Hart Books

This book can be hard to come by (you can order it from Amazon but just try to actually GET it from them--I gave up after 4 months and used an Amazon 3rd party seller). But it's worth hunting for. A wealth of information and handy reference volume for the serious collector and serious bookseller.

Very informative, well written, witty and interesting. A good read for a reference book. Lack of an index keeps it from being a great book.

Written by bibliographer John Carter (1905-1975), and originally published in 1952, this 232-page compendium of information and insights has long been considered the "how-to bible" for dedicated antiquarians, bibliophiles, and specialty lib-rarians with respect to locating, evaluating, and acquiring rare and out-of-print titles. Now in a completely revised, expanded, and re-set eighth edition, the ABC For Book Collectors is additionally enhanced with an informative introduction by Nicolas Barker (a personal friend of the late John Carter and the man who is responsible for the updates and revisions of this eighth edition). Among the subject authoritatively covered (and arranged in more than 490 alphabetically presented entries) are technical terms used in book collecting and bibliography; auctions, book conditions, facsimiles and fakes, "points", rarity, and more. This new addition provides up-to-date information on web-based book collecting (including eBay sales). The ABC For Book Collectors is a seminal and essential reference shelf component for dealers and collectors, and will prove of immense interest to authors, publishers, librarians, bibliophiles, bibliographers, and reviewers as well!

Carter's book is not dated for me, but timeless. He has a droll and elliptical way of deflating the fatuous inclinations of book dealers. Yes, there is no index, and it is tough to find exact terminology sometimes. But this book is not a mere reference book, it is meant to be read and enjoyed and instruct you in the "what", but also the "why" and "how". Carter, in his manner and wit, shows a *way* of approaching rare books which I think is very healthy. His skewering of the term "mint condition" and his hilarious description of "issue mongers" have me revisiting this book for momentary pleasure again and again. I started in used books in a store about 8 years ago and when I was hired, my boss put this book in my hands. I have always appreciated that gesture. Any collector should find both pleasure and knowledge in this tome.

One of the earlier reviewers -- a history grad student -- noted that this book is "outdated and unorganized." Both of those claims are inaccurate. I'm a manuscripts curator by profession, and this text is certainly not outdated. Book knowledge, and the subtleties of collecting and discriminating among important texts, are the highest priorities of John Carter's book, and he imparts those things with great skill. Several reviewers also criticize the lack of an index or table of contents. Folks, it's an encyclopedia; each term has its own heading, in alphabetical order! The book IS the table of contents and the index. This book was required reading for the "Introduction to Descriptive Bibliography" calss when I first attended Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1998; I'm sure it still is.

It's important for historians (grad student or no) to familiarize themselves with this terminology. "All the terms and abbreviation in the book can be found on the Internet," notes the aforementioned grad student. Whoa! The great hulking trash barge that is the Internet does indeed pull up search terms for all of Carter's entries, but I don't trust them to be accurate. Many book-collecting terms are highly subjective ("first edition," for instance) and I'd never rely on an unvetted digital source for an accurate description if I knew nothing of the subject. You can trust John Carter's book. It should be handy on the bookshelf of every bibliophile. You'll find yourself reaching for it a lot. -Dan Lewis, Ph.D., Curator of the History of Science, the Huntington Library.

I couldnt stop laughing, i could really see him standing in the water and his buck skin shrink....i loved this book, and read it more then once! as a matter of fact i lost my copy and im online ordering it again :) keep up the good work i hope you write another time travel just like this one.

When I read the book Charmed, I have to say I read it several times.I live in Shawnee,and close to Shawnee High School. Ft. Amanda is a place where we go in the summer to take canoe rides down the Auglaize river. There is alot of history about the Shawnee Indians, and of course the Shawnee Indians have a great football team.Catherine Hart sure wrote it like it is. Please write another book about the past and present. It makes for interesting reading. Everybook Catherine writes is a five. Thanks Sandi

this book is excellent..especially catherine hart's other books too...ie. impulsive..her newest book

"Charmed" is probably the sorriest excuse for a novel I have ever read. I liked Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander", so the time-travel-meets-romance formula is not the problem. "Charmed" is poorly written, badly concieved, not true to history, not consistent (the magic Indian can turn the bedroom into a romantic glade with flowers and butterflies but he can't heal his wife's sprained ankle) and the dialog is painfully stupid. Example: Nikki has traveled back in time to the Shawnee tribal lands and is attending a festival with Silver Thorn. He has painted his body with blue paint for the ceremony and she says "Omigod! You look like a cross between a Mighty Power Ranger and a giant Smurf!" In spite of the fact that she speaks in modern slang, the Indians of 1812 have no problem accepting her. They like her Bic lighter!! A total waste of time - you will lose brain cells as you read.

This was such a wonderful book. I think that Silver Thorn and Nikki were so good together. I couldn't stop laughing at something of the things Nikki would say or do. She is one sassy lady. Now Thorn was not to bad himself, he could give as good as he got. I like how Ms. Hart mix old magick with today. I wonder if she could make another book at of these characters. I just wanted too say to Ms. Hart that its a sign of a really good author if you can make people feel what the characters are feeling. Thanks!

Hart does a fine job of giving us a good overview of the person and times of J Gresham Machen. We are given sufficient detail to properly understand the circumstances surrounding him and the changes he was facing. This is an invaluable lesson for anyone who finds himself going against the trends of society.

D.G. Hart has proven himself to be one of the finest contemporary historians who focuses on American evangelicalism. For fans of Machen or contemporary North American Presbyterians - this book is absolutely a must read.

What distinguishes this work from other biographies of Machen is Hart's tremendous ability to bring out the historical situation and cultural currents that swirled around the pivotal events in Machen's life. Hart provides us with a richly textured vision of the tensions within North American protestantism during the first half of the twentieth century.

The book is ably written in clear prose. Even though the issues and arguments surrounding Machen's work are often quite complicated, this book is as much of a "page turner" as any work of such meticulous scholarship can be.

Hart's theological astuteness is also indirectly evident throughout the book. This allows him to portray individuals on all sides of the various issues as full and interesting individuals rather than as cardboard characters. We can easily understand why many would find Machen's opponents to be attractive figures, even though one suspects that Hart would often have sided with Machen.

Highly recommended.

Never having read much about J. Gresham Machen, I came to this book slightly unprepared for the technical discussions Hart sometimes gets into about the intellectual and even cultural context in which Machen lived and worked. However, this really is one of the book's strengths because Hart does a great job showing how the ideas and debates of Machen's time influenced his thought. He didn't work in a vacuum and Hart points out both how Machen responded to his times and how his critics in turn responded to him. The only caveat with the book is that it is much more a study of Machen's thought than it is a personal biography about what he was like (though there is some of that too). In the end I walked away with a deeper appreciation for Machen's intellectual honesty, scholarly rigor, and courage in defending the faith in his day. Now I need to read Ned B. Stonehouse's J Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir.

We have long needed a superior biography of Protestantism's leading conservative theologian of the first half of the 20th century. Hart has written an excellent work, in the process showing that he is as much at home in general American intellectual history as in the more narrow field of church history. The observations are perceptive, the prose clear. After mastering Hart's work no will be able to talk about "fundamentalism" in the same way again. Justus D. Doenecke, Emeritus Professor of History, New College of Florida

If there is one individual in American history that punctuates the struggle in the church to prevent the separation from reason to religion, fact to faith, it is J. Gresham Machen (1881 - 1937). Hart does an incredible job of putting this larger-than-life character in his proper historical significance and the book is a must read for any person who wants to more fully understand why the church is so impotent in her ability to relate in a relevant manner to the real issues of the day.

Machen's struggle was primarily against the efforts within the Presbyterian church at the turn of the century to modernize and become more relevant to the cultural around them. Machen strongly believed that God's Word was timeless and the emphasis need to remain on educating and equipping the leaders of tomorrow with a strong foundation of theology and understanding of the truth and tenets of Scripture and the celebrated historical creeds of the faith. He became one of the most celebrated professors at Princeton Seminary, but was forced out of this position because of his unwillingness to compromise on the importance of solid biblical scholarship as well as his refusal to kowtow to the political structure within the church. After leaving Princeton, Machen and a few others founded Westminster Theological Seminary, which has gained a reputation for its Calvinistic theology as well as a reputation for solid scholarship, especially in the fields of biblical studies and theology.

Machen's primary battle was with the church's move toward anti-intellectualism, the embrace of the emotional and sensational evangelicalism of the day that "won soles" but didn't change lives. Machen was an incredible figure that clearly demonstrated the power and influence of the church's slide away from her historical roots and moorings into the cultural drift we can so easily see in a vast percentage of our churches today - especially in Machen's beloved Presbyterian Church!

The historical significance of Machen is only matched by his amazing and colorful personality. He passed away at a relatively young age really at the peak of his significance to the movement attempting to reestablish the importance of intellectual pursuits in the Christian walk; but his legacy is felt today through the lives and works of those who picked up the torch and continued the battle including the works of Francis Schaeffer, Cornelius Van Till, B.B. Warfield, and even Nancy Pearcey.

This dictionary not only lists famous Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses (for instance Hathor, Isis, Osiris and Geb), but also foreign and lesser-known deities, from Aken to Yamm. It presents all those worshipped at some point in Ancient Egyptian history. The information of each god and goddess given include the deity's attributes, such as sceptres, crowns and animal form. Illustrated with a few black and white illustrations, it is a most useful reference for students of Egyptology and mythology.

Although I used this book for learning english terms of egyptology it was quite entertainig too. For a dictionary the author applies a quite polemical view, take the damnation of plutarch and his made-up Osiris legend for example. Although the drawings are nice and clear the reader should use a picture book of epytian gods and goddesses on the side.

this is the best book in the world
it helped me soooooooooooooooo much with my social studies project
it also helped me get an A+

This is the first book about the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt that I have seen has been any good. It lists all the important and less important gods alphabetically. Some even have discriptions. It mainly shows what they were a god of, and some have short myths and legends about them. Of course if you want to learn more about a certain myth or god you will need a different book. But if you want to learn the jist of it, then this book is for you.

If you need a handy dictionary of Ancient Egyptian deities, this is the one to get. It gives the basic information on most of the important gods & goddesses. What separates it from a few others, is that it does not rely soley on the later (Greek & Roman) myths, but also discusses the earlier references to the gods, and their development over time. Of course the descriptions are quite brief, as they must be for this kind of quick reference. This is not a picture book so it does not contain colored photographs, but it does include useful line drawings of many deities.

The major problem I find is a lack of references to more detailed information for those who want to learn more about a particular deity. But for the price, it really has not yet been beat. Good job!

I own this book, and even though i'm not planning on being a comic book artist, it helps me alot with my proportions, perspective, action posese and just plain getting things right. It's also a great book for simple shading and stuff like that. only draw back is that his art isn't always ok. He's best at his comic book characters though, and it's obvious if you look at any of his other how to draw books.

if you have a hard time drawing out agreat looking bad guy or gal this is a book for you i have had a great deal of drawing out some really crappy bad guys but this book has helped me draw some cool bad guys so buy it

I own this book, and even though i'm not planning on being a comic book artist, it helps me alot with my proportions, perspective, action posese and just plain getting things right. It's also a great book for simple shading and stuff like that. only draw back is that his art isn't always ok. He's best at his comic book characters though, and it's obvious if you look at any of his other how to draw books.

This book is a good follow up to How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains. It touches on more subjects of making up villains, muscle structure, and other such things. This book though is not for beginners who haven't drawn before. All in all, this is a good book to have if you have already read the How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains.

I got this book for my son who loves to draw and will practice endlessly when he enjoys the subject. Currently he enjoys tracing drawings to *isolate* lines and get a sense of what is actually necessary to make the entire picture. Sometimes this is difficult to picture in his head but with tracing it becomes simple... It gives him the ability to learn proportion in a *real* way...

This book is quite good for what he likes to do as the drawings are of good size and highly colored. Finished drawings are interspersed with step by steps so when he wants to go from tracing to drawing he will know what steps to take to produce the results on his own.

This book focus' on bad guys so there is text on what makes a bad guy bad...and what to add visually to put that point across (yellow teeth, baggy clothes...a scowl..etc) There are female as well as male villians and the females have the *typical*...errrr.... buxom comic book body type so perhaps for young children this would be a bit much. It is the typical style tho seen in the graphic novels so if your child is truly into the art form this is a good reference.

The text is helpful but not intrusive and the style of it is informal and conversational. I think it would appeal to a young non-serious set. There is discussion of art /drawing issues in the text (proportion issues in comics... what makes male faces male and female female...shading...etc) but I wouldn't consider this a beginner book. I think there is an expectation of some drawing ability to start with.

Overall, this is a very appealing book on alot of levels. I wish it was longer and that some of the pictures were a bit bigger but these are really minor issues for me and have mostly to do with how my son uses the pictures. The quality of the paper is very nice and heavy and the color is sharp and dramatic..excellent for the subject matter. This is quite a nice book.

It was very interesting to me as a Cherokee and living in the area where the murders occured. I kept an open mind while reading the book without predjudice. The writers did a wonderful job telling the story of their investigation; I didn't want to put it down. It was afterall, the story of their investigation, it doesn't make it an absolute truth. I still don't believe that Gene Hart killed those little girls. No one that I know does, or at least couldn't have done it without help from another person. Rumors and tales still circulate around about who really did kill those girls. The person believed to many, to have actually committed the murders, has passed away. So the mystery still lingers.

When you read this book you will cry. Three beautiful little girls were killed & raped by a sick man. They were ripped from their beds in their sleepbags. No adult was in the cabin. They were all alone at the very end of the camp. They did not have a chance. They were murders in cold blood. Just babies. Beautiful babies. they could not prove that the man accused was the killer but the head Indian man said that if he was guilty he would be punished & one year later he died.

I am in the middle of reading this book for the second time. I find it to be fascinating, sad, educational and informative. I was very young when this tragedy happened - I do not remember it at all. I regret the deaths that the book is about. I also think that readers should take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the cultures and belief systems that may be different than some but that still surround many of us. The agents that worked on the case are portrayed in a way that makes me homesick - their humor, their determination, their respectfulness to each other, their interactions with each other - makes me miss being in Oklahoma. It's different there.

I wasn't born when this happened, but had a grandfather who was part of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's search party. This book was very informative, disturbing, and intense. I have also watch the documentary on this book and can't help but feel so very terrible for the families of those babies, and that they got the right man.
Great Book!

I am from Oklahoma and remember when this all happened. The book is written from the standpoint of two detectives who worked the case. The recent DNA findings (2002) didn't mean that Hart was not guilty. They simply could not get enough DNA to process it. The DNA that was collected meant 1 in 7000 chance of an Indian matching that info (Hart did match that one). Whether the book is biased or not it is still very informative.

I am sure that if I had read this book when I was 12, and just starting on speculative fiction, then I would have loved it. Unfortunately I came to it as an adult, and it has a lot less to offer me at this point in my life.

The White Hart is loosely based on Welsh mythology, and tells the story of Ellid Lightwing. She is abducted by the forces of Marc of Myrdon, and freed by a child of the Gods. Together they face enemies both within and without to rebuild a peaceful kingdom.

Springer is a competent writer, and I enjoyed the book. I think that there are better books set in this mythos (Lloyd Alexander comes to mind) but the White Hart is a still a refreshing change from all the swords & sorcery epics available at the moment.

Honestly, as a reading experience by itself I would give the White Hart quite a bit less than four stars. I have been generous because I would recommend it for the pre-teen reader (particularly girls) who has an interest in fantasy. It should be absolutely perfect for that age group.

Based on much of the same Welsh mythology and folk history found in Lloyd Alexander's 'Chronicles of Prydain', The White Hart weaves an entertaining story which doesn't echo the Jordanesque standard for modern fantasy. This non-conformity makes it fresh and interesting: something of a mental palate-cleanser.

The text and dialogue are a bit simple, and for that reason I would say that this and the other two books in the series are really more appropriate for early teens, but it makes for an easy-to-get-into, rainy-afternoon escape.

A tale of love, honor and evil. Two lads meet in a land riddled with magic and the evil of a dishonest "king". The story has tinges of the magic of King Arthur - a lad looks within himself, with the help of his friend and a maiden, and finds power to fight evil. The characters are complete, and brings you into the story. You care what happens to each one. One of Springers' earlier works, it's not as polished as later works. The ending may not turn out as you thought, but it makes sense. This book ties in with later books (Silver Sun and Sable Moon), but you don't have to read it to understand the later stories. Regal and heartrending, absolutely worth a weekend to read.

Springer writes this book in such a why that you feel as if is a classic myth....The themes of love, hate, friendship, and overcoming The Evil are all there, just like any of the great myths of the Romans, Greeks, Norse, or Celts. Truly a classic fantasy. Also check out the related books (alas they maybe out of print, The Silver Sun and The Sable Moon) which form a loose series. I actually read The Sable Moon first, but if you wish to go in the "historical" order in which they occur, start with the White Hart. It will not disappoint. (For those interested in Celtic Mythology, there are MANY familiar things about these stories).

This is the enchanting story of three people, whose lives were interwoven by love, friendship, and desire for the destruction of evil. Set at the ancient times, when magic, nature, mortals and immortals exist together. The place itself, the Isle, gives readers the feel of the story--magical, lovely, nurturing, healing, but also foreboding and wicked. The presence of legendary creatures such as firedrakes, wyverns, the loyal red falcon and the pure white hart makes it more spell-binding. But what sets this story apart from other fantasy books is that the White Hart has successfully lifted the readers to a range of human emotions. Ellid's strength and faithfulness, Cuin's unselfishness and loyalty, and Bevan's courage, spirit, honor and despair. I have never seen nor heard of a man as lonely as Bevan. A mesmerizing tale that will leave you tearful, breathless, almost complete. I came across this book in 1991, and fell in love with the story and the characters. When it was accidentally lost by a friend, I searched for a copy but failed. Until 1998 when I learned of Amazon and finally found what I've been searching. The book is certainly worth the effort and the long wait.

I just wanted to say that you should check -thoroughly- the errata info on the book (www.aw.com/devpress). I've lost a few days of work because the book failed to mention that named pipes cannot be created under windows 95. The book is, however, quite good.

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the comparisons with Unix, and I especially liked the conciseness and value for money (too many Windows books are too thick and overpriced).

The web page supporting the book is outstanding and the author is very responsive to feedback.

Having said that I enjoyed the conciseness, I'm looking forward to a second edition with more detail and examples (on I/O completion ports, for instance).

I thoroughly recommend this book as good value for money; I'm sure you'll find the time to read it from cover to cover.

Mr Hart has produced a detailed and authoritative account of the Win32 subsystem interface. Rather than many texts which simply list the Win32 API, Hart adds considerable value by introducing essential "how-to" design considerations which will simplify the life of any Windows NT/95 developer.

Win32 System Programming tackles many difficult topics, such as synchronization issues, fibers, file handling, asynch I/O and error processing. These are presented in a way that is understandable to both newcomers and more experienced developers. As well as introducing these individual concepts, the reader feels as though the author understands the 'big picture'- there are common links of discussion throughout the text.

I would suggest that all Windows developers would benefit from an understanding of the material this work contains. Experienced readers will appreciate the sound foundations of Operating System and in particular Concurrency theory on which this text is based, whereas beginners will find an essential core reference to support further forrays into the world of Win32 development.

Not all aspects of Win32 are covered, in particular coverage of the GUI is ommitted- however the book is not sold on this basis. I believe that developers armed with the information in Win32 System Programming will have a considerable advantage in approaching many important subjects in the future. For example, there is a very revealing insight into the techniques used in Hart's application server designs and the threading model used in COM.

In short- it contains information that every developer must know if they are to successfully develop reliable and performant applications for the Windows 32 platform. This text may also be relevant to students of Operating Systems. I for one will eagerly await a second edition!

I needed an intro to win32 which (a) concentrated on everything but the GUI, for server-side apps (b) wasn't just a part printout of MSDN, Microsoft's not-hugely-elegant-but-at-least-complete documentation on Everything (c) made use of pure win32 calls, not MFC, VB, or equivalent bloat.

This book did the job, going through file access, process and memory management, security, IPC, and threads. It uses a tutorial style, giving you enough to get you understanding the basic concepts before diving into MSDN, with scattered code examples and accompanying CD.

The style is very readable, and my only significant criticism is that it does not introduce enough topics, tailing off with rather a weak discussion of DLLs and ISAPI. Since the book is aimed particularly at Unix systems programmers, with its implementation of Unix commands and drawing of parallels, the reader will probably feel comfortable enough with win32 by the end anyway.

This is an excellent book. It provides enough information to give the reader a sound understanding of the Win32 System Services; but, it doesn't overburden him with minutiae that can be acquired from MSDN later -- if needed. The author's frequent comparisons of the Win32 System Services with those of UNIX are very effective in enabling the UNIX developer to bridge the conceptual gulf to Windows.

How many girls try to remake themselves as teenagers, only to find the whole thing come crashing down? Betsy- or Betsye- seems to know from pretty early on that Phil Brandish isn't really right for her, but she keeps on pursuing him and trying to be someone else. Betsy without writing or the fun times she was used to? Hardly! She learns some big lessons this year.

I loved these books as a child and an adolescent, and my daughter and granddaughter have loved them as well. I just began reading the high school titles again, and I am blown away by the amount of history and culture that are included in a highly readable form. In this title, Betsey visits Tib, and her German family, now living in Milwaukee. Ms. Lovelace has woven a great deal of pre-WW I history into this excusiAL. That history, of course,plays out to the history of WW II---and WW II was going on when she did her writing. As an English teacher who tries to keep current on Young Adult Literature, I am realizing how important the YLA of each age is, and the extent to which it can mark the culture of a time. What really blows me away is the sudden realization that Betsey, in real years based on the setting of the book, was the same age as my grandmother. That brings a patina of reality to many childhood memories!

I'm going to be put in the doghouse for saying this, but what kind of weird book is "Betsy, In Spite of Herself?"

When I was younger, I loved the Betsy-Tacy books, about when the two were little girls, but recently, when I read this one I just cringed! Betsy, the sweet imaginative child, has turned into a flirt as she enters high school--and her sister Julia is far worse. This was a big disappointment. I truly pity Tacy, having to put up with Betsy.

Oh, Tacy...remember her? (She doesn't have a major role in this book.)

I would still recommend this to the Betsy-Tacy fans however, just to complete your collection.

This is the book I quote when I'm selling the Betsy-Tacy series to high school girls. I warn them that after "Betsye" changes her style and hooks her targeted male, she has to break up with him because he's moving too fast--and wants to HOLD HANDS! The girls who respond to that end up adoring the series and coming to me for more reading guidance. YES!!

Growing up a child of the 70s, I read all the Betsey-Tacey books over and over again. I found this one when I was just entering Junior High school. I was so excited to find she grew up too, and had adventures with BOYS (but just as pals, of course!). Reading it, I was gratefully lost in her world. I think this series is highly under-read today, as I find many youngsters have not heard of them. But they are truly one of the best series for children I've ever found.

I was a Confirmation sponser for my nephew in 2007. One of the requirements was that we meet together once a month for a number of months. While his CCD class provided some outlines for the meetings, there really wasn't enough material for an hour of talk, especially between guys who don't want to particularly "share". I ordered this book from Amazon, and we used a chapter or two each month as the primarly basis for the meetings. There is plenty of material that speaks to way youth and adults live their life, many scriptural references, and mention of other similar books that you can check into later.

I don't think that there is enough theology in this book to make it a primarly source for a year of CCD study, but it could be used as I described for Confirmation meetings or in a class as part of a series of books to be studied, if it is backed up with the Cathechism of the Catholic Church or the Bible. It is an exhortation for Catholics young and old to live the Christian life.

One last comment. If the emphasis of Confirmation - and perhaps even earlier years of religion classes - would be on living the Christian life ( as described in this book ) and on knowledge of the faith, and not on so much on the touchy-feely stuff that seems to be very present, maybe there would be more young adults knowing and living their faith. Perhaps there would be fewer young Catholics coasting through the years of religion classes - ending in Confirmation - without really learning anything substantial (as the author described of himself).

As a high school Youth Minister, I am always on the look-out for books that my teens will enjoy and learn from. This book was brought to my attention by another youth minister in my area.

I purchased a copy. Read it all the way through in less than two days. And, then promptly purchased enough copies for my graduating class. We are using it as a book study for our Senior Series this year.

The teens LOVE Mark Hart. He is inventive, creative, and in-tune. He relies on the Holy Spirit. He practices what he preaches. Which says a lot in today's society.

I LOVE this book. I've read it a couple of times, I've written in it, I've taken notes, I've highlighted, I've passed it on. It's one of my favorite books ever. It's so inspiring and encouraging that I just love to read it over and over. Even though it's written for young Catholics it's been helpful to me, a 50 something mother and high school religious ed teacher. I'm thinking about purchasing copies for all of the graduating seniors this year. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Mark Hart is just one clever guy. The book reads like a memoir of a typical cradle Catholic going through the motions. Many will relate to his anecdotes about his family's weekly trek to Mass and his misunderstanding of various Catholic nuances.
What's really special though is that Hart shares pearls of wisdom throughout the whole book, right underneath your eye. As you reflect on your own personal upbringing as a Catholic-by-title, you learn just what all these strange traditions, rites, practices, and dogmas really mean. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Confession, which is truly the forgotten Sacrament.
Hart could really be a stand up comic. As he bluntly shares childhood stories about his poor understanding of his religion, you can't help but picture him on stage. And yet he is a genuinely devout Catholic man. Perhaps more commonly known as the Bible Geek, Hart is a tremendous scholar and a vital part of Catholic Youth Ministry today.
Read this book, and unpack the hidden treasure of your faith!

Blessed are the Bored in Spirit
Mark Hart

Wonderfully written, excellent page turner, I couldn't put it down. I would suggest this book for every Christian who is looking for a clear cut way to strengthen their relationship and experience with God. It is geared toward the Catholic youth of today, but adults and any denomination can benefit from its words as well. Mark Hart is a writer, who can portray the importance of the matter at hand and use humor without losing any of the value.

There are three specific focuses of the book and they are:
1. Our prospective
2. Our approach
3. Our self-offering


Mr. Hart starts his book with a story of how he was changed in the way that he views and experiences God. He had to have a near death experience to come to this realization. He was on an airplane that had to do an emergency landing right after reaching cruising altitude, and during the whole frightening affair he started to notice his relationship with his maker and all the sins that he had committed.

"The truth was that the crash landing didn't wake me up; it was the final step in an arduous journey that had begun years before. That morning was the jolt I needed in the ongoing process that carried me beyond conversion." Conversion is the starting point to transformation, which is where you totally surrender to God. Paul is used as a biblical example of a transformation, not just a conversion. Another aspect in this chapter is how do you see God, as a judge or father? There is an exercise to write out how you see God and then write out how God sees you. If they are too similar then it usually means that your vision of either is not completely realistic. Mr. Hart ends the first chapter with the words... "If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something that you have never done."

Next the question of what are you most afraid of is asked. Trust in God is the key point of this chapter. It also describes fear of the Lord as being in awe, not literal shaking fear. The order as how you as a person views God is addressed, the Nicene Creed is used as an example here "the Father, the Almighty", and how you can invite God in your daily life with awe if you see him as father first then as a judge. "God gives us over four thousand promises in scripture." That puts the awe in awesome, and shows you exactly how much He loves you, and wants a relationship as a father to you.