L Books

Pete Hunt captured the sights and sounds of carrier aviation and combat operations on every page. This is a must read for those who want a glimpse of the 24/7 world of life on the USS Ranger during Operation Desert Storm.

Pete Hunt captured the sights and sounds of carrier aviation and combat operations on every page. This is a must read for those who want a glimpse of the 24/7 world of life on the USS Ranger during Operation Desert Storm.

Title of this review says it all. The only reason I wanted to post another review of this book is to just add another 5 stars-it's that good.

This book should become a classic-alas, I fear it will be overlooked by most, and that will definately be their loss.

I kid you not-I've read most of the first person accounts of aerial combat, from all periods, and this one is right at the top of the list.

There aren't a lot of books by former naval avaitors about flying and fighting during Desert Storm. This book is also rarer since the platform he flew, the A-6 Intruder, has been retired despite several advantages over its replacement, the F/A-18. The book describes the working up period prior to deploying to the Arabian Gulf, shipboard life, as well as the buildup and actual fighting done during Desert Storm from his carrier. The wrting isn't as gripping as a professional writer would do, but nonetheless is an authentic account from a unique source. Overall, I was gald to have had the opportunity to learn more about what makes combat and naval aviation so much more different than what land-based forces go through. As a book to throw in your bag for a weekend reading source, this will be fine.

Angles of Attack: An A-6 Intruder Pilotýs War; Peter Hunt; Ballantine Books, New York, N.Y., 2002; softcover, 368 pages, illustrated. ....
This newest Gulf War memoir is excellent; it really does put the reader in the cockpit. Like the A-7 Corsair, its stablemate in the Navyýs attack community, the A-6 Intruder flew its final combat sorties in the six-week action that ousted the invading Iraqis from Kuwait. Intruder squadrons flew from all six carriers deployed during Desert Storm (as well as two Marine Corps shore-based squadrons), and one A-6 aviator tells a story that covers the buildup of Desert Shield and the nightly launches that devastated Iraqi naval and land assets.
Peter Huntýs enthusiastic account is one of the best of the type this reviewer has read in recent years. The focal point of the book is, of course, his experience flying 45 combat missions with VA-145 and the close bond with his bombardier-navigator (BN). The descriptions of the prewar activities as the squadron, air wing and carrier prepare to deploy give a fine insiderýs view of carrier aviation. The work ups are described in detail that might at times slow the story, but Hunt carries the story well with the result that these portions are well worth the readerýs time. Hunt tells what it was like flying combat from one of the Navyýs oldest carriers, USS Ranger (CV-61).
Peripheral areas like a port call in the Philippines, the loneliness of Christmas Eve at sea ý he decides to sort out his personal survival items ý and thoughts of family so far away are some of the most appealing aspects of Huntýs work..
The author and his BN participated in the Battle of Bubiyan, which saw the destruction of several Iraqi navy PT boats that eliminated that threat. They also flew during the last major attack on Iraqi units along the so-called ýhighway of deathý as the invaders torched the Kuwaiti capital and tried to flee.
Though a rather large paperback, the writing flows well and the author has a nice, personal style. Unfortunately, the book concludes on a sour note because of his dissatisfaction with the post-war Navy, the impact of the Tailhook scandal and the resulting ýrot from within.ý Family separation also plays a hand in his decision to leave, as does the demise of the A-6 community, with no replacement after the A-12 debacle. Nonetheless, Angles of Attack is a fine effort that tells the story of one of the Navyýs stalwart aviation communities during its last combat deployment.
Peter Mersky

Chapter 3 is as good nature writing as I have ever read; it is not to be missed even if you do not read the rest of the book. The last chapter is nicely written, and a good summary of the author's views.

Most of the book is very uneven. Much of it reads like a Ph.D. thesis. It is often repetitive and unnecessarily hard to follow. At the same time, it is easy to reach false conclusions, and the authors try to be very careful, relaxing only when providing their more general speculative theses, such as that social requirements are the impetus for primate cognitive evolution, and that social concepts provide the basis for language and even grammar (for another view, see Jerome A. Feldman's "From Molecule to Metaphor"). The point they make about animal's much greater capacity for understanding language vs. producing language is well substantiated in the book, and it is a good way to think about much animal behavior such as that of dog.

Even readers like myself, who have read previous books about animal cognitive abilities and also child development (animals are frequently compared to young children of various ages), will learn things if they wade through all the book's pages. The authors point out that humans have different cognitive systems, so that people who are blind due to problems in the cortex, may be able to see even if they cannot consciously report on what they have seen, as proved by experiments. Well it turns out that the well known experiments showing the age at which children are first aware that others may have different beliefs than theirs, so that others may not know where something has been moved while the children were watching and they were not, is not the whole story. At younger ages, using different, evolutionary older cognitive systems, there is some awareness of other's beliefs, even if not conscious.

For whatever reason, the authors maintain a view that chimpanzees are not cognitively superior to monkeys, except for tool use. They do not even have as a reference any books by Franz de Waal, one of the leading authorities on chimpanzee mental abilities, and director of the "Center for the Advanced Study of Ape and Human Evolution". A good book by him is "Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals." There is also a terrible "typo". On p. 40, it is stated that infanticide accounted for "at least 53% of all infant deaths". On p. 57 it is stated that "53% of all infants born during our study" died as a result of infanticide. The latter is a much stronger statement, since if 200 infants were born, 100 died, and 53 were victims of infanticide, the first statement would be true, but the 2nd would not.

This is a scholarly book which is simultaneously entirely suitable for the general reader. None of Baboons, psychology, or metaphysics are my fields but I was utterly fascinated by the authors' research and their contribution to the concept of the social mind as important in the evolution of the human species. READ THIS!

This is a work of scientific rigor and intuitive leaps. It clearly describes the social order of baboon society and draws fascinating inferences about the possibility of baboon cognition. The parallels to the evolution of cognition in early hominids are inescapable.

Charles Darwin once wrote of his belief that if we would learn something very important if we could but understand the behavior of baboon.

The authors of this enthralling book are widely known for their studies of primate behavior in the Okavango in Botswana, and set out to do just that: understand how behavior baboons live and organize their lives.

Baboons live in groups of up to 150 individuals, which include a few males and eight or nine matrilineal families of females. The account of the daily life of the group reads like the script of Survivor!

There is a complicated mix of personal relationships ranging from short-term bonds for mating to long-term friendships that lead to cooperative rearing of the young. There are intrigues that may involve alliances of two or three individuals all the way up to battles that involve three or four extended families.

What this tells us is that the survival of an individual baboon and his or her family depends on an ability to predict the behavior of others and arrange to form the most advantageous relationships. So are these just reflexive behaviors, or do baboons form models of the world and their place in it? In such a fluid social environment, to what extent can they deduce the motives of other baboons?

This book sets out to discover the intelligence that underlies this social organization. In the process we learn a lot about ourselves.

The book is divided into twelve chapters:
1. The Evolution of Mind
2. The Primate Mind in Myth and Legend
3. Habitat, Infanticide, and Predation
4. Males: Competition, Infanticide, and Friendship
5. Females: Kinship, Rank, Competition, and Cooperation
6. Social Knowledge
7. The Social Intelligence Hypothesis
8. Theory of Mind
9. Self-Awareness and Consciousness
10. Communication
11. Precursors to Language
12. Baboon Metaphysics

These are followed by an appendix, references and a good Index.

The social lives of baboons are fluid and highly complex, and that reflects a complex and adaptable social intelligence. This will not surprise most people who live with animals: Many of them have quite elaborate social systems, sophisticated emotions and quite well developed concepts of social propriety and even of right and wrong.

The authors write very well indeed. They share their enthusiasm and the implications of their work.

This is a terrific book that deserves a very wide readership, not least because it helps put to bed the notion that humans are the only species with a complex social life.

Humans may be different, but we are not that different.

Highly recommended.



Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

The team of Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth has collaborated on numerous publications, including a fine book, "How Monkeys See the World." This represents an ambitious addition to their body of work. A takeoff point is a quotation from Charles Darwin's notebooks, from 1838 (Page 1): "Origin of man now proved--Metaphysic must flourish--He who understands baboon would do more toward metaphysics than Locke." The authors use the Cambridge English Dictionary to define metaphysics (Page 2): "the part of philosophy that is about understanding existence and knowledge."

The authors have been studying baboons for many years. This book summarizes much of their work and indicates the ingenious experiments that they have devised to assess baboons' thought processes and to explore if they possess something like a "theory of mind." They consider, in the process, the extent of "social intelligence" in baboons. At the outset, they propose two general points that guide their analysis of "baboon metaphysics": (1) natural selection leads to a brain for any species that are specialized for the relevant survival needs; (2) baboons have great expertise in navigating social life, since they live in relatively complex social systems.

Key chapters in this volume:

Chapter 3: The dangerous world in which baboons live is well portrayed. Predators pose a danger. Another unfortunate factor of baboon life is infanticide. If a new male enters a troop and becomes dominant, for instance, he may try to kill all young baboons. In this manner, the new male is in a position to begin reproducing very soon with female baboons who lost their infants; he is able, as a result, to increase the amount of his genetic material in the troop through siring his own infants.

Chapters 4 and 5 are critical, as they lay out the very different social worlds of male and female baboons. In either sex, dominance hierarchies are central. Males strive to attain the alpha ranking, that is, being the most dominant male in the troop. Male hierarchies are unstable, leading to considerable social stress. Females' hierarchies are more complex and more stable. Among females, their lineage is important. Each lineage has its own ranking, so one is either born into a top ranking, middle ranking, or low ranking family. Successfully managing to thrive in this social order calls for a high level of social skills.

Baboons, as Chapter 6 emphasizes, have quite good "social knowledge." The understanding of how baboon society works is based on (Pages 118-119) ". . .an innate predisposition to recognize other individuals' ranks and social relationships." Chapter 7 builds on this with a discussion of the social intelligence of baboons, with the authors emphasizing the criticality of baboons' understanding of how to navigate complex social life in a way that facilitates their survival and successful reproduction. The chapter concludes with an interesting discussion of how baboons' social intelligence differs from that of other species, as a result of the evolutionary demands on baboons.

Chapter 8 focuses on the extent to which baboons have a "theory of mind," that is, understanding of the mental states of other baboons. The authors conclude that there might be (page 197) "vague intuition about other animals' intentions," but that there is nothing like a well formed ability among these animals to understand intentions and motivations of others.

The volume concludes in Chapter 12 with a summary discussion of "baboon metaphysics" and with speculation about the relevance of their research for understanding humans. With respect to the former, they conclude that baboons demonstrate that some animals can live in complex societies with a theory of mind and without language--if their mental abilities allow for "making sense" of how to navigate their complex social world. The latter discussion notes what differences could lead to humans having a theory of mind that baboons do not possess.

All in all, a remarkable book. It has value in helping us to understand baboons in their own terms; it helps think about the position of humans in nature and why we are unique (as all species are unique); it provokes reflection on the ability to reflect on oneself and others and try to understand why we behave as we do. Nice touches abound, as illustrated by a charming reference to characters from Jane Austen's novels to make points about individual baboons' behavior.

This is an ambitious work, and there will be questions. The authors seem to overreach when exploring a theory of mind. It's almost as if they are using a human orientation to study baboons rather than focusing on baboons themselves. In some ways, I'm not sure that the theory of baboons' minds is so crucial as the authors do. The social intelligence part of the picture seems to me more important. Finally, using the philosophical term metaphysics in a baboon context may represent another reach too far.

Nonetheless, these are relatively minor points. The bottom line? A terrific book. . . .

I've read about 40 first-person books written by survivors of the Japanese POW camps and this is one of the best. When I began reading the book I didn't realize that I knew Lt. Boyt's family and when I did the story became even more compelling. Lt. Boyt and his biographer did an excellent job of telling his story, outlining what life was like for the young people during the 1930s and early 40s and how overcoming the hardships of that life was what made this the "Greatest Generation". Boyt's story tells how he used determination to overcome barrier after barrier to become a successful and useful citizen. Those traits did him well when he was suddenly thrust into the horror of prison camp under the brutal heel of the Japanese. He and his buddies withstood more than is hardly believable. Young Americans should be required to read this book so they can better understand that this is the "Home of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave!"

Pleased with the prompt delivery. Good doing business with you.

This is a fascinating, well-written account of the life of a man who symbolizes the best qualities of "the greatest generation." Men like Mr. Boyt endured unimaginable suffering and then came home to live quiet, decent lives without seeking the attention and respect they deserved. We need to hear their stories and learn from them before they pass away. This book is inspiring and easy to read. I highly recommend it.

Great read! Clear, concise, draws you in. Gene Boyt's outstanding character and his attitude about the horrible ordeal he is forced to endure comes through clearly as a big reason for his survival. Mr Boyt's story is one of true heroism, although he states he considered himself only a survivor. This excellent book shares a special place on my bookshelf next to other stories of Mr Boyt's great generation. -Forever Greatful

This is the story of my Grandpa. I hope you all enjoy this book! Now that my Pops is in a better place I can read this book and feel closer to him than ever. Through reading this book my family and I have learned so much that we never knew about our Pops. It shows the best and worst of the people of the Death March and the angels that helped my pops to survive so that I may be here today. I hope you enjoy this as much as we have! Thank you for reading it.
Shoni Boyt

I have just completed reading Reverend Kenneth L. Gainous' book "Be a Contender, Not Just a Contestant!" for a second Blessed time! I must confess, the first time I read it I was a mere contestant who sometimes had doubt whether I was even in the contest at all. My first reading allowed me to see the need and gave me a desire to make the bold decision for both the need and want to become a viable contender for the ultimate prize - Salvation. I decided to read the Reverend's wonderful message again to compliment my growth in Christ through my study of the Word!

The message of the book is designed for Christians to respond to the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Reverend Gainous effectively completes this objective with precision. The chapters are written in such a manner that they reference one another and maintain a common thread throughout the book. They also stand independent to add fresh insight to the topic of each chapter. He not only provides the contestant with the armor to survive spiritual warfare, he also provides a Seven-Step Spiritual Strategy to become a contender, which paves the glorious path to Victory!

The book is also directed toward the spiritual contenders in life. The author continually uses Bible scripture to support and reinforce his message of how to become a contender and maintain the contender status through a spiritual regimen of prayer and fasting. Reverend Gainous provides personal testimony from his earlier days of running to Hell to his Blessed transformation of becoming a volunteer soldier and leader on the spiritual battlefield. Through his discipline and obedience he is fighting to win! As Reverend Gainous so eloquently wrote - "do not be ashamed to suffer as a Christian" because "if you do not experience the pressures of life and make it, you cannot witness to anyone or strengthen anyone."

I encourage those of you who enjoy hearing and reading Messages from great Preachers such as Dr. Frank M. Reid III, T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyers - to get ready to be Blessed again and read his remarkable work!

Be A Contender, Not Just A Contestant! by Reverend Kenneth L. Gainous (Pastor of the Christian City of Praise, a non-denominational church fellowship in Augusta, Georgia) is an inspirational and instructive self-help guide for Christians of all denominations and backgrounds, concerning the struggle for faith, spiritual strength, and the determination to stand tall in one's unyielding faith. Denouncing the path of compromise as seeking to "satisfy and find peace with others rather than God", Be A Contender, Not Just A Contestant! is a powerful and provocative testimony for those Christian who strive for enthusiasm and focus in the fundamentals of their religion amidst a secular world that ranges from the passively indifferent to the actively hostile.

Reverend Gainous presents a tremendous challenge to move beyond the medicraty of sideline Christianity by moving into a position of power and faith, which leads to ultimate victory that all believers can enjoy. His practical and personal experiences adds life to each phase of development in order to become the contenders that God expects for Christians to be. I salute this work and highly recommend it for it's excellence toward bringing believers into the reality of the personal sacrifices and price to be paid to truly enjoy God given victories. The athletic and military analagies allows the reader to relate to biblical and spiritual principles from a practical perspective.

This book has it all. It inspired me and captured my interest in the first paragraphs. The middle chapters laid everything out in a unique way. The last chapters presented testimonials so powerful they left me yearning to get my hands on the author's next book.

Reverend Gainous offer us in his book more than strong inspirational quotes and passages...he offer us the clear roadmap in how to take charge of our affairs in life and became a true successful contender in the eyes of The Lord.

Nightmares plague the narrator's childhood. In these dreams he relives the pre-stoneage life of one of his proto-human ancestors. Each night is a different episode from his ancestor's life, and the episodes are lived and relived in a jumbled, non-chronological order. The narrator places the episodes in chronological order and tells his ancestor's biography. What emerges is an action-packed, engaging saga of adventure and romance at the dawn of humanity.

London got the science of genetics wrong as he tried to explain how the narrator could have such memories, but he seems to have gotten one thing right. Modern paleo-anthropology posits that for most of prehistory, the earth contained several coexisting species of hominids. London peoples his world with three hominid species. His description of the interaction between these species probably gives an accurate depiction of ancient man's inter-species interaction.

In this short novella Jack London ('White Fang', 'The Call of the Wild', 'The Sea-Wolf') describes beings who lived at the dawn of mankind. You could call these creatures human, but they are still rudimentary beings. He tells a romance of the unknown ages populated with creatures that may have been.
Jack London's 'Before Adam' is a brilliant recreation of the dawn of humanity, describing the prehistoric world as a place of dark conflict where only the fittest will survive.
Would it be exaggerated to call it a journey to our own subconscious? A subconscious - as a hidden memory of the history of mankind - hidden so deep in our mind that it can only be reached by fiction.

I agree wholeheartedly that this is a very unique and interesting work (it's hard to even call it a novel or pin it down to another genre). The book is about a modern day protagonist who has nightmares about prehistoric life. As he becomes an adult, he posits a theory that these are the biological remnants of the experience of his distant prehistoric ancestor.

He pieces together the story from his dreams and what comes out is this book - a detailed and very graphic portayal of life before people were "people". Reading this, you are plunged into a whole different world, where the inhabitants are somewhere between people and the primate-ancestor on the evolutionary scale. It is an amazingly harsh and cruel existence with a truly "primitive" society. And yet, we get to love some of the central characters, empathise with them and marvel at this novel's description of the seeds or the birth of what we see as humanity in terms of resourcefulness and compassion.

The work also has a psychological and philosophical aspect as the modern day narrator wrestles with his "second I" and what his connection to his ancestor means to his identity. I've read several good prehistoric fiction works and this is the best - certainly the most profound - it really makes you think and amazes you.

While I'm not much into reading fiction or Sci-Fi type books; I have to say, this is probably one of the best books, I've ever read in my life. ( and I'm an avid reader)

Jack London has a way of really pulling your mind into the picture. ( Or putting pictures/stories inside your head)

If you're looking for a book to take your mind of things, or want to live a vicarious experience, I can think of no better book than this one.

This is one of Jack Londons stellar achievements. The ending will surprise you.

An awesome book, that you'll have trouble putting down, until you're finished.

I only started reading Jack London's work three years ago, but I've had an interest in prehistoric times and evolution since I was ten. When I tried explaining to other children that humans and apes may have evolved from a common ancestor they just sort of sneered in disbelief. This was over a hundred years after Charles Darwin had died.

Jack London's first SF novel "Before Adam" is an imaginitive, compelling read. Through his dreams, a twentieth century man "remembers" events from another time and place - a life lived at the dawn of time. The narrator "Big-Tooth" shows us the harsh brutality of prehistoric life, the endless struggle to survive, the constant danger posed by predators looking for food, and the menace of the "Fire Men" - a race more advanced than the species Big-Tooth belongs to, a race that have learned to use fire and kill prey with bows and arrows. It's very rare for anyone to live beyond middle age. Most people die violent deaths, either at the hands of a rival, or satisfying the hunger of a beast.

This is not the first story with a prehistoric setting (Jack London was apparently accused of plagiarism by another author, Stanley Waterloo), but it's a wonderful book nevertheless. London later wrote a book with a similar premise called "The Star Rover", in which a condemned prisoner puts himself into a trance and experiences his past lives. It's possible that J.G. Ballard had also read "Before Adam" before writing "The Drowned World", another book about race memory and the retreat into prehistory. There's a lot of psychology in it.

As a species we've certainly come a long way, or so we like to think. The slaughter initiated by the Fire Men looking for living space has been repeated time and time again. Our "intelligence" has enabled us to come up with more ingenious ways to kill each other, moving from bows and arrows to guns to weapons of mass destruction. From what can be seen on television or read in newspapers, it seems we're still a long way from "growing up". Jack London's novel should teach us not to be complacent.

If you enjoy good story telling, colorful characters and just plain fun. Buy this book. As a female living in high-desert country I really appreciate the every day facts L'amour weaves into his tales. Plus, I just really like Louis L'amour.

I am buried up to my nose in work but I had to come in and give my review on this one. These are great great stories, written by a man who believed in things he told you about and knows how to tell them good. I have not even completed the book, but oh man, it is so good... "By the waters of San Tadeo", "Beyond the great snow mountains", "Meeting at Fallmouth", "The money punch" and "The gravel Pit"...they will leave you to wonder at the versatile man who wrote them and the fact that he is known as a "great western writer" ? Western, my foot! He is a GREAT WRITER - Period ! And oh, for the fans of Jeffery Archer (I am one too) The Gravel Pit,The Money Punch and Meeting at Fallmouth will delight you for sure, although Louis always has his flavour in what ever he writes ( and I am glad of that) And for hard core louis fans - it has a Ward McQueen story too.

I started with Louis L'Amour when I was 13. I'm 50 now and he still gives me immense satisfaction. His books, all of them, grace my small home library and they are somewhat dog-eared from the many times I've re-read them. "Beyond" is a small compilation of short stories that are pure enterntainment and L'Amour at his best. He takes you to places you will probably never visit, introduces you to people and circumstances of intensity and all in the comfort of your favorite reading chair. I look forward to the promised release of several new works.

This review refers to "Beyond The Great Snow Mountains"(Short Story Collection) by Louis L'Amour.

L'Amour fans, this short story collection is fabulous. Ten captivating classic stories that will have you turning the pages, as fast as you can. Each story is a fresh new experience. Adventure, Mystery, Intrigue, Suspense, Action and even a little romance. The action takes place on land, in the air, and on the water. And yes, some Western adventure as well. The main characters and heroes are always charismatic. Some are even based on real life adventurers he knew.

L'Amour's own turn at being a miner and a boxer(as told in the Afterword by Beau L'Amour), is put to good use in some stories revolving around those subjects. The mining story "Under The Hanging Wall", is a suspense packed murder mystery, with all the usual suspects, and the action taking place in an abandoned and dangerous part of a mine. "The Money Punch" is the story of a young fighter with lessons to learn.

In "By the Waters of San Tadeo" and "Beyond the Great Snow Mountains", women are the main character and heroines of the stories. One has a woman trying to escape danger and the other a woman torn between the Tribe she has become a part of and a chance to go back to her home.

The stories range from 10 pages to 40 pages. And in that short time, L'Amour manages to tell great tales. Other works included are "Meeting at Falmouth", :Roundup In Texas", "Sideshow Champion", "Crash Landing", "Coast Patrol", and "The Gravel Pit". A Dedication, and Afterward by Beau L'Amour and a short informative, "About Louis L'Amour" is also included in the book.

I was delighted with every story in this collection. Louis L'Amour fans will love this one.

Enjoy....Laurie

It has been some time since I read BEYOUND THE GREAT SNOW MOUNTAINS, but I checked to see what I wrote on the first page of the book, something I always do when I finish one. This is what I found " some excellant stories" to be excellant in my opinion a story (or book) must have a good plot, good characters and get to the end without losing the reader. These stories I will read again and again.

As a requirement for The Summer Reading Clinc at Miami University, my colleagues and I were required to read "Beyond Tradtional Phonics" by Margaret Moustafa. This book was enlightening, one of the best I have read in a long itme. Throughout my course work to prepare for our reading clinic, I had become familiar with many of the concepts covered in this book, but Moustafa covers these topics : the need for the access to books of the appropriate reading level, the importance of teaching phoincs surrounded in literature and the fact that letter phonemes mean little to children if they are not able to read, in such a matter that I was thrilled to hear it again, and couldn't wait to share the books with fellow teachers at my school. The section of the book that I found to be the most alarming is the fact that so many children have less that .4 books on their appropriate reading level in their homes and that these studetns may attend schools that have less that .5 books per student available. This study contniues to report that in these schools, the students are seldom able to check out books to take home, because of the small number available in the first palce. This just reinforces the importance of have a variey of reading levels in your classroom library. All students need to find books that allow them to experience successful reading episodes. Moustafa's book makes you more aware than ever of the need to provide a wide reange of reading materials in your classroom library. I will work to diversify my book selection this year, and I hope many other classroom teachers will join me.

This book looks beyond our old assumptions about how children learn to read. Moustafa presents research to support the fact that traditional phonics drills do not help children learn letter-sound correspondances. Rather, children naturally use onset and rime to make these correspondances. Children also use onset and rime to figure out unfamiliar words in a text. Moustafa then presents ways to help any reading teacher improve their reading instruction based on this research.

This book is very easy to read. Moustafa uses language we can all understand. She does not try to speak over everyone's heads. Her ideas about the differences between traditional phonics instruction and a more modern approach to phonics instruction reaffirmed my own ideas about the role phonics plays in the teaching of reading. I used to teach in a more traditional way of taking parts and moving toward the whole. Then after inservices and courses I took on teaching reading I began to use a whole-to-part approach. Moustafa cited research that supports this type of approach. She also discusses the importance of giving children reading materials on their levels and providing time for shared reading experiences. In the research she presents, children experienced the most success when they were given time everyday to read and be read to. Reading teachers, especially new reading teachers, should read this book because most undergraduate programs do not provide enough instruction on how to teach children to read.

Margaret Moustafa's book explores the realms of language development beyond that of traditional phonics instruction that has continually plagued our educational systems. As a middle school language arts teacher I was pleased to see an appropriate instructional book written clearly and concisely in a matter that makes sense. Moustafa proves reading to be something we do naturally. Teachers need to teach kids to read in a natural way with authentic and practical language experiences. Moustafa also discusses the importance of a blend and balance of phonics and whole language instruction within the classroom.

On page 56 of her text she says, "If children are pronouncing print but do not understand what they are saying, they are not reading." As an educator, I believe Moustafa's statement summarizes many of the misconceptions children have about good readers. Reading is not just a performance-based activity, but rather more of a means of exploration and a transportation vehicle to knowledge. Moustafa helps teachers and parents understand that children need to see reading as a more natural occurrence that is attainable by all children.

This book is a must for all educators; undergraduates, graduates, veteran teachers, professors, and administrators in the school buildings and out of the school buildings. This book describes the process that children learn how to read-through meaning. Moustafa relates how phonics lessons do not allow children to make a connection with the outside world; reading within context does. Moustafa describes how important the learner's prior knowledge and experiences tie into learning how to read. She explains the difference between reading words and understanding the text being read. There is a difference, and we need to acknowledge that. In order to do this, the appropriate leveled books must be purchased for daily use in the classroom and used as take home books. Teachers need a vast amount of books on different topics and a range of levels.

Kugel's lucid text is an important adition to biblical scholarship. By pointing out the many ways that the modern reading of the text differs from the reading in the early rabbinic period he is able to document the ways that our apporach to the text as changed. Most interstingly, he shows how christian and muslim readings of the Hebrew Bible has colored Jewish understandings and thus deeply effected Jewish theology.

As one who has waded through Genesis Rabbah all the way to Deuteronomy, scratching my head, making marginal notes like Rashi, and looking up almost every word, this book came like a 500 BTU central unit, to a cottage deep in the rain forest.

Dr. Kugel has gathered thousands of lines of commentary from unnumbered sources, but all from a 300 year time period, about 200bce to 100ce-- the same time the gospels and epistles were written, the Mishnah was codified and most of the rabbis of the Pirkei Avot were active.

Kugel quotes standard Jewish commentary, but he also quotes from Christian scriptures, treating them (as Christian scholar Rosemary Reuther suggested many years ago) as midrash upon the Jewish texts. He also uses standard histories of the time, such as Josephus' Antiquities, the works of Philo, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

What makes this extensive work such a relief and a delight are the extensive annotations of the author: accurate citations are always given (I checked); end notes are given, describing all sources, and giving dates, or approximate dates. There is a bibliography of modern sources as well. Most importantly, each time a midrash or other commentary is inserted into the text of the Torah, Kugel gives us a most essential bit of information: he tells us what the problem is with that text that the commentator feels needs explaining.

It is not always obvious to a reader 2,000 years later what a certain rabbi's problem was with a text that prompted him to write the several lines of commentary he left us. The work Kugel has done-- his gift to us, is to climb into the minds of these people in a different place, discover what their concerns were, and deduce what parts of the texts would have caught their attention and for what reason. Since none of his interpretations (at least none I have looked-- and I've looked at most of them) seem forced or overly creative, I believe this is the work of a great scholar. I cherish it, and I thank him much.

Dr. Kugel sets out to produce a mixture of ancient and modern interpretations and does a wonderful job at it. While most of the interpretations are ancient coming from interpreters such as Philo, and others, Dr. Kugel helps explain them more smoothly by writing a brief analysis of each interpretation presented. The Bible as it Was, is truly a great way to learn about different interpretations other than the ones you hear in church. It offers a variety of interpretations, so that the reader can make up his own mind. While this book offers interpretations of the text, it might also offer some hard times to the devoted Christian, if they are not willing to accept that there may be other interpretations of these narratives.

This is a definite must have when studying the Old Testament, in particular the Pentateuch, or first five books. It does not go into later books of the OT, however, with the references provided, if the reader wanted to do more research on their own, then the references that Dr. Kugel lists in the back of the book will allow them to do so. If you are serious about learning the Pentateuch then pick this book up.

"The Bible as it was" is a wonderful and exhaustive work regarding scriptural interpretation and the first five books of the Bible. Early Jewish tradition was to fill in interpretive information when necessary to resolve items that were ambiguous or unclear. In addition, notes and commentary were often passed along with the texts and over time tended to become a part of the text. As a result, the Bible of today includes a lot of commentary as well as the original texts.
Kugel's purpose is to try to reconstruct the Bible as it was in its original form as closely as possible. While we all know that no copies of the original Bible exist today, the King James version was based on the Textus Receptus which was a Greek translation of the Bible and considered the oldest reliable source at the time. Since then there have been many archaeological finds of manuscripts from earlier points in time and in the original Hebrew language. Many of these passages differ somewhat from current translations. In theory, the older versions should be closer to the original version. Working from the oldest texts he examines some of the differences in the way passages were interpreted and what that could mean. This gets us closer to an original version without all the intervening thoughts and interpretations that earlier writers had added in an attempt to make it more understandable and applicable to the people of their time.
Dr. Kugel thoroughly documents his work complete with quotes, sources and annotations as appropriate.

A fascinating book that sheds new light onto many passages it should be read by anyone attempting a serious and scholarly study of the Bible.

This informtive study of the Hebrew Bible provides a chapter-by-chapter analysis of some of the most important stories of the Bible, describing how these stories were interpreted by various peoples, how its message was understood at the time, and the origins of modern explanations. An outstanding contrast between past and present interpretative methods.

The 6th Brick Maxwell adventure by Bob Gandt attempts to reach new heights and easily rocketed beyond my expectations. I won't give away the plot of Black Star Rising but it contains stealth jets, a confrontation with China and disputes over oil. It's like reading today's headlines! Another new plot, another new theater of operations, same great factual action. I don't know how you do it Bob but don't stop. Brick Maxwell is someone we can believe in. Bring him back soon!

This is a Don,t put me down novel . Greatly enjoyed all three of the authors books. Full of action and incident.

I never know quite what to expect from the devious mind of this consummate writer of military suspense. What I do know, however, is that each of Gandt's action-packed novels has proven to be even better than the one before. Who would have dared to dream, for example, that in Black Star Rising our very own military forces would join the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in defending its crucial oil resources from the marauding Republic of China. Once again, alter ego Commander Brick Maxwell transports us from the carrier deck to the killing skies as he engages his arch nemesis over land and sea. And, yes, just the right amount of earthly love and lust!

My husband reads all Gandt's books and LOVES them. Says he's one of the best aviation authors ever.

Bob Gandt's Brick Maxwell series is probably the most authentic naval aviation fiction being produced today. You even vicariously pull several "G's" as Brick's plane gets flung off the carrier's catapult or tries to roll inside his opponent -- it's that authentic. Gandt has a unique way of explaining the obscure naval term or aviator's jargon that keeps you feeling "with it" while not interfering in the slightest with the continuity of the plot.

Gandt's knowledge of contemporaneous world events and his continuous exposure to naval carrier operations help greatly in lending contemporaneous authenticity to each of his novels. Try his works -- you'll love them!

David Deida is a God send,. Read any and all his books if you are ready to take your whole life to the next level. I am so grateful on many different levels for the wisdom, clarity, love and honor he passes on.

I cried through the first few chapters. I thought the book was concise and yet really powerful. I've read a lot of David Deida's books, and while the message is absolutely stunning, the writing is sometimes confusing. I feel this one is very clear, very much to the point and very deep. Blue Truth could very well be one of these books that I end up reading over and over again, until I feel it is embedded into my very being. The experience that I get reading it is really strong and life altering.

This book may change your life. I carried it around with me to read soundbites throughout the day for months at a time- after I'd read it cover to cover. I find myself quoting from this book for people who are needing some inspiration or to just give someone a little "medicine" where I think that they might need it. Beautiful and poignant.

I'd like to respond to the only "one star" review given this book. If you notice, it is NOT a book review. It is a character assassination from someone who is obviously bitter about a teacher of David Deida's. I could care less where Deida learned and experienced the concepts of this book, the fact is that they work, they are beautiful- yes, controversial- but still beautiful. I've found my feminine essence where I didn't know it existed. In my lover, I now know what it feels like to be a woman. I did NOT know this before discovering the works of Deida. I hope that you read this book.

This is a truly amazing book. This is the second David Deida book I have read. Six months ago I started my first year of law school, in a new city where I knew nobody. I was really lost for a long time and hit a new low. I eventually took the initiative to do several things to improve my situation, and this book was one of them. It has really helped to change my life by realizing just how closed off I was/am to the world. Change is a slow process, of course, but this book really helped and continues to help. The advice is solid, true, and open. There are no false pretenses in this book; no ego; just insight and something that offers to help.

Also, Deida's writing style is very beautiful and sincere, which makes the book that much more helpful.

What a delight to read a man's perspective on the feminine and have it resonate so clearly. This was recommended by one of my spiritual "brothers" and I found it to be a sensitive, aware portrayal of the masculine/feminine dynamic - at least as far as it goes. I'm sure he says other things elsewhere, and I'll be reading some of them. It's a book for women to better understand men, and vice versa. What a huge contribution that is!