Benedict Books

These 120 single-page readings are taken from the work of Father Benedict a popular speaker and writer who has spent years ministering to troubled youth and needy families in the South Bronx. The work is best suited to short sessions, allowing time digest the reflection, perhaps choosing meaningful words, phrases, and images to contemplate over time. It would be especially useful for a faith-sharing group looking for fresh discussion-starters. Fr. Benedict reaches out to us through personal stories, reflections on scripture or writing of saints, prayers, and general observations. Samples of this last category include, "Our essential task is not to do things for God, but rather not to resist God's trying to do good things for us," and "A saint is just a sinner who is more repentant than most of us."

In the reading entitled "Give Me Wheels," Fr. Benedict lays bare our human frailty when it comes to accepting the will of God. It is pride, he says, that prompts us to say to God, "I am willing to do everything you want, God, but could I make a suggestions? I'll carry the cross, but preferably something with wheels on one end, and a nice little shoulder pad."

This book contains 120 brief, yet inspirational readings from Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R, who has long been known as a spritual leader. Fr. Benedict has overcome many situations in life and has lived with courage and love - this book contains 120 one page passages that can be used to jump start your own day. Whether or not you're acquainted with Fr. Benedict's writings, you will find hope and strength for the journey in his words. Start or end your day with this book and Fr. Benedict, and you'll be motivated to be a better, more loving, more prayerful person.

Very good and a quick read. Very interesting analogy comparing the rules of St. Benedict and the rules applied today in successful corporations. I have enjoyed all of the authors books.

More than 1500 years ago, St. Benedict created a Rule to organize the Roman Catholic monastic communities of Europe. Now in St. Benedict's Rule For Business Success, Quentin R. Skrabec Jr. has adapted the Benedictine Rule to apply to entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and business managers by offering them an approach to the eliminations of negativity in their organizations; develop teamwork; utilize cooperative advantages; integrate work and spirituality, become more self-actualized; and constructively build an enduring knowledge-creating enterprise.

Note: This is the same book that is published by TAN books, except "Hero of the Hills" has been added to the Vision Book title.

There is not a Religios book in the world like this the auther took all the facts and turnd saint benidicts life into a naritiv like it is realy happining while you are reading it. this book is a real page turner and once i started i couldent stop just like the harry potter series. I hily recomend this book to people interested in monastic life, the life of saint benidict, the catholic church, miricals, or even somone who just wants to read a good book as rare as this one. believe me this book is worth reading.

As the title implies this book is about Benedict Arnold's treason. I liked this book; it is short, a very quick read and it sheds light on one of the most critical events on the revolutionary war. Had Arnold succeeded, the revolution might have been dealt a mortal blow. Actually, only about one quarter of the book is specifically about Arnold's attempt to sell out West Point and the American cause. Half the book consists of brief biographies of Arnold and John Andre. This not only gives us background information about the principle participants, but also gives valuable insights into why they did what they did. Information about Arnold can be found in several books, but information about Andre is considerably scarcer. Had Andre acted differently he might have been able to avoid the hangman's noose. Arnold's motivation has been a puzzle for over 200 years. While this book does not provide the definitive explanation, it does cover all of the possibilities. There is also a chapter on Washington's reaction and the controversy concerning his pushing for, and approving of, the death penalty for Andre. He could have used his power of executive clemency to save Andre, and indeed almost all of his subordinates who came in contact with Andre wanted him to do this. However, Washington felt that he must exhibit firmness and that any sign of weakness could lead to an unraveling of his army and the American cause. He also must have felt personally betrayed, as he was one of Arnold's few supporters in the American government. If he could have, he would have gladly exchanged Andre for Arnold and he made this proposal to the British. Much as General Clinton would have like to do this, he felt that he could not do it, for reasons discussed in the book.

J.E. Morpurgo proves himself to be an expert on American studies with this work. The book thoroughly discusses both sides of the treachery act and gives a detailed account of the events leading up to the giving up of West Point. Morpurgo writes with a perfect mix of intelligence and colloquialism.

This is a very beautiful and brilliant account in virtues. If you are a Christian, ya gotta strive to get it right. If your a Buddhist, the same is true. If your Jewish, live it! Whatever the Faith of any Individual, it must be reflected or attempted to be driven towards the reflection of their life experiences. Not too much to say about this book except that it needs to be read! It needs to have an impact on the lives that it comes in touch with. Otherwise, what's the point in pretending to be someone your not or don't care to be?

The Yes of Jesus Christ Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

This book, which contains spiritual exercises on Faith, Hope, and Love, was first written by Ratzinger for a retreat he conducted in Collevalenza in 1986. The meditations are very well documented scholarly pieces that
are more "lessons" than "exercises" - lessons written by a master teacher, a professor who enjoys keeping our focus by telling stories and introducing us to fresh insights into "old" concepts. I will relate a few of the ideas Benedict presents.

In the early pages he suggests that we need to learn the "skill of skills" or the "act of being human". Benedict posits that as people we are very good at making things and of dominating the world that God gave us. We, however, are miserable at the art of existence. Somehow we "lost" the art of how to live. We seldom even talk about what things and people "are", the very nature of "being".

Benedict relates that often people treat God as the "guarantee of human success", which degrades God. God is never defeated and HE is not diminished in human defeat. Actually God's promises become greater in human defeat, "as love grows to extent the beloved has need of it."

In his section on Love, Cardinal Ratzinger begins to establish the view of love as Eros and agape being natural to the establishment of "real love" that is a true gift from God. This is a clear preview of the encyclical Deus Charitas Est that he wrote as Pope.

Benedict`s insights on the Sermon on the mount, perspective on love and the cross, and attitude toward fear are edifying and increase the value of this work. I recommend this publication, especially for those anxious to grow in their faith in Jesus.

I watched the recent BBC version of the Northanger Abbey story first and loved it. I'm a Jane Austen fan who hasn't read all the novels but I'm working on it. So I got the novel to see how it compared. It was great! I love her humor - tongue in cheek and so witty. But the thing I really want to comment favorably about is the Penguin Classics edition. I get so much background and insight and explanatory information from these editions. I've read 3 of them now and they are marvelous. I've read quite a few novels from this era and it is really helpful to have notes to refer to in the back that explain things.

This is my first Austen novel, and I must say, I don't know what all the hype is about. I thought it was excruciatingly slow at times, and then all of a sudden it was fast and over. Some of the writing was beautiful and poetic, but that is like 5% of the book. The other 95% of the book was pretty boring to me. Maybe I am jaded by all the horror and mysteries I read where I am used to fast paced suspense, but seriously, I would read one chapter a day or maybe two with this book and that was all I could handle, because it would make me tired. I felt no connection with the main character Catherine, and I found myself not caring what happened to her, good or bad. I just wanted the book to be over.

Jane Austen wrote "Northanger Abbey" in the late 1790's, but it was not finally published until 1818, after her death. It is a broad satire of the Gothic Romance novels popular in her day. Its lead character, the innocent young Catherine Morland, is moderately attractive, good-hearted, and highly imaginative, but perhaps the least compelling of Austen's heroines. Nevertheless, Jane Austen's excellent writing gifts are on display in this short novel, which offers some superbly funny dialogue, witty commentary on social manners, and a sympathetic heroine.

Catherine is offered the opportunity to vacation in the resort town of Bath by family friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen. In Bath, she falls in with two people her own age, Isabella and John Thorpe. Isabella is to be engaged to Catherine's brother James, while John, a college friend of James, takes an interest in Catherine. The Thorpes involve the inexperienced Catherine in the social whirl of Bath. They will also provide her with some hard lessons in manners.

Catherine also meets Henry and Elinor Tilney, a brother and sister who introduce her to walks and intellectual discussion. Their father, the imposing General Tilney, invites Catherine to visit the family estate of Northanger Abbey. Catherine eagerly accepts the invitation, in part to stay close to Henry, on whom she has a crush, and in part to see the ancient abbey, sure to be the embodiment of her cherished Gothic Romances.

Catherine's willingness to see dark secrets in ordinary events leads her on a search of the Abbey for clues to the suspected murder of General Tilney's wife. In a gentle confrontation, Henry ends the search, but is not able to save her from the sudden wrath of the General, who banishes her from the Abbey. A heartbroken Catherine is separated from Henry and Catherine, and returned unceremoniously to her home. There, an unexpected visit by Henry Tilney will offer an explanation for what happened at Northanger Abbey and a chance to reunite with the Tilneys.

Readers expecting a story with the heft of "Pride and Prejudice" or "Mansfield Park" may be disappointed. However, "Northanger Abbey" is a fun book on its own terms, very much a Jane Austen product and likely to be enjoyed by her fans. It is highly recommended as an entertaining read.

As a lover of Austen novels, it is well worth reading "Northanger Abby", which was Austen's first (but last published) novel. As her first novel, her writing style is still rough and lacks some of the refinment of her later works, but she still brings her sharp eye for satire and examination of societal/marriage topics. Catherine Morland pales in comparison to later strong heronies like Elizabeth Bennet or Fanny Price, but she's delightful to read and chuckle about her naive outlook on life.

Northanger Abbey is a gem. Jane Austen (1775-1817)has written a charmiing little novel about a charming little lady named Catherine Moreland. Catherine is 15 as the novel begins in Wiltshire. She and the hilariously stupid Mrs. Allen go on a six week trip to nearby Bath to take the waters. Catherine meets the fashionable and fast Isabella Thorpe. Catherine dances with the clergyman Henry Tilney at a ball becoming infatuated with the clever young man. Henry and Catherine share a love for the Romantic Gothic novels of such authors as Ann Radcliff and Fanny Burney. Complications ensue but in the end the couple are wed.
The first half of the novel deals with doings in Bath; the second half is a trip taken by Catherine to the Tilney estate Northanger Abbey. Catherine thinks the house may contain a ghost as she is influenced in her thinking by a vivid imagination fueled by her sensational Gothic reading.
Minor characters are of interest: Captain Frederick Tilney the ladies man brother of Henry; old General Tilney the gruff father of Fred and Henry; Catherine's parents and Eleanor Tilney the kind and lovely sister of the two Tilney boys with whom Catherine forms a solid friendship.
The book includes a spirited defense of the art of novel writing by Miss Austen. It is a light and commonplace tale of young love told with the wit and wisdom of one of England's greatest authors. This less well known Austen novel is a delightful way to become an addict of the spinster from Hawton parsongage!

I have to say this novel is not very interesting due to flat characters and uninspiring plot (at least in the first 2/3 of the book). The writing leaves a lot to be desired, reading it is like reading guidebook to a RPG game, and apparently investigating a lost ship involves talking to a lot of people and asking endless questions.

It also unnerves me that human civilization 10,000 years in the future remains essentially the same as today's US society, that's just not believable. Usually I can suspend my belief in such matters, but unfortunately this book is about archeology so time is a factor here.

However, the author did pull of a twist near the end which, unlike early attempts, caught me by surprise. There're also some interesting knowledge about astronomy and some light humor, which makes the reading bearable.

A very engaging story, perfect for killing a few airplane rides. It's about 50% mystery, 50% sci fi. It all starts with a lady who shows up with a 9000 year old plastic mug (this all set about 10K years in the future), and goes from there. The investigative parts were mostly boring/annoying for me, but the sci-fi aspects make up for it.

Not much to say that hasn't already been written, But want to throw my two cents in on this one because it is a very good novel. McDevitt's story is 9,000+ years in the future and instead of going over board with the descriptions of what a future world is like, he just presents the future in a matter of fact manner. FTL travel is employed, AI's are common. He let's the characters really develop, and the plot carries the water. Nice twists and turns, has a gum-shoe element that works well. Worth reading!

SEEKER is the third novel in the "Alex Benedict" mystery series and won the Nebula Award for best SF Novel of 2006. I found it an enjoyable read.

The "Alex Benedict" novels are essentially mysteries that take place thousands of years in the future. Benedict is a for-profit antiques dealer, along with his incredibly competent assistant Chase Kolpath (who serves as narrator). All of the novels begin with Benedict discovering a long-forgotten artifact, which opens up a mystery about the past that both he and Chase must solve. These novels are formulaic, but extremely well crafted. Mcdevitt is releasing a fourth novel in this series in late 2008.

McDevitt writes these novels in a low-key style, and the pacing is relatively slow. There are many scenes involving the characters having dinner, watching movies, and having philosophical conversations. Most of these scenes are well written, and provide insight into the day-to-day life of Mcdevitt's futuristic society. I found them quite fascinating, but some readers will no doubt be bored with the lack of action or intense drama.

Overall, SEEKER was a fine read and I look forward to the next entry in this series.

In Seeker, Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath have a 9,000 year old cup dropped in their laps by a potential client. The cup proves to be from the Seeker, one of two ships that set out to points unknown in the 27th century with colonists who were trying to escape Earth's oppressive leadership. On the hunt for the Seeker, Alex and Chase wind up visiting numerous locales (actually, it is Chase that does most of the "legwork", a point that does not go unnoticed by the character), all in the effort of tracking down the Seeker. The Seeker has been historically tied to the missing colony of Margolia, which, when the colonists left Earth, they refused to reveal the location of it to those they left behind and, therefore, the colony acquired a mythic status down the proceeding generations, similar to that of Atlantis and other "lost" places. Unfortunately, Alex and Chase's hunt for the Seeker, and ultimately Margolia, attracts some unwanted attention, and soon the pair not only have the hunt for the Seeker and Margolia at stake, but their lives as well.

McDevitt's Seeker follows a pre-established pattern that has worked well for the author in the past...and, indeed, works well for the author this time around as well. The pattern goes something like this: Mystery reveals itself surrounding some historic event or artifact. Characters discover there is much more to the event or artifact than originally believed. Characters traipse around galaxy on the search for clues to solving mystery. Unexpected danger pops up with somebody trying to off the main characters because of reasons that are not specified until near-end of book. Characters defeat bad guys. Mystery is completely solved (sometimes aspects of the mystery are solved earlier in the book) at end of book. Characters survive for the next go-round.

So McDevitt's story's can be a tad formulaic. Who cares?! They are fun to read! And they present a realistic possibility of what our future may hold when we begin to colonize other worlds in this galaxy. I am totally looking forward to reading more of McDevitt's (formulaic) work sometime in the not-to-distant future.

This book is something of a classic of sociology but not a light read. Very briefly, the thesis of "Imagined Communities" is that political nations are the creation of modern communication networks (definition of modern: post-Gutenberg). When one stops to think about it, this insight seems intuitive. After all, how can people relate to other people unless there is first communication among them? In a world in which most people are illiterate and never travel beyond their villages, of course they would not think of themselves as belonging to a great nation of people since they would most likely be unable to imagine such a concept. With widespread literacy, the possibility exists of having communities of people who are not in direct contact with one another. Benedict Anderson takes this insight about nationhood and discusses how these imagined communities of people not directly in contact with one another may be formed. It is not surprising that the nations of Europe have formed around linguistic communities since having a common language facilitates communication. However, a sense of alienation from a ruling class may also facilitate a sense of nationhood, as it did in the Americas in the late 18th century when our founding fathers (and those of Latin America)felt themselves excluded from the political lives of their mother countries. Having the means to communicate throughout their colonies made possible the recognition of common feelings among these colonials. Futhermore, a sense of nationhood may be fostered by a state that creates through its educational system and its media a sense of shared experiences (eg, national holidays, national heroes, and national myths). Prof Anderson also describes how the predecessors of today's European nations "created" their national languages as well as their myths. This is a very sketchy overview of what I believe to be the major points of this book. "Imagined Communities" is not a book which flows easily. I believe that Prof Anderson might have made life a bit easier for his readers had he been able to express himself a bit more clearly. For example, he is describing how a sense of history is essential for the concept of nationhood. In order to think of oneself as belonging to a nation, one must think of oneself as being related to others who share only the circumstance of living at the same time. Furthermore, it is necessary to imagine a different relationship with those who have gone before. Here is a passage describing this idea: "What has come to take the place of the medieval conception of simultaneity-along-time is, to borrow again from Benjamin, an idea of 'homogeneous, empty time,' in which simultaneity is, as it were, transverse, cross-time, marked not be prefiguring and fulfillment, but by temporal coincidence and measured by clock and calendar." I think that this should give some idea of the flavor of Prof Anderson's prose. Is it all worth the effort? I think that anyone who is trying to understand the problems created by 20th (and 21st) century nationalism will not find much help here. A better book for understanding the lunatic-type nationalism which causes so much trouble would be Eric Hoffer's classic book, "The True Believer." However, as a primer for understanding how the modern nation came to exist in the first place, this book does offer some thought-provoking ideas.

Though some interesting and provocative ideas are presented shedding some light on the idea of the rise of nationalism, this was largely a poorly written book that will not add an iota of understanding to what motivates human behavior.

If you want a scholarly introduction to nationalism and its history, this is an excellent book to start with. Anderson begins with a discussion of how the concept of the nation first came into being, with emphasis on the factors that enabled people to imagine communities beyond their immediate surroundings. He then brings in more abstract concepts such as spatial/temporal relations and its relation to maps and museums... well, you'll have to read the book, since he explains it much better than me.

My only complaint is that he did focus much more on Western nationalism than on Eastern- two very different topics. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful introductory text.

Great book! I am using it for academic research and have found it great from a theoretical perspective. That said, it is a bloody brillant read for anyone who is just simply interested in understanding what the big deal is about nations or wanting to just have a more general understanding behind the more everyday realities of what nation and national identity, like pretty much any other kind of social grouping mean.

This short book/long essay offers some interesting insights on nationalism, but is limited by its Marxist-materialist perspective. Anderson obviously knows his history and his typology of three essential nationalisms (the new republics of the Americas in the late 18th-early 19th centuries, popular national revival movements in 19th-century Europe, and suffocating official nationalisms such as the British and Russian empires) is based on the history of capitalism, the development of printing, mass communication, class conflicts, and world trade. Anderson argues that these models were adapted in one form or another in the newly independent nations of Africa and Asia after World War II.
Psychology is the unmentioned elephant in the drawing room. There is no consideration of group/crowd psychology or built-in human aggressiveness and territoriality, the human need to define oneself in a group in opposition to others, or the way that nations are felt by many people to be a kind of family, with rulers as parent figures. The absence of psychology causes Anderson's argument to run out of steam toward the end, when he offers only a few pages about patriotism and racism, and here becomes shallow and unconvincing.
Some nation-states are no doubt very artificial (as Anderson's "imagined" title suggests), and borders between countries are often artificial. But cultural and linguistic differences between groups are very real. Anderson recognizes the importance of language differences. At one point he quotes a distinguished Indonesian author, leaving the quote untranslated. (Are we supposed to be impressed because Anderson reads Indonesian and we, presumably, don't?) However, Anderson does not give much consideration to cultural (including religious) differences, other than some mention of this issue in his discussion of Japan and Indonesia.
There are other curious omissions. Anderson does not note that people often have multiple and conflicting loyalties (allegiance to a nation, but also to a region, or to a religion). He never mentions the Roman Empire, says little or nothing about the Arab world, diaspora populations or stateless peoples.
Anderson is an academic writing for other academics. He wants to be quoted and to be considered clever, hence the catchy title. Readers outside academia may become irritated with his gassy, excessively precious and self-indulgent style (phrases like "discontinuity-in-connectedness"). Anderson's references to trendy authors (Foucault, Bakhtin) do not really contribute to his argument and the authors in question are no longer as trendy now as they were in the early 1980s.
This book can certainly stimulate your thinking on this important topic, but will leave many questions unanswered.

This contemporary novel, set in that moment when Al Gore's presidency was a possibility and terrorism seemed a distant threat, reminds us that it was not a perfect world. Nor is ghost writer Sophy Chase a perfect person, but she is an excellent, thoughtful narrator, full of guilt about having torn herself from her ten year marriage to Will, a former CIA operative, but determined to create a new life in New York's Greenwich Village, where she met her lover, Daniel, the only other straight person at an "open" Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. Elizabeth Benedict is a writer who can tell you all this without sounding snide or cliched. Without a word of physical description, we know that the forty-plus Sophy is attractive and engaging; one of Daniel's adopted Vietnamese daughters, Vicki, wants Sophy to move in with her family while her first adopted mother lies in a coma in a nursing home. Sophy already has two adult twin stepdaughters to whom she hasn't spoken since leaving Will, but the most painful part of her life when the book opens is that she will never bear her own children.

Fresh pain arrives with a phone call from the police in the midst of a bout of spirited lovemaking with Daniel. Will's dead body has been found at Swansea, the island off the coast of Massachusetts where he lived year-round, and Sophy leaves right away to find out what happened and to give him the cremation and dignified send-off that he wanted. Suicide is a possibility; he had tried it before. But it might have been a heart attack, or even a murder. An autopsy is soon under way. Sophy discovers she is still married; Will never signed their separation agreement.

It's difficult to categorize this novel. It's more plotted than most literary novels but more literary than your usual mystery. I most admired Benedict's abilty to cast her eye across class and race and sexual orientation without ranking or judging anyone. Sophy's long-ago lover Evan is now a media-savvy defense attorney who lives with his professor wife and seemingly perfect family in one of those lavish homes that dot every resort community now, but he discovers Sophy in despair at the local airport and takes her home in spite of an impending domestic drama of his own. And Benedict also shows us the local working men and women who stay behind when the wealthy take their leave: among them Bert, Will's sympathetic neighbor who owns a gas station, and Crystal, a single mother who lives in a tent during the summer while her winter residence is rented out, and who had a mysterious connection to Will. Then there's Henry, the dog Will got Sophy when they discovered they would never have children. Henry is missing, but Sophy believes he knows what happened to Will, and she's determined to find him.

A sarcastic remark about Will's death by the local bookstore owner plunges Sophy into a tailspin, threatens her relationship with Evan and propels the novel forward through a funeral that Will would have hated. There are dozens of plot turns and cogent observations of the human condition along the way, but Benedict renders Sophy a stronger woman at the end, back in the Village with a story to tell all her own.

I found this book at Half Price Books for $1, read that it was a New York Times "Notable Book" and thought, "What a bargain!" Well, it's going right back to Half Price which is where my books go that I don't intend to keep or recommend and loan to a friend (and there have not been very many!)

At first I was drawn in to the main character and the story, but halfway through I was disappointed. I didn't even finish it but rather glanced through the last few chapters just to see how it ends. The author blends so many different tragedies and suspenseful situations swirling around at once (her ex-husband's death, her battle with alcoholism, her strained relationship with her stepdaughters, her questionable relationship back in NYC, her boyfriend's daughter's disappearance, her ex-boyfriend-turned-friend's scandal involving a mistress and his wife.....) Whew! It was all too much, really. The constant foreshadowing was so contrived it often caused me to roll my eyes with an "oh, please" look. I finally just wanted to get the damn thing over with and move on to something else.

There is a glimmer of a good writer here, but plot lines and characterizations often fall flat. For all the different stories going on, only half of them are resolved at the end. Perhaps that is the way the author's own story ended up (the book is supposedly semi-autobiographical), with loose ends, and I agree with another reviewer that I don't like things tied up hastily at the end just for the sake of it. But I felt cheated, as if many of the characters and subplots were completely unnecessary and didn't add to the book at all.

This could have been a great story about a woman's self-reflection in dealing with death and with love and relationships and the changes they bring in her life. But it fell short, way short, and I'm surprised the New York Times praised this work so highly. At least it only cost me a dollar.

"Low tide. Piping plovers. Sanderlings with their toothpick legs, skittering over the shoreline like wind-up toys on speed." Putting it simply, Benedict is a master of the language. The way she can nail a character, or describe a room, or evoke an emotion with a few very choice words tells you everything you would ever need to know about writing first-rate fiction. This one takes place all over a single very long weekend, beginning with 48-year-old Sophy Chase with her lover in New York when she receives the phone call from the police that her husband, from whom she has been separated for three months, has been found dead back on the island where they had become full-timers. Maybe he committed suicide. If so, maybe it's her fault. It's an apocalyptic catalyst for change in Sophy's relationships with her grown stepdaughters and her lover's Vietnamese adoptees, in the way she sees her own life, where she's been and where she's going. The plot-threads of her intermittant alcoholism, her longing for children of her own, her dependence on a gay male friend, her discovery that she's being upstaged by another friend on the island whose perfect life is facing a marital disaster of his own -- her neediness in general -- all these create a rich narrative fabric. It's often a funny story, but in the sense that the human condition is often funny, if you pay attention. And her characters absolutely ring true. I confess, it's hard for me to read a book like this one without trying to cast it as a film. But with the right screenplay, it would be a terrific flick.

Someone suggested I read this little gem of a book and I am glad I did. I have never read anything by this author and was immediately engrossed in this story. A story well told of coming to grips with ones's life, about love,sex, dissapointment and expectations.

This book is extremely well written and a most enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.

"Almost" is a smartly written book. There are wonderful, succinct descriptions, observations, insights, etc scattered about. Most of these come from the perspective of Sophy Chase, a moderately successful novelist (autobiographical?) , but more importantly "almost" divorced from Will, her husband of ten years.

Sophy is in the midst of a new, highly sensual, relationship with a New York art dealer Daniel that is causing her some concern, when a phone call at an inopportune time informs that Will has died unexpectedly. Her anxiety level is turned up considerably as she is forced to reengage with the world she has just left. She returns to the Northeast island, Swansea. There she agonizes over her involvement in the death. Was it a suicide? What happened to Henry, her dog given as a substitute for children? And there is the added burden of mingling with the society types of the island and their attitudes and problems.

If Sophy is any indication, life for this author is awkward and somewhat unknowable. The story moves in fits and starts as Sophy interacts with ex-lovers, step-children, Will's first wife, and the mysterious Crystal who had dealings with Will shortly before his death and has to deal with her attraction to alcohol.

It is all rather inconclusive. Sophy hardly comes to any great understanding. Her connection to Daniel's adopted Vietnamese daughter Vicki seems to be about the best that she can expect. Ironically, author Benedict, has author Sophy preparing to write a novel about Benedict's story. Got that?

NFL fans beware, this book will shake you to your boots. We've all heard the occasional stories in the press of an NFL player being arrested for this or that, or someone serving time for an offense, but Benedict and Yaeger make a compelling case for much more widespread criminal problems in the league. This book is meticulously documented and brutally direct in accusing the NFL of cow-towing to the bottom line in its circle-the-wagons mentality.

Having read a few books by Mr. Benedict, I am beginning to question his motives. Is he writing for shock value, or is there a darker agenda hidden here? Questionable statistics, and even more questionable conclusions. Singling out a group of men, using anecdotal evidence, and drawing broad conclusions about the group as a whole is somewhat frightening in my opinion. A shameless attack on NFL players that simply promotes prejudice without any enlightening social content in evidence. Pathetic!

folks Make Mistakes what's the Point? Different Cases&Subjects carry different Weight.but The N.F.L doesn't Reflect The General Population.also Most Of The Attack I feel is DIrected African-American Players.funny How Nobody Mentions all the Bad-Boys Of Baseball especially Pre-Jackie Robinson Era? cuz The Wack Racist Author was trying to Make A Point and we Know who it was Directed to? go pick on The Hockey Players that get Paid To Assault each other on the Ice every Night?Yeah I'm waiting for that Book?

Although the authors' statistical methodology may not be perfect, the anecdotal material is hard-hitting. We are not talking mischievous hijinx here. This is some serious stuff. Why is this going on? Why isn't the NFL doing anything? Here are some excerpts:

A featured player's PR guy says: "But he's not any different than a lot of the other guys. He's a highly emotional kind of person, like a lot of ballplayers. You don't become a professional football player without a high level of testosterone running through your body."[p. 38]

The counselor whom the Cleveland Browns asked to counsel an alleged abuser and his fiance told her: "This is [his] lifestyle. He goes out every week and has to basically try to punish people on the field. He'll go after them and try to kill them. A lot of times he can't relate to coming home and not doing that to you when he's upset." [p. 153-154]

Rev. Jesse Jackson says: "By and large, we are seeing the end result of a long line of exploitation... Men being used who come out of very desperate straits, having extraordinary, exploitable, commercial talent. They are put on a pedestal in high school, removed from the earth and its responsibilities. Then they are recruited by the top colleges ... and study less difficult subject matter because they are actually working [for the universities.] These guys have been exploited from the time it was obvious they could jump higher and run faster. Athletes of stature don't walk on the ground and are allowed to play by different rules. Once their use is gone, they are no longer protected. But while they are playing ball, much of their behavior is cushioned. They are insulated from regular rules, attending classes, adhering to regular socializing processes." [p. 170]

So what's the solution? One would be tempted to try to dissuade one's children from idolizing some of the poor role models in the NFL for a kinder, gentler sport like figure skating. But then there's Tonya Harding.

Benedict and Yeager describe a vast array of criminal patterns of dozens of current and former NFL players -- including some hideous and barbaric acts for which certain players suffered far too little (if any!) jail time. Because of the variety and brutality of the crimes described, more than the quality of the writing itself, the book is riveting reading; although there is a strongly sensationalistic, tabloid-style undercurrent to the whole piece which may repulse more careful readers. I finished this book with three outstanding impressions:

1) Far too little attention is given to the successful redemption of specific players who have stopped their criminal ways and become solid, admirable citizens (e.g., "Hollywood" Henderson or Cris Carter);

2) The writes make a convincing argument that the pampering which star players recieve in late childhood immunizes them (in their minds) from consequences for their actions; and

3) The authors clearly intended to be shocking at least as much for their own fame and fortune as for any noble social reform. After all, these criminal records are public, and were already well documented in the popular sports media.

Serious football fans and sociologists alike should read this book to learn of a surprisingly sinister element that is liberally sprinkled among Sunday's heroes. But while reading, cast a healthy dose of skepticism at the intent of the writers.