Burton Books

This book was purchased for a friend who has a son, age 12. She just got a dog but was contemplating the pound because the dog was more active than she could deal with. With the help of the book her son was able to teach the dog to sit in just a little over a week. Considering his age and the fact that he has no "dog training experience" I think that was a fairly good accomplishment for both him and the dog. The book was worth every penny.

I never did read of the this book. I just skimmed over it. I bought it for my son whom devoured it rather quickly (considering he just got a new puppy). He keeps telling me tips from the book; some that I knew and other ones that were new. So yes, it is a great read for children who have just gotten a new puppy or close to getting one.

If you have a puppy or young dog, this book is great for your kids who want to help train it. It has great pictures and some neat tricks for the dog to learn.

In my humble opinion... when you title a book "Puppy Training for Kids" it should be written on the level for which the audience is intended. This book is way too complex and dull for children. It has a lot of information in it and is not presented in the best manner. Kids need to be educated in a way that makes it interesting to them. This book made my daughter feel like she was in school. Writing a book and putting photos of kids with dogs does not constitute "Puppy Training for Kids" in my book. It should of been titled "Mommy Please Read This Book and Tell Me How To Train My Puppy" sorry folks

As preparation for a puppy for our 10-year-old son, we had him commit to reading this book first. Each night he read alone, and then we read together. It was not only informative, easy to read and follow, but a great shared time as well! It was the perfect "first" book to introduce our son into the upcoming responsibilities of having a dog. I also realized how neglectful I was in raising our now adult Labrador, and how much I want to re-train her with our son's puppy, too!

A good book. The chemistry between Scott and TNG crew is a wonderful pleasure.

Outstanding work by Michael Jan! As always he delivers an excellent story and makes the characters believeable! A MUST READ!

A good book, which follows the episode closely, with some additional scenes. The audio version even features an intorduction and conclusion from Levar Burton. A must for all ST:TNG book fans!

Star Trek The Next Generation "Relics" is the superb novelization of one of the most beloved episodes from the series spectacular sixth season. The story and teleplay, written by Ron Moore deserves a high amount of praise as he found a wonderful way to write a modern STNG episode and bring "Scotty" forward into the twenty fourth century.

The decision to have Star Trek fiction's most prolific author, Michael Jan Friedman, write the novelization of this poignant episode was a perfect one. "Relics" is his first novelization of an episode and, as he does with his original stories, he does a marvelous job.

As most novelizations go, the important part is adding a little bit more flavor to an already brilliant episode by bringing forth the characters thoughts and throwing in some "between the scenes on the screen" scenes. All of which, Michael Jan Friedman does with perfection in "Relics."

The cover art for "Relics" is, unfortunately, pretty much the standard fare for Star Trek novels with Scotty and LaForge pictures and the original Enterprise herself, which does add a little bit of "something different" to a Star Trek The Next Generation novel.

From the very first episode of Star Trek The Next Generation in which we saw an aged but still vital, one hundred and forty plus year old Dr. McCoy strolling down the hallways on the Enterprise NCC 1701-D with Data escorting him, many fans were wondering which, if any, characters from The Original Series would be making guest appearances. With the fifth season episode "Unification" and Leonard Nimoy's exceptionally well written and performed return to Star Trek as Spock, the fans of the genre were satiated for the moment but still hungry for more. I still vividly remember the barely containable excitement I experienced upon seeing the preview for the following weeks episode and seeing that James Doohan would be making a guest appearance and he would be bringing Scotty, one of Star Treks most beloved characters, into the twenty fourth century. Now it was time for the "how."

The premise:

Captain Picard and crew are headed to their latest mission when they receive a distress signal from the USS Jenolen which is a ship that has been reported missing for seventy five years. Upon coming out of warp they also encounter gravimetric distortions. As they move in they discover one of the most intriguing objects ever written into one of their episodes, a Dyson's Sphere. The Dyson's Sphere is a real theoretical proposal, proposed by Freeman Dyson in which a civilization could harvest an astronomical amount of resources and build a sphere around a star and live within this sphere.

Captain Picard sends Riker, Worf and LaForge over to the Jenolen and they soon discover that the transporter has been locked into a diagnostic cycle and there's a pattern in the buffer. LaForge runs the cycle through and standing there on the transporter pad is a Starfleet legend in one Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott!

As the story progresses, Scotty is suffering the anxiety of feeling obsolete and in the way as he tries to be helpful but only serves to annoy LaForge while he's attempting to carry out the mission given to him by Captain Picard.

What follows from there is not only one of the best episodes ever written and produced for the series but one of the best novelizations written within the Star Trek fiction genre. For those that read Star Trek novels but don't bother too much with the novelizations, they should try this one as Michael Jan Friedman does a superb job with this story and I highly recommend this novel for your Star Trek library! {ssintrepid}

This novel is an adaptation of an episode in the "Next Generation" television show. It is well-written, and any flaws in it are not truly the fault of the author, Michael Jan Friedman, but rather of Ron Moore, the writer of the teleplay for the episode it was based on.

My primary objection, perhaps surprisingly, is not the method of justifying (or even the very fact of) the existence of the character of Montgomery Scott nearly a hundred years after the original Star Trek series; I found myself willing and able to suspend disbelief for that concept. No, what I found troubling and implausible was the characterization of Mr. Scott, and his inability to recognize what he knew, and what he didn't, and to avoid being a danger to everyone when let loose in an engine room.

The man was no fool, and perfectly aware that technology had changed while he'd been "away". And he'd plenty of experience examining unfamiliar, superior technology. He'd not have made the stupid mistakes he was portrayed as making. Nor would he have failed to understand that a chief engineer can't be interrupted while on duty. The entire concept, essential to the story, was an insult to the character. Other than that flaw in characterization, the story was good, and it was a pleasure to see Scotty back in action. I just wish that the creator of the story had had more respect for the character.

If you love Nightmare Before Christmas and manga, you'll love this, too! A unique addition to my son's NBChristmas and manga collections!

This is the Manga version of Tim Burton's masterpiece; A Nightmare Before Christmas. It comes complete with Japanese text SFX and English translation and is even published right-to-left! (which is authentic Manga style). I must say I prefer this way to left-to-right publications. The only downside to this Manga was it was more focused on Sally and her, not Jack. I'm a fan of Jack and reading it all about her disappointed me. But I still bought it to see the Pumpkin Kings reign live on.

I'm a huge NBC fan & I collect just about everything that is related to it that I can afford. When I discovered that there was a manga version of the movie, I was overjoyed & purchased it immediately. While I did enjoy the manga, I just didn't get the same rush from the book that I did with the movie. I can't quite put my finger on why (apart from the lack of music), since the book is a very faithful adaptation of the movie. Perhaps it's because the book is told more from Sally's POV than Jack's or because the black & white artwork (while beautiful) lacks the colors of the movie.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Despite not getting the same rush, I would. It's very well drawn & very faithful to the movie. The plot is very clearly done, so it's possible for someone who's never seen NBC (if such a person exists) to read the manga & know what is going on.

The drawings alone are worth buying this manga. It is also in the traditional Japanese format which makes it 10 X more fun to read. The story is nearly identical to the movie which may or may not be a good thing.

If you're a fan of NBC, you already know the story forward and backward. This is just another interesting way to look at the story. The drawings are very nice. I'm not sure if the dialogs match those in the original movie though. Anyway, I'd recommemd adding this to your NBC collection (and play the soundtrack while reading it if you have one).

Smoking aids (including books) are a waste of time in my opinion.

The right way to quit smoking is to really experience the damage of it - having a lung surgery or experience the sickness\death of a relative. Simple, isn't it?

I bought this book and quit with it successfully in 1990. I'm glad it's still available, as I'm here to order it for a friend. It helped that I didn't have a job at the time so I had lower stress. And actually, it took me several times, even with this book, but IT WORKED. Definitely buy it -- you will save enough in one day on smoking to pay for it. Good luck!

This book is motivating, inspiring, and supportive. After smoking heavily for over twenty years, I managed to quit simply with this one book. It has been four years now without cigarettes, and I occasionally refer back to it for its uplifting thoughts and ideas and am able to apply them to other problem areas. I recommend it highly to anyone who is serious about wanting to quit smoking.

15 years ago I read this book and I haven't smoked since.

The very interesting thing about this book, for me, was that I only bought it because I was looking for something to read while I ate lunch one day, and the only place close to the restaurant was a grocery store. It was this book or a romance novel, and I chose this book.

I had quit smoking before for a year or less. I didn't quit for good before reading this book. I had been smoking for at least 3 years continually, since my prior quit phase. I was completely unrepentent, and had no intention of quitting.

I smoked cigarettes while I was reading the book. Then, when I finished it, I quit smoking, for 15 years now! I don't ever want to start again, and can't believe I ever did smoke.

After I quit for the initial three days, then the initial three weeks, I made note of having quit for 3 months, and then 3 years. I'm looking forward to the 3 decade mark, now!

This book was given to me by a friend of mine when I decided to quit smoking. It helped me to get through the first 21 days informed, and better yet, prepared. Quitting smoking was one of the most difficult things I've done, but I credit this book with getting me over the hurdle. It's been 7 years now and I recommend this book to anyone I hear is trying to quit (and can get their hands on it)!

A real tear-jerker!All of the animals die a tragic death. The book portrays the brutality and disregard that we humans hold for the natural world. BUT we are doing better these days.

This is a reprinting of a book of wonderful stories by Ernest Thompson Seton. But buyer beware. The publisher has excluded all 200 of the author's sketches and drawings that help the stories come alive for both younger and older readers. In addition, the design of the book is amateurish. Type is spread across the page, with extra spaces between paragraphs, nothing like the pleasing style of the original editions. This is a lifeless shadow of an American classic.

When I was growing up in Peru I read the animal stories of Ernest T. Seton with enormous pleasure. I read them in my mother tongue, German, without the slightest idea that they were translated, nor did I place them on the map of the world, I just read them as great animal stories!
I was very delighted to see that he is still in print, still in demand, and that now i can share them with my grandchildren!!!

Seton is pretty well known for his observations of crows. How many words they use, for instance, some are in the story. He watched this particular group of crows for many years, a task made easier because of Silverspot's silver spot. Silverspot's group could tell the difference between someone with a folded umbrella and with a gun, behaved quite differently for the difference.

I gave a copy to a friend who hates to read (and does it quite badly) but who has lived in the country for years and enjoys watching crows.

It got read in one sitting.

Might not work for everybody.

I've read this book way back when I was a kid growing up in Russia. I cried while reading about the pidgeon's fate, was happy when the rabbit was released, filled with respect for Lobo the wolf... It was one of the books that I'll always remember as being one of the greatest collection of stories. The language is simple yet exquisite, and the story flows so smoothly, you can read past midnight and not notice.
Not only that, that book gave me a better understanding of animals - not as we humans tend to humanize animal emotions and actions, but as real animals think and feel. It definitely made me change my perspective on many subjects - my treatment of nature, of animals, even human relationships.
All that when I was in my early teens. All that without any grownup having to "have a talk" with me or me even noticing that I got a "better understanding" of things.

Now that my son is growing up here, I'm getting him his copy of the book, and I'm quite hopeful that it will bring him a lot of enjoyment as well as food for thought.

One of the most frustrating aspects of modern debate is when certain groups make basic conclusive assumptions and then tautologically "support" those assumptions with the appearance of scholarship. Generally they follow that up by accusing their critics of being anti-intellectual.

Boyd does a very good job of pointing out the logical fallacies of the Burton Mack-JD Crossan arguments, which rely on making initial assumptions contrary to all historical records, discounting every source that the majority of scholars through history have studied in detail, leaning heavily on new "sources" (Gospels of Thomas and Peter) that appear to support their thesis of Jesus as some sort of counter-culture new age secular philosopher, and then using those assumptions to "support" their arguments.

Well, I am the Wizard of Oz. If you doubt that, I point you to my arguments to that effect, and my statements, which prove it.

I have read several books on this topic recently. In general, this book was good. The reason I rated it as a 4 instead of 5 is that he sites excellent examples of the historicity of the New Testament, but there isn't really an epilog, where he ties it all up.

Much of the discussions respond to what John Dominic Crossan and other Jesus Seminar advocates say. Greg Boyd begins the book by looking at arguments by Crossan and others, and discusses whether they are historical. I think the author was effective in providing biblical accounts, for the purpose of justifying those events as historical and not just bedtime stories.

One of the most convincing themes I received from the book was the argument about the timeline, which Crossan states must have been around the second century. In the book, Boyd justifies the writings as coming from the first century, around 50-60 AD. Among other reasons for confirmation of this biblical timeline was the destruction of the Jewish temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD. Had the New Testament books been written after that, they would surely have noted such a cataclysmic event in Jewish history, but no mention of that destruction occurs in the Bible.

This book starts with founders of the concepts presented in the Jesus Seminar. Liberal scholars, such as Bultmann, contributed to the way in which Crossan and others think. This book explains the evolution of the views those founders of the Jesus Seminar acquired and then explains why their logic on these issues is flawed.

Overall, the book made me feel more confident about the historical value of the Bible. After reading the book, I think more of the New Testament as documented fact about the time of Jesus. The author reinforces the Bible as a history-based narrative of the events as they unfolded and paints Jesus in a light of being Son of God, who was in fact, raised from the dead.

The title "Cynic Sage" has very specific characteristics, which come from those like Crossan. Boyd again disspells these assertions and shows why such a title is inappropriate for Jesus.

I encourage anyone to read this book.

Regrettably, I read this book hoping to gain another perspective in the name of honest inquiry. Alas, I was disappointed. Just as Crossan gives a rather left-slanted interpretation, so does Boyd give a right-leaning one. Please don't be fooled -- that although, like Crossan, Boyd presents a well-written book, he also fails to offer anything up rather than assumption. Perhaps Boyd's thinking is skewed by his born-again fundamentalism. Perhaps, like many literalists, he allows his own strict conservative views to intervene with his own brand of logic.

In his defense, Boyd should at least be read for the "conservative slant" if nothing else. He does a good job at presenting his audience with a fine example of conservative Biblical interpretation.

If you're a fundamentalist however, you'll probably disagree with my assessment.

This book is a whirlwind of detail and exploration into a very thorny topic of research. Boyd has provided his reader with a very thorough assessment of the quest for the historical Jesus. Boyd includes in this text a delineation of the historicity of what has occurred in the search of the historical Jesus over the last 200 years or so. Boyd has also discussed how these trends have permeated modern scholarship and the detrimental affects which have occured as a result. Several members of the ever popular Jesus Seminar group are discussed at great length, as well as the problems and ramifications of their writings upon higher biblical criticism and in particularly the person of Jesus. In this text, Boyd discusses dating, criticism, interpretation, and trustworthiness of the Biblical texts (i.e. Gospels and the Book of Acts). He has provided his reader with a careful detailed analysis of liberal scholars and their conclusions and then he systematically refutes their assessments. In other words, Boyd's counter arguments are very thorough and strong. The endorsements for this book are a regular who's who of scholarship (i.g. C. Stephen Evans, Clark H. Pinnock, D.A. Carson, Craig L. Blomberg, Ben Witherington III, and Gary R. Habermas). If you are wanting a very detailed work regarding the historicity of Jesus that is strong in its content and put together very well, then this is a book that you should add to your collection. I highly recommend it.

I tend to be leery of straightforward apologetic books because, as I've noted before, they tend to breed false confidence. Not so with this compact, masterful refutation of Crossan and Mack's outlandish theories about Christian origins. Though Boyd is a systematic theologian and not a New Testament scholar by his own admission (p.13), his grasp of the secondary literature is second to none, as his 112 pages of Notes and Bibliography (to say nothing of his judicious quotation in the main body of the text) demonstrates.

The main strength of this book is the way Boyd systematically (no pun intended) presents both the current form and the evolution of the views of the scholars (Mack and Crossan) he is criticizing. Not content to simply score points off individual quotations from their most popular books, Boyd probes much deeper into their less well known, earier publications to uncover the various 'tributaries' of research that have led to their current views. This is immensely helpful in understanding where Crossan and Mack are 'coming from', so to speak, and for the scholar who thinks that they are wrong in many respects it helps to pinpoint exactly where they went wrong in their methodology. The perspective on Jesus research of the first two chapters is especially helpful as well.

To say that Gregory Boyd demolishes the arguments of Mack and Crossan would be an understatement. Even Luke Johnson's critique of the Jesus seminar falls far short. In tight, lucidly argued chapters Boyd demonstrates the fallacious reasoning underlying most of the fundamental tenets of the Jesus Seminar approach to Christian origins: the attempt to read the sociological situation of the 'community' of the Gospel writer off the texts, as if they tell us more about the social situation of the Gospel than about Jesus (but this is merely assumed, not demonstrated), the intensely problematic layering of the hypothetical Q document to reveal a sapiential, non-eschatological 'core' of the original sayings of the Cynic Jesus, the further misuse of Q in inferring an isolated Q community with no knowledge of or interest in Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection, etc.

Though Boyd admits that his work is more destructive than constructive, he does highlight possible avenues for examining more thoroughly the Gospels and Acts as reliable historical sources. This involves a more realistic model of the means and the purpose of transmitting the Jesus traditions, the consistency of the patristic testimony to the provenance of these documents, internal details of the text which might betray eye-witness testimony, etc. Much new and exciting work has been done recently in this field, by James Dunn (A New Perspective on Jesus), Richard Bauckham (Jesus and the Eye-witnesses), Samuel Byrskog (Story as History-History as Story), etc. and it seems like we might finally be able to move away from the mistaken assumptions of early form and historical criticism.

To be sure, some parts of the book are better than others. Boyd is definitely at his best when engaging directly with the arguments of Mack and Crossan, as opposed to when he is making more directly apologetic arguments (his chapter on the Resurrection, for exmaple, is pretty much your standard historical/apologetic fare from the likes of Craig, Habermas, etc. which is not to say that it is not of use or that it is bad scholarship, but simply that it is rather limited). Overall, though, it is an excellent work on (rather than of) New Testament scholarship. Boyd takes his opponents' views absolutely seriously and always presents them fairly by putting them in context and paying attention to the nuances in the various arguments.

Finally, the interdisciplinary nature of this work should be noted. Christians need more of this kind of work and less specialized New Testament study in historical apologetics. We need people who can see the big picture and are astute to philosophical, psychological, anthropological and other issues arising from the study of Christian origins. By the way, Boyd is coming out with a brand-new 500 page book called "The Jesus Legend: A case for the historical reliability of the Synoptic tradition" which (one hopes) will be more constructive and expand on the already excellent work in evidence here. I can hardly wait.

One would think this was a work of fiction, since leprechauns do not actually exist (here in the US, anyway). However, the Library of Congress has cataloged it as nonfiction under the topic of Love--and rightly so. This book is a beautifully illustrated collection of letters between a boy and a supposed leprechaun, who is actually the boy's very patient and creative father.

Toward the end of the book, the narrator says he never saw a photograph of the leprechaun. On the next page, the illustration is of the narrator looking at a framed photo, the back of which is to the reader. To the adult reader, the companion text makes it obvious that the narrator knows that his father was the leprechaun and that perhaps the father has died. But it would be quite a leap for the book's 4- to 8-year old audience to make those connections.

It really is a charming book, but plan on reading it with younger children so they are not left confused or unsatisfied with the story.

I greatly appreciate the kind words of the reviews below. I do want to make it clear that in my book, I do not state that my father is the one who wrote the leprechaun's notes to me. True, some people think the leprechaun was my father. But many others - especially children - strongly believe that the leprechaun wrote to me himself. I respect both sides, and included the actual notes in the book so the reader could decide. I am satisfied the story can be fully enjoyed either way.

Recently came across after reading a nice review on it and let me tell you it is everything you would hope for in a childrens book and so much more! It's a classic!
Mr. Burton does a nice job in telling his story and the art is different-something that gets the childs notice-but in a nice way. The story does not speak down to the child but rather treats them with intelligence (and my grandkids love that) and it makes them put things together (rather than force feeding the kids what the author wants them to believe). It's a heart warming tale of love between father and son (we also need more of that).
I bought my first copy last week for my youngest grandson, and 3 more are on the way for my others. Great book, I highly recommend!

This charming tale has much usefulness for a classroom setting. It ties in with the themes of writing, friendship, families, imagination, St. Patrick's Day and Leprechauns. A book with this many possibilities for curriculum tie-in is worth the expenditure for school and public libraries.

I have never seen a leprechaun, but author Martin N. Burton made me feel as if I was experiencing the magic of the leprechaun who was his childhood friend. The well written story is the reason why I loved this book and why I loved reading it to my own children. The writing style is fun for young readers and for their parents who may find themselves reading out loud in an unintentional Irish brogue.

Mr. Burton captures the gentle magic of childhood that is enhanced by loving parents and lasts a lifetime. The friendship and love revealed between the child and his father makes this a perfect story for Father's Day. If your children believe in fairies, Santa, and other magical beings, they will find irresistible the possibility that they can have their own leprechaun friend.

Dear Mr. Leprechaun discretely encourages children to write their own letters so they too can discover what might happen. The illustrations are beautiful and convey the magical world of childhood.

This book is filled to the corners with valuable information. I was a little skeptical at first due to the amount of pictures, but wow is it full of great nuggets of information. The author does a terrific job in drawing a picture of the witch-craze and the elements that caused it to happen. The only gripe I can raise is that there is some bias by the author. He readily relates his view on the subject of Wicca, but dismisses other forms of Witchcraft, such as Luciferan. If the author hadn't been so dismissive of non-Wiccan, modern Witchcraft it would have had five stars.

I was highly impressed with this book. The author deals not only with the history of Witchcraft, but sheds light on how many of the common ideas and misconceptions concerning Witchcraft came into being. What he gives is a fairly broad overview of European and American Witchcraft's overall developement and proper place in history. He leads up to, and deals briefly with modern Pagan Witchcraft, but focuses primarily on earlier developement prior to the 20th century. Read this for the broad view, and Ronald Hutton's _Triumph of the Moon_ for a more narrowly focused view, and you'll have pretty well all the common misconceptions and misinformation still prevailant within the Witchcraft community today cleared away. Money well spent.

Jeffery Burton Russell is well known for his works on the history and myth of the Devil. Here Russell provides us with a very well-researched introduction to historical witchcraft that seeks to give an overview of the essential influences and origins of witchcraft and the Christian myths of diabolic magic and demonic pacts that eventually lead to the virulent witch-craze of the Renaissance and early modern period.

Russell identifies several essential elements that influenced European thought and lead to the persecution and murder of tens of thousands of suspected "witches". These are: sorcery, ancient pagan religious beliefs, Christian theology, Inqusitorial and other anti-witch writings. These elements provided the basis for a belief in diabolic witchcraft that, modern historians largely argue, never existed and erupted in the period between 1450-1750 in the largest witch hysteria in history. However, Russell shows that these types of events are not relegated to the past, but can occurr in any society at any time, such as Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia in recent times. Russell analyzes the witch hunts in Europe, England, and the American Colonies and contrasts the various judicial methods and popular beliefs regarding them. For instance, it is interesting to note that unlike on the Continent, England viewed the crime of witchcraft as a civil rather than religious matter. This has alot to do with the connection between witchcraft and chrisitan heresy that was prevalent in Europe in the centuries prior to the beginning of the witch hunts but that was largely absent from English history. Russell continues with an analyses of the decline of the witch-craze and the rise of general skepticism and disbelief in witchery. He shows that by the late 18th century, the accusation and execution of suspected witches had all but ceased. It was only in the late 19th century that a revived nterest in magic and the occult gave rise to a romanticized interst in witchcraft. Russell concludes with an overview of the history of modern-day witchcraft and neo-paganism and the lingering perceptions that the public maintains about it.

This is an excellent introduction to the academic history of witchcraft and should lead interested readers to a more in-depth study regarding one of the most horrific periods in human history.

first of all let me point out that if you buy this book, the cover will be different from the one Amazon has posted. Istead there is a picture of a hand with a pentagram in the paml and a variety of magickal diddies on the fingers, it's a very attractive cover and is ten times better than the incrediblely ugly one you see above. As for the book itself, it's a terrific buy. It seems that in regards to this subject there are two catagories: there are scholary books about the inquisition that give us endless pages of political rhetoric, and then there's the neopagan books that give us just that, rhetoric. This book engages the reader on the level that is easy to nderstand and NEVER boring, but is also very well researched. And, as a review above states, it goes into terific detail about the history of neopagan witchcraft and its key players. However, he is in no critical of Wicca, but makes it clear where Wiccan claims have fallen short and where holes in the neopagan story of witchcraft show up. The book is also loaded with colorful(and sometimes graphic) photos and illustrations that help to keep the book interesting.

I really appreciated reading this book, which is the work of a serious religious scholar. I am a very Wicca-friendly, Pagan-wise person (in my opinion), and certainly do not believe the heart or soul of a religion can be judged better by scholars than by practitioners. But I also think critically, love history and respect fact. This book settled a lot of questions that books written by either firm believers or ranting detractors failed to.

This is a fair book, well-researched. It lays the groundwork for 3 kinds of "witchery" in human history: "sorcery," which has belonged to and persists in all cultures, all religions, at all times, in various forms, with various levels of acceptance; "diabolical witchcraft," which is an "invention of the [European] Middle Ages," a compendium of folklore + religious bigotry + political expediency + etc....; and "modern witchcraft," which is a "new religion." And he, thankfully, makes it clear that Wicca and Paganism are not in any way satanic: "Satanism today is quite different from historical witchcraft, however, and it is totally rejected by all the neopagan witches today. Modern witches observe that since they reject Christianity they can scarecely be supposed to worship a Christian Devil. I describe Satansim here only so that the lack of resemblance between it and witchcraft may be clear."

While Russell's book deals mostly with religious and historical analysis and his critique of the claims of early 20th-century folklorists (such as Margaret Murray, whose "The Witch-cult of Western Europe" and "God of the Witches" have now been -- whether some folks like it or not -- proven largely, though not entirely, ill-grounded in their conclusions), he gives due credit to the living belief systems of modern day Pagans and Wiccans.

While he reveals the sometimes sordid esotericism of the Crowley-Gardener heritage of modern Wicca, he does not use old rumors and scandals (even Crowley's well-known dabbling with diabolism) to tarnish contemporary witches or their religion. As he says, "That Gardener (or Crowley) invented the religion does not invalidate it. Every religion has a founder, and much that surrounds the origin of every religion is historically suspect. Lack of historicity does not necessarily deprive a religion of its insight."

As Russell concludes his book, after two chapters that respectfully (sometimes it seemed even 'lovingly') set out the practices of Wicca in 20th-C, "One need not be a witch -- I am not -- to understand witchcraft as a valid expression of the religious experience. The religion of withcraft offers to restore a lost option, paganism, to our religious world view. Both Christianity and scientism have taught us falsely that paganism is nonsense... This is not an informed view... The neopagan witches are attempting to recreate the positive values of pagan religion."

The first book was definitely better. I pretty much rushed through this book, it had a hard time holding my attention. The storyline was just not intese enough.

This was a great book. It had a really great plot combined with some great love scenes. The love between the characters was believeable and smoldering sexy. The ending was a little sappy but I loved it anyways. WIll definitely investigate this authors other books.

This second book in the Demon Hunters series is as hot, suspenseful and action packed as the first book. I was hooked from the first page ~ after waiting rather impatiently to get my greedy little hands on this book in the first place - I limited my fluid intake and read the whole book in one sitting - all 417 pages. The members of the Ream of Light that we met and fell in love with in the first book are all back as they try to convince Derek's brother, Nic just who is friends and enemies - the Sons of Darkness are. This book is fast paced with an engrossing storyline, interesting characters, vivid descriptions and erotic romance. Next summer can't come soon enough for the next book in the series, The Demon's Touch with Ryder and Angelique's story.

Less of a paranormal/special ops romance, Hunting the Demon also has less of the demon hunting action that made the first book such fun a synthesis of two genres. Additionally by spending time to develop the 'next at bat' couple, Ryder and Angelique, author Jaci Burton ends up weakening the story between our stars here, Nic and Shay.

We met Shay is in the last book,Demon Hunters: Surviving Demon Island (Book 1), . Shay is gorgeous, blond and though she has the drawl, she's no southern belle. She's psychic and collects daggers - oh and she hunts demons. Shay is drawn to Nic even before she meets him, just from seeing him at a distance, he tickles her 'spidey senses'. Everything about Nic is hot. He's bronze, fit and rich, the only drawback is, since he's Derek's brother (from the last book), he's half demon. So it's Shay's job to act as bait, to flirt with him so that the Realm of Light's demon hunting team can kidnap him and find out if Nic's already gone over to the dark side and succumbed to his inner demon.

Shay and Nic sizzle but have a hard time getting close, because they keep betraying each other. First Shay, with her role in Nic's kidnapping. Then Nic, who seduces Shay and makes a real connection with her - only to ruin the afterglow by leaving her tied to the bed so that he can escape. I had hard time with how easily these two forgave each other. Just a couple sultry looks and then they're back all over each other like nothing ever happened. This made them seem shallow and not so smart.

Even though it seemed like there were more love scenes in this book, Nic and Shay's relationship was not as well developed as Gina and Derreck's in the previous book. Part of the problem might have been that thread with Shay's fellow demon hunter Ryder and lovely French archaelogist Angelique pulled the focus away from ours stars at inopportune moments. Shay and Nic's relationship might have felt more intense if their story wasn't constantly being interrupted. Maybe if the switches between the two couple's threads in story were placed differently, it might have helped.

Even though I thought that Angelique and Ryder detracted from the other pair's romance, I really did like their interactions. Burton did a good job of fleshing them out and setting up the next book, Demon's Touch, where they will be the stars. I am really looking forward to seeing these two determined characters butt heads and for tough hard emotionless bad boy Ryder to turn to goo in Angelique's arms. Too bad Demon's Touch doesn't come out until summer 2008, but it will definitely be on my wish list.

Realm of Light demon hunter Shay Pearson is assigned to take out demon Nic Diavolo. Her plan is to seduce the hunk until she has him caught in her lure so that she can bring him to his brother. On the other hand Nic is attracted to Shay so he plans to seduce her.

However, Nic has some issues to deal with that he does not understand because he is unaware, unlike his sibling (see SURVIVING DEMON ISLAND) that his father was a demon, making him a half breed. When he comes under attack, Shay stays at his side helping him survive as she knows he is special to her. However, when she tells him the truth and what he believed about his family is a lie, he rejects her fantasy though he wonders what is happening to him.

The sequel to the exhilarating campy SURVIVING DEMON ISLAND, HUNTING THE DEMON is as much fun as its paranormal predecessor. The story line is fast-paced and just over the top in zaniness so that readers will enjoy the latest battle in the war against the demons. Nic and Shay are a superb pairing as the heroine knows that a deadly foe is coming for the half demon; she is confident against the adversary but unsure of how to deal with her new "partner". Fans of wild comic book like paranormal romantic suspense tales will enjoy this engaging encounter in which Shay's "demons" from her past stand in the way of love as much as the enemy does.

Harriet Klausner

The book had a great price and arrived in excellent shape. I will be glad to shop here again!

Its pretty much just a book full of short stories, poems, and a few plays.

I learned so much with this book, it's so interesting. It offers a great selection of authors and writings, well-organized, easy to use and to understand. The delivery and the condition of the book were excellent. I'm very please with this buy.

A great book if you love literature. If I were stuck on a deserted island, and could only take one book, I would instinctively choose Poe or Whitman. In reality, I would probably choose this book since it covers so much in such a small package. Well, this book and a pen. I wont be able to yell at the authors if I can't write in the margins. :)

they made me buy it! but it was a lot cheaper at amazon than at the bookstore. the book was in good shape but it wasnt that great of a book. =D