Burr Books

This new Christmas story will become a classic for those who enjoy a spiritual odyssey with finding out how much Our Savior Jesus Christ loves us. This oversize book has wonderful pictures that tells the story of a ten year old boy finding special gifts at Christmas inside his wooden shoes, which is a German tradition. This boy Walter is mystified on who has left the gifts and then one day, two missionaries appear at his door to bring the news of Jesus Christ to this family and to bring hope to this family and to heal Walter's ailing father. There are traditions in the book to try for Christmas. And, I will be giving this touching book to my granddaughter this Christmas. It even has a place in front for writing a child's name.

I suppose that some of the work in this book, one of a 13 volume set written between 1916 and 1932 (reprinted in the 1960s, has been changed by more recent scholarship, but there is still nothing to equal this fantastic achievement. The set includes not only the more familiar myths such as Greek and Roman, but pretty well succeeds in its goal to include all of humanity. The text is extremely detailed but very readable; none of the turgid prose so often associated with academia. The volumes contain numerous illustrations, both in the text and as plates (mostly black & white.)
One of the most useful parts of the set is the final volume, an extremely detailed index, which allows the reader to pursue a theme, or even a topic as specific as the significance of belts, across all the volumes. The individual volumes do not have their own indices, but the tables of contents are fairly detailed. The books appear to have been issued without dust jackets.

This is a book for specialists, written by an author who is probably the foremost expert on Olivi alive today (aside from writing three books and numerous articles on Olivi, he has also edited some of Olivi's writings -- including some of the more important *quaestiones* of his on *usus pauper*). Peter John Olivi (1248-98) was one of the 14th centuries brightest, as well as quite prolific, thinkers whose writings on Franciscan issues and whose apocalypticism formed the background to the still nebulous 'spiritual' Franciscans.

This book is concerned primarily with the last two decades of Olivi's life, which is the beginning of the *usus pauper* controversy. *Usus pauper*, i.e. 'minimal use', was a concept (probably) implicit in St Francis's view of the Franciscan lifestyle; in particular, Olivi is convinced that it is contained in the vow of poverty. Olivi's contemporaries agreed with Olivi that *usus pauper* is very important in the Franciscan lifestyle, but they could not agree that it is contained in the vow of poverty. The reasons as to why Olivi and many of his contemporaries disagreed sometimes seem obvious, sometimes obscure; e.g., can *usus pauper* be delineated in explicit terms so that one will always be able to tell where the line he's not to cross is? (Olivi says no.) The danger of this position is that many believed that violating a vow entailed a mortal sin -- so if one cannot recognize what does or does not violate *usus pauper*, he could commit a mortal sin without realizing it. (Olivi argues that a minor violation of *usus pauper* is only a venial sin.) Yet I am oversimplifying the whole controversy: those interested in this topic would be better served by actually reading the book.

In this book, Burr also tracks down the origins of the controversy and forms hypotheses as to why this debate took place so long after the Franciscan rule was appoved (1223); toward the end of the work, he notes several ways in which this controversy was to have important repercussions -- particularly in the second and third decades of the 14th century.

As I said before, this is a book with a very specific focus. In terms of achieving what he set out to do, Burr succeeds admirably. Yet this is a book that only a lay reader extremely interested in the history of the Franciscan order would want to read. For most people interested in this topic (yet aren't actually intending to, say, study the mendicant debate on poverty), much better, by far, would be his most recent book, *The Spiritual Franciscans* (2001) for a general, yet detailed, account of the rise and fall of the 'spirituals', in which Olivi (and *usus pauper*), amongst others, figures largely. Another excellent book on an overlapping topic is Malcolm Lambert's *Franciscan Poverty* (1998) -- though good luck ordering it through Amazon!

I asked a well informed friend what philosophy book he might recommend for me to read for a contemporary view of philosophy today. I have had only introductory courses in philosophy. He recommended this book and I was most satisfied with his recommendation. It is a splendid anthology that shows us how philosophy adds to our understanding of the world around us and how to think about abstract and complex subjects. It sheds light on the most fascinating subjects and it inspired me to read more on some of the topics. It covers general topics, each with about a half dozen well written article, in six chapters. Freedom and determinism, God and Religion, Morality an society, State and Society, Mind and Body and, lastly, Knowledge and science. Both sides of each argument are treated when appropriate.
I think the book does the job of making philosophy interesting quite well.
It is well organized, suggests further reading in each chapter, has a glossary, but no index.

This book is great! It's got TONS of ideas for poetry and quotes that can inspire you :) It's a great book for the budding or experienced (as myself) poet! Not to mention, it's thin and can fit into a backpack ! POETRY ANYWHERE! ! If you're a poet expert, or beginner, BUY THIS BOOK!

Usually, the Aztecs show up in some account of the Spanish Conquest and like some instant coffee--presto! Aztecs!

This book shows the Mexicans [the dominant Aztec tribe/clan of the triumviritic Aztec "Empire"] as a real people with a real history. It doesn't make them any more sympathetic [arguably less so, as the authors detail their gruesome religion and their genocidal domination of foreign kingdoms] but it makes them human.

Wonderful and totally engrossing. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys history and wants to know the REAL story.

This didn't get to be a classic by poor talent or poor writing. Back from when shows made you think, Perry Mason still remains one of the best, relying upon real acting instead of shock value. Plots are actually intelligent, and for most of the episodes, the whodunit strategy is logical.

A Rebel To His Last Breath provides the first biography of one Joseph McCabe, a former Catholic priest who became a champion of free thought and rationalism in the first half of the 20th century. Why chart the life of a man largely forgotten today? Because he tackled some of the most controversial issues of spirituality and social issues of modern times, and his efforts and writings continue to influence.

The book consists of two sections, the first 800 pages, contains the translated records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church. Detailed descriptions on names, places and events as well as household affects.
Last section of the book is a catalogue and errata of the records by Burr - added 1919 by the Historical Society

This is an unbelievable story about a woman with faith and solid principles. Her story is truly inspiring and motivating. I can't believe how much this woman accomplished despite many obstacles. This is a story for everyone.