Hayes Books

This book "The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity: From Alexander to Bar Kochba" surprised me because, even though it mentions covering Bar Kochba, it contains very little information about Bar Kochba, only 4 pages out of 216 pages. I found a great deal more information about Bar Kochba ten years before Hayes and Mandell published this book when I was researching "Revelation and the Fall of Judea." I also discovered that many authors seem to think that Judea fell in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. I think this is because the events of A.D. 66-70 were described in great detail by the eyewitness Josephus. However, Judea survived the fall of Jerusalem, and, although the Temple was never rebuilt, the nation gradually recovered. Sixty years later, Judea became strong enough to again revolt against Roman occupation. Bar Kochba, a charismatic leader, unified the Judeans, defeated two Roman armies, and established the First Jewish Commonwealth, a fully independent nation. The present Israeli government, incidentally, is the Second Jewish Commonwealth.

Bar Kochba, though the last leader of a reinvigorated Judea strong enough to drive out the Romans, has passed from history with little historical documentation. Most eyewitness accounts, if they ever existed, no longer exist. Only sketchy myths and legends have survived. Recent archaeological discoveries by Yigael Yadin (Bar Kochba: the Rediscovery of the Legendary Hero of the Second Jewish Revolt Against Imperial Rome) and others have shed much new light on Bar Kochba and some people close to Bar Kochba. I'm disappointed that "The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity: From Alexander to Bar Kochba" didn't contain more information about Bar Kochba. However, Hayes and Mandell's coverage of earlier portions of Jewish history is very good.

A must read for any serious, or even half-serious student of the Bible or of the Palestinian history of 2000 years ago. Helps you understand some of the actors in the drama and how they affected and in turn were affected by the events of those years. You may know that Herod killed some of his sons, but did you know that he had 10 wives? After you find how he was treated when he was a young upstart, you almost feel sorry for the guy; you can almost understand his reactions. Despite the hundreds of characters in the story, so many of them with the same name, the reading is easy and smooth. In the last chapter, dealing with the first Jewish war, the story reaches a crescendo like a popular thriller. Here you view the Jews inside the Jerusalem walls, divided in three factions, furiously fighting and killing each other and burning their own food supplies; outside the Roman army is encamped, waiting for orders from one or other of their four emperors who were elected that year (some lasted less than a month before they were assassinated in the Senate,) and in the meantime hauling trees from ten miles away to crucify the escapees from the city. The only disappointment in the book is that so little is known and could be written about the revolts in 115 and 135AD.

I hate romance novels but I fell in love with this one. Great story telling and it shows the delicate issues surrounding women during the 1900's. This book has a little of everything: is tragedy, romance, and passion and there are also some very sexy parts to it. If you like Sarah Waters you will love this book. I recommend it 100 percent.

This book gives an excellent view of what it was like to be a new immigrant to this country in the early 1900's. It captures the misery of the living conditions and the abysmal lives of factory workers. Rose and Kathleen arrive in New York knowing no one, but each having big dreams for her future. They both find out very quickly that the dreams may be harder to achieve than they thought, but their growing relationship makes everything more bearable. The biggest fault with this book is that it doesn't develop the details enough, so that the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which really occurred, becomes almost a minor event in the book. This is definitely worth reading.

The first half of the book, or the first tape if you have the audio tape version, is the best. The last half still has much to offer. So many of the things she talks about I felt to be very close to my heart. Mary Hayes-Grieco offers a very practical spirituality for the practical person. Her writting style is easy & flowing. She talks about everyday practical things rather than lofty theological ideas. I had the tape set first & wore it out with repeated listening. Her ideas were just as refreshing each time I heard them. I have now bought the book & read it again. I expect that you will have the same endurement to this book.

The information in this book helps you to appreciate the little and big things in life. It teaches to savor all aspects, from problems (seeing how we learn from them and accepting them as growing experiences) to developing an appreciation for mundane things in our lives. It helps you connect yourself with your own unique spirituality by opening you to take a better look at the life you are leading and understand and appreciate everything you do, you are, and you see!! It left me with a feeling of "I am so happy to be alive, with my problems, challenges, blessings and all!!"

I sped through this book all in one evening. It was written in the mid-nineteenth century and its style is typical of that era. It is not a scholarly work, but has a beautiful sense of mystery and of the sanctity of Elizabeth's short life. St. Elizabeth was truly a fascinating person, and her story is right out of a fairy tale. Born a princess, she was betrothed and left her family when she was only four. She was married at 13, and enjoyed an extremely happy marriage until her husband was killed in the crusades and her mother-in-law threw her and her four children out into the snow on a winter's night. She eventually got her home and fortune back, but turned around a went to live in a shack and give all of her money away as alms. This is highly recommended.

The life of this Medieval princess is the most touching and edifying saint's biography I have ever read. It is the story of a remarkable child of God guided by the highest of all ambitions, to imititate the life of her crucified Savior. This lovely book succeeds well in reaching the goal of better imitation of the life of Jesus Christ. Ms. Jones also shows remarkablely well that the believer has now more in common with someone who loved and believed what we do, but far more ardently, even though though our earthly lives are separated by centuries, than with a contempory whose beliefs are far different. Anyone who reads this book will develop a devotion to this great saint and a great desire to follow her many examples of holy charity.

In the early months of the US's involvment in WW2, a squadron of P38 Lightnings and 2 B17 "motherships" flying across the Atlantic via Greenland and Iceland were turned back by weather, ran out of fuel and landed on the Greenland icecap. The planes all landed safely and eventually the crew were rescued. The planes remained on the ice in virtually mint condition and eventually become something of a minor legend.

In the 80's, a small group of warbird enthusiasts started attempts to locate and retrieve the aircraft. After many expeditions to the Icecap, they were successful, first in locating the aircraft (now buried under 250 feet of ice and snow) and then in tunneling down and recovering a B17 (badly crushed) and a P38 which was being restored to flying condition at the time this book was written.

The author, David Hayes, has put together a riveting account, first of the loss of the aircraft and the recovery of the crews, and then of the expeditions to locate and finally recover the aircraft. There's a huge collection of photo's in this large format book, many of them color. And the story itself is fascinating, even for someone whose not particularly interested in the recovery of old WW2 aircraft. The way they tunneled down thru 250 feet of ice and snow to reach the aircraft and then dismantle it underground is almost worth a book of it's own.

Well worth a read.

It started as a lark but became serious busines to some. New technology had to be invented and then transported to Greenland. This is an American adventure story, from the flight which left these planes on an ice cap to the recovery 50 years later. Everyone involved seem to have a different motive for recovering a P-38 but adventure seemed to be the glue. A good read about real people. More about the P-38 in combat in "THE LAST GREAT ACE."

I may be a bit biased, since the author is my mom, but so what ... I think it's a greaaaaat book.

This book offers good information about what various instruments sound like & has terrific watercolor illustrations of animals playing those instruments.

The second of this novel series is adapted much better than the first. There's the occasional mistake, but they're rarer than in the first novel. However, you can tell that a man has adapted it as opposed to a woman, because descriptions of the mobile suit weapons are much more detailed, sometimes even confusingly so. But the best part here is that the writing, while not having that WOW sentence every now and then, is collectively much better. They could've gone without artwork, though, because Tomofumi Ogasawara's drawings aren't that great. Other than that, a BIG improvement on the first book.

Don't be confused by the inclusion of "graphic novels" in the item description; this second book of a five-volume series from Tokyopop is a novelization with very few illustrations. However, I would definitely recommend this novelization of the Gundam Seed series over the manga published by Del Rey. Unlike the manga, the novelization allows a bit more insight into the events of the series and the thoughts and motivations of the characters. The lack of visuals is no loss, especially not considering the poor quality of the artwork in the manga series.

The quality of the writing - or rather, of the translation - is what prevents me from giving the novelization five stars. Unfortunately, it's clear that the translator is not also a writer, and so the choices of word and phrasing seem somewhat amateurish.

However, that's really my only complaint. If you enjoyed the Gundam Seed series enough that you'd like to revisit it in more depth, the novelization is definitely worth checking out. If nothing else, it will provide some extra insights on the characters that I personally find very entertaining.

Having read the first 3 volumes helps, but with the intro it isn't totally necessary. It's a wonderful storyline about a female artist who goes to a vampire's house to paint a portrait. Very Goth. Only 4 stars because it leaves you hanging way too much, and you just can't stop reading it.

This story just keeps getting better and better! You can't helped but become wrapped up in the love triangle and the unfolding secrets that keep spreading before you as you learn more about Michael and the other occupants of his mansion. This book is not only better than the first, it tops the second. The art is stunning and boldly beautiful. If you enjoy gothic shoujo manga, then you will adore Model!

I found this book not only to be filled with the wonderfull works of Claude Monete but it also has a great insight to his life and the imprssion he left on modern art today. This book also contains full fold-out pictures of some of the artists best works. For anyone who has ever enjoyed any of Monets work you will love this book.

This book is a perfect addition to any art library. Having seen "Monet in the 20th Century" in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts, I was well prepared for the exhibit by having read the book first. I found the exhibit to be an extraordinary example of Monet's achievment in his later years. This book focuses on the works of Monet starting at the start of this century right up to his death in 1928. All through this period of Monet's life and including the representation of the body of work produced within those years, this book never skips a beat. Although not an all-encompassing look at his complete works of that period, this book offers the best look out there of his paintings as well as his development throughout the last quarter-century of his life. I found it to be in keeping with what is already known about Monet's later years, but certainly not devoid of interesting insights. The quality of the book, it's contents, including all of the color plates reproduced within is very good. I would not have an art library without Monet representation, and this is the ideal book for an addition or a starter.

I'm always wary of books published through non-traditional means, i.e., through iUniverse, Xlibris, etc., but after reading the first few pages of The Old Man (love that Search Inside the Book feature), I was impressed enough with the writing and intrigued enough by the titular character to consider it worth ordering. My hunch was right: This is an excellent book. While it shows some of the signs of a first-time author (as Mr. Hayes reveals on the back cover), this is an excellent debut. The beginning is a little slow, but in fairness it's somewhat necessary to establish the mood and the characters. It's in those characters, though, that Hayes scores. What is in fact a very old story-unrequited love between a man and a woman in a loveless marriage-is enhanced by an interesting historical setting (one of my favorite periods), an appealing leading couple, but most especially a refreshingly insightful look at the nature of love, in all its manifestations. While this is classed as a romance, and indeed it is, I doubted from the first few pages that it was a typical bodice-ripper, and indeed it isn't. This is an intelligent book, with intelligent thoughts about life and love and the manner in which fate forces us to learn about both. The Old Man gives me a little more hope about non-traditional publishing, and ensures that I will check out Mr. Hayes' forthcoming novel.

Well, I did anyway.... And after reading the book twice, I feel as if Ben and Abby are old friends of mine. I was there when they met and when they fell in love. I was with them while they despaired of ever being together. I wracked my brains to think of a way for that to happen, forgetting that they were characters in a book and unlikely to ask for my help....

I'm usually pretty good at guessing where a story is headed, but Delmer Hayes managed to surprise me several times. I was also pleasantly surprised by a couple of keen insights on falling in love.

And here I have a confession to make: it may be unfair, but I really wasn't expecting that from a male author. Action? Sure. Interesting plot? Sure. Lots of sex? Probably.... Good dialogue? Why not? But a complicated, emotional romance? I hate to say it, but I just wasn't expecting it from a man. I'm very happy to report that my expectations were much too low on that front.

If you want graphic sex scenes, you'll have to find another book to read -- if you want likable, believable characters and a story that'll pull you in and keep you wondering, I can highly recommend this one.