Edward Books

America's established congregations face a dilemma - how do they reach younger adults without alienating those over 60? The future may lie with this younger cohort, but the financial support and leadership of many congregations is to be found in the older group. Eddie Hammett and James Pierce have attempted to address this dilemma, making it a must read book for anyone involved in leadership in these congregations.

Hammett is Senior Leadership Consultant for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, a coach and trainer for Valwood Christian Leadership Coaching, and founding partner for the Columbia Partnership. His partner is a certified life coach who focuses on helping organizations transition effectively. It is important to note that while the publisher, -- Chalice Press, is a Mainline Protestant publisher the book has definite Baptist roots and tenor. That being said, the message it holds will be of value to congregations from across the theological spectrum - even if the illustrations at points seem rather Baptist.

While the book has a "church growth" feel to it, the authors recognize that we have entered a postmodern era where the church must embrace a missional understanding of itself. The focus is not just adding members, it's ministering to the world in which the church exists. For pastors of traditional congregations it's important to hear that younger people aren't all that interested in what Hammett calls "nickels and noses." They want to make a difference and don't have time or energy to spend on committees or details. Mission not business is the focus.

Part of the purpose of the book is to explain to the two constituencies the concerns and issues of the other. Here he leans on generational theory. He also challenges the two groups - which are in no way homogeneous - to listen to the other. In a brief chapter near the end of the book he talks to those between the ages of 40 and 60. This group - largely composed of Baby Boomers - is called to lead and to interpret. They are (I can say we are) the glue that can bind these two groups together. They are the thought leaders and innovators, the ones who are called to introduce and manage the changes the church faces. In this capacity this cohort is changed with bridging the younger and older groups. Hammett and Pierce suggest that the older set see themselves in missional mode. That is, just as missionaries must learn and understand the language and culture of the group they will minister to and with, so must those who are long established in the congregation. They must, he suggests, if this is to be successful learn to appreciate - if not enjoy - the music and concerns of those much younger than themselves. At the same time, they are called to empower and mentor those who are younger. And here is a primary issue - Baby Boomers have not shown themselves adept at either mentoring younger people or show willingness to pass on leadership to those younger than themselves. That "me first" identity that has dogged the generation effects this part of the church experience.

The point in this effort is to move the church from an "us vs. them" mentality where everyone loses, to one that allows for a "win-win" situation. It is, to use a metaphor that I've grown fond of lately; we must learn to tend one vineyard while planting another. To do this effectively, changes must happen first to values and then to structures.

Our habit is to focus on structures rather than on values, but changing staff assignments or adding programs will have little meaning if we don't first address the core values of the congregation. Among those values is missional focus. If we are focused inward on taking care of those already in the fold, then it will be difficult to minister to those outside the walls. In other words, we must be first committed to the cause and be clear about what that cause is. It is clarity as to cause that will help guide the congregation as it loosens the hold of rules and regulations.

For churches to effectively connect with younger people, they must change. Change will happen, though the authors offer a caveat. While form changes, function doesn't (Great Commission and Great Commandment). It will require reallocating staff and volunteer time and energy. It means changing the way we worship, study the Bible, and minister in the community. Many of these changes will prove unsettling to older adults, whose culture is very different. They will tend to focus on nickels and noses, which is why values must be changed first. All of this will take considerable energy to teach, interpret, and encourage. Perhaps it's no surprise, considering his own vocation, but Hammett places emphasis on the idea of coaching. He encourages congregations embarking on this journey to engage a professional coach, one who can guide them through the difficult times and offer resources. At the same time, he encourages leadership - especially pastors - to see themselves as coaches. Throughout the book he presses this case by what he calls "coaching questions."

If you are planting a new congregation that is focused on younger adults, perhaps communities such as those proposed by Emergent leaders, this book may hold little value. But, for those who are charged with leading established congregations and wish to help their congregations become missional communities that include both the young and the old, this book is essential reading. And, if you're not Baptist or don't speak the evangelical language that pops up throughout the book, don't worry about it - look for the many words of wisdom that will help you move forward in ministry.

I have been wondering since I entered the ministry how we can honor the faithful elders while attracting those under 40. Here is a book that is up-to-date and takes a church step by step through the transformation needed to reach younger people while honoring the elders.

One caveat, the authors come from an evangelical theological standpoint, so if you are more liberal theologically, you will need to filter some of their statements. This does not detract from the usefulness of the book.

Every mainline minister and church who would like to get out there and engage people needs this book.

Keeping and Reaching is an insightful glimpse at what today's churches will need to embrace to survive and accomplish the great commission--reaching a new generation. If you're a leader who is ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in, this is the book for you.
This book does a thorough job describing where we are today and gives practical steps for birthing the future. I recommend this book to all church leaders who want to survive the 21st century.

Can you think of a question about the future vitality of existing congregations that is asked more often than "how can we reach people under 40 while keeping people over 60?" I can't! And neither could primary author Eddie Hammett when an over 60 woman first posed this question to him.

As a constant observer and encourage of congregations, Eddie determined he ought to write a book on this subject. He teamed up with a friend--Randy Pierce--who had been a spiritual traveler for many years, and represented the under 40 crowd. Randy, now a practicing Christian, is able in this book to recount the perspective of under 40 persons who are searching for a church experiences that speaks to their needs.

The approach taken by this book is not a big bang approach where congregations get whiplash in the middle of making changes needed to attract people under 40. It is a coaching and learning approach where congregations develop the capacity to do and/both--reach the under 40 crowd while simultaneously affirming the the 60 plus stakeholders. It is a win-win approach that seeks to carry everyone forward into God's future.

Along the way various approaches are suggested in dealing with the existing tension in congregations before they start this journey, and the additional tension likely to arise as congregation focus on the under 40 and over 60 folks.

This is also a very personal story for Eddie, as he recounts in his book. He talks about how the "ah hah's!" needed by the over 60 stakeholders was experienced in his home church that led them to embrace changes that would attract the under 40 crowd.

Throughout the book are helpful coaching questions that can be used for dialogue sessions in congregations. Also, do not miss the coaching interview between Eddie and Randy at the end of the book.

Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60 is one of several resources that speak to the transformation journey of congregations. Others to consult are:

Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation (TCP Leadership Series) Recreating the Church: Leadership for the Postmodern Age (TCP Leadership Series) Renew Your Congregation: Healing the Sick, Raising the Dead (TCP Leadership Series)

This book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand why Reconstruction failed, when it was working so well in the beginning, and why the South won the peace after losing the Civil War. This outstanding book takes you through the transformation period of the United States after the Civil War. It starts out discussing the pain of the nation over the death of Abraham Lincoln, describes the hopeful northern missionary teaching work among African Americans in the South, and then moves on to show how "temperance reform, the yellow fever outbreak, and the Great Awakening were crucial to remaking the American nation in the late nineteenth century."

Many Americans were raised in a school system that perpetuated the myth that Reconstruction failed because of the misdeeds of northern carpetbaggers, southern scalawags and illiterate former slaves. Not only does this book dispel that myth, it gives you a blow by blow account of what went wrong, among a well-meaning nation of abolitionists, who cared about the freedom of slaves and wanted to forever do away with the "peculiar institution" of slavery. Although this book may appear academic in nature, it is very easy to read, and what is more, it should be required reading for every citizen of the United States. It tells the sad tale of how and why Reconstruction failed, and it shows the circumstances that allowed the white South to impose one hundred years of de facto slavery after the Civil War. Read this book and you will understand the lies we were told in high school. After you read this book, you will never stop talking about it with friends and family.

This review applies to both the hardback and paperback editions of the book, even though the reviews only appear under one or the other, not both. I have chosen to review this under the paperback version because it is still in print.

In Reforging the White Republic Blum takes a different angle at exploring the post Civil War/Reconstruction era. He writes on the different roles religion played in attempting or not attempting to reconstruct the United States. The book flows well and avoids verbose and complicated language that usually turns readers off. It is startling to learn of the different stances religions and religious leaders took, in terms of race relations between whites and African Americans, after the war. Between hypocrisy and outright dedication and heroics, the challenges of reuniting a nation are examined in Blum's work. This is an asset in the college classroom.

Drop any preconceptions you may have had about the social climate following the Civil War in America. Historian Blum does an excellent job of not simply giving you a page by page analysis of why Reconstruction faltered in America; he also explains how religion, nationalism and white idenetity played huge roles(negative and positive)in the successes and failures of Reconstruction. Blum has decided to keep his analysis more centered on how the cultures of the white and black Americans of the North and South continued to meet and change themselves in order to keep pace with times. This book will allow you to see the struggle of maintaining belief systems rather than that of an Army. The battle fought in the psyches of Americans following the Civil War was just as important as those played out on the battle fields.

If you ever have a class in American Religious History or Church History it is worth including this even if it's not on the syllabus. It is valuable info overlooked; fully footnoted with plenty of quotes revealing the rest of the story regarding American legends like Beecher, Beecher Stowe, D. L. Moody, et al. If you wonder how people can be abolitionist but during reconstruction flip so that they are more interested in forgiving rebels who've committed treason than justice and advocacy for freedmen, this will help you understand. You will also be exposed to the heroism of whites who went South to live and act redemptively in the face of repudiation and true danger.

This is an English translation of the most significant book ever written by Rosa Luxemburg, the great European socialist theorist and revolutionary. Born in Poland she gravitated to Berlin just as Edward Bernsein was leading the German Social-Democratic Party and all of European socailism toward a reformist, revisionist position which would become his philosophical legacy the to world.

From the very start, Rosa Luxemburg was the main theoretical opponent of Bernstein's revisionist theory. She critized that theory from her position in the political left. This book, written in 1900, is the classic answer to Bernstein's book, "Evolutionary Socialism" (written in 1898).

For any library hoping to survey the entire course of modern European thought this is a necessary addition.

Barbara Greenway, a high school teacher in Maryland, January 18, 2004,
luxemburg
Written at the turn of the last century (1900), this is Rosa Luxemburg's concise but brilliant response to the question --- what is the future for the workers of the world? The debate then, in Germany, is still the same question today. Can the current system be 'reformed'? Can we have humane capitalism? As Luxemburg says in this short pamphlet, 'The historic necessity of the socialist revolution manifests itself above all in the growing anarchy of capitalism...' Although it may seem that we are further away from this debate then ever before, reading this polemic may make you think differently. Luxemburg takes up economic development, unions, and the dangers of the opportunists of the 'left'. She always keeps her remarks grounded in the scientific socialism of Karl Marx and successfully, in my opinion, argues the case for workers ultimately taking power. A strong and convincing argument for those who want to study the writings of past revolutionary leaders to prepare for fights to come. While Amazon may say that this book is unavailable from time to time, it is always available from the Pathfinder Z store listed under"new and used" at the top of this page.

In 1897 Eduard Bernstein, then a influential leader of the German Socialist party, the SPD (a large, well funded organization which led many unions and whose leadership was respected internationally), began publishing a series of articles in the Socialist press which were later published as a book "Evolutionary Socialism". In this work Bernstein challenged a number of the basic underpinnings of Marxism. Principally, that a revolution was necessary to transfer political power from the capitalist class to the workers and farmers. Bernstein argued instead that by using the power of the unions, by getting reformers elected to public office, by passing social welfare legislation, etc. a gradual transformation, evolution, of capitalism to socialism could occur. None of the other leaders of the SPD challenged Bernsiein's views.

Instead a young woman in her twenties, just out of college, and an immigrant to boot, took on the job. In a series of articles she took on and demolished Bernstein's arguments. She went further and argued that a rot had infected the organization and needed to be cleared out. This was Rosa Luxemburg and this is her first important book. Well worth the time to read.

It is right now (2004) the accepted wisdom of the mainstream of that which
calls itself The Left in the U.S. (and not only there) that the present
evils of this System-the "free market" capitalist system-are the result of
"mistaken" policies, that U.S. imperial war and parallel attacks on our
rights were invented by George W. Bush (or at best, the Republicans), and
that the best we can do-we, meaning working people and youth seeking to
resist-is hope by various ways to tame the Yanqui Empire and make capitalism
behave in a "responsible" way. More than one hundred years ago, a
Polish-born, Jewish, and-for that time, gasp! -female revolutionist Rosa
Luxemburg stood up (on a chair once, the story is told; she was short as
well) in front of the largest and best organized labor movement in Europe,
the German Social Democratic Party, and declared that while working people
can never stop fighting for our rights and our interests such as in street

demonstrations and above all the strike picket line, we will carry the
weight of this system's evils around our neck unless we have the final goal
always in mind of taking power out of the hands of the capitalists and
putting it in our own. Elsewhere she summed it up as the choice between "
Socialism or Barbarism." In today's terms it could be summed as: either we
do what the Cuban people did in 1959 and after in this country-in our era-or
humanity is doomed to a march by imperialism toward fascism and Word War
III. Read this book and you will do much more than learn about a long-ago
debate in the labor movement: you will be inspired by Rosa Luxemburg's
absolute confidence in the ability of working people in the most advanced
capitalist industrial power of her time to storm the heavens and make
revolution!

Regents of Muran is not only extremely well written, but also has a terrific story behind it. It's fast paced and keeps you turning page after page, and actually makes you feel bad when you have to put it down. When I reached the end of the book, I kept checking to make sure there weren't more pages that I was missing. I couldn't believe it was the end!! Talk about a cliff-hanger! Where's the sequel??????

I actually work with Ronald Krasneck the author of this book and he is as extraordinary as his writing. I bought this book after he showed it to me and I have a problem putting it down. This book is a true page turner with unique characters and a storyline that makes you want more.

I can't wait for more! The story moved along, hard to put down! The characters were exctiting and the plot new. I have read a LOT of science fiction and fantasy and this was a story line I could not figure out until it was over! I recommend it!

Holds your interest throughout the book.I kept wanting to read more, and not wanting to put the book down.The human characters in the book are very believable. The book is easy reading.Best book of this kind that I have read.

Houston's abridgement and editing have led to this one effect among others: Reading the book itself becomes a spiritual experience. We become examined, humbled, then excited and inspired. These are the questions Edwards' explores: What are the roles of the affections (i.e., emotions) for a Christian? How do we know they are genuinely from God's grace? In answering this he points to the beauty of God's holiness itself--a concept rarely seen in Protestant literature and rarely seen at all between the Middle Ages and von Balthasar. Another important concept is that the presence of the Holy Spirit within a believer provides a "new sense" to add to the 5 senses. Edwards' elucidation of the scripture's view on the affections/emotions is worth the price of the book alone.

no wonder many consider edwards north america's greatest thinker. like his other works, this volume is priceless. he brilliantly delves into the human psyche, exposing man's emotional needs and their fulfilment in God.

Jonathan Edwards penned "Religious Affections" in a day much like our own. Battle lines were drawn over religion of the heart and religion of the head. Edwards, the consummate scholar, but his biblical mind and spiritual heart fully into the task of explaining the scriptural, theological, and practical truth of the nature of spiritual conversion and spiritual growth.

Unlike many Christian scholars today, Edwards recognized the age-old (Old Testament, New Testament, and Church History) truth/tradition of the affections. He saw them as the relational motivation that impelled the soul. Further, he saw the affections, or our longings, desires, and thirsts, as God-created/designed core components of the healthy human personality.

He then traced the relationship between the affections, our cognitions, our volition, and our emotions. Brilliantly he demonstrated that we pursue (volition) what we perceive (cognition) to be pleasant (affections) and pleasing (emotions). In other words, the "action" is in the affections. Capture the affections through the imagination (the deepest aspects of our cognitive capacity) and you capture the soul.

To understand the biblical psychology of the soul, other than the Bible itself, this is THE book to devour.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Beyond the Suffering: The Story of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

I'm a minister of music at an evangelical church. Almost every week, I have the conversation with someone "what are the role of emotions in our services and in the Christian's life in general?" (Nobody really asks it THAT way, but you get the idea.)

I've come to the point where I won't even begin the conversation without having them read this book. Seriously! Edwards covers ALL the issues in a thurough and practical way.

Strap on your thinking cap, but know it's worth it! I read this book every year and God never fails in using it to refocus my heart on Him.

I highly recommend this book to any social science researcher, not just the beginners intended as the primary audience. It helps remind everyone of the fundamentals that all good research should be based on.

Nachmias & Nachmias do an excellent job of clarifying sometimes difficult to understand concepts. They present basic statistical and mathematical ideas in a way designed not to scare off those of us not so good with numbers. At the same time, they cover a vast number of relevant topics. Comprehensive is the only word to use.

Only quibble: really expensive! Otherwise it's fantastic.

I used this book for methodology class, thou the official textbook was the more common book of Bailey. I did so for several reasons.
1. incidentally I had not Bailey's but this book because I used this book to prepare graduate entrance exam.
2. as u know, there are not much differences among textbooks on research methods for this field might be the only area in consensus on social sciences.
This book has some weak points just like other textbooks including Bailey's. this book concentrates on quantitative methods and not much deal with qualitative methods which occupy mere 20 pages.
But I have to mention 2 strong points
1. The author presents concepts in graphic way with vivid details of research examples and illustrating live logic of field. Thou good researcher could be only with practices, it will be good to have some touch of real logic of concept in real field
2. the author put the system over various methods like observation, survey, interview etc with the logic of causation. This is why this book begins research design part with experiment which is rarely used in social sciences except psychology. Experiment is not practical one in social sciences but it's the model of all other research methods for its design meets all the condition of causation. So when we design out research, we should bear the experiment in mind. This point is maintained throughout the book. And this made the content of the book systematic

I have used this text in my introductory level research class for several years. I find it to be well designed and clearly written. The authors make good use of real life examples to claarify complex topics. The text almost teaches itself.

This is the sixth edition, which means that the still probably useful fifth and previous editions are now good for landfill duty. The price is hefty. (Why don't textbook publishers offer financing?) That said, this is a usable book, one that the reader might be tempted not to sell after class is over. The research and statistics chapters are well-written and placed in logical order. The material is comprehensive, and strikes a nice balance between not being too technical without being too elementary. What appealed to me was the by-the-numbers approach, with numerous lists embedded in the text throughout. (For example, if there are seven factors to consider in reference to the internal validity of a research design, they are boxed off and numbered, after being discussed in the text.) The book comes with a disk containing a 1996 general survey of social science issues. This is provided by way of example, and is referenced at the end of most chapters as a real-world example and 'how to' guide to research methedology and design. Nonetheless, you can do as I did, and read without using the disk (I used it once), and still come away with complete understanding. This book is also free of the filler that crowds and obscures useful information in the garden variety textbook. This book would have gotten five stars, had it not been for the authors' annoying habit of using liberal examples. In a social science research text, reference to politically sensetive issues is to be expected. What annoys is that virtually every example, whether derived from real life, or an admittedly ficticous example, is given a liberal slant. If the factors being researched are education and political orientation, then liberalism correlates with higher education (read: conservatives are dummies). If the subject is nominal variables, the example is party affiliation in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans two-to-one. In other words, the examples serve the standard orthodoxies of our time. Don't expect to see any on race and abortion, or the use of guns to deter crime. That said, since the main users of this book are college students, and as such are getting much heavier doses of campus radicalism and causes du jour, this book's bias is relatively mild. If you are going to study research methodologies, you could do much worse than this text. -Lloyd Conway

I am an eleven year old boy and I think that"The Rhyming Season" by Edward Averett is a great book! Brenda Jacobsen (the main character) lives in a small town named Hemlock with her tall, basketball loving family. I liked the way the author made all of the characters in this small town become so real and believable. Even though I am a boy and not yet in high school, I could relate to the challenges that Brenda was going through in the story and was totally absorbed by the basketball games and action packed plot. I like this book because of the way the author combines two very different things together, basketball and poetry.

In a dying lumber town in the far reaches of Washington State, Averett's heroine is the star of the girls' high-school basketball team. But she lives and plays under the shadow of her brother, the town basketball hero, who died. With a bad home life and a coach who's left the team, this is the story of a season in both hell and heaven.
In a disastrous blow, the school assigns the team a coach who's not only the English teacher but who requires the team to learn and recite poetry -- aloud -- at practice and even during games. How humiliating!
But -- let me leave it there; author Averett pulls magic out of his hat and gives us a thrilling story that's far from the conventional. A wonderful achievement.

Ed Averett's "Rhyming Season" is a moving depiction of grief, loss, and growth for the individuals and the Northwest logging communities. His mixture of poetry and sports is a
delicious element in a story that resonates on many levels.
A great read!
Mary Ann Murphy

This is a great read. The writing is superb, the story is moving, engaging, and original. I loved the blending of sports and poetry. This is one of the best YA novels I've read in a while. Bravo, Edward! I look forward to reading more books by you.

Unfortunately I haven't yet made it to SFMOMA to see the Gerhard Richter exhibit. However, my much anticipated copy of Richter 858 arrived in the mail today, and to say that it didn't disappoint is an understatement. I had initially been a little wary about getting it. It comes with an aluminum slipcase and poetry and an audio CD with music composed by the brilliant Bill Frisell, and while some might find this sort of presentation lush, I, being somewhat of a purist, was afraid these inclusions would be nothing more than bells and whistles-basically a lot of noise to give voice to a suite of paintings that, according to any good Kantian, should be able to stand on its own. Boy was I wrong. People who know me know that I don't like fuss, but even the worry about scratching the aluminum slipcase, or maneuvering the book's awkward size and bulk, or the guilt for not using gloves to turn these impeccably produced pages, couldn't dampen the sheer transport I felt as I drunk in art and text and Bill's passionate and daring compositions with equal abandon. I've been reluctant to embrace anything multimedia, but Richter 858 may have just pushed me into the 21st century.

This is a gorgeous book by a man who in the future will be credited with debunking all the art critics who since the 1950s have been shouting to themselves that Realism is dead, or the ones that still shout "painting is dead." Gerhard Richter breaks all the rules of "being an artist." He has worked in a variety of styles, refusing to produce a "style" as often artists are supposed to do. In his ealy photorealistic -paintings Richter copied ordinary, found images onto canvas, but gave them an indistinct appearance. Again, by working directly from photographs, he manages to debunk all the criticism that such techniques often bring. This subversive realism is now more evident than ever, in these later, almost fuzzy works that still manage to knock the visual senses as if shouting: "Long Live Painting - Long Live Realism!"

I've only recently become acquainted with the range of Gerhard Richter's work, but the series of eight abstract paintings which are being celebrated here are enough to justify his reputation for me, and the sheer richness and resolution of their presentation in this book is of a standard I've never come across anywhere. Elegant, sensuous and gorgeous, this is more than a `typical' art book in manners large and small; includes insightful essays by writers like Dave Hickey, poetry, and a CD by Bill Frisell with a string trio that's a lot more quirky and edgy than his recent stuff, in a good way (no banjos). The book's editor, David Breskin, has done an amazing job - the aluminum slipcase is a pretty sharp touch, too.

You don't have to be an afficionado of contemporary poetry, or an art lover, to appreciate the many delights housed within the aluminum slip case of this work. But if you happen to be either, or both, this book is a must.

The "book" has, in this case, evolved well beyond the concept of an art tome. The joining of music, poetry and lovingly accurate reproductions under one cover makes the circumnavigation of this opus is a particularly rich eexperience. Which is not to say that listening to the music , or dipping into one poem, is not an entirely satisfying moment by itself.

Be prepared, however: this gesamtwerk is big, and will not fit into an ordinary bookcase! The paintings being reproduced to scale has dictated the extra large format, but the extraordinarily accurate pictorial results are worth the extra weight.

Noll does a great job of listing the history of how Evangelicalism came about. The men that he writes about are interesting themselves and Noll has perked my interests to read some biography's on men like Edwards, and the Wesley's. This book also does a great job of keeeping you interested in the reading. I highly recomend this book to anyone intereted in finding out where Evangelicalism as a whole came from.

I've always admired Mark Noll as one of the foremost historians in the evangelical community. His scholarship is balanced, his judgments are nuanced, and his work is meticulous. What he hasn't been in the past is interesting and fun to read.

That has changed with this compelling first volume in a five volume series on evangelical history. Mark discusses the three antecedents of American and British evangelicalism: Pietism, Calvinism, and high church Anglicanism. He highlights influential works by Cotton mather and Jacob Spener, and he depicts the spiritual lethargic landscape in the days prior to the Northampton revival of 1734.

He then discusses the powerful ministries of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John and Charles Wesley. He shows how evangelicalism was shaped by what God did through their preaching and writing. He underscores epochal sermons by Edwards on justification, and Whitefield's inspiring extemporaneous sermons that took the colonies by storm.

This is a fast reading book which holds your attention from the very first page. I had a hard time wading through some of Mark Noll's other books (America's God was tough reading, History of Christianity in the US and Canada was somewhat tough as well, but this one is right up there with Doug Sweeney's American Evangelical Movement. Thumbs up!!!

I am a scientist with an interest in church history, not a professional historian. But in my limited view, this is an important book. Covering the period of 1740 to 1795, it is the first of a five volume series edited by Noll on the history of evangelicalism. It appears to be a scholarly treatment of a topic of which I knew relatively little.

I knew something about Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys but, if nothing else, this book was worth reading to learn the striking story of William McCulloch, "a somewhat colourless parish minister" in the village of Cambuslang, just outside Glasgow. Despite John Wesley's view that Scots were a people that "hear much, know everything, and feel nothing", MuCulloch appears to have been a dedicated pastor who loved his parishioners and they reciprocated by responding to his preaching. At communion time in 1742 a reawakening broke out in this village that changed the course of the Scottish Kirk. I wish I had known William McCulloch.

I am struck by Noll's description of how this movement, refusing to be constrained by socioeconomic barriers, spread to every stratum of society, including the slaves of the Caribbean and North America. Noll's distinction of how this resulted in Abolition in England while having a different result in the United States is thought provoking and distressing.

There is an excellent index that allows one to return to the historical details that one rapidly forgets. But the most striking portion of this book is the last chapter. One of the important topics Noll treats here is the role of hymnody in this movement. Noll shows how central the place of singing was to this movement and how those hymns that were most enduring and which were embraced by people across the theological spectrum differed from the large body of hymns of the period. One of the most attractive stories is how John Wesley and Augustus Toplady tried to do theological battle by writing polemical hymn texts. But the people of both their respective camps enthusiastically adopted the warring hymns of both authors and today we join them in singing "Rock of Ages" and "O for a thousand tongues."

Then there is the Introduction and the Afterword, but I will never tell the punch line! Buy your own copy of this very reasonably priced book. It will be a satisfying read and you will undoubtedly return to it many times. I impatiently await the second volume.

This work is the first in a projected 5 volume series on the history of evangelicalism. It explains the origins of the movement in a confluence of English, Continental pietist, and American Puritan influences in the first half of the eighteenth century, and follows the movement through 1795.

Due to the involvement of evangelicals in politics in recent years, there is a great deal of interest by those outside the movement in coming to a better understanding of who evangelicals are. This book would make a good start. Hopefully, the forthcoming volumes will further the story as effectively as this one.

This book is great, it has great photos and images that complement the text well. The images are clear and easy to see. The brief explanations are great too, and really highlight what is important in the image.

I needed an Atlas to study for my residency exam in Pathology and this book made it! I aced the practical examination!

Do you want to get 99 on the USMLE Step 1?
'Pocket Companion to Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease' + 'Robbins & Cotran Atlas of Pathology' + 'Robbins & Cotran Review of Pathology' is the best combination ever created for this purpose - you'll not only pass, you'll ace the boards!
'Robbins & Cotran Atlas of Pathology' isn't just the atlas of systematic pathology with numerous highest quality lebeled photographs of gross pathology, microscopic slides, and radiologic images - it also contains the review text arranged as legends explaining illustrations; by using this atlas together with 'Pocket Companion to Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease', you'll be able to understand and to answer the great case-based USMLE-style MCQs presented in 'Robbins & Cotran Review of Pathology'.
Triple 'Robbins' is a killer combination far superior to all other popular reviews of pathology on the market (for example, 'BRS Pathology') - those reviews lack important details, especially, about the mechanisms of disease (step 1's favorite), contain outdated information, are mostly without illustrations (you'll get a lot of macro and micro pathology pictures and radiologic images on step 1), and don't have the sufficient number of good quality MCQs.
By the way, illustrations in 'Robbins & Cotran Atlas of Pathology' are completely different from those presented in other books of the 'Robbins family'.
This book isn't expensive - $49.95 is an unusually low price for 529 pages long full-color hardcover medical atlas.
The last, but not the least - triple 'Robbins' combination is the most entertaining and easy way of studying and reviewing pathology - you'll not be bored!

This new atlas has LOTS of additional photos of pathologic specimens (both gross and microscopic images, with many helpful radiologic correlations) not included in the 7th edition of Robbins & Cotran. The photos are of excellent quality, and follow along, chapter-for-chapter, with the text for ease of review. Key features are highlighted by use of focal symbols placed within the images to direct the reader to landmarks detailed within the corresponding captions. The captions are substantial, and reinforce important concepts by using many of the same key words and phrases found in the more detailed text, as well as including additional information to enhance understanding. One thing is certain: In the field of pathology, pictures always help! This atlas wasn't available when I took sophomore pathology in medical school, but I am glad to now have it as a companion to "Big" Robbins as part of general pathology practice and review. So why didn't I give it "5 stars", you ask? Because there is always room for improvement, and since this is R&C's first atlas, more reviews are needed for this and future editions before extoling perfection. Regardless, I think they're off to a good start!