frameworks...is central to the thesis in this book and is a continued fundamental principle of every book I have read which I know proceeds out of the Spirit. This book says...do not abandon your current religious framework if it serves you...but build within yourself, your relationship with Me, I am always HERE WITHIN YOU...and if that religious framework no longer serves you...I am always HERE WITHIN YOU STILL. It also says, if you have a religious framework as your context for relationship with Me, Our relationship is NOT complete, if you are only seeking Me OUT THERE. Establish a DIRECT relationship and DIRECT communication within YOU to ME...(Thus the analogy of the "phone."). He has said, this journey is "delicious" in more than one book! It is "time" to give up being a mindless follower to the Messengers and instead...establish a direct relationship with Me. This is indeed, a tough thing to do, when all your life you have been told by established religion, you cannot get to God unless...you do this and this and this and do not do that and that and that...and especially if you do anything without US or our permission or our consent. Yes, it takes a brave soul to realize, you do not need anyone's permission to have a direct relationship with God and no one has any real authority to limit or deny your ability to do so. If you have your eyes OPEN and your mind OPEN when you read this book, you will come out SEEING and THINKING with your heart. And that my friends, is going to get you in a lot of trouble with the world...and its going to establish a relationship which will make the world's permissions...irrelevant. Are you bold enough to take this book and really "read" it? Even if the message of this book remains unheard in you...there will come another chance, another time and place, when you ARE ready for it. I hope, the message in this book, is for you now. For me, it is a re-confirmation of what I have come to understand thru many other such texts. The message is always ONE.

This is a very challenging book. As a Christian I had what I believed to be a safe and good understanding of what/who God is. It challenged my own concepts and has revealled not a God but a parent. It made me realise how intimate this new found parent is in a simple, honest, straight forward way but with a depth I had never experienced before. It helped me understand what our relationship should be like and gave me a renewed desire to get there. There are very few books that have had this kind of impact in my life. It is written in easy to understand everyday language. Would I recommend it? Most certainly yes.

...a 2400 year old work of philosophy? The question, itself, is not without philosophic interest.

Rather than presume to judge Plato, or Socrates, or Plato-as-Socrates, I will simply add my own voice to the chorus of general opinion and say: TLDoS is as resonant and, in its way, relevant, today as it was so many aeons ago. Though hardly a work of unassailable logic it is, nonetheless, a deeply thoughtful, imaginative, and passionately argued one. As I made my way through it, I had to remind myself, from time to time, that what I had before me was a work of ancient literature. Tredennick and Tarrant are to be commended for their eminently readable translation. As I am not a classicist, I cannot speak to the quality of the translation, but if the quality of the endnotes serves as any indication, I would venture to guess that the translation is first-rate.

A very complex Socrates -- as remembered, as imagined, and perhaps also as invented -- emerges from the four dialogues in TSDoS. That this same Socrates still has power to reach across the ages to confound, inspire, frustrate, entertain, and teach is as sure a testament to his legacy, and to the legacy of classical Greek philosophy, as any.

Read and learn.

In Athens, during the fifth century B.C., the Sophists were wise men. They were not philosophers, or scientists, they were itinerant teachers. Socrates was a moralist and a religious man. Plato was forty years younger than Socrates. THE APOLOGY and the CRITO are founded on fact, shaped by Plato's artistry, (he was a poet, also).

Socrates was indicted for impiety. A public action was brought against him as a menace to society. Orators and poets disliked Socrates's influence on the young. He asserted in THE APOLOGY that the true champion of justice must confine himself to private life. Socrates received the death penalty. He did not think he should stoop to servility because he was in danger.

Death is either annihilation or migration of the soul. Crito visited Socrates in prison. Crito urged him to escape. He claimed that Socrates was throwing away his life when he might save it. Socrates argued with Crito that he had no problem with the laws and, thus, he had a duty to be law-biding. Aiding Socrates's escape would be a breach of faith.

PHAEDO is the last conversation. Socrates believed a man should be cheerful in the face of death. A love of wisdom, not the body, makes a person cheerful. Soul resembles the divine, body resembles what is mortal. No soul which has not practiced philosophy may attain the divine nature. Pythagoreans have a theory of the soul. The soul is imperishable. Friends were admonished by Socrates to just be themselves. The philosopher faced death handily.

Amazing and wonderful, the three titles are a compelling work.

THE DEATH OF SOCRATES is a very inspiring book to read, especially now, when many of us may be facing the same situation he faced--though with a crucial difference. Whatever distortion of the real Socrates may have been introduced by Plato or other writers, enough comes through to paint a portrait of the first true individual in history-- the first person to be guided by his own individual conscience to do what is right, regardless of the consequences. Reading the Apology, one thrills to Socrates intransigence in the face of the Athenian jury which sentenced him to death. CRITO presents the best argument for government under law ever offered, and thus the beginning of the tradition of civil disobedience later taken up by Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. When Socrates' friend Crito urges him to flee, saying that most people will think he was really guilty if he does not, Socrates says, "Why should we pay so much attention to what most people think?" Then he engages in a symbolic dialogue with the Law of Athens, which can be thought of as comparable to the US Constitution. It is clear that he is grateful to the Laws for having given him the opportunity to be a dissenter. The crucial fact is that they have permitted him the right to attempt to persuade his fellow citizens by permitting him free speech. Even when he was arrested for his teachings, he was allowed to speak in his own defense. Although the verdict was unjust, he was a victim not of the Laws but of his fellow men. (p. 95)

However, the tradition of civil disobedience which Socrates founded is only meaningful in a democracy, where people have the right to dissent and to have a fair and public trial. And it is rapidly becoming obsolete. For on October 17, 2006, President Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act, initiating the gravest crisis in US history, not excepting the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11 itself. Congress has had over a year to repeal or amend that act but has failed to do so. Now it is up for review by the Supreme Court. If that body, now nearly half-filled with "rubber stamp" justices, fails to strike down the law as unconstitutional we shall have to resort to a very different tradition than that of Socrates, one which has its roots in medieval England, and was transformed in the 17th century into John Locke's social contract theory. Jefferson expressed it in the immortal words of the Declaration of Independence: speaking of the American colonists, he wrote, "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them to absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security." Faced with the prospect of living in a society which would have made his dissenting individualism impossible, I'm sure Socrates would have agreed.

In this simply-organized compilation of Socratic Dialogues, I would offer that the way Penguin Classics presents them cannot be outdone. The playfully loquacious dialogues are pure-gold bricks of logic, and should therefore be cherished greatly. This book is easy to understand because there are endnotes on every page. Spanning the entirety of over 200 juicy pages, Harold Tarrant and Hugh Tredennick present The Last Days of Socrates to the reader in an easy to follow pattern of notes. These final works of Plato should not be thought of as poor entertainment, but rather highly intense and compelling Greek discussions. It is very well-done and should be read over and over again.



Although every Socratic dialogue is absolutely riddled with complacent people for Socrates to question, this collection actually reveals the largest variety of listeners. From crazy commoners to cynical and court-goers, a critical criminal and the crowd of conflicting friends, Socrates caught every category and class of character off guard. At first, the evidence that hints at Socrates' trial is a mere conviction and nothing more. He had been free then. He had boldly questioned commoners at the very steps to the courthouse that he would defend himself in later. This penniless philosopher inquired of many people during his spare time.



In this collection, the second and third dialogues are the ones that depict the powerful defense of Socrates using logic to its full extent. In brilliantly defending himself, Socrates caressed, persuaded, and rallied only just under half of the jury. Unfortunately, he had failed to win the jury over completely, but he had come so close. Sleeping in the cell that was later constructed for him, Socrates was aroused by Crito, a man who had been a believer in Socrates. The extent of the discussion is contained in the third dialogue titled Crito. Anyhow, the general public hated Socrates so much that only death would avenge their flaming lust for revenge. The second and third dialogues depict Socrates' infamous apologetics and must be read. That is not all, however.



In Phaedo, Socrates calmly awaited his own death by hemlock, in a full chamber of the courthouse. He first addressed his followers and comrades alike concerning the meaning of life. He wanted to reassure them that there was indeed life after death, and that he would be going to a better place. Before he drank the poison, however, Socrates spurred a discussion of the soul and its immortality, or at least as logic had presented it to him. (Of course he had to argue it.) When two of his followers timidly provided Socrates with their opposing views, he only smiled and destroyed each argument consecutively. This he did because he wanted to share his hopes with his friends and did not want them to doubt his reincarnation. Nobody could fight back tears as he took the poison and perished. Socrates' legend now carries from there on. In Phaedo, the philosopher convinced his pals that his soul had not been dying, but had rather been transcending.



I love how Penguin has organized these significant conversations. Socrates is much easier to comprehend because of this book. Socrates had been last heard saying, "Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. (This is because Asclepius had been the god of pleasure.) See to it and don't forget." Buy this book. See to it and do not forget. When I purchased this book, which was in a used condition, it only cost two cents and has not disappointed me. Since it is known that Socrates is always welcome to thinkers, the price feels reduced even further for those who love logic. You will deprive yourself if you miss out on this intellectual classic of the Father of Greek philosophy.

Although many accounts of Socrates' trial are known to have existed for some time after the actual events described by Plato, only Plato's and Xenophon's accounts survive. Both writers were sympathetic to Socrates, and so are somewhat suspect as to whether they adequately and accurately describe the full nature of the charges against Socrates. Plato, a 27-year-old admirer of Socrates at the time of the trial, describes the charges as being impiety (questioning the state sanctioned [poly]theology) and, thereby supposedly corrupting the minds of Athens' youth. A similar charge had, years earlier, driven Anaxagoras from Athens, but many scholars believe there were probably other factors involved in the case against Socrates. Here we find an intractable mystery (and some unwarranted speculations that are merely libelous)*.

Plato's telling of Socrates' last days consists in four parts:
(1.) Euthyphro: Socrates in Action. (2.) The Apology: Socrates on Trial. (3.) Crito: Socrates in Prison. (4.) Phaedo: The Last Conversation.

Euthyphro, The Apology, and Crito are better paced and more interesting than Phaedo, which is a long Socratic argument that the soul must possess some extra-material existence, which continues, or is somehow renewed, beyond corporeal death. I suspect that most readers will enjoy the first three sections of this text, but find the last (and longest) more of a chore; at least that is my opinion. Throughout the text, Plato presents Socrates as a man of both relentless curiosity and an admirable ethical heroism.

* As to the rather facile side bar discussion that seems to have been present in earlier reviews in this forum (while noting the forensic evidence indicating that the worst of these comments was deleted): Given the full weight of the available evidence, Socrates' supposed bisexuality can add up to nothing more than idle speculation. As to his relationships with young men, it cannot be confirmed that they involved males that were considered to be below an age at which they could accountably assent--and even more importantly, IF any such relationships were of a sexual nature at all. Given the available accounts, arguments that these were NOT sexual relationships seem clearly more defensible than (slanderous?) accusations that they were. In other words, as regards this charge, we simply enter an arena of irresolvable facts and potential slander. Why go there?! What we CAN glean from the only extant accounts of Socrates' character is that he considered himself to be one who strove to consistently abide by the highest ethical standards, and that this is consistent with Plato's account here. As cited in Phaedo, these comments of Socrates' seem particularly relevant to this [particular slander]: ". . . true philosophers abstain from all bodily desires and withstand them and do not yield to them. . . those who care about their souls and do not subordinate them to the body dissociate themselves firmly from these others and refuse to accompany them on their haphazard journey; and, believing that it is wrong to oppose philosophy with her offer of liberation and purification, they turn and follow her wherever she leads."

Initially picked this one up for my personal use. Was looking for ways to detour myself away from the stressful, negative routines I seemed to be following more and more frequently these days. Then, I brought it into my tobacco cessation program- and it really grabbed the attention of the participants.(I would use one of the exercises as a 'meditation' to end each session). Members soon began to recommend it to friends and relatives. Next, I brought it into another program for patients who have chronic conditions and who are trying to cope with the stress of the diagnosis, and overcome that crippling inner, negative, sabotaging voice.
What a treat this entire series of books is!
I absolutely recommend these to anyone wanting to jumpstart their efforts to de-stress, make major changes in their lives...or even, just get that elusive good night's sleep.

i use this all the time. Hard job so I need a wind down.

I love this book. It offers great ways to stay calm & focused in just five minutes.

I picked up this book thinking, "Ahhh, a small, fluffy, 'try this or try that' collection of tips in a book form. How.... splendid." I am always glad when I find out how wrong I was about a really valuable resource such as this one!

The book is broken into sections - an introduction which explains the premise of the book, the foundation - incredibly valuable section, and then four sections filled with exercises to try. The exercise sections include Leaving Work at Work, Enriching Your Home Life, Reconnecting with Yourself and Others, and Preparing for a Good Night's Rest.

The Foundation includes an explanation (and practice) of the basic Mindful breathing and Mindful listening techniques. This section alone is worth the investment of the book. You could read that over and over (and apply it, over and over) and change your life significantly.

The practices are icing on the cake, a wide menu of ideas to try out and see what works the best for you.

Highly recommended.

What a great resource to have on the bedside table - or keep it in your car and carve out 5 minutes before shifting from work to home.

This book has a thorough introduction for those new to the practice of mindfulness. It is full of brief meditations, visualizations and exercises to help you leave work at work, enrich your home life, reconnect with self and others and preparing for a good night's rest. As a performance coach, I work with many elite competitors and business people who have trouble winding down at night or getting a good night's sleep. There are some gems in this book to help work through these challenges.

I personally found that after using the book for a short while, just seeing the book was enough to create a mental shift back to being truly present at home in the evening and not letting my mind get pulled back to work when I wanted to be giving my family my full attention. I love my family and I love my work. One of the keys to balancing this equation is being fully present wherever I am at the moment.

Highly recommended for all. Special recommendation as tool for working mothers who are under such high demands to switch from super woman at work to super mom upon walking in the front door at night.

Give yourself the gift of this book and 5 minutes each evening to learn how to better unwind and create more for yourself so you can take better care of those you love. You really can create big changes in a short amount of time. Who does not have or is not worth this type of 5 minute daily investment? If you really don't think so and won't do it for yourself, then do it for your family.

Mollie Marti, Ph.D., J.D.
Author, Selling: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success

When the author contacted me about providing information for his book, I had no idea it would end up being a 438-page walk down Blue Hen memory lane. Mr. Kane did a great job compiling 20 years of school and school-life history from an alum's perspective. It was a fun read.

Great book... I love how you touch on the past and present, talking to all different groups who went to UD. Favorite Chapter - 65 East Cleveland of course!!! Excellent Job!

I've passed this book around Newark Delaware. The Deer Park and East End crowds start reading it and wont put it down. They're laughing and remembering details about dorms or college life that they haven't thought about in years. Anyone who's into the music scene just gets around town will also be surprised how many details are in there that they've forgotten.

The book also does a lot to clear up rumors and truths about the music scene, the history of Newark's biggest community concert "Wilburfest", and the politics and the resourcefulness of students to keep their music festivals alive.

It's rare that a book like this comes out. For a twenty year period; all the hard work of the local musicians, all the good times of so many students, overcoming the obstacles of college living, and just plain growing up is celebrated here.

This book is endorsed by SkidFest - need I say anything more.

This book covers everything that is UD. I know, for me, my memories of college can sometimes be "hazy". This book does an excellent job of bringing back those memories in a clear and concise manner. I highly recommend this book for anybody who set foot on the UD campus.

- Chubbs ('96)

I graduated from Delaware in 1999 and I found myself reading this book and saying "Gosh I haven't thought of that place, or that restaurant, or street, etc. in so long." When you spend four wonderful years somewhere it is nice to be reminded of why you loved it so much and this book truly covers it all!

As a mother of a child who has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), I thought that this book was fantastic. My son is 11, and I never really sat down to explain to him what was going on inside his body, and how he processed and integrated his senses. This was such a help, and he loved it. It was the first time that he was so engaged that he would turn to me and say "Mom, that is just like me." I am sending him to school with it for his teachers and aide to read as well. We have known since he was 3 that he had a sensory integration issue, but most of the literature is geared for that age group, and not for the preadolescence age group. It was wonderful to actually read something that not only helped me to understand more, but most importantly, help my son understand how his body works. Carol Stock Kranowitz comes through again.

This is an extremely helpful book for anyone who has a person in their family with a sensory processing disorder. Easy to understand; examples and explanations of "symptoms" and ideas for exercises to help cope with the disorder. Recommended highly.

The Goodenoughs Get in Sync: A Story for Kids about the Tough Day When Filibuster Grabbed Darwin's Rabbit's Foot and the Whole Family Ended Up in the Doghouse--An ... Introduction to Sensory Processing Disorder
My 8 year old son has Sensory Processing Disorder and loves this book. It is written in first person of a boy who is 10. It is very humorous and enlightening at the same time. His entire family has sensory issues of different sort.
Highly reccommend it.

It was very interesting as the children in the story shared what activites help them get in sync. What was relaxing and what elements of the activities were useful to relaxation, organization etc. Although I did not notice the age group recomendation I will keep the book as it is useful to the parents and grandma and will become my grandson's book when it is more level appropriate. I say that because he is very advanced when it comes to stories and reading.

While my child is too young to read this book on his own, I know it will be helpful for him in the future. As a parent of a child with sensory issues, I found that it helped enhance my understanding of his issues immensely (e.g, what HE is experiencing on a daily basis and how it might make him feel). The more insight and understanding a parent has on these issues, the better you can help your child. I highly recommend purchasing it.

This is such a wonderful and diverse description of the grace that has been given to every person who claims the name of Christ. It opens up new ways of thinking which even long time Christians are astounded by.

Jerry Bridges has repeatedly said throughout the ages that as Christians we need to be continually preaching the gospel to ourselves, every day. The Gospel for Real Life pivots on this fundamental need. It is intended to answer three questions:

-1- What is the gospel we should preach to ourselves?

-2- Why do we, who are already believers, need to preach it to ourselves?

-3- How do we do it?

Bridges does a terrific job addressing each of these questions throughout the book. In the sixteen chapters Bridges moves at a nice clip through the intricacies of the gospel. A book like this is so helpful in its consistent reiteration of critical elements of the gospel, such as substitution, mercy, grace, faith, repentance, and so on.

Some may say that they already know all of this stuff and another book on the gospel is probably not going to do much for them. To this person I would say, this is exactly the book you need to read next. I think it was Tim Keller who said before that if you think you fully understand the gospel then you don't, and if you think you don't fully understand then you probably are beginning to get it. The fact is our hearts are so inclined towards our own self-righteousness and the preservation of our autonomy that we forget the realities of the gospel. Therefore we must regularly revisit, and truly, as Bridges contends, preach the gospel to ourselves on a daily basis.

I appreciate Bridges emphasis upon Christ' righteous life (chapter 3 & 4) as the basis for our righteousness. In addition, his clarity with respect to the substitution of Christ in the atonement is refreshing (ch. 5, 6, 9, 10).

As a pastor I am always searching for good books to recommend for both small group and personal settings. The Gospel for Real Life is such a book. If you are familiar with C.J. Maheney's book Living the Cross Centered Life, this is similar, only it is more detailed and intricate theologically. But this theological depth does not diminish its readability and practicality, and this is really what makes this book such a gem.

This is a great time here in the early days of the new year to resolve to be more gospel centered every day, by preaching the sermon of Christ's sacrifice to your own heart each day. This book is a great tool to equip, refresh and sustain you to this end.

Churches need this book. Bridges writes about very weighty theological topics in a very succinct and simple manner. It has been said that to really grasp something is to be able to communicate it simply. Bridges must really understand the gospel. Through beautiful story-telling, pointed analogies, and soul-stirring metaphors Bridges makes deep truths easily understood.

The principle behind this book and its Christ-centered, gospel-loving nature will make this a timeless classic. It causes the reader to want more. More of the gospel and more of our Savior. It reminds us that the gospel is meant for every day. To truly apply the principles in this book would revolutionize our individual lives and our churches.

What I Disliked:

"Dislike" is probably too strong of a word. One of the greatest qualities in this book is also one of its most distracting. The simplicity of this book can cause the deeper reader to get a tad bored. The material is wonderful and Bridges writes in such a way to combat that. It is probably more a reflection of my own heart and not being in awe of the great work of Christ as I ought to be as it is Bridges writing. Nonetheless, the reader does have to stay focused. This book is better read reflecting on a chapter at a time. Unless of course it is new material, then soak it up and read it three times over.

Should You Buy This Book?

Yes. Pastor's buy a few for your congregation. Lead a study on this. It does have a study guide in the back. This would be very fitting for a small group. Buy one and live by it.

this is the most thorough and understandable explanation of the Gospel I've ever heard. jerry bridges is a great man of God who obviously has lived his life and studied the Scriptures in such a way as to know these truths deeply! this book is insightful to mature believers, thorough to young believers, and explicit and clear to the seekers...great for anyone!

Jerry Bridges is one of my favorite authors. His writing is always clear, concise, saturated in Scripture and very edifying. The Gospel for Real Life is certainly no exception. Bridges gives his straight forward and simple thesis in the preface: "This book is not meant to be a theological treatise. To borrow an expression from the collegiate world, it is intended to be `Gospel 101.'"

Bridges' burden in the book is to help the Christian reader fully understand the gospel so that they can preach the gospel to themselves, everyday. Why? Because he is convinced that there are many sincere Christians in the church today who have a deep, troubling, yet private anxiety about their relationship with God.

He tells of a ministry colleague of his who "recently confessed that he felt overwhelmed and anxious even in the midst of fruitful ministry." He quotes Richard Lovelace to articulate the problem: "below the surface of their lives [they] are guilt ridden and insecure...[and] draw the assurance of their acceptance from God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience." Where does this come from? Bridges contends that it flows from an inadequate view of the gospel.

Therefore, Bridges seeks to unfold the riches of the gospel of Christ in 15 chapters, discussing gospel essentials such as the depth of our sin, justification, atonement, Christ's sacrifice, reconciliation and the imputation of Christ's righteousness, just to name a few. He finishes the book with a final chapter (chapter 16) focusing on our responsibility to take this glorious gospel to the world. This responsibility, however, is not a duty to be done out of slavish fear or mere obligation, but an act of loving obedience in response to the glorious grace revealed in the gospel-the gospel that he labored to help the reader understand in the previous 15 chapters.

Personally, I have already read this book twice and I plan to read it again. It is very refreshing and strengthening. It keeps me away from the tyranny of trying to earn my righteousness and from the soul killing power of legalism. It is a simple book, and, as Bridges explains, not a theological treatise. But God help us if we think we are "beyond" such things. This is a book for baby Christians and seasoned theologians alike because it brings us back to where we are to constantly remain: relying fully on Christ and His gospel.

The great Florida hurricane of 1935 came as no surprise - in Key West Ernest Hemingway had enough warning to secure his boat and house against the storm - yet superintendents in three nearby government work camps did almost nothing to evacuate the men in their charge. Phil Scott details these days of calamity when the Keys were hit by one of the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S: Hemingway's Hurricane: The Great Florida Keys Storm Of 1935 uses eyewitness accounts to detail these days of calamity and reconstruct the events in each camp as the hurricane made landfall. The probe of the underlying problems involved in evacuation procedures holds plenty of drama and meaning for today's residents.

The hurricane that hit the Florida Keys in 1935 is still listed as the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the US. It is estimated to have had 200 mph winds and although it's eye was not large, the power of this storm surpassed anything imagined.
The victims numbered 423 known dead, 259 of them were veterans of World War I. These men had been "employed" to build a highway connecting the Keys all the way through to Key West. It was a "make work" program seemingly designed to remove the veterans from the spotlight in Washington D.C., like a splinter in the FDR political eye. The veterans had been marching on Washington and camping there demanding pay bonuses that had been promised to them. Many were in desperate situations with the Depression in full form. Sending them far away to the Keys to work and make money must have seemed like the answer to everyone's desires. Tragedy was to unfold.
In September of 1935, as the veterans labored on, the Weather Bureau was tracking a tropical storm that would become the most intense hurricane in US history. Due to a lack of coverage in many areas, the path of the storm had to be projected, leaving room for error. Even so, warnings were put out to the Keys and while locals begin to make preparations, the veterans had no prior experience with hurricanes. They depended on their camp director and other in charge to make the evacuation decisions, which was to include sending a train to remove them from the path of danger. Decisions were either made to late or not made at all and the train would not arrive in time. The train itself, would be washed off the tracks and nearly washed out to sea. 259 veterans would loose their lives.
While there are amazing parallels between this storm of 1935 and Katrina, there are also striking differences. The forecasters urgently warned about Katrina, a more direct and well broadcast warning than in 1935. In both storms people waited to be evacuated by others for a variety of reasons. While the reasons are varied, the reality is that government is not all powerful nor is it capable of dealing with huge scale evacuations. When individuals give up their personal responsibility, the results will be haphazard and even deadly as is proven true in both these hurricanes. When those directly in charge fail to take reasonable steps to protect the very lives they are charged with protecting, the result will be disastrous. In this case the camp director in 1935 and the Mayor of New Orleans seem to have a lot in common.
This is a vivid account of the 1935 hurricane. The stories of the victims and survivors as their island is virtually swept clean, inundated by the storm surge is intense and electrifying. These are stories that have a depth of emotion that was not expected from men who had become inured to hardship and death in WWI. The attempted downplaying of the disaster for political reasons is stunning. While the role of Ernest Hemingway seems nearly minute, he did draw attention to the plight of the veterans.
Phil Scott has written a clear and vivid account of a disaster in the making and the lives that were battered and destroyed. The politics and the human faces of the intrepid veterans combine to form a story well worth the reading.

I found this book to be a wonderful blend; part history lesson, part Political overview and to a large part, tragedy.

Phil Scott concisely provides the necessary background for a complex period in American history, and deftly sets the stage for the main event.

The "Back story" he tells of the forming of the Veterans Bonus Army, the March on Washington DC, and their dispatched to the Florida Keys as much to get them out of the way as to build a Highway across the Keys, is a story in itself. Once we understand the circumstances of their situation, it almost seems inevitable that they will be abandoned in their time of need.

The author does a marvelous job of introducing us to a variety of characters, from many of the imperiled vets, to the seemingly clueless men responsible for their safety, and the locals, like Ernest Hemingway who were forever changed by this tragedy.

While there certainly are parallels with the mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina, I believe this story is compelling, and stands well on its own merit. And while the Gulf Coast in 2005 had advanced knowledge of the terribly destructive force bearing down on it, the hundreds of veterans in their "temporary" housing on the Keys had very little warning of the Category 5 hurricane that would send hundreds of them to their deaths.

I heartily recommend this book to readers with an interest in the History of this period, Hurricane's as a force in nature, or anyone simply looking for a gripping,highly readable and true story of how quickly things can go wrong.

I've never had an interest in visiting the Florida Keys, nor truly understood the plight of post World War I veterans -- even though my grandfather had been one -- but with the publishing of Hemingway's Hurricane by Phil Scott, I found myself caring. I now want to visit the Keys and explore, where this amazing tragedy took place, and to see first-hand just what it meant to span approximately 130 miles of water and islands by both train track and roadway. Scott's book provides both the necessary exposition to pave the way, while building suspense for the pending storm, much like those of us in television land find ourselves checking cable channels for updates on where and when storms will hit in the present day. From the building of a rail line as early as 1912 (the year the Titanic sank), known as Flagler's Folly, all the way to Key West to the semi-permanent Hooverville encampments and Bonus Marches near the White House during the Depression years, which encompasses public dissatisfaction with the federal government
(long before the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam Anti-War activities occupied our nation's attention), this book truly prepares the reader for nature's destructive force. Scott also manages to draw the reader in long before Ernest Hemingway enters the picture, but the Hemingway angle helps make a timely connection between gross
negligence in 1935 and the equally unexpected results of 2005's Hurricane Katrina
and the combined slow response from today's federal, state, and local governments.
I always expect my high school English and journalism students to "extend the text" to seek connections and meaning outside of the printed pages. For this reason, I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about how our government operates. There are lessons to be learned here, even if the events took place 70 years ago. And although the book moves quickly, I find myself stopping to check one or both of the two maps detailing both the Florida Keys and placement of the work camps, plus I find myself delving into the internet to pursue further inquiry. I do this because Scott's narrative and depth of information has given me reason to care and explore further this fascinating true story.

Phil Scott's book, "Hemingway's Hurricane" is a quick and good read about the century's most powerful hurricane....the category 5 storm that smashed into the Florida Keys over Labor Day weekend in 1935. Finished before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Scott's book takes on a narrative with some unintended consequences and supreme ironies.

Set as a timeline, the author briefs the reader well with his background of the Bonus Army of World War I veterans, their 1932 march on Washington D.C. and the veterans' subsequent detour to the Florida Keys, courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, to give them low-paying jobs. "Hemingway's Hurricane" centers around these hundreds of veterans, their work in the Keys (much of it building roads) and the misfortune they had at being directly in the path of the hurricane. Scott relates all of this in a nicely paced way. Yet two things stand out in his book....there's very little to do with Ernest Hemingway....he makes not much more than a minor appearance at the beginning and at the end, so the title of the book is confusing. The author also provides too many cameo appearances by others who were part of the storm and the recovery. Fewer characters with more time spent with them would have increased my enjoyment of Scott's work.

Yet it is the comparison to Katrina, not mentioned in "Hemingway's Hurricane" that makes for the unintended attraction. The 1935 storm had its own version of FEMA (FERA) and a major player, Fred Ghent, the director of the veteran's camps, who was the Michael Brown of his day. His decision not to get a relief train down in time to evacuate the veterans was one of the worst miscalculations of the storm. It's almost as if we can hear FDR saying, "Ghentie, you're doin' a heckuva job!" Perhaps the oddest and saddest comparison is that Katrina, hitting Louisiana almost seventy years to the day after the Keys hurricane, underscores that government hasn't come all that far in preparedness, rescue and recovery.

"Hemingway's Hurricane" is a good book but not a great one. However, Scott's attention to detail make it worth the read and the story is one that has needed to be told.

Great book, full of very interesting information about all the great horses that contributed so much to my childhood enjoyment !! Wonderful photo's, very good research in this. I love horses and movies, what a great combo !! Well written !!

This book is fabulous. All my horse-crazy friends and I oohed and ahhed and squealed with delight as page after page brought great photos of all our horsey heros and heroines before our enchanted eyes. The text is well-written, informative and very entertaining. You couldn't do much better as a gift for a horse-loving baby-boomer who grew up with all these famous equines and their two-legged companions.

Petrine Day Mitchum's book is more than exciting and informative. It's a tribute to all those horses who carried all those actors, and sometimes even carried the movies, too. They are the heroes of this book, and she presents them as individuals of courage and intelligence who so often suffered to bring us our thrills, from Ben Hur's chariot race to John Wayne jumping his mount over a fence and waving his hat in farewell. So many of our top movie memories include these animals. It's time they received the attention and respect - and the thanks - that they deserve. Gerald DiPego, Santa Ynez, California

This is one of the most well researched books I have ever owned. Not only is it beautifully written, the photographs are a delight. I cannot imagine anyone who loves movies not loving this book. It is a wonderful tribute to those responsible for the care and training of horses for film and for the great actors with whom they shared the big screen. This book is an absolute must for your collection!

Been looking for a good resource for trivia and information about the horses from various TV shows and movies. This is it. Some wonderful pictures accompany the informative text. This is a good compilation for anyone who loves horses and remembers them from the TV or Movie screen.

I'm heading to Bali this month and this book provided a great intro to the customs and nature of this island. I'm even more excited to get there after reading it.

I am Balinese and live in Ubud, about 10 minutes walk from where Colin McPhee stayed, when he came to Bali in 1931. My aunt worked for him.

He heard a record of gamelan music in New York and couldn't wait to get to Bali to listen to the real thing.

He stayed in Bali for almost 8 years and set about documenting gamelan music. Much of his research was carried out in a village near Ubud where my Villas are. There are still old people in the village who remember him.

His book is beautifully written and tells stories of his adventures and life in the village and his encounters with the local Balinese. It's not necessary to understand technical music matters to enjoy this book - it is totally accessible.

Highly recommended.

I first heard Gamelan was coming out of the oldest temple on the Island of Bali, near Ubud, and was reading this book at the time. I purchased the book at the Jakarta airport and was hooked by the first paragraph. I think that this is a wonderful, insight into the island, the music, it's people and culture. If you have a love for exotic music and or artform, this historical work is a captivating read. My only regret is that Colin McPhee never went back to his beloved Bali.

It's a very interesting book in regards to what I have actually read. It seems to have accounts on Balinese culture. I found it enjoyable and interesting to read because it not only talks about Balinese culture but about the conflict and clashes within the village like the little dancer named Sampih and his dance teacher Nyoman Kaler.

Colin McPhee conveys many interesting things like when bad luck happened in his home in Sayan and how they had to do a purification ceremony in regards to dispel the demons, witches and evil spirits. His wanderings in Bali to record music and study their music like the rare gamelan angklung and gamelan selonding from Tenganan who were the Bali Aga. Colin McPhee was drawn to the scintallinating sounds and metallic shimmer from the gamelan. At times there are humours accounts of what goes on between him and his friends that happen in the village or when they are touring around Bali. I found it enjoyable because, he seemed to have fitted in well with the Balinese people without too much problems compared with other writers before them spoke of barbarity and the animal like behaviour of the Balinese at certain functions. He writes with passion about what goes on and how things have changed with the colonial rule of the Dutch. The loss of autonomy by the Rajas who were reduced to poverty at times and how their obessions with cockfighting led to their ruin. Yet in times of despair and hardship they are always humble to him.

Overall the book contains a few photographs of his friends and colleagues. I found it wonderful and intriguing and as well as captiviting at times which he covers so many topics like the temple functions like Galungan, Wayang Kulit (Shadow Plays), the music club etc... This book you will grow to love like the book written by Miguel Corrovabias "Island of Bali".

Even as the art & tradition of classical gamelan music fades in Java, gamelans are built & organized in America & Europe, the music is studied & taught in universities. This has occurred since the 70's, when recordings of gamelan music became widely available, particularly in a major series on Nonesuch Explorer. For many people, hearing gamelan for the first time is not only a delightfully exotic experience, the music unlike anything one has heard, but there is often also a strange shock of recognition, as if one somehow already knew the music, although where & how remains a mystery. Perhaps this is what happened to Colin McPhee. For McPhee in 1930, as for so many western musicians since, hearing gamelan inspired something like a religious conversion.

I was given an old copy of this book shortly after I heard gamelan for the first time, & so I was able to follow McPhee on his great adventure to find where the music came from. When he arrived in Bali, he discovered that although the culture was vibrantly alive, much of music was in danger of being lost. He met, befriended, & studied with some greatly talented Balinese musicians, old masters & several younger composers & leaders, including Wayan Lotring & Made Lebah. They set about restoring a Semar Pegulingan gamelan. The task of bringing this music back to life is the "plot" of the "A House In Bali." McPhee quickly realized that his western musical training was of limited value, because the "values" of music - technically & culturally - in Bali were so different. Music had popular, ritual, & concert functions, as in the West. But the music was inseparable from the instruments, & each collection of instruments - each gamelan, was unique. Compositions were learned by rote, in phrases, with the gamelan functioning as a kind of all-ages social club for men. McPhee had to become, as best he could, a person of Bali, a villager, someone with a place & a role in the life of the community. He recounts his immersion in Balinese life, As strange as Bali was for McPhee, he was the "stranger," the outsider, & he remained one, oddly indifferent to what the Balinese thought of his lifestyle. Most inexplicably, he seems not to have become a gamelan musician. One wonders not only how he resisted this experience, but also why?

McPhee later attempted to translate Balinese music into a western idiom using pianos & a symphony orchestra, with beautiful results, but losing what he had learned in the process, Sadly, when he returned home, he had left the most important stuff behind.

John Matlock's review echoes my own feelings. Alex Nibley gives a touching
insight to aspects of Dr. Nibley's character that are, to say the least,
interesting. The text is excellent; the illustrations plenteous; all
adding to the readability and supplementation of a glimpse into the life
of Hugh Nibley.

I had more fun reading this book than any book I've read in a while. A reader who doesn't have knowledge of The Church of Jesus Christ (Mormon) to which Nibley belongs would probably not find this book interesting.

However, for someone who is familiar with Nibley's many and varied writings this book is very entertaining and informative, much like Nibley himself.

Criticisms of the book are the following: 1. The author alternates chronological chapters with topical chapters and it is sometimes difficult to remember what part of Nibley's life you are reading about. Similarly, this means that many parts are redundant.

2. I would like to have heard more about Nibley's political adventures. As a student at BYU from 1977 to 1988 (nobody ever accused me of being overly bright)you could always count on Nibley to support the Democratic candidate. Usually Nibley would give them permission to hand out a pamphlet he had written that was something about a parable of giving up our birthright. My roommates and I read this thing several times and never could quite figure out what Nibley was getting at. But we always felt vaguely guilty when we were done.
3. The author several times stated as if it were fact things like "conservative extremism continued to characterize BYU and Mormon culture". Having been part of Mormon Culture and BYU for many of those years, this is not true. There were professors like Reed Benson, son of Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, who worked as a Birch society coordinator but most of these people were the ones most likely to agree with Nibley. J. Reuben Clark could not have been more anti-war. Skousen, Reed Benson, H. Verlan Andersen (future general authority, author of "Many are called, but few are chosen", and Utah legislator) and others were among those most likely to agree with Nibley. The Conservatives on campus always complained that the University tilted too far leftward. And as a Biology major, that department's leftish slant was no less prominent than the Department of Religion's rightward slant. Having attended and visited numerous colleges since then I consider BYU the school with the most academic freedom, something Nibley no doubt recognized and benefited from.

Also, I would like to have heard a little more about the travails of Nibley being treated like a Rock Star. Every dubious wacko on campus at one time or another would show up at Nibley's office or home and it was always amazing to me that Nibley not only didn't call the police but would treat everyone well and answer their questions. Nibley was truly a man of the people. At the "One Eternal Round" lecture a few years ago Nibley was almost mobbed afterward with autograph seekers and confidantes who wished to tell Nibley what their latest "research" showed.

The greatest strength of this book is the author's obvious great love and respect for this great man. He shares letters and viewpoints that simply would be unavailable to anyone other than a family member.

The author also does a wonderful job summing up Nibley's articles, ideas and research - something very difficult to do and it shows the author has quite an intellect of his own.

Lastly the author did a wonderful job of getting at primary sources that interacted directly with Nibley - much like Nibley's scholarship.

Overall, this book was simply wonderful, entertaining and thoughtful.

I have read many Latter-day Saint Bios, and many non-LDS one's, and this is the best of them all. Boyd Petersen is remarkable in his writing style, presentation, scholarship, and detail. I imagine that if there were a college class on "How to Write a Good Bio," this book would be the manual! It truly does not get any better than this! There really is no better source about this man than this book; and you would be hard pressed to find it in any better presentation!
Hugh Nibley may only be an LDS known scholar, but when it comes to a man's legacy and impact upon the world around him, you would be hard pressed to find another as successful and powerful as Nibley. In this honest and 'bare all' approach, Petersen allows us the glimpse into the life of a man whose intellect and impact rivals any other man or woman who has ever lived. The reader quickly becomes aware of the fact that they are reading about a life that will have forever changed the world. "Hugh Nibleys" only come around once in a while. He is a man that could, and did, raise the level of scholarship, study and human knowledge. He could have been anything he wanted. If you are looking for a book that is well written and about an amazing subject... this book is for you.

In my next life... I want to come back as Hugh Nibley, or at least have his brain! Perhaps, the most brilliant man of our day!

With Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life, author Boyd Peterson has produced of the most fascinating biographies I have ever read. I had been an avid reader of Hugh Nibley's writings ever since 1975, when a LDS member in a branch in Kendall, England, loaned me a copy of his 1957 work, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. Nibley's astonishingly wide ranging erudition, brilliant prose, fascinating insights, and blew me away, and I have continued to read and draw on his work and example for 30 years. I looked forward to reading the biography for many years, and enjoyed the publication of several chapters in a variety of LDS academic journals, and I talked with Peterson for a few moments after he had given a presentation on Nibley's WWI experiences at a symposium in Salt Lake City. The long wait for the book was worth it. The book is a clear-eyed labor of love, and a masterpiece in its own right.

Peterson's introduction to Hugh Nibley came via his marriage to Zina Nibley, Hugh's youngest daughter. He began working on the biography over a decade ago, gathering correspondence, diaries, conducting interviews with family, friends, acquaintances, over many years. He documents everything, footnoting his sources for everything, obviously influenced in this approach by the man himself. (In contrast, Martha Beck's recent book footnotes nothing, and the difference in commitment shows. At one point Beck refers to the biography of her father, but it is clear that she only read the page that mentions her accusations against her father-in Peterson, page 400. All of the key claims that she makes about Hugh's state of mind, financial situation, beliefs, and scholarship, are contradicted and amply documented in Peterson's biography. For example, when she claims that he couldn't job outside of BYU, Peterson records several occasions when Hugh was offered much more money to go elsewhere.)

Daughter Zina, Peterson's wife, includes a fascinating introduction, consisting of 12 vignettes designed show what it was like to grow up as Hugh Nibley's daughter. Considering the hoopla over the recent publication of Martha Nibley Beck's expose, Leaving the Saints, Zina's chapter here offers a fascinatingly different portrait of Hugh Nibley as a father, from one was only 18 months younger than Martha, who slept in the bottom bunk under where Martha slept until she was a teenager. For instance, in vignette 10, on page xx, "She comments that "Daddy bought the big colorful French comics at BYU's bookstore, and read them to Martha and me as bedtime stories. He would point to the words and illustration details and talk about them; not just the story plots and the history, but also the language, explaining French pronounciation, and how much more regular the spelling is in Latin languages that are conservative, compared to English, which since it borrows words from so many sources, has an irregular spelling system. When I got to first grade, I couldn't read very well, but I sure could misspell." And she concludes, building on a memory of her daddy pushing her in a swing hanging from a tree limb, "Growing up with Hugh Nibley as a father, I learned this: the world, with all its exhilaration, giddiness, and danger, is actually pretty safe, as long as you are on a course that strong ropes and sturdy knots and unmovable, unshakable faith pushing you higher. Then all you have to do is hang on tight."

The biography proper continues with accounts of Hugh Nibley's Scottish ancestry, and his early life in Oregon. From there, Peterson begins to alternate biographical chapters with thematic chapters. For example, there are chapters on "Hugh Nibley as a Social Critic" and "Hugh Nibley as a Naturalist", "The Clown of Professions: Hugh Nibley and Scholarship", "Hugh Nibley and War" and "The Home Dance: Hugh Nibley Among the Hopi," "Taking Himself Lightly: The Wit of Hugh Nibley." All of these are fascinating in themselves, even though this approach brings some repetition, the different focus adds to the flavor of the volume, and shows the range of Nibley's interests, influence, and thought.

The biographical chapters all contain rich details, observations, and interesting stories. We get the account of Hugh's NDE, his LDS mission to Germany in the 1930s, his six weeks alone in the Oregon forests, his UCLA education, his joining the army in WWII, experiences in intelligence, and in combat with the 101st Airborne Division at Utah Beach, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and his experience of the war's aftermath.

In contrast to Martha's scanty gossipy speculations about Hugh's mother, here we get a fully drawn portrait, drawn from interviews and letters. Hugh's wife, Phyllis, also comes across as a fully rounded personality, with her own interests and distinctive strong character compared to the reduction to beehive hairdo, and sock-puppet witness that appears in Leaving the Saints. We get the legendary story of Hugh's courtship (his decision to marry the first girl he met at BYU, who turned out to be Phyllis) and the development of a growing family.

Peterson includes both biographical and survey chapters discussing Hugh Nibley's scholarship on the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Temple in antiquity. All of these chapters show an excellent grasp of Hugh thought and work, as well as the critical responses to it, and the impact it continues to have on the larger LDS community, and beyond.

Every reader will have favorite passages. I was fascinated by the friendship between the Yugoslavian basketball star, Kresmir Cosic and Hugh Nibley, as well as that between Nibley and Egyptologist Klaus Bayer. I have been touched and inspired by his discipleship and commitment as well as his scholarship. Peterson concludes by discussing that "Not only is the private man consistent with the public man, but Hugh's actions have been consistent with his words." A brilliant book. A fine tribute and an important account of a fascinating man.

This is one of the best biographies I have read in years. Bios can be hard to write (or read) because covering a whole life is not easy to do. I think Boyd Petersen does a great job here. Every other chapter is devoted to teachings of Hugh Nibley. This provides a great balance to the story since teachings make up such a big part of Hugh Nibley's life. Hugh Nibley has lived a most fascinating life. I would rank this right up there with great biographies of the prophets (such as Ezra T. Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley and Spencer W. Kimball). I can't quite get through all of Nibley's most scholarly work, but I appreciate much of what he has given to the LDS community, the best book being "Approaching Zion". Read the biography - and if you read any book of Hugh Nibley's, read "Approaching Zion".