Edward Books

I wish every legislator, each state's educational commissioner, each governor, each superintendent, each principal ( and Oprah) would read this book. This book tells what the real world of a teacher is and more importantly, it addresses what changes could and should be made.

A great book. that needs to be read by every parent and politician. Realistic overview of a public school .in this day and time. What will happen in the future? We need to do something about the lack of respect for teachers and schools.Humorous approach to a serious situation.

Mary Jack Edwards, a veteran teacher who has thirty-one years experience in the classroom, splits open public education, barbecues a few sacred cows and scapegoats, and dispels a mass of myths. And in doing so, she really made me stop and think. Mary Jack draws on a wealth of personal experiences as well as statistics, legislative action, and teacher input to present an eye-poping overview of teaching in the public school classroom. And hers is not the voice of complaint, but the voice of concern. Concern for the future of public education, for the students, and most of all, the teachers. Here she says what so many of us are afraid to say. I recommend this book for everyone who has ever been or will ever be associated with public education, especially in Texas.

As a person who has spent 35 years in education, I found Ms. Edwards book to be a straightforward, knowledgeable treatise on both the successes and the failures in education. I share her belief that money alone is not the key to better education. Let's try better administrators; real (not fake) emphasis on academics, giving teachers time to teach and an environment in which this can be done; strong parenting so students come to school motivated to learning. This book should be read by ALL educators.

This is a very good story, and well told, even if ghost written.

Oddly, it casts the Duke of Windsor in a poor light, and indicates why, quite apart from the marriage question, he was a bad King. Who can read without wincing his account of how he abruptly cut short the presentations of debutantes to him at Buckingham Palace because it started to rain? This was the high point of perfectly harmless society ladies' lives, and he not only walked out in the middle, but caustically observes that he cannot understand why anyone was upset.

And then there is the peculiar passage where he says that he worked out that it would take nearly a month for bodies like the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and others, to present their loyal addresses, so he insisted on them all being done in one day, in one batch, because he could not be bothered to respond to all of them individually. Yet this was his job as a constitutional monarch!

A welcome feature of the book is that it stops at the moment of abdication. Although this means that he doesn't have to explain his conduct during the lead up to the war, and during the war (which is, however, documented in the Duchess of Windsor's memoirs), it does focus the book almost entirely on his upbringing as a Prince, and on the abdication, which are the most interesting things about him.

Well worth reading.

The Duke of Windsor wrote this book in the 1950s while living in Paris. Reading it you begin to get some sense that for all his faults here was an individual of extraordinary personal charm. It was certainly a singular life. Here was a boy who was led to believe he would inherit the throne of the greatest empire on earth but who ends up as a sad fixture on the international cocktail party circuit in the arms of an ageing American divorcee of uncertain past. What happened! The anecdotal style of this simply written book is very enjoyable to read. The passing of the certainties of the Victorian age, the Edwardian twilight, World War I, the thrill of all things new and American in the 20s and 30s: the would be Edward VIII is a uniquely placed witness. History increasingly casts the Duke and his bride as ridiculous even sinister figures. This book helps you to remember that they were human too, falliable, and at the mercy of political and world historical forces beyond their control.

The greatest love story of our century is an understatement.
A King's Story is well known to be ghost written for the Duke and even with constant prodding, he suffered from selective memory.
He seems to forget all his previous "friendships", those familiar with the saga will know this means the married women in his life before Wallis. A great addition to royal book collection, but if you are looking for the facts, hunt them down in Donaldson book. Companion book is the Duchess Heart has it's reasons. Maybe they should have gotten together so the facts in each book matched.

It is quite a sad testament to our times that there are very few true gentlemen left these days. Civility is indeed going the way of the do-do bird, and the days of gents like David Nivens, Cary Grant, Cole Porter, Sean Connery and the good Duke here, are slowly fading into obscurity. That need not be the case and, hopefully, there are few out there who still feel as do I, that it need not completely die. Perhaps if more read the memoirs here, they will become inspired and such a dream can become realized.

The memoirs themselves are quite extraordinary and give one fantastic insight into this legendary gentleman and family. Reading other reviews that quibble over "selective" memory of the Duke, I can only surmise that these come from the very same individuals who grab the latest issues of "In Touch" and whatever other gossip periodicals they can grasp, only to "learn" the inside dirt on various celebs and noteworthy individuals. If that's what you are truly after in the first place, then this is definitely not for you and you should just stick to reading the by-lines or scanning the photos of the tabloids. Otherwise, if you'd like to get a peek into a life of grandeur and civility, and perhaps some tips on how to bring a modicum of dignity to your own, then this is for you.

Enjoy.

By far my favorite book to date. It's such a wonderful book that was truly inspiring.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written and the story kept me wanting to continue. In a world that was in so much turmoil and hate, this love story gave hope that may be we all can change our opinions and attitudes about one another.

Kira's Diary is a heart warming story of love found in an unlikely setting - Awschwitz Concentration Camp near the end of World War II. Shows how love can triumph over hate and change a man's life forever. A page turner - heart warming and thought provoking.

The thing I liked best about this book is that it makes you believe that, even in the most horrible conditions, the hardest hearts can learn to love. At first, I fought the idea that these two characters could feel anything but hate for one another. But by the end, it gave me hope for all the other groups of people in the world who have been conditioned to hate one another because of ethnicity or religion or some other difference between them. Maybe we really all can get along! The vivid descriptions throughout Kira's Diary make the plot really come alive and the pages just fly by. It's a unique, rich story.

This book brings the character of Jo Shelby Ferguson to life--right from the beginning of the first page. Morris has serious talent and lets it show. He takes Jo Shelby on a believable journey in search of his roots and creates an unforgettable journey from the Mississippi delta to Mexico. It's the (seemingly)true story of a man with an unquechable thirst to find out who he really is, and Ferguson is willing to do anything to accomplish it. Joe Morris' writing is up there with the best of the literary geniuses of the 20th century--F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, and Zora Nealle Hurston, though it is a little faster paced than Faulkner. He (Morris) is sure to come out with other and greater works. He must!

First time novelist? Unbelieveable for Morris' writing is that of a well disciplined, seasoned writer! The story of Jo Shelby Ferguson catches you and moves you along the search of his family roots. The reader moves with the main character feeling his frustration, his pain, his daring, his adventure, his every move imtimately. The author must have done his homework, especially with the authenticity of the adventure on the river barge and life in the Mexican prison. The skillful and creative use of language, the vivid descriptive scenarios linger long in the reader's memory. Woven through the tale are the moral lessons of determination above all odds, and commitment to the ultimate goal. The story opened a chapter of southern history unfamiliar to me of Yankee birth! For the superior writing and the historical perspective, I am a grateful reader. When is the next novel to appear?

I found "Land My Fathers Died" to offer what many books of today do not. The novel treats readers to a wonderfully intriguing story told with grace and poetic deftness in describing a man's courageous, searching spirit. The descriptions of Mexico's vastness, ts colorful cities and its rapidly changing vistas of montains, deserts and plains are beautifully done and gives the mind many vivid pictures to recall. And one will well-remember the story's people who are given depth and "realnness." I felt the novel really moved along smoothly, with no slow stretches. Morris well shows what he can do with words and plot. I very much look forward to seeing his next work.

I picked up this book off the bookstore shelf because the cover and the author's name grabbed me (I'm a big fan of southern literature and I hadn't heard of the guy before). Needless to say, I didn't stop reading from the time I began reading in aisle, to the time I bought the book, through the time I spent on the bus, through my dinner until I slept at 2 in the morning.

This book has the makings of a classic--it's that good. The language, reminiscent of McCarthy and Hemingway, guides you through Jo Shelby's quest for identity. Jo Shelby's trip from Mississippi to Mexico, in search of his only remaining kin (descendants of Confederates who fled from the states to Mexico after the Civil War--a historical fact of which I had no knowledge) makes for a gripping and compelling read, wrought with danger and violence (there is a particularly gruesome fight scene in a Mexican prison which I still can't forget) and lessons about the meaning of honor, persistence and hope.

I'm amazed that this is a debut because Morris writes as a seasoned writer would--with patience and unpretentious honesty. A classic.

Gratefully Professor Thompson brings the evolving theology of the Reverend Father Edward Schillebeeckx into its larger and contemporary philosophical context, much as the great Father Schillebeeckx himself brings the absolute and eternal truths of our Faith into the context and language of our post-modern times. Unfortunately they bring it into the most elevated language of our academic worlds, and not that used and understood by the vast mass of our post-literate times.

I was especially impressed by Prof. Speed Thompson's formulation of the phrase "nonantithetical dialectic" to describe the nonconfrontational complementarity of the theological dynamics described so deeply by Father Schillebeeckx. Thus we use the language of Twentieth century philosophy in order to describe the zenith of our twentieth century theology.

It would be both arrogant and impossible for me to sum up here Prof. Thompson's comprehensive and brilliant summing up of Father Schillebeeckx. As in Schillebeeckx himself, each page, each paragraph, every single line, requires analysis and a talmudic commentary. I can only urge you to read closely this excellent study as a portal to the theology of Father Schillebeeckx, as a portal to our own Faith. I urge you to pack a substantial and philosophical dictionary for our journey of Faith.

Strongly recommended for all commited Catholics, and the philosophically curious traveller. Read them and weep no more.

Everyone knows there is no stew as thick as reading Father Schillebeeckx. Nothing as glorious, as blindingly brilliant, nothing as multi-faceted, nothing as profoundly informative, yet nothing as thick. Each line bears a highlighting, and the pages of used books by Father SChillebeeckx have often been painted bright yellow with a broad brush, and then stars in the margins to remember the REALLY important phrases, for it is phrases, not only sentences, not only paragraphs, of brilliance which blind the reader.

This book by Prof. Thompson is very welcome by all of us who wish to understand Father Schillebeeckx, named on of the three greatest CAtholic theologians of the Twentieth Century. This book in itself requires a familiarity with philosophy, as well as Catholic theology, but it is a great aid in crossing the treacherous chasm to an understanding of Father Schillebeeckx and thus our own Catholic faith. So many have not made it across that deep chasm and wallow broken upon the rocky reefs of uncomprehending condemnation. Father SChillebeeckx deserves nonesuch, but only our gratitude for opening our eyes and hhearts and minds to a deeper appreciation and understanding of our Faith, for keeping our Faith alive in these modern times, when so many rush to close the window of Faith.

May God continue ever to bless the great and brilliant Father Schillebeeckx, for providing us this sure path to our Faith, and for all his life's work which God has inspired. May we have the courage and attention, the intelligence, perseverence, the grace and further gifts of the Holy Spirit to study him, and the time in peace, and the able assistance of such as Professor Thompson.

But please be aware it is helpful to have a good deal of prior knowledge, and a few years of philosophical and theological studies.

The Reverend Father Edward Schillebeeckx, a Dominican Priest in BElgium, who studied at Louvain and Le Saulchoir and received his Doctorate in Paris, returned to teach dogmatic theology in Belgium, where he continues in his great old age. He took a lengthy sabbatical to teach theology to the bishops gathered in Rome at the Second VAtican Council, in order to give them a greater grip and understanding of the orthodox dogma under consideration, and he received great respect and appreciation and influence in this position of teaching in Rome. THe Encyclopedia of Catholicism calls him one of the three most important theologians of the Twentieth Century. His works remain in print and in use including in seminaries worlwide. Unfortunately for the layman they are very specialized and beyond the understanding of those who have not enjoyed prior studies in philosophy and theology, as many rather technical terms are comomn.

Here Fordham Professor Daniel Speed Thompson does us readers and Catholics a great service in synthesizing the enormous corpus of work by Father Schilebeeckx, while indicating the evolution of his thought in the light of philosophy, society, and the Second Vatican Council and later Pontifical pronouncements. As his predecessor Dominican Saint Thomas Aquinas found a framework for his theological writings in Aristotle, received by him through an interesting historical development instructive for our times, so did Father Schillebeeckx strive to express the depth of the mysteries of our Faith through the philosophical framework of recent centuries, and achieved this aim brilliantly, while remaining so fluent in the language of Saint Thomas as to produce such necessary and officially approved texts as The Eucharist.

Certainly, while this present meta-analysis by Prof. Thompson is very useful to specialists in the fields, it is only within the reach of those amateurs who are willing to dedicate the intellectual and spiritual fortitude necessary to take on as well the related studies in order to gain a full appreciation of this synmphonic work.

And why should we? Because it is a cornerstone and a touchstone of our Faith, which we hunger to know in its fullness, or lose it upon shallow waters.

Strongly recommended for those Catholics with the strength to persevere in its study, who will be eternally rewarded and grateful for the knowledge of our True Faith.

The editorial reviews on this product page are very useful, as they indicate the title only applies tangentially to a brief introductory section. The rest is a goldmine, a house of many mansions, a comprehensive study of the Reverend Father Schillebeeckx's life's work. We may find no better, although also very intriguing is the limited study Screening Schillebeeckx: Theology and Third Cinema in Dialogue.

One feels that perhaps the alarming title was chosen by someone at production for its shocking commercial element (and the bright orange cover).

But we cannot judge a book by its cover any more than by its title.

The Name of the Rose rarely if ever conveys its essence.

Not to wallow thus deliciously in semiotics, but a better title for this brilliant and valuable study might be "A Comprehensive Introduction with Commentary upon the life's work of one of the most important Catholic Theologians of the Twentieth Century," as indeed the The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism calls the Dominican and Reverend Father Edward Schillebeeckx one of three most important Catholic theologians of that watershed era.

But even as Introduction to the magnificent work of Father Schillebeeckx, we may not enter boldly here without shielding ourselves with a healthy, solid Dictionary of Philosophy, particularly post-Kantian but including Aristotle, unless of course your philosophy coursework left you well prepared to distinguish your ontology from your epistemology sight unseen. Despite the excellent and informative endnotes, such definitions of philosophical terminology is assumed rather than provided. Daniel Speed Thompson here does an excellent job at presenting the totality of Father Schillebeeckx's prolific and profound life's work, its evolution, its aims, and its historical, religious, political and cultural contexts, yet he cannot pause to spoonfeed the reader with what we have the responsibility of bringing with us to the table from Philosophy 101. To write of this enormous and complex Concorde superjet, he cannot reinvent with us the wheel, or the writing would require too many volumes. He brilliantly and surgically limits himself to the essentials, and we can easily access further information as we require. Thus this is truly a brilliant introduction not only to the Theology of Father Schillebeeckx but to the related fields of modern philosophy, etc.

To understand our modern Catholic Church and its pronouncements (many of which echo the resounding thought of Father Schillebeeckx) we need know Father Schillebeeckx. Let this book serve you as introduction, as biography, as philosophical biography, as schema for his complex and evolving writings, much as Stuart Gilbert provided a comprehensible schema for James Joyce's Ulysses, or Joseph Campbell A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake: Unlocking James Joyce's Masterwork. Yet unlike Campbell, this does not strip the infinite profoundities of theological meaning and mystery from Father Schillebeeckx, but raises a lamp to light our way and see that which we would not otherwise see.

Strongly recommended for all Catholics and all those curious to learn just what it is to be Catholic. As Saint Ambrose wrote long ago, Theology is Faith seeking Understanding. By Daniel Speed Thompson we may come to understand Father Schillebeeckx; by the Reverend Father Schillebeeckx we may come further along in understanding our Faith, and finally gain the strength and understanding, and the wisdom, to follow Our Lord's primary commandment to "love one another."

Okay--forget for a second that John Edward Lawson is a fantastic writer. Forget that he's assisted in the pioneering of fringe and unusual literature. Forget, too, that his fiction is capable of making you physically recoil in horror one second and eliciting uncontrollable laughter from you the next. For a second, despite all that, let's focus on this book.

The story of a gigilo in a women's prison--when it was originally published, it had everything you'd think such a story would have. Here, the "Director's Cut," plays out like a special edition DVD, replete with bonus scenes, behind-the-scenes, alternate endings, and even a soundtrack (that probably WON'T play in your CD player). Lawson has taken creativity to a whole new level, insisting that the publishing industry as a whole stand up and take notice. The George Orwell of our time, John Lawson illuminates the new direction of fiction...then punches it square in the face.

Kenrick Brimley (call him "Ken" or "Rick" but never "Kenrick" -- and he's no relation to that other Brimley who "eats the oatmeals") has a job you didn't hear about at the high school Job Fair. He works at the local women's prison as a sort of conjugal consultant, offering Death Row residents one final night of pleasure before the state kills them. The closest thing he has to a long-term relationship is with Leena, a convicted arsonist whom he has visited multiple times due to the various postponements of her execution.

Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut is a newly expanded edition of the first novel (and reportedly the first of a series) by John Edward Lawson -- publisher, editor, author, and Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet (for The Troublesome Amputee). Just like the special edition DVDs of your favorite films, this book offers deleted scenes, an alternate ending (that lets the reader choose between "into the sunset" and "final confrontation" styles), a soundtrack to assemble, promotional stills, and more features that make it a must-have even for those who already have the original edition of Last Burn in Hell.

Lawson tells the story as a modern-day pulp-style adventure, with Brimley going from one implausible situation to another in rapid succession (see David Dodge's The Last Match for a good example of the style). We can only sit back and watch as Brimley goes from prison guard to Death Row gigolo, from pop star hanger-on to movie-set masseur, and from the inadvertent next big rap superstar to the inadvertent instigator of a rash of suicides.

Brimley's strange adventure itself would be enough to make Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut a fun read, but the author also satirizes the style and himself in the process: he's quite aware of how unbelievable the whole thing is (and especially how his character is going through all too familiar fictional situations), and embraces it with fervor. But instead of seeming cliched and trite, it all adds up to a skewed kind of originality.

A few political statements worm their way into the story, but they're presented with a good deal of humor -- as if to say Don't take me too seriously ... but pay attention! -- that makes them go down easy. John Edward Lawson is very much a man of ideas (one need only read his poetry to understand that), and Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut shows that not only is he constantly coming up with new ones, but he is also unlikely to run out of them anytime soon.

[A final note: Though it would be easy to slap a label on it based on Lawson's prior work (especially his appearance in The Bizarro Starter Kit), don't call this book bizarro. Lawson has used the picaresque method, very familiar to the mainstream, to tell his story, and Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut is really no stranger than, say, John Irving's early novels. In fact, it would very likely appeal to fans of The World According to Garp, and it deserves that large and diverse audience.]

You know those crime movies you stumble upon late at night? The ones that were made (you assume) somewhere in the late 1990s? There's lots of action, backstabbing, double crossing, and sex? It's the movies that usually star some B actors you see everywhere but can't name. You know the type. The ones that aren't art films or heavy-handed attempts at making a "serious" film but rather fun crime romps through the desert, through Mexico, in and out of dangerous situations? Sexy women, strong men, strong women and action. Lots of action. Well... this is what LAST BURN IN HELL is like.. except the plot is warped with a keen sense of weirdness.

The feel of the novel reminds me of those films (which I love). Like a cross between TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M., RED ROCK WEST, ... and other such neo-noir films.. except LAST BURN IN HELL (director's cut!) has a sense of humor.. and a sense of the bizarre that'll satisfy fans of the odd, the surreal, and the strange.

I won't go into the director's cut angle. Actually, okay, I will. It's a gimmick but a good one. Deleted scenes, alternate ending, and even a soundtrack (well, no, you can't really LISTEN to it but still..).

I'm fairly sure that this is John Edward Lawson's first novel. If it is, well, then pat yourself on the back for even considering reading this. It's exciting, funny, weird, and fast-paced. All good ingredients for an entertaining read.

PROS:
Humor. It's funny.. but not really absurd funny (well, not too much). It takes a lot of shots at pop culture and that makes for some good laughs.
Organization. There are little chapters and blurbs here and there (like a top 10 US singles chart.. which ties in later with the story). They're clever and funny.
Plot. The story moves along and the reader encounters many different characters in many places. If this was a movie, it'd be one where you wouldn't be bored for a minute.

CONS:
Confusion. Especially towards the end. I'm guessing that because the author writes a lot of poetry, he may be use to setting the stage using obscure imagery. That works in poetry but in fiction, it can sometimes make it difficult for the reader to figure out just what is really going on. I don't consider myself an unintelligent person but by the end, I wasn't too sure what exactly happened. I get the gist of it.. but there are just some details and events that confused me. Again, some people may not feel this way. Regardless, it shouldn't stop you from buying and reading this book.

CONCLUSION:
You should read this book. It's fun and entertaining as hell. The fact that it says "Director's Cut" should clue you in to the fact that it flows like a movie albeit one with some weird twists and turns. The set-up is original; the characters are original and/or humorously based on real-type people.

This is a "bizarro" book that you shouldn't miss.

Without a doubt, John Edward Lawson is what Friedrich Nietzsche would have called an "Ubermensch" ("overman," or "superman") of the written word. Last Burn in Hell is a nonstop romp in a bizarre world of a man who has one of the best, and at the same time, worst jobs possible. His landscape is fresh, his strokes are perfect, and the final product is a wonderfully mastered piece of bizarro fiction that will leave you enthralled. You will be left craving more work of Lawson.

Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut is s stunning piece of literary creativity; and original endeavor that is both entertaining and genius: a novel written in the format of a DVD.

Director's Cut includes the original novel Last Burn in Hell, along with Bonus Features: the Soundtrack, Deleted Scenes, an Alternative Ending, and Previews. To top it off, this one even comes with "errors" on the disc.

Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut is a fresh take on the mundane format of the novel. John Edward Lawson has given birth to a greatly needed renegade with a push toward progress and "A punch line aimed at your chin . . . ."

Needed this for a college class, the bookstore on campus didn't sell the textbook and workbook (this product) separately, so I bought it here. It isn't the best book for learning or supplemental material for that matter, but if you need it for class, you need it for class

This item was in excellent condition and came in a timely manner. It helped a lot with my class.

Adam's "Lecture Tutorials" collection is an excellent suppliment to any astronomy textbook. While most text books include a couple of introductory chapters on naked-eye astronomy the material included is often surface deep at best and downright confusing at worst. Much of this is because the topics covered (i.e.-the celestial sphere, daily and yearly motions of the stars, sun and moon, etc) are highly abstract and require activities that force the student to move away from memorization towards an understand of the apparent motions and what causes them.

The Lecture Tutorials are a test ed set of just such activities based on a wealth of astronomy education research. They can be used in both large scale classes and smaller groups to get students to work through the difficult misconceptions and misunderstands that oftentimes beset the subjects being studied.

The activities range throughout the standard astronomy curriculum but, in my opinion, the best activites are those that focus on the apparent motions of the Sun, Moon and stars.

I recommend this to any student trying to better understand the subject and for any educator who wants help moving their students from "fun facts" to deeper understanding.

It's been a long coming, but it's finally here! Astronomy instructors and authors have produced a wonderfully readable and thoroughly comprehensible introduction to the science of astronomy. Each topic in this book really is a mini-tutorial as proclaimed by the cover title. The book format is actually written in a laboratory worksheet fashion (the sheets can be detached from the book along their perforated edges) with each worksheet dedicated to a specific astronomy concept (e.g., position, motion, Keplar's Third Law, etc.). One pass through this ingeniously designed "book of tutorials" and the beginner to the wonderful world of the cosmo is truly ready to move on to more advanced astronomy books and/or astronomy courses. My congratulations (and gratitude) to the Pearson Addison-Wesley Publishing Company for making the concept of learning enjoyable once again.

If you are at all interested in astronomy, but recoiled away from the subject after opening a typical "introductory" college textbook, then you would do yourself a tremendous favor by purchasing this book. You won't be disappointed!

The book is an interesting account of the struggle for western Virginia in 1861. It follows that year's rolls of Generals McClellan and Lee; the former using the successes of the campaign to further his reputation and career, and the latter struggling to straighten out a quagmire and failing to do so.

Newell covers some of the same territory as The Glories of War: Small Battle and Early Heroes of 1861 by Charles P. Poland, Jr., a longer book which discusses the 1861 actions in eastern Virginia as well.

The counties of Virginia between Ohio and the Allegheny Mountains are the scene for the action in Newell's book. They would eventually become the state of West Virginia, one of the results of Union victories there.

The campaign for West Virginia is little-known today, eclipsed by First Manassas and subsequent battles. This book tells you how it was important and takes you to the scenes of the interesting events that happened there in 1861.

Don't let the above fool you.

For as author Newell points out so clearly and so accurately in this captivating account of the little-known Fall 1861 campaign in West Virginia, McClellan had much going for him as Lee had much against him.

For McClellan and the Union, it was McClellan's devout yet crusty subordinate, General William S. Rosecrans who deserves much of the credit for the Union victory. Rosecrans was aggressive, and he didn't hesitate whereas his boss did. Indeed, Rosecrans own career skyrocketed after his success in West Virginia, only to nose dive so quickly two years later at Chickamauga.

McClellan also had the services of General Jacob Cox of Ohio, who would later distinguish himself in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, and of the famed explorer Frederic West Lander, who at one time rivalled Fremont in his Westward explorations, but who died so suddenly after the West Virginia campaign.

Also involved was a then little-known NCO named Ambrose Bierce, whose own macabre writings, including "A Horse-Man in the Sky" and "The Mocking Bird" came directly out of his experiences serving in an Indiana regiment during the fighting in West Virginia. If you like the twist and turns of Bierce's fiction, then this non-fiction work is a must.

Also going for McClellan was the key factor of a mountain populace that was on his side.

In contrast Lee suffered from poor generals - one of them, John B. Floyd, bicked constantly with his fellow generals. Floyd, the treasonous Secretary of War in the pre-Lincoln Buchanan Administration, was in constant fear of being captured and hanged. One of the more gifted Generals, Robert Garnett, was killed early on in the retreat from Rich Mountain. Garnett's cousin, Richard, would die in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg almost two years later.

Lee's troops suffered from poor morale - a fact not lost on the future Confederate commander, who learned from his lessons here, whereas McClellan quickly forgot his.

Of additional note is the fact that two future Presidents - Rutherford Hayes and William McKinley, served in the 24th Ohio during the West Virginia battles, while the Grandfather of George S. Patton fought with the Confederate forces.

Not only does Newell cover fresh ground, but the illustrations, particularly those at the beginning of each chapter, give the reader a "you are there" feel.

Western Virginia in 1861 was a Union dream come true and a Confederate nightmare. As both sides struggle to lean how make war, Western Virginia succeeded from the Confederate States of America. This is the story of the first campaign of the Civil War, the foundation of George B. McClellan's reputation. Facing a divided Confederate command structure, aided by William Rosecrans and operating in friendly territory Mac had all the trumps. Robert E. Lee, unable to grasp the idea that any Virginian would not follow the state's lead was slow to react. When he finally was forced to take command, it was to late and his reputation suffers for it. Granny Lee the King of spades was one of the nicer things said about him.

This well written book has maps in the right place and illustrations of the main players. An Epilogue covers how many of the characters fared during and after the war. Over all, this is an above average account of a small but important campaign.

After listening to Clayton Newell during one of his many speaking engagements I went out and purchased this book. The anaylsis of General Robert E. Lee vs. George B. McClellan is both riviting and thought provoking - cover to cover. In 1861 both sides had little in the way of experienced officers who commanded higher than the regimental level, yet these two men took up that challenge and the end results are still being debated to this day.

The author does an outstanding job in analyzing their strength's and weaknesses, along with their usage of junior officers. This analysis along with snippets of little known historical facts make this a most enjoyable book to read. Coming from a state born of this conflict, the studies within these pages hits real close to home!

Legend is a wonderfully enjoyable story that will give you tears from every possible mood you can be in. Why it is listed in Amazon with Loren D. Estleman's name first is beyond me, he did not put this book together. I think it was Robert J. Randisi. At any rate, in my opinion all of the authors put in their best work. A book to be read again.

I just recently finished Legend and throughly enjoyed it. I admit that I read "most" of the part about Speaks first love. Overall this was a very enjoyable western that kept me turning pages to see what would happen next. I have already passed it on to my neighbors father who enjoys westerns.

Another great anthology from some of the best western writers ever, and this is just a beginning. We can look forward to more great fiction from the new Western Writers of America anthology to be released next year. Great news for the genre! Meanwhile, read LEGEND!

I just recently finished Legend and throughly enjoyed it. I admit that I read "most" of the part about Speaks first love. Overall this was a very enjoyable western that kept me turning pages to see what would happen next. I have already passed it on to my neighbors father who enjoys westerns. Can we look for other colaborative westerns like this? Any way, for what it"s worth, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LEGEND!!!

This is not the kind of book that offers therapeutic or even informative insights, but it serves as a soothing companion to anyone struggling with a love-hate relationship with organized religion. Murray acknwledges well his rage with key players in the institution; I would have liked to heard his experience of standing at the edge of the abyss of mystery, and why he chose to embrace the Mystical Body of Christ in the first place. A good read but left me wanting more.

Father Paul Murray shared the contents of this epic new work with the Congregation of Washington, DC Dignity after Mass on Sunday 6/29/08.

An appendix contains correspondence between the Archdiocese of Washington and himself suggesting that some of the views contained in strictly academic teachings constituted heresy, especially regarding 'same sex unions.' Issues associated with Father making himself available on a web based service called 'rent-a-priest' were also faulted.

As a FORMER member of both the Maryland & DC Bars and having been thru numerous disciplinary proceedings [many, many years ago] myself, my concern is that the Catholic Church need not press the Father too much because perhaps even more than in attorney disciplinary proceedings, the church seems to hold all the cards in a deck that has been stacked long, long ago.

Inasmuch as Father grew up as an Episcopalian and there is a long history of priests switching between these two faith traditions, he was asked why he simply did not choose to become an Episcopalian priest, to which he responded that his heart was essentially with the Roman Catholic tradition.

It appears that at least prior to the publication of this epic book, that the Roman Catholic church was 'taking its time' in dealing with these issues, but will that continue now?

As a GLBT catholic, [T] in this instance, my concern for Father Murray is his 'long term' vitality, for while the personal journey so well articulated in Life in Paradox has only strengthened his realization of truth in the life of Christ, does this open the floodgates of the reality of a threatened, repressed and compromised ecclestial hierarchy within the Roman Catholic tradition?

An excellent read and extremely informative.

First the confession. Twenty-eight years ago, Paul received me into the Roman Catholic Church and, although we've not kept in touch very well since I left Washington in 1984, the Paul I knew then comes alive in this incredibly honest book. In the years I knew him, the paradox of being gay and Roman Catholic was not so painful as it is today after the long papacy of John Paul II.

What I find most authentic is the way Paul tries mightily, for so long, to hold together those two central aspects of his being. Carl Jung observed that it is in holding the tension of the opposites we encounter in life that the soul conceives a third, not previously imagined possibility. This takes a great deal of courage, but it is the way we grow.

Paul's book portrays wonderfully his process of trying to hold those opposites together in all their awful tension and the book itself is evidence of a third thing now emerging, in which Paul -- no matter what the hierarchy does in response to his memoir -- realizes and claims himself fully as both gay and Catholic.

Father Paul Murray writes a personal story involving great personal pain and abandonment by the Church he loves and serves. It is a gut wrenching story told with complete honesty. I can identify with Father Murray because I am a gay man and a Roman Catholic who has been treated by the institutional Church as "TAINTED GOODS". Every Gay and Lesbian and Transgendered Person who is Spiritual should read this book. These are stories that must be told. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand the pain of being a Gay Person in the Roman Catholic Church.