Nelson Books

I'm on the board of Christian Business Leaders (http://www.cblw.org) and we have an extensive library of Christian business-related books. Women, Faith and Work is one of the best books we have for women. It is written by the Life@Work company, which is highly respectable. The women interviwed for the book clearly have close relationships with Christ, their famlies and co-workers. They are excellent examples of what it means to have faith in Christ during hard times and giving Him credit in successful times. The women share their failures and successes leaving no stones unturned. I also recommend the companion book The Fourth Frontier. It really is a companion book for Christian men.

It's about time that the women in the marketplace are recognized. This book is great. It simply tells the stories of ten different women in all kinds of careers-from a housewife to a Hollywood Producer to a CEO. The writing style is silky smooth and the storytelling keeps you engaged. Great read!

We rarely get the chance to get close to someone who has a significant position in business or a profession. Even if we hear that she is a Christian, we often have to watch from afar to see how she works out her faith in the workplace. Lois Flowers has bridged that gap by providing ten intimate portraits of women who have meshed faith and business practice. These are honest women who let us know where they have failed and where they have struggled, but who hold out the example that our jobs can be platforms for the glory of God--even high-stakes jobs where the cross is more apt to be an offense to non-believers.

Women, Faith and Work takes you into the lives of ten remarkable women. Each one being very different from the rest. The tie that binds these women is their unfaltering faith and service to our Creator. No matter the routine of their day, each manages to have their priorities in order: God, family, then work. This book serves as an inspiration to women who struggle to meet society's expectations of the successful businesswoman, or even the successful mom. Each woman interviewed glorifies God through her work. They prove that putting our lives into the right perspective, which is God's perspective, serves as the best tool for success. Their examples make it evident that when we submit to His will for our lives, we experience our success--the success He has destined for our earthly lives. These women show us how to give God the credit for our blessings and, in that, witness to others. This book is a must-read for any woman with a desire to find the perfect plan for her life...God's plan.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this unusual book and highly recommend it.

What an unusual book! I thought it was a travel book, and since I love anything about Mexico, I picked it up. But it's MUCH MORE than the usual travel journal... so personal and intimate, also funny and insightful. If you're going to Mexico, take along this book. Or stay home and take the trip from the comfort of your own couch. (I doubt anyone else would ever have a honeymoon like they did, anyway. Pretty fun, doing it vicariously!)

This is a completely magnificent book. Get it! Give it to your loved ones! Totally brilliant, romantic, a fun and enlightening read. The art is also waaaaaay cool.

The back of the book calls this "a visionary travel journal of poetic prose." No kidding! It's all that, and more. I felt like a voyeur hiding inside the mind of author Nelson Gary -- secretly watching all the mystical, intimate details of this incredible honeymoon in Mexico. What a trip! (In every sense of the expression!) The book even FEELS good -- with a gorgeous embossed cover that introduces the "day of the dead" images cleverly carried throughout the book. In fact, the artwork and design of this book, (done by Darrin Brenner Rolat -- what else has she done? She's amazing!) is worth the price of the book! Can you tell that I LOVE THIS BOOK? It's fun to read and amazing to look at. All my friends want to borrow my copy -- so I'm buying a stack to give as holiday gifts.(I don't want to share mine!). God what I'd give to meet the author and find out if he's as cool in person as in print!

O'Brien's commentaries on the prison epistles have never failed to help me when I have consulted them to understand Paul's letters better than I had before. The author writes from a theologically conservative and complementarian viewpoint but is always prepared to evaluate other views, while also clearly articulating his own.

This is one of the most helpful of the Word Biblical Commentary series.

If you read commentaries to help you to understand the text, so that you can better serve Jesus Christ, you will really appreciate this one, as well as the author's commentaries on Philippians and Ephesians.

If you have not studied New Testament Greek, you may find some of his argumentation hard to grasp.

[If you are serious about understanding the New Testament, a couple of years studying the language it is written in will be enlightening, and will at the very least open up for you the majority of the best commentaries!]

Much praise has already been laid down by others concerning this commentary. The five star rating I gave it should confirm to the reader my agreement. With this in mind, I'm going to focus on one particular aspect of the book.

If I could have any complaint about this commentary, it is that it is too scholarly and thorough. O'Brien interacts with so many sources and views, one can get a little too bogged down in all the reasoning. Some parts are hard to follow lucidly with so much material being compared and contrasted. The sheer number of inline references and sources can make following the text with your eyes rather difficult. This is my general complain of the Word Biblical Commentary series as a whole, and this one seems especially representative.

O'Brien commentary is a gold mine for those serious in academics, or pastors who are series about having a broad base. O'Brien offers a huge (indeed, perhaps exhaustive) bibliography of the different works dealing with the text. O'Brien could be you one stop source for all your researching needs. For the layman though (like myself), it might be a little too much.

That said, I wholly recommend this commentary for all those serious about study.

This is the best commentary available on Colossians. Like O'Brien's commentaries on Ephesians and Philippians, this work features in-depth exegesis, summaries and critiques of all exegetical options, interaction with the best contemporary scholarship, and clear writing. O'Brien argues for Pauline authorship, and his theological perspective is broadly in the Reformed tradition.

Word Biblical commentaries are good in general for their interaction with the origianl languages and their analysis of the form of the text. O' Brien has a good overview of the hypothesises for the writng of colossians.

This was a great book, very helpful. I ordered one for my child's teacher and for his teacher next year so she could be reading it over the summer. I intend to give this book to each new teacher my child has and he is only in second grade.

This was the best book on ADD my wife and I have read. It not only explained ADD in understandable terms, it also provided us with practical ways to help our child succeed at school, at church, and in society. We appreciated the examples given because they enabled us to explain our situation to others in ways that help others (family and friends) to understand that ADD is not a curse and that an ADD child is not damaged goods. This is a must-read for anyone related in any way to someone with ADD.

After reading this book I feel more prepared to face the day to day challenges living with a child with ADD. This book offered practical ideas and easy to understand information about Attention Deficit Disorder. I have already utilized many of the ideas mentioned in the book. My only concern with this book was the publishing date. This book was published in the 90's. I am aware that a lot of new research has been done since this book was published so the chapter about medication is dated.

I've read many, many books (most recommended by my pediatrician) on this subject for my 2 sons who are affected. This is, by far, the best, most insightful book I've read yet on ADHD! I actually called and recommended THIS BOOK to my pediatrician!

If you have a child, or student, affected by ADHD, this is a MUST READ! It will change your perspective and help you gain the patience with that child that you thought was long gone.

I would also recommend Celebrate! ADHD by Kirk & Anita Martin.

This is the new space age way of teaching tennis. It already propelled Spain into the top rankings, as well as Srichaphan, Kuerten, Spadea, the Williams sisters, and now is being used by Russia, where this book was translated, for their star tennis development, with great success.
The success stories from this system of teaching are astounding.

Oscar does a great job showing you how easy it is to hit like a pro. If you order the tapes then don't order the whole series. It's basically the same material presented in the first series just under a different title.

I bought the two video tapes plus the book about 10 years ago. Gratefully my tennis has improved over the years. Not having watch the tapes for over eight years, it was such a refreshing experience to review the tapes recently. Now I am hitting my backhands and forehand groundstrokes with far more power and confidence.

Get the book plus the two videos, Master Strokes Volume 1 & 2

Highly recommended.

In my view, this is the most important book on stroke mechanics ever written. It breaks down the myths of traditional tennis instruction and details the techniques that good players have always used. It teaches a logical and efficient way to play that works with your body rather than fights it.

If you read this book, you'll find out why some of the things commonly taught on the tennis court simply don't feel right.

As an aside, a book written in 1962, called "Instant Tennis" was the earliest work I found that challenged traditional tennis teaching. It's flawed in my view, but worth a read if you're interested in the topic.

This book probably did more to help save my current work situation than any other book I've read. I picked it up at a church library sale thinking it sounded interesting, but didn't read it until one Sunday morning when I was at a place of deep discouragement and disappointment with the new job I was in. I read about the three stages that we go through with new situations and as I came to understand the premise of the book, God began to change my heart toward the job He had given me. I have purchased it for a friend and have another copy ready to be handed out to the next person who wants to give up. God wants us to work THROUGH the circumstances He allows, not to give up in them. There are so many blessings waiting on the other side when one perseveres with God's help. I highly recommend it!

This book is full of "gold nuggets" for living life to the fullest. Ray and Anne's book is filled with encouraging words based on truth. You don't have to be thinking of "quitting anything" to benefit from this book of wisdom. It's a great book to own and one I'm sure I'll refer back to many times as I encourage myself and others to live for Zone C!

This is a book about staying power, perseverance. It is loaded with solid truths from the Bible. It points out the necessity of standing firm in the midst of difficult circumstances. A fresh perspective is given to help readers see beyond the present and as a result their hopes are built. Consider the quote on page 15, "The most meaningless statistic in a ball game is the score at halftime." From that observation they go on to describe how every situation involves a process consisting of a beginning, middle and end. They illustrate using several examples from the Bible.
They cite medical evidence that hope is a force that "leads to physiological changes that can improve the body's resistance" (p. 31). Hope is viewed as "God's gift to you to keep you healthy and positive and persevering" (p. 33).
It really gets exciting on page 36 when they tell us "What is it God created you to do in your life? He's had projects in mind for you since the beginning of time, which no one can complete but you." They base that oh Ephesians 2:10 which teaches that we are God's workmanship in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The book contains a weath of practical spiritual advice on how to live life to the hilt, on target with focus.
Buy it! Read it! Do it!

This book starts with a graphical, three part model that forms the basis of the book. It describes each task / journey / endeavor / relationship, etc. as going through three stages - the initial startup phase, the "problem phase" and the success or maintenance phase. It then provides valuable insight to what characterizes each phase and prepares you for barriers that will occur and offers sound strategies to counter them. Forewarned is forearmed. Some would say this is pretty simple, but I think many powerful concepts are indeed simple. This is a book that you can easily read in a few sittings but it's model and message will stay with you forever. I've given copies to my 3 children and two friends - one contemplating divorce and the other wanting to quit his job. Highly recommeneded to all ages and all people. Wish I had read it when I was in high school.

YOU! GOD'S BRAND NEW IDEA is a rich compilation of some of Max Lucado's most savory turns of phrases and lessons, drawing on 15 of his previously published titles.

The theme behind the idea is that each of us is made for specific purposes of God. Therefore, different sections of the book focus on different aspects. Topics include "Made By God," "Made to Be Unique," "Made for God's Purpose" and "Made for God's Glory." The result is a work that reminds us that God is behind and in all things. Most importantly, God is with us.

Some of the entries are only a few sentences long while others span a two-page spread. Lucado invites us to imagine the fullness of God's creativity and all the fun He had during creation. Then, he challenges us to reflect on the creative flair used to create man, a welcome reminder that we all bear His image like a stamp.

Another entry reminds us that God is the author of our life. As a result, our temperaments, character texture and personality were all specifically designed by God. He is the ultimate author, the bestselling creator of all, and He does not make mistakes.

A few of the entries carry a bit of humor. Lucado tells the story of Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey, the hosts of the popular "Rick and Bubba Show," a radio program based in Alabama. Animators once made a cartoon of Rick and Bubba, but Bubba couldn't make the producer happy, no matter how hard he tried. Exasperated, he finally cried out, "If I am me, how can I mess up?" Lucado uses this as a welcome reminder that "when it comes to being you, you were made for the part."

Overall, this book is a welcome encouragement that God has designed us specifically for His purposes and His glory. The very things that make us unique are pleasurable to God and can be used to bring glory to His kingdom. Throughout, Lucado reminds us that our gifts are meant to be used to make a big "to-do" out of God. We are to herald and honor Him with all we have.

The design of this work is classic and old-school in a good way. The yellow-hued gift book is filled with fun '50s-style fonts and pull-out quotes that make it fun for the reader. It even has a few interactive pages where readers can fill in the blanks, though it's unlikely anyone would want to mark up their books due to the clean design.

YOU! GOD'S BRAND NEW IDEA is recommended to fans of Max Lucado and those looking for a gift for a friend or family member who needs a little encouragement and a reminder not just of who they are but --- more importantly --- whose they are.

--- Reviewed by Margaret Oines

We have 4 grandchildren (out of 25) graduating from High School this year and this is one item we gave each one that graduated. They allare appreciative of this gift and are reading it. Yes, in public school they did learn how to read!

Max reminds us that God made each one of us to be unique and special, and sometimes we forget our uniqueness. This gentle reminder of how special we are to God and that God loves us is refreshing. Max's easy style of writing makes you feel like he is reading the book to you.

IF YOU ARE DOWN IN THE DUMPS, READ THIS. GOD HAS PLANS FOR US AND THEY ARE GOOD ONES.

This is a must have for any person searching for their own meaning of life. Andy Andrews does a miraculous job w/ the writing and flow of the c story. The suspense keeps keeps the reader from being able to put the book down.

Andy addresses many issues that most Americans deal w/ today: poverty, debt, financial ruin, personal failure, etc.

Any's story is heart gripping and truly puts the important things in life into perspective.

Wonderful book for teens and adults alike. You will be blessed by this book.

This is an excellent book to teach values for younger ones. This younger version of The Traveler's Gift is a great book to read to your kids to instill certain values into them. A+!

The people in the book were like me because the kid was nearly my age. The story had some sad parts but a happy ending that made me feel good. I have already recommended the book to my friend at school who had already read The Traveler's Gift.

This book will challenge children approx. 9-14 years of age, challenge them to think about their lives, where they're going and the best way to get there.

I have read many Zig Ziglar books, as well as listened to many audio programs, and this incorporates the best of all his previous works. From how to motivate yourself, to dealing with customers, this book seems to have it all. It really is the ultimate handbook for the nineties and beyond.

I would reccomend this book to anyone dealing with the public, whether or not you are "in" sales. As Zig says, we are all in sales, in one way or another.

The book is easy to read, and thoroughly engrossing. With practical advice, first hand examples, and great stories. You can put the information to work immediately, and see results.

This is an awsome book, just don't buy the audio version, unless you also buy the paperback version. Too much is stripped down from the contents of this book in the audio version.

I own both.

Reading Zig Ziglar on sales is little like looking over Beethoven's shoulder at the piano. For decades, Ziglar has championed the role of the noble sales professional. Here, he tells how he made - and botched - his first sales call back in 1947. Despite the passing years since that first sales call, Ziglar's message of integrity and sales acumen remains relevant and fresh. As the master says, sales is the transference of belief. We from getAbstract invite everyone to read this book on sales, and become a believer.

Ziglar has written perhaps one of the best books ever on sales. A prolific author, this title focuses more on practical ways to becoming a more successful salesperson.

Among the points covered include:

1. Ethical selling.
2. Overcoming call reluctance.
3. Tips on prospecting.
4. Asking good questions helps the buying process.
5. Selling to different personality types.
6. Principles of closing the sale.
7. People skills and facets of business travel.
8. Organization and discipline.

Since I work in sales, I can testify that the book has helped me in the selling process. What I particularly liked was the encouragement to continue a high level of integrity, service, and acting in the customer's interest.

Read, enjoy, and be encouraged to be a better salesperson!

Poetry, it is said, is what disappears in translation. This may often be true, for patterns of rhythm and sound in a poem can seldom be carried over into another language, even if the translator be a poet.

Happily, this is not a problem in _1020 Haiku in Translation: the Heart of Basho, Buson and Issa_, 2006. Translated by Takafumi Saito and William R. Nelson. Artwork by Munetaka Sakaguchi. The simple patterns of everyday speech, and the utterances of things and places and feelings are brief, yet in their simple imagery and emphasis, the poems offer us at least sparks of awareness of the here-now presence in life, and at best grant us a revelation, a brief kind of surprise, an overwhelming openness.

The poesy of Japanese haiku is preserved, not in the 5-7-5 pattern, but through strong-weak stress patterns. The Japanese count of seventeen syllables in three lines (5-7-5) is naturally rendered in English differently, but still true to the original. Basho's famous frog haiku becomes: "An old pond - / A frog dives in / Water sound." Because of such apparent simplicity, schoolchildren around the world have been impelled, one believes, rather than driven, to learn and appreciate haiku - and to write them!

For children see, too, the variety of content in haiku. The poet Issa writes, "Don't swat it! / The fly is rubbing / Its hands and legs." This haiku is found in the book, _1020 Haiku in Translation: the Heart of Basho, Buson and Issa_. This anthology does not only include well more than others of the three masters' poems but also devotes many pages to helpful supplementary information not readily found in other collections.

Non-Japanese readers who possess books with some of these poems may wish to compare the English translations in them with those in this new and generous volume for their sometimes interesting differences.

In the Biographical Notes we are told of the many personal tragedies in Issa's life, thus making his grief and longing more poignant for us.

Unique with this anthology, I believe, is the use of grouping; in Contents and throughout the book, the haiku are organized not only under the customary Seasons for each poet, but also under themes, such as Children, Flowers, Feelings, People at Work, and many others. This makes it easy for the reader to quickly find poems of special interest.

Also convenient for readers who may have only a first-word-or-two recall of a haiku that is slipping away is the One-Line Index where each poem in Romaji is listed alphabetically by the first word.

Traveling through paths of pages in 1020 Haiku . . . one pauses often by the radiant black-on-white words of the poets and the translators, and not less by the delicate and strong illustrations of the artist.

In their Preface the authors speak of how a harmony of "things, events, feelings," in a haiku, "if internalized by the world's people, could dramatically bolster world peace. People living side by side, without argument, without force." So grand and noble a vision for the humble haiku? To come only through its soft voice of one or two breaths and heartbeats two or three? One would not dream it possible, were it not for voices of gentle natures like those of the old masters and those who care to follow after, to see and to show. Thus Issa:
The heart of the Goddess of Mercy
In the sway
Of willows.

This is what it advertises-- 1020 Haiku from the three great haiku masters-- Basho, Buson, and Issa. The beauty of this book is that there is romanized/phonetic translation of the Japanese... so you can read the English translation, then sound out the Japanese syllables to hear the sound of the haiku (at least an approximation) in the original Japanese. Finally, the hirigana/katakana/kanji are supplied for each haiku, as well, so if you read Japanese, you can read the original.

Misters Nelson and Saito explain that they chose to translate into an English version that they thought best captured the original Japanese intention. They elected not to retain a 5-7-5 or approximate format, although they did keep predominately three lines for each haiku. That being said, I have seen more artistic translations of the common haiku I have read elsewhere in other books-- all in all, I wasn't that happy with the translations... the percentage of haiku that really grabbed me was not as high as other books I've read. But that may just be me, or the fact that out of 1020 haiku, I've seen the best ones already in other books with less.

The book itself is trade paperback in style... about 8x6 inches, 1.5 inches thick. The paper is that thick, grainy, acid-free-looking stuff... it has nice texture that should last. The book is sparsely and tastefully illustrated with Japanese brushstroke paintings and calligraphy throughout. About a dozen or so of the more famous haiku are repeated in the calligraphy independently on full pages as stand-alone decoration.

As tradition, the haiku are divided into seasons. Each haiku poet gets a section in each season. Each section is further sub-divided into areas such as "Flowers", "Eating and Food", "Insects", "People Working" and things like that. The headings are organized alphabetically, but somewhat arbitrarily chosen. The footnotes on selected haiku preodminately elaboarate on Japanese traditions, historical events, and geography that may not be commonly known-- there is no real artistic critique or elaboration. There is an index in the back which organizes the haiku alphabetically by the first Japanese syllable/word.

The preface itself does little in the way of explaining the why of the book and how they chose to translate the original Japanese. There is not a lot, if anything, on philosophy or history, or insight into this type of poetry.

It has been many years since I have felt such joy at the physical beauty of a book: the intelligence and elegance of the design, the parallel texts, the foreword, the beauty of the poetry, the architecture of the sequence, the generous size of the print, the integration of the art work and written characters in the page layouts--all of these things and more. What a lovely gift to the world. Don't miss this.