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Author Brad Thompson's crisis of faith came with looking at the newspaper every morning, saddening him and making him deny God's existence. To restore his faith, he set forth with his black and white camera and began to take photos to illustrate Glenn McDonald's essay "Where is your Macedonia?". "Macedonia, Indiana: Looking for God's Purpose Close to Home" is the tale of his travels through his home state and getting to know hundreds of people both like and unlike himself, even visiting a place where he was skeptical of going - prison. "Macedonia, Indiana: Looking for God's Purpose Closet to Home" is highly recommended as a life changing journey written to help readers find themselves spiritually.

If you're interested in day trading or getting rich quick, don't read this book. If you, however, are interested in long-term wealth, this is an accessible and useful book. The author proves conclusively that, when it comes to investing, "there's no place like home."

"Manhattan is a machine, fuelled by the millions of people who pour through its streets and subways each day, many of them locked into an exhausting but addictive live style which makes anywhere else seem dull and slow."

Wow! The words touched an nerve. I have never seen such a succinct description of Manhattan as in this British guidebook written by Fiona Duncan and Leonie Glass.

I don't read New York City guidebooks. After all, I'm a New Yorker. I know all the places to go. I LIVE HERE. But a few weeks ago, when visiting my friend who runs a Bed and Breakfast, I picked up this little gem of a book.

Here it is. Neighborhood by neighborhood. Street by street. With the best architectural maps I have ever seen. All the basic New York City highlights are here too. But most of all, it really gets the flavor of this city that I love. And that's a big compliment.

Published in 1992, by Passport Books, it is of course a bit outdated. And there is no one book that can do it ALL, especially in a mere 144 pages. But for tourists and New Yorkers alike, this book is a treat.

This book is a FIND! For those who ever considered the Shakespeare authorship question, MARLOWE UP CLOSE offers a remarkable amount of well-documented information, suddenly between two covers. Even as a child an autograph collector will realize that the five extant signatures of Shakespeare and the one simple sentence added to his will are not the practiced hand of a constant writer and rewriter. Encountering Mark Twain's scalding and insightful opinions on the subject alerts one to the history of reasonable doubters.

Given the history of the authorship question with the various camps and its champions, it is not a great stretch to sift through and find the Elizabethan literary darling, "poet/spy" Christopher Marlowe, the most likely suspect as the ghostwriter of the great plays and sonnets. And while the Stratfordians, Oxfordians, Baconians et al make emotional arguments for their candidates, Roberta Ballantine, in this new book, carefully reconstructs Marlowe's life before and after his suspicious "death" and subsequent exile to Italy where he continues to work as a spy for his Queen as he ships home plays filled with Verona gentlemen and Venetian merchants. In fact, as we follow Marlowe's adventures in Ballantine's rich but brief summary, we find situations and characters that people the famous plays. One need only peruse the carefully researched and collected portraits she presents to realize that the iconic image of Shakespeare in our culture actually derives from the painted likenesses of Marlowe. For contrast, Ballantine includes the one portrait known to be Shakespeare and we encounter a stranger.

The well-annotated biographical sketch, the meticulous timeline and notes of Marlowe's life and the portraits are compelling, but it is the collection of the poet/spy's voluminous ciphers - stunning examples of steganography at its peak (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) - that astonish us with new insights. Cleverly highlighted sections of the First Folio edition rearrange anagrammatically to form inner messages in a method of communication used in spycraft since the ancient Greeks. That the story develops in a series of linked couplets makes the decipherment hard to argue. In fact, the entire book is so well presented, annotated and cross-checked that it seems stunning in its obvious reasoning and good sense.

It is such great fun to feel that one is in on a secret that finally makes sense of events long puzzling. And in the era of DaVinci codes and spy stories, this work of non-fiction is truly satisfying. Ballantine is apparently a scholar and not an academician as her prose is clear, concise and to the point. She would certainly fall under the category of "literary sleuth" rather than "investigative reporter" for her detective work, 400 years after the last witness has died, is brilliant indeed, but as a journalist she would be guilty of "burying the lead." So, even as she solves the biggest mystery in English Literature and reveals the heart and soul as well as the person of the Immortal Bard, she has chosen a lead that may not reach out to the intensely curious Shakespeare enthusiast. The cover should say in big red letters "THIS IS THE BOOK THAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO FIND ABOUT THE TRUE AUTHOR OF THE "SHAKESPEARE" WORKS.

This is an informative enough source for anyone who is interested in Martin Scorsese' cinema. Impressively to the point, and easy to read.

Have you been searching for practical knowledge that you can use to increase your sales? Search no more. Mastering the Essentials of Sales: What You Need to Know to Close Every Sale, by Gerhard Gschwandtner, founder and publisher of Selling Power magazine, imparts down-to-earth advice that gives you exactly what you need to improve your sales efficiency and effectiveness.

Mastering the Essentials teaches powerful success lessons for both new and experienced sales professionals. In 51 concise essays, the author covers everything from teamwork to professional development, from roadblocks to solutions, from gaining perspective to focusing on productivity.

The fundamentals are the source of sales excellence, and Mastering the Essentials focuses on them. Read about the secrets of high achievers, how to create winning attitudes, and how to turn setbacks into comebacks.

This reviewer found Mastering the Essentials to be eminently readable. I sat down and read the book cover to cover, but it can just as easily be read in snippets. The chapters are short, and are packed with sales know-how. The book would be a masterful addition to any salesperson's library.

This is an excellent book with lots of illustrations. Weapons and their uses are explained in detail. I would imagine SCA types and history buffs would love this book. A must for your library.

This lovely book is challenging, like nothing I have ever read. What a great gift, from an author who knows ups and downs, and deeper, steeper paths. A real gem! A journey of the soul.

Anything Monogram ever did was of fantastic quality. This book is no exception. It is the finest reference I have seen on this rather elegant warbird. There were only 67 of this fighter built. It was another case of too little, too late for Germany. If they were built in significant numbers, and if there were enough of the old "experten" still alive and well, and given enough gas, this would have given the allies a run for their money. That sure is enough ifs though, isn't it? Along with outstanding coverage of the details of this ship, and with lots of clear photos. It is a wonder that so many photos of this quality are in existence, but then most of them are of captured aircraft. I can imagine that I would have taken a snapshot of one of those slender beauties if I had been there. Along with this, Jeffrey Ethell used his excellent story telling talents to bring the tale of this plane to life. Fortunately for us, it is a short story, and it fits well between the covers of this slender volume. I am at a loss to know what else would need to know about this aircraft that is not covered here. I could only wish for two things, that the TA 152 in the Smithsonian was shown in its present state, and most of all, that Mr. Ethell were still around to write more such gems. If you can find one, buy it quickly! This is another Monogram book that deserves to be reprinted.

An excellent reference of this very rare aircraft. It has some minor errors per my research. I have had several copies but I am down to two copies & need more.