Curtis Books

This book is an excellent for a starter. It offers widely inclusive unbiased history facts in 100 well-written stories of 2 or 3 pages. Each story is not related to other stories and can be read separately. The read can have an impression of the 100 most important aspects of the christiananity thanks to the unbiased selection, which many pastors are not willing or unable to give.

This book is only for starters because it is not a systematic treatment of the christion history, i.e. the dots are not connected by lines and the background is not fully dispicted.

Whether you're a church scholar, a new Christian yearning to know the history of your faith, or a lover of all things historical, this book brings you everything you need!
The momentous events that have shaped Christianity since Christ's resurrection are presented in a timeline format, which makes it a smooth-flowing book. Reducing all of the world's Christianity-influenced events to "merely" 100 must have been quite a daunting task, with many notable events hitting the cutting-room floor. But I believe the choices were excellent, and the reader will be rewarded with better knowledge and a deeper understanding of Church history.

Marvelous how we can help to preserve our American
heritage at home, thru' books such as these. Most
schools don't have enouph about our American heritage
rooted in His Gospel of Christ Jesus; & books about
our founding fathers & mothers are seriously lacking
in how they prayed & preserved & based our early
schools on the Bible & with Hymns. Please get more
books about our founding parents. You can contact:
http://wallbuilders.com for the right heritage info's.

Granted, how do you pack approximately 1,970 years into two pages. There is a survey portion of information available about each of the 100 events, much as you might only recieve 1 page about Charles DeGaul in a World History textbook.

However, this book is a great jumping off point for someone who would like to study Christian history more in depth. Through the process of reading this book, you can discover people and events that particularly interest you and search deeper into those topics, rather than haphazardly grabbing a 20 volume set of Christian History and flipping.

Also, I enjoyed this book because it did not limit itself to the 100 most important PEOPLE. I enjoyed reading about the printing press, and the Spanish Inquisition, as well as Charles Spurgeon and Hudson Taylor.

*****Final Thoughts*****
This book is a great introduction to Christian history that will allow you to find events and people you want to study more in-depth. It is a great springboard for study.

The author begins by telling his readers that the 100 events chosen are not intended to demean other events that are not included.

This book does a fantastic job of condensing the major events of 2000 years into 200 pages. If you are looking for a "crash course" in church history, this is the one. It reminds me of 2000 years of cliff notes in one volume. Each event is given around two pages of information, which is just enough to wet your appetite to dig deeper. This is a good intro and I would recommend reading it in tandem with Church History In Plain Language or A Global History of Christians.

this book needs a MAP!With such a geographical intensive subject as this, i feel that a map would have helped me get a feel for were the missions were flown and the vast distances that they covered.Other than that ,this is a great read, curtis peebles has really done his homework on this one.It basiclly covers the SECRET flights between the late 40's and early 60's. Just remamber,have an atlas by your side when you read this one.highly recomended.

I had to read this book for a research paper about the Cold War, and must admit, found a great deal of enjoyment in it. It explains, down to the smalles detail, what took place in terms of aerial reconnaissance in the 1950, and at the same it is neatly divided into small sections so that its easy to find information quickly

Shadow Flights examines an already well-covered subject with rich detail and plenty of new information. The reader gets the "feel" of the pilots' experience flying these dangerous missions and offers interesting details about flights over China that aren't covered nearly as much by other works on the subject.

Peebles has always been one of the best writers on intelligence matters, in my opinion, and Shadow Flights is no exception. It's definitely worth the read.

I am a great reader of war and cold war books and this is quite good.

The US needed intelligence on the Soviet Union. There was no way using traditional intelligence methods that she could do this. As such she developed air reconnaissance to a new degree.

The writer write very well about this development. He gives an great history of the development of these planes. I found it fascinating.

As too the political problems that emerged around these flights. The arguments for these missions that despite the large political cost that eventually occurred (as the result of Gary Powers capture showed) were worth paying.

You can feel what the pilots on the missions felt though their stories on the missions that they flew. I felt the excitement that the pilots must have felt on their trips.

I look forward to reading more from this writer.

As in "Dark Eagles," Peebles again demonstrates in "Shadow Flights" an amazing amount of research and insight into the world of classified and black-project aviation during the Cold War. Unlike "Dark Eagles," "Shadow Flights" is a much more integrated read, but is no less informative. Peebles accurately and conscisely recounts the history of Cold War reconnaissance flights and methods in a manner that is interesting to both the informed and casual reader. In so doing, Peebles covers everything from the development history of the U-2 to the shootdown of a USAF C-130A, s/n 60528, over Soviet Armenia in September 1958, including enhanced Soviet gun camera photos of the doomed ELINT aircraft.

Though the book lacks the detailed minutae of "The Price of Vigilance," it also covers a much larger subject and does so superbly. Reading this book immediately before Norman Polmar's slightly more recent U-2 history, "Spyplane," I found Peeble's style to be more accomodating to the average reader, and "Shadow Flights" in general to be more informative and accurate.

This is one of my favorite uplifting gift books! It contains three beautifully written romantic novellas by three amazing authors. Each novella reads so quickly that they can they be finished in one sitting!

"Fine Print" is Liz Curtis Higgs' contribution to this winning combination. It's the story of a printing magnate, his public speaking coach, and his matchmaking family. The printer, a widower, is terrified of public speaking. When Meghan is hired to coach Hugh through his fears, the romantic sparks fly.

Karen Ball's "Bride on the Run" begins hysterically and keeps the frenetic pace throughout! The runaway bride escapes her nuptials with her nanny in tow to wind up landfill diving and witness God's answers to prayer through flying kittens. This story is heartwarming and hilarious!

In "Sweet Chariot" by Carolyn Zane, two best girlfriends buy a motor home for post-retirement adventure. When their grandchildren insist on helping the ladies pick up the new purchase and driving it back to civilization, the adventure has already begun. The grandkids can't stand each other, and the sweet little old grandmas are convinced that God is in control of all of the mishaps that befall them on the trip.

I thoroughly enjoyed these novellas. Maybe they had an element of "too convenient," but in novellas, there isn't time to develop intricate plot lines. However, the characters were delightful, the dialogue realistic, and all told by great story-tellers. I laughed and I cried, and you will, too. There's a plus in this book...each writer tells a bit about themselves and their own weddings. And Karen Ball's chilli episode really happened!

This collection of authors is incredible. Each one has her own style and tone to love. In Fine Print, a cute love story that includes a widow, a broken heart, and an idea between a fun grandfather and his granddaughter. A twist on common love with the exceptional tale of second chances, courtesy of yellow roses and love notes.
In Sweet Chariot, it answers the joke, "What do you get when you take two adventurous grandmothers, their grandchildren, a beat up RV, and humor?" The answer is LOVE. Meet Jake, a young handsome pilot who isn't set on spending a few days with workaholic Lexie. But when opposite ends of the human race attract, something is bound to happen.
In Bride on the Run, rich heiress, Alexandria, ran from her previous wedding to a man her rich father deems suitable for his beautiful daugther. But when she arrives with her governess to a shelter ran by handsome Evan, something is bound to spark. But what happens if Evan isn;t willing to admit Alexandria's effect on him?
AMAZING book. Definitely a must have for the people who love love!

I wasn't impressed nor disappointed in this book. It is a cute and very sweet collection of short Christian fiction stories. Absolutely nothing shocking or soul-baring in any of them. To me, they are the type of story that just makes you feel better about the world. The book would make a good library check out as something to enjoy in your backyard or on the beach.

Three Weddings and a Giggle is a must read. All of the stories have their flaws (but who doesn't wish that love just came along all of the sudden?).
Fine Print is very cute, although I think that it was my least favorite. Meghan is a speech coach and has to get rid of Hughs butterflies before his big speech. But what happens to their budding love when it's time for her to go?? Guess you'll just have to read!!
Sweet Chariot was most definately my favorite!!! What a hoot!! I laughed a lot during this novella, and I love that Lexie and Jake don't get along at first, I tend to like the stories like this... Jake and Lexie's grandmothers are adventurous... sometimes too adventurous. So Lexie and Jake go along to help their grannies pick up a sorry excuse for a motor home. Neither one knew the other was coming, and they REALLY don't like eachother... so will it be a disaster, or a miracle?
Bride on the Run, is very funny too. Again they all have their weaknesses, but it was a good novella. Alex can't go through with her wedding, so she goes THROUGH her window instead! When she meets Evan (and what a weird meeting...) she hears in her mind "Awake, my love, and come away." What she knew she would when she met "the one" except he doesn't seem so interested in her, in fact, he seems scared of her, not to mention frustrated, and he doesn't trust her with anything... ok there is good reason... but you'll just have to find out, wont ya?

All in all, It is an awesome book, you wont be able to put it down!!

There's something so visceral, so utterly seductive about these stories, that you just can't look away, even when you know that the characters are headed for destruction. This is the only collection I can think of that brings together some realistic and some surreal stories, and the combination really works. Though they might be different in style, the themes they focus on are similar -- the family betrayals, the loneliness, the desire to be a part of a larger world. It's as if they're two sides of the same coin. And sometimes it's the more surreal stories, like "The Wolf at the Door," that feel most real and truly get to the heart of human relationships.

It's been some time since I've been this excited by a contemporary fiction writer. I found myself reading my favorite parts out loud to my wife, then reading them over myself. Years ago, there used to be an expression about Raymond Carver's fiction--"Carver Country." Curtis's characters are pickled in the same wonderfully bleak atmosphere (wonderful for the reader, that is, who doesn't have to be the one tortured by two blonde twins, or hit on by a coke-sniffing chef, or stalked by a would-be one night stand). Whether it's the heartbreaking ending of "Hungry Self" or the completely unexpected turn that "The Alpine Slide" takes, this is the kind of fiction that keeps you up reading at 1.a.m. I think Curtis is the best short story writer in America today, and hopefully this collection will give her the attention she deserves.

I'm really surprised that there are only seven reviews up for this book, because it's a remarkable collection of short stories. I've been a fan of Ms. Curtis ever since "Hungry Self" appeared in the New Yorker. It seems like it took a long time for this collection to come out, as that story appeared several years ago. "Hungry Self," "Summer With Twins," "The Alpine Slide," and "The Witches" are all sublime. Several other stories, however, do nothing but detract from the book as a whole. There are several dreamlike stories that read like narrated nightmares, but are so surreal that they fail to inspire any sort of fear in the reader. Some of the stories fail completely, leaving me wondering how one writer could write stories that vary so widely in their quality.
At any rate, the best stories in this book are nothing short of great. They have a sly humor and stunning prose.

This is one of the few books I have recommended to friends of mine who I consider serious readers, but I always do so while warning them to skip the weird dream sequence stories. If you enjoy excellent short stories, I would absolutely recommend this book.

I first encountered Rebecca Curtis through her stories in New Yorker, "The Alpine Slide" and "Twenty Grand," coincidentally two of the strongest pieces in this collection. Other standout stories include "Summer, with Twins" and "Hungry Self". I have no doubt that Curtis will go on to write excellent collections and novels---which I'll eagerly seek---but at times this collection exhibits all the symptoms of a writer's first published book; at times, it vacillates clumsily between hard-nosed and acerbic realism (Curtis's best mode, when she flaunts her idiosyncratic black humor) and exercises in surrealism and allegory (her duds). At other times, she borrows heavily from George Saunders (see "The Sno-Kone Cart") and Matthew Klam (the speech scene in "The Near-Son" reminded me MK's "Issues I Dealt With in Therapy"). These caveats are to be expected, however, and Twenty Grand remains an auspicious debut with its fair share of knock-out stories.

These are some of the strangest and bravest stories I have read. They completely broke my heart. There is so much honesty, anger, and compassion here. The characters are very compelling and Curtis brings them to such dangerous places, I could not stop reading--in that way, the book felt more like a novel than stories. And the writing is fantastic--funny, surprising, sad.

Clearly a writer of exceptional talent.

This book covers all the Podcasting bases, and IMHO is a bit better than "Podcasting for dummies". However, the author does newbies a disservice by posting screenshots from a $50 commercial sound editing product in addition to the popular and free "Audacity" software.

Podcasting beginners would do well to spend their money on a good USB microphone before plunking down cash for software they can get for free.
If they decide to pursue podcasting further, they can always upgrade the software later when they have a better idea of what they want to do...

Similarly, newbies should not think too much about mixing boards, XLR mics, etc. when just starting out. Let's keep it simple!

Just my $0.02 ...

I bought this book for a class I'm taking to obtain my degree and had no idea what podcasting was. This book is fantastic in the aspect of helping create a podcast for any size audience. It's easy to follow, easy to understand. The only fallback is that it does not offer software but it does reference a website or two where there are free downloads available. Happy Podcasting!

This book was so informative because it told me things that I didn't even know I had to know before producing a podcast. The authors made the book not only easy to follow but included some humor along the way. They included free websites and the best info on hardware that is needed too. At the end of every chapter is a section called "The Absolute Minimum" which gives a synopsis of the best and most necessary info of the chapter. I found that extremely helpful. This is the best book for the beginner because it explains everthing in easy to understand terms without being dry and totally technical.

The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting is a foolproof guide to making and producing your own podcast. From beginning to end the book spells out everything. From technical jargon to the pace of your podcast this book is there to help. It is easy to follow and has great page layouts that your eyes can easily focus on. In each chapter they also include small insets that give you a tidbit of history about podcasting. While podcasting's history isn't long they give great insight into subjects like the "Podfather", Adam Curry, who is seen as, the name implies, the forerunner for podcasting. This book is a beginning podcasters bible. That is the very best thing about it and possibly its only downside. It sets out to teach a novice the ways of the podcasting world and achieves that goal. If you have already tried your hand at casting and have a good idea of how it works this book wouldn't be the best choice for more advanced casting techniques. All in all the Absolute Beginners Guide to Podcasting achieves exactly what it is setting out to accomplish, giving beginners a guide to the growing world of podcasting.

Even if you know nothing about podcasting, you can produce your own cast within hours of getting your hands on this book. But what surprised me is that even if you're a seasoned podcaster you'll likely learn some good stuff from this book. It's definitely staying on my resource shelf, especially for the great detailed sections on sound production (both the physical gear like mics and the digital processing stuff).

What sets this book apart, though, is the in-depth discussion these authors deliver about show content. I've listened to the first 5 minutes of so many podcasts where the personality behind the mic was clearly interesting, but I didn't have the patience to sit through the loose drivel between entertaining or useful nuggets. This book does a great job guiding the podcaster to devote a little more directed energy to preparing a tight high-quality show. As an avid listener I can tell you this is almost required to get me on to minute 6, and a must to get me to subscribe to your cast.

The book has a nice conversational tone, making it a quick read. It's also laid out so that you can easily jump between sections if you're looking for something in particular, or want to save the detailed tech stuff for later.

My only negative comment about the book is that a few of the screenshots didn't print with enough contrast to make them easily readable. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Great book, and a real bargain at less than $20.

Ordering directly from amazon saved money, and the book was in brand new and great condition.

Some stuff seems archaic, but some other stuff kind of difficult to decipher, but pertinent.

easy to read book, have examples. only thing is if you need it right away, spend them money for shipping. i got the free shipping but it awhile before i got it.

While preparing for my licensing exam, I read this book from cover to cover. It addresses every principle of retracement (sequential and simultaneous conveyances), public lands, and riparian issues thoroughly. The highlighted "principle" at the heading of each new topic makes remembering the main points simple. I can honestly say that every question on the NCEES exam that dealt with general principles and practice was answered in this book. I passed on my first sitting, and this book was one of the main reasons why. If you can only study one reference, this is it. Every practicing surveyor should also refer to it regularly.

This publication covers a preponderance of topics to provide objectivity to what can be a highly subjective matter. Concepts and principles are delineated in meaningful ways and the applications are expounded upon.
A must for all persons involved with land management, use, development, and preservation.

When greedy Willie Loomis unwittingly unchains the hidden coffin of long dead Barnabas Collins, he unleashes a reign of terror upon the decaying family and the local New England town of Collinsport. Who suddenly turns up on their doorstop but a debonaire English "cousin" whose resemblance to the ancestral portrait is uncanny. He sets about restoring the Old House to its former grandeur, but is soon fatally attracted to the family's lovely governess. A series of attacks on women are considered suspicious by the resident doctor and a loyal
professor in the area, both of whom come to the gruesome conclusion that there is a vampire on the prowl. This is fast-paced fluff of debatable literary merit, but if you are into Gothic Horror tales, you will enjoy the jealousy, evil schemes and desperate remedies undertaken to end this family curse. When the coastal mists finally evaporate, there are few left to tell the grisly tale of a vampires's dream to achieve a normal life and reclaim his lost love. NB: This scenario vastly differs from the daytime soap, as Victoria Winters, Quentin and Angelique are not included in the blood-spattered cast.

in 1998 this book about the 2 movies was released and i must say it was everything i hoped for the 2 scripts that reveal all the missing parts espcially night of dark shadows hopefully the movie will be restored the way dan curtis wanted it to be ,\
if you love these movies based on the series you have to own this book it also has lots of pictures in it . buy this book for yourself in fact buy 2 copies one for yourself and the other for a dark shadows fan as a gift great book

From 1966 to 1971, America was treated to the wonderful daytime television Dark Shadows. Capitalizing on the success of the show, M-G-M agreed to produce two movies based (loosely) on the TV show's story: House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). Produced in 1998, this book is a wonderful companion to those two movies. It has articles by Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans), Kate Jackson (Tracy Collins), Nancy Barrett (Carolyn Stodard/Clair Jenkins) and Lara Parker (Angelique Collins), original scripts and notes, and a plethora of wonderful pictures.

I found this to be a great book, one that I am glad I got my hands on. It's got a lot in it, and it sure brings back a lot of memories to an old Dark Shadows fan. I highly recommend this book!

My whole family is a fan of the series "Dark Shadows," both old and new. For this holiday season, I decided to buy my mother this book, because when she was young she saw the movies in the theatres and always spoke of how the second (featuring Quentin) was so choppy. When I finally got to watch it, I agreed, but I knew there had to be a reason. I had found out that they cut a lot of the movie, and when I found this book, I knew I had to get it for her! This has complete original scripts and Dan Curtis' notes! It's a great gift, because now she can see just what she was missing! I know in the book it says they lost the cut film, but I've recently heard they found it! Hopefully this book will become not just a "fill-in what you missed," but a companion to a complete re-released movie!

It's a real treat to see the original scripts to both HOUSE and NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS, since both (especially the latter) suffered significant cuts before audiences got to see them way back when. The behind-the-scenes articles by several of the stars are priceless, especially Kathryn Leigh Scott's ruminations on some of the other personalities involved in the production. Nice package with great photos. Definitely recommended to fans of the movies and the TV series.

I had already enjoyed David's book about oil painting. An admirer of the work of David Curtis, I value this book even more! It is a wonderful sampling of the artist's awe-inspiring paintings, with technical information about his working methods woven within a narrative that puts the reader alongside the artist and his emotional responses to the subject, the point of view, etc. Later on in the book the artist does present examples illustrating his three ways of working: plein air, studio painting from reference sketches and photos, and a combination of the two previous methods. This book is a treasure for the watercolor enthusiast/collector as well as for the professional painter.

The print quality is terrible for the paper version. All the colors are washed out and flat. It is shame that you have to strain your eyes to appreciate beautiful paintings due to such poor print quality. I return the book.

This book is a beautiful watercolor text with helpful demonstrations. David is a terrific artist and the book is filled with tons of his paintings which are breathtaking and amazing. He gives great technical advice as well as inspiration for creating your own masterpieces.

I was very impressed with David Curtis' work. He is a master with watercolor, and has some good step by step examples which help to show how he completes his pieces. It is very helpful to see samples of landscapes from different places, seascapes, villages, interiors, and many different countries. I have another of his watercolor books which was also helpful. I now want to look at his oil painting books.

I love this book! I bought it at a Borders while on vacation because I wanted something to look through in my free moments and I was blown away! David Curtis' painting are incredible and truly inspiring. The book does not have a lot of instruction, but makes up for it in beauty and general encouragement to get out there and paint! Also, there are at least four demonstrations of paintings from sketch to final version which are very helpful. I highly recommend this book for anyone who paints or simply loves watercolors!

This is one of the best books ever written. Elkin hilariously dissects and explodes every tenant of Christianity by slamming the contradictions into one another with perfect timing and accuracy. He paints the dilemmas faced by all believers through the incredibly credible characters he creates : Ellerbee is a good man who didn't believe and so goes to hell, for that and some other petty omissions and indiscretions, while God, thoroughly imperfect as well as a pompous egotist, is a supreme being who likes to be idolized and entertained certain he does not have to defend his inhumanity to man. In Heaven, Joseph does not believe his son, the cripple, is the messiah. This and so many other contradictions and paradoxes roll lightly across the eyes in this little book leaving you to believe you just read a book bigger than any bible. It is a book that you can read in a sitting, but I guarantee you will sit again and again as you reread it finding something new and delightful every time you turn a page.

A very strangely constructed little novel, Stanley Elkin's "The Living End" is both an afterlife fantasy and a secular meditation on the meaning of God's creation. It's interesting that most authors who write fiction about the state of death portray it as simply a transcended, and usually idealized, form of life, but then again from what other source can they draw their material? Death is the one thing that can't be researched.

"The Living End" begins with what looks like a conventional plot, telling the story of a hapless ordinary man named Ellerbee who owns a liquor store in Minneapolis, has a nagging wife whom he loves nonetheless, and is loyally charitable to his employees. One day he is shot and killed by armed robbers and is spirited away to Heaven--which, although every bit the antiseptic paradise it is rumored, appears in the form of a theme park, like an ecclesiastical Disney World--and then is told, without explanation, that he is being sent directly to Hell.

Hell is total anarchy and chaos, people constantly brutalizing each other or wandering around aimlessly with no structure or schedule to their existence, ultimately desensitized to their environment. After sixty-two years in the inferno--long enough for a guy to deserve to know why he's been sent there--Ellerbee learns that his sentence is a result of having broken some of the more easily breakable commandments, leaving him to ponder the absurdity of having to spend eternity in the abyss for having operated his business on the Sabbath.

In Hell, Ellerbee eventually meets his murderer's accomplice, a man named Ladlehaus who made a great living as a criminal but met his end when the plug was pulled on him while he was in a coma. Through an odd set of circumstances his grave was located in a high school stadium, where the groundskeeper, a man named Quiz, believed the dead man was speaking to him. Quiz, the hilariously perverse protagonist of the novel's second act, imagines the Twin Cities are engaged in a civil war and persuades little boys to play soldiers for him.

The novel comes full circle in Heaven, where Mary, who contemplates the experience of having borne a child while remaining a virgin, and Joseph, who feels cuckolded by God over said child, have reunited with Jesus in a skewed family portrait. God, frustrated with the empty and vain tributes of religion, man's idea of adoration of the divine, gives a "gala" in which, like a temperamental and narcissistic artist berating a public apathetic to his work, he explains the rationale behind his universe and makes his fearsome final decision. Elkin surely wishes he knew the secrets he pretends God to disclose, but he doesn't cheat his reader--the force and style of his expression are more than worth the time and trouble of "The Living End."

Stanley Elkin is one of the masters of twentieth century prose. His dialogue is completely believable and the language never comes across as pretentious. The characters in "The Living End" are both realistic and humorous, while the novel explores dark themes. Elkin's vision is a pessimistic one but he never comes across as too "preachy." All in all, an enjoyable read.

This is Elkin's best work in my opinion. It is sad, funny, chewy, and ridiculous. The humor is so dark you might need a flashlight to make your way but is worth it. Elkin paints hysterical portraits of all your favorite New Testament all-stars. I am so glad that this is back in print and you should be to. If you like Elkin please buy this so his work will stay in print.

Wait, is that a compliment or a putdown?

Stanley Elkin's deceivingly short novel is not a quick read. I made the mistake of reading it to and fro my train rides to work and at lunch, and, I must say, the life around me was something of a distraction from Elkin's humurous and terrifying depiction of the afterlife. Imagine reading run-on sentences like the above over and over again, thinking to yourself, "It's short... it's short... just finish reading out of respect and move on to the next book." And then imagine sentences, unlike the aboves, fill'd with wacky words that make you wish you spent more time doing crossword puzzles and that little Quiz at the end of Reader's Digest.

I'm not saying that Elkin was laboriously thesauring away, trying hard to impress the reader with his vocabulary, or syntax, or ideas, but I am saying that this book requires something of a commitment.

So I gave it one.

I reread the novel, and I picked up on some of what I was missing before. "Oh, THAT'S who Lesefario was...".

And I looked down upon my finish'd book. And it was good.

My advice follows: keep reading 'till the end. The last few lines are killer. If you feel disheartened, imagine C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" and what a bore that was. Then imagine Woody Allen writing it, without slapstick, and get back to the novel at hand, my boy... And if you want to feel good about yourself for reading a book of some substance, remember that Oprah will never, EVER, recommend this one...

If you're looking for a scholarly book about Mary Magdalene, you're probably better off reading Margaret Starbird or Jane Schaberg. But if you want a well written story about the life of Mary, then this book is for you. Higgs is a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction, and sometimes she blurs the lines. Her previous books on Bad Girls in the Bible were just a prelude to this one book on Mary, which is actually two books in one - the first half is a fictional story and the second half is the factional stone. I say "factional" rather than non-fiction because Higgs is very liberal in her interpretation of the gospels and rarely does she address alternate theories.

Higgs' discussion of Mary Magdalene assumes that Mary is not Mary from Bethany, yet there are a great many reasons to assume she is, and Higgs ignores most of these issues in her zeal to isolate Mary M as only the woman from whom 7 demons are exorcized. Yet in focusing exclusively on this aspect of Mary's story, Higgs seems oblivious to the meaning of the 7 demons within 1st Century jewish context. Moreover, she takes the easy road by assuming that Magdalene refers to the fact that Mary came from Magadan, when it makes more sense that Magdalene derived from Migdal (tower) and referred to the fact that Mary was the "tower", which, as Margaret Starbird points out, is equivalent to saying "Mary the Great". Jesus' disciples all had nicknames (Peter was called Rocky, John and James were the Brothers of Thunder, Judas was the Daggerman, Simon was the Zealot, etc.) None of these nicknames referred to places but to personality characteristics, so "Mary the Great" is in keeping with Jesus' nicknaming stragey, and "Mary from Magadan" is not.

Don't let these criticisms stop you from reading this book. It is a quick read, quite funny in parts, and generally stays true to the gospels. It is informative up to a point. I recommend it, with some cautions.

After reading Liz Curtis Higg's previous works, "Bad Girls of the Bible" and "Really Bad Girls of the Bible," I, too, was left wondering why she left out the "baddest" girl of the them all, Mary Magdalene. Well, this book more than made up for the omission. And it turns out, Mary wasn't that bad at all--she wasn't a prostitute like most people believe, she wasn't the one who annointed Jesus' feet, and she was never in love with Jesus. The only bad thing that happened to her was that she was possessed by demons (and haven't we all been at some point in our lives?...just kidding). Misinterpretation of her story by a patriarchal medieval Catholic Church is what gave her the bad reputation. Thank God Liz came along to set things straight! She explores who Mary Magdalene REALLY was through careful study of her appearances in the New Testament. (And as always, Liz makes Bible study accessible to everyone, even those who have never touched a Bible in their lives.) If anything, Mary Magdalene was a powerful and influential woman in her day--she was independently wealthy, she wasn't married at the time so she was free to follow Jesus as she chose, and Jesus Himself placed great importance upon her within his circle of followers. In fact, it was she (and none of the other (male) disciples) whom He chose to appear to first and foremost after His resurrection. That's got to say something about the woman herself!

What I love most about Liz's books is that she tells us how God EMPOWERS women. After living though so many centuries of the Christian church being run by men and limiting women's involvment, many have come to see as Christianity being "anti-woman." But according to Liz, this is not true. She presents God as very pro-woman, and points out many examples of how God has used women over the centuries to do great things. But I would recommend for ANYONE to read this (man or woman) because there are so many misconceptions of Mary Magdalene in our culture today, and it's about time we change our beliefs.

THIS IS ONE OF MRS. HIGGS' MOST THOUGHT PROVOKING BOOKS YET, IN MY OPINION. IT IS VERY WELL RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN IN A MANNER THAT MAKES YOU GO BACK AND READ THE SCRIPTURES REGARDING MARY OF MAGDALA.

MRS. HIGGS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE WRITERS. THOUGH MOST OF HER BOOKS TICKLE YOUR FUNNY BONE, THEY GIVE YOU CAUSE FOR GREAT THOUGHT TOO. I PUT HER ON MY LIST OF TOP WRITERS, UP THERE WITH MAX LUCADO.

I loved her books "Bad Girls of the Bible" and "Really Bad Girls of the Bible", so I couldn't wait to get my hands on her latest, "Mad Mary." I wasn't disappointed. WOW! what a book. I couldn't put it down. Ms Higgs does it again. She stirred my emotions with her dipiction of a modern day Mary. I could feel this woman's pain. I found myself in tears more than once.
I repeatedly compared the fictional charactors to their real counterparts, in scripture. Jake is so compassionate, it's easy to see him as a modern Jesus. I could go on but I don't want to give away any of the other charactors.
Once again I am in awe of Ms Higgs talent.
I have discussed parts of her previous books in a Sunday School lesson. I have a feeling I'll be working this one in too.

I bought this book to have a better insight on her life and story. The first part of the book is about Mary M. if she lived today. It was a good story, but that is not what I bought the book for. The second part of the book is nothing but the writers view of religion and not about the life of Mary M. Oh well, you can't have it all.