Owen Books

This well-told, interesting, robust summary of Pakistan's 55 year old history is more than just the usual "run-of-the-mill country study." The author has talked to real Pakistanis, sampled their opinions, and mapped the nation's temperament and volatility back into its own desires, hopes and fears. It is a rich and dense biography of a much-troubled ally and nation.

Strategically situated at the crossroads of some of the most important of international sensitivities, and beset with enough internal problems to place it at the very top of any objective list of the world's most unstable countries, Pakistan continues to muddle through, lurching from one deep-rooted crisis to another.

Now that it has become "the first Islamic nuclear power," all of the stakes have been raised immeasurably to a whole new level. As a U.S. ally in the war on terror, it is a sobering thought that like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and even Iraq, Pakistan too could conceivably turn from our number one ally into our number one enemy almost over night. It is just a roll of the dice that keeps this troubled nation afloat and upright for the moment.

It is this volatility and unpredictability that makes a deeper study of Pakistan essential for international relation watchers. Jones, a journalist who spent several years "on station" in Pakistan, brings a fresh but very "un-journalistic" approach to this national biography: It is not just another computer dump of a journalist log, but a well-told story, that unfolds chronologically and thematically; one that is linked to internal opinions as well as to the larger international picture.

This is a very impressive book. Five stars

This book is without a doubt the best ever book one can find on Pakistani politics. It covers every aspect in detail from the 1999 Coup, the Kashmir Crisis-Kargil, Democracy in Pakistan as well as other internal issues.

The author obviously through his decade long experience has got a great deal of insight knowledge from his experiences for reporting for the BBC for which he made the wise choice for publishing his thoughts in this book.

If you're a student or even a curious reader liking books on Asian or especially Pakistani related politics, then look no further than this book as it is the best one out there. I read it all in 3 days and still do repeatedly as I've used it for reference for many university related projects.

Pakistan's turbulent history and military rule is treated to a scholarly and in-depth analysis which describes many of the problems of modern Pakistan with an eye to probing their historical roots. Jones assesses regional conflict and influence within the country and provides an important, scholarly assessment of Pakistan's underlying foundations. College-level readers will find it involving.

Owen Bennet Jones was BBC's correspondent in Pakistan for three years till 2001.

His book is a wonderful way to understand Pakistan. It is not a typical chronological list of facts. It is a set of nicely grouped perspectives on the issues in Pakistan's politics: the power players - army, politicians, feudal lords; the public opinion issues - Kashmir, Bomb, Bangladesh, Muhajirs; and their impact on Pakistan so far.

The reader can pick any chapter and start with it.

It is difficult to write a book about Pakistan (or India) without leaving in the reader's mind a sense of disappointment at a biased perspective. Was partition the right thing to do? Different views may emerge based on who you ask.

It is even more difficult for a British author to keep a balanced perspective on the history of the sub-continent given the influence in his own ambience. Is Winston Churchill a wise statesman or an arrogant imperialist? Different views may emerge based on where you ask.

The author seems to have struck a fine balance between multiple views.

However, in a few instances, the author disappoints:

Pakistan does feel insecure about India's intentions. The religious divide is a thin argument since India has more Muslims than Pakistan; and they are not raring to quit India. The divide stems from a public opinion that got shaped by the shameful violence during partition; that got nurtured after the partition by the army and politicians in Pakistan as a pet hate agenda for self serving reasons. Today, no politician or general in Pakistan can take a softer friendly stand towards India and survive in Pakistan. This is true to a lesser extent for politicians in India too. Feeding a public opinon for political convenience and in turn being fed by it is the vicious cycle that Pakistan has gotten into. The author misses this point and suggests that Pakistan's insecurity stems from India responding to Pakistan's invasion in 1965 by crossing the border and coming to occupy Lahore; and from India's role in liberation of Bangaldesh. This world-view befits a public relations spin master and not a political journalist.

Pakistan's view is that Mujahideens causing mass deaths in Kashmir are "freedom fighters" and not "terrorists". This view suffers from several fallacies:
(a) Pakistan's claim as homeland to the sub continent's Muslims is not valid any more. Not after 180 million in East Pakistan walked away. Not after 200 million Muslims have stayed back in India and have played a big role in India's growth.
Pakistan has lesser Muslims, 150 million, today than either India or Bangladesh.
(b) The Mujahideen are trained and equipped by the State of Pakistan. This is low intensity proxy war. Not freedom fighting. Not terrorism.
(c) The Mujaihideen are not citizens of Kashmir. They are "outsiders" coming in for a shared religion. They sincerely believe they are fighting for the noble cause of their religion. They believe religion prevails over the State. This view raises challenges to several States. In the end this may prove to be a bigger challenge to Islamic States than other States.
The author's sympathetic description of the events in Kashmir as "tribesmen crossing the border to fight for their muslim brethren" reflects one view reasonably well; but ignores an opposite view that may have a greater dosage of wisdom.

Pakistan's army, in the words of Benazir Bhutto, has a better track record in fighting its own citizens than fighting other armies. The army's response to this potential for doubt is made up of: (a) a signature tactic of proxy war - in defeat there is a cover of deniability; and in success there is glory and (b) lack of transparency on events during the war and a "spin" that could obfuscate truth. The author is willing to be a facilitator. Did Pakistan's army lose its positions in Kargil? Or, did they walk out because Nawaz Sharif ceded to pressure from the US? The author says that Indians claim Pakistan army was dislodged in 80% of the positions before Sharif met Clinton; but "neutral" observers, relying on Pakistan sources, believe that India had dislodged Pakistan in just 12 of the 132 positions implying that the army won it and politicians lost it. Neutral observers relying on Pakistan sources? There are better neutral analyses like Arthur J Tellis' book "Limited Conflicts Under the Nuclear Umbrella".

The author parrots a view he heard in Pakistan army: that Pakistan army uses tribesmen in its engagement with India because the Indian army is more afraid of the tribesmen than Pakistan's regular army. Steve Coll in "Ghost wars" has a different story. Officers in Pakistan army preferred to get posted to the Western front than the Eastern front where they need to meet the tough professional army from India.

Aside from these minor biases, the author has done a very good job in portraying Pakistan's history and the issues this young nation faces.

I bought this book some three years ago and took it on a trip, finishing it over six days. The book is written very well, and journalist in Owen Bennet Jones certainly needs to be commended.

Jones starts the book with President Musharraf, and moves back to the 1999 coup which installed him. He then picks up some of the key issues which drive Pakistan's foreign policy: Kashmir, The Bomb, The Army, among others. His writing syle is such that you immediately fall in with him and start thinking alongside. This makes the book an easy read. His style leans more towards description than analysis. Though the analysis is there, it is more journalistic than professorial (such as Stephen Cohen's: The Idea of Pakistan). There are also some good illustrations and cartoons.

However, he also leaves out important aspects of Pakistan (this is perhaps justified considering the title of the book). For instance, the entire book is written from the perspective of an outsider or a diplomat who would like to deal the Pakistan state. There is little analysis of Pakistan's domestic policies or problems, except to the extent that these influence its foreign policies. There is little information on Pakistan's economy or social institutions. Relatively little space has been given to Islam, which is strange considering that many of Pakistan's policies are supposed to be derived from the religious nature of the State. This is unfortunate because Pakistan's future may be determined largely by how it interfaces with Islam and how its economy shapes up.

And there are very few insights. What drives Pakistan, what holds it toegether, what may make it fail, these are all dealt with from a foreign policy perspective, but in an analytical style. Though Jones does make some very good connections between events and identifies patterns, the insights are simply not there. Perhaps one has to turn to an Asian mind such as V. S. Naipaul for that. However, Naipaul is somewhat hostile to the subject, and therefore may merely end up reinforcing some stereotypes.

All in all, an enjoyable book, but one that you may not be able to hold for long in your mind.

This book could be half as long as it is if the authors would simply leave the good, hard facts and remove the touchy-feely stories of their own experience. A little anecdote can spice things up, but too many drown this book in unrelated experience.

That being said, this is a good comprehensive resource for ESL teachers. I used it to prepare for my Praxis II exam and was pleased. I would have liked to see at least one chapter dedicated to the different accepted ESL methodologies (Communicative, Silent Way, Suggestopedia, etc).

I have recommended this book to friends.

I am currently taking an ESL strategies and assessments course, and I have found this book absolutely helpful. Both for the person who is learning how to work with ESOL students, and for current teachers seeking strategies to incorporate into their classroom. The book contains specific classroom examples to use to enhance your ability to work with, and assess second language learners. There are several opportunities contained in the book for learning activities the students love to do, and will absolutely utilize. The strategies are clear and precise.
I had to purchase this book for my class, but this is a keeper, and I will enter it into my library.

This book has been like a bible for my role as an English Language Literacy Coach in the professional development of teachers. The concepts presented are all research based and up to date and the authors give very specific examples of strategies that can be implemented in classrooms right away. We did a chapter study (Chapter Four on Oral Language Development) as a grade level team, right after receiving the book. We were very impressed with the activities that were suggested and the connections we made with things we were already doing. We also loved the companion website that goes with this book that gives resources and activities relating to each chapter. This book is highly recommended for K-12 teachers who have English Language Learners in their classrooms.

This book covers it all! I will definitely keep it on my shelf and refer back to it for ideas.

This item is very resourceful! I needed it for my online course and it was certainly an easy read. :)

I think my biggest beef with this book is the way the ships are organized. Instead of alphabetically ordered (even the four new templates like junker and prototype are in with the ships in alphabetical order instead of a little section of their own)I think it would have made more sense to have the ships catagorized by size, function, or the best prolly would have been by who used or made them. Like... all the old republic ships in one section, then new empire, then the independants... I dunno, it just get's very dissorganized when they do it alphabetically. My other beef being I guess even though it is labeled "Starships" I was hoping to see some land speeders or bikes, a few walkers... land craft I guess, I wonder if that means they'll come out with a land craft book or just put them chunk by chunk in the other supplements which seems to be what they're doing. Seems the KotR book has speeders and bikes and the Unleashed book has some too so.... In order to play the game you have to buy all the books anyways right? One last beef... The templates in my opinion are pretty useless, nice attempt, but really... if a gm wants to make a ship a junker... you don't really need a template, just make some of the stats lower...
On to the pluss' of this book. There is enough selection of ships (barely) to put together a battle. There are maybe a couple of fighters, freighters, transports, capital ships, etc from each era of play from each faction. There are pictures for 99% of the ships which is allways good and the art is exceptional. I guess I do have another beef with this book which was actually the first thing that annoyed me, there are only about 4 schematic layouts for ships... so there are all these ships but only about four of them have blueprint layouts (dynamic a.k.a. ebon hawk, sith infiltrator a.k.a. Darth Maul's personal transport, and of course han solo's ride.. I'm pretty sure there's one more... oh yea, one other space transport) which bummed me out because I was looking to throw some space pirates into the campaign and would have liked to work with some actual ship layouts instead of making them myself and I guess it would have gotten pretty rediculous with the sheer size of some of these ships but they could have done a few more of them. The ships have brief descriptions of who made them and why which is good for tying them in to your campaign as well as a capabilities section which is good for basically letting you know how that ship was used. One of the best parts of this book was the modification part which was laid out and explained very well. There are new talents and feats which were interesting but seriously I think unless the GM let's it be known that it is going to be a campaign heavy in space most of them are pretty useless to a standard campaign, more for building specialized characters. There is one cool feat enabling someone to literally make a ship from the ground up and I think that's cool. I reccomend this book for two people and two people only... The GM who wants to throw an occasional small scale starship battle into the campaign (although get ready for a headache cuz the rules and specs on how to do this are complicated) and the player who wants to be a specialized character, the player who really wants to be an ace pilot and have a personalized ship that is capable of more than just getting the party from point a to point b. Hey, no group is complete without a han solo right? beats calling a taxi all the time and really helps flesh out a character. Sooo... I'd say this book is more for the player looking to flesh their character than for the GM

The Starships of the Galaxy sourcebook for the Star Wars RPG is a nice addition to the series of sourcebooks that are coming out this year. Along with Threats of the Galaxy that came out a couple weeks before it, Starships of the Galaxy puts more depth and definition into your sessions with chases, dogfights, and all the great things that makes a Starship in Star Wars a Starship. Having great Starships, Freighters, and Capital Ships from the Star Wars universe. From Starships like Luke Skywalker's X-Wing and Darth Vader's Tie Fighter, then Freighters like Han Solo's Millenium Falcon and Knights of the Old Republic's Ebon Hawk, to Capital Ships like the Corellian Corvette and the Victory Class Star Destroyer, it's all here. For fans of the Star Wars RPG and fans of Star Wars period this is a great book to add to your collection. With nice stats for all the Starships for Star Wars. If you enjoy the game and enjoy the Star Wars universe this is a definite must buy!

I like the book, and I love how extensive it is and how well it explains just about everything you need to know about a starship. It really embellishes the starship battles and makes it much more immersive into the Star Wars Universe everyone knows and loves.

The only drawback is that much of it goes so in-depth that the typical group will not take the feats necessary to use most of the book. Unless you have a campaign centered around a group of pilots, much of the book will be largely unused.

But, it is a necessity should you choose to make a campaign of snub-fighter jocks or members of the Imperial Navy or a party who just wants to design and build their own ship.

This newest version of the Star Wars Starship guide is great for those Smigglers, Bounty Hunters and Ace pilots that want to buy,steal or build their own custom made ship.

After picking up the Star Wars SAGA roleplaying game from Amazon, I went to the Wizards of the Coast website to look up any potential printing errors in the book. While I was looking around, I read about an up and coming supplement dealing with starship options. It piqued my interest, so I pre-ordered a copy of it on Amazon.

A month later, the book arrived and after spending about a week using it, I can say it was very much worth the money.

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"Starships of the Galaxy" is at heart a gathering of ship statistics, paragraphs of ship descriptions within the Star Wars timeline and pieces of art sprinkled throughout.

There's good variety here: most if not all of the movie ships were covered, including the medical frigates (seen at the end of The Empire Strikes Back and during Return of the Jedi), Cloud Cars (seen in The Empire Strikes Back), Super Star Destroyers (around the middle to end of Return of the Jedi) and more. In addition to what was seen in the six films, there are also entries that come from the Expanded Universe novels, like Xizor's Virago (from Shadows of the Empire). These were a nice touch that managed to cater to both casual and hardcore fans.

In some cases, the descriptions were a little skimpy - you'd either read about who used the ship, or when and where it was conceived, but rarely both. Mostly though, they did get the basics of the vehicle across.

The art is a mixed bag in terms of style - some were very straight, bright and blocky, giving the ship a technical drawing feel (like the X-Wing, and it appears the artists did work for the d20 Modern supplement "d20 Future"). Others were a bit blurry, colorful and seemed to make the ship look like it was engaged that moment in the heat of battle (such as the Virago). Both were done well, however. So, consistency aside, I was very pleased.

Though smaller than the rest of the book, there is a section on starship maneuvers and tactics. While these are reserved for campaigns set primarily with vehicle combat as the main conflict, there are some good single options that work for a mixed theme campaign.

To top it off, the covering is solidly build and the pages aren't thin and easily bent. The low page count (160) might turn some away (and I was skeptical myself after Wizards lowered the average from 192 to 160) but as long as the content stays at this level of quality or rises, the cost will be justifiable.

This book is very well written. It is the first technical book that I have read cover-to-cover in years.

This book's first chapter is about the only one that is clear. The rest of the chapters are unfortunately not well presented and structured. The examples and the CSS examples are laid out in very confusing ways. It is very often difficult to tell which snippet of code matches which screenshot. In that respect, chapter 7 is a nightmare.
Also cruelly missing from the book are a list of all possibly attributes for each property.
You will not be able to learn CSS entirely from this book. You will have to either buy another more comprehensive book, or to use Web tutorials.

This book is perfectly fine if you can't be bothered to seek out most of this information online. The authors' own websites are actually some of the best places to start. But the book is useful, even down to the entire chapter devoted to analyzing Netscape 4's CSS abilities--something most others will simply not cover.

However, the price of this book is about two times too high. It's short, with no CD, but it runs as much as many of the "phone-book" tech books. This is a fifteen-dollar value, no more.

Over the years, CSS has helped change the way information is displayed on the web. Since its inception, CSS has evolved into a full-featured language capable of formatting not only text but almost all elements of a web site such as tables, lists, and more. CSS is not the easiest language to learn, but a book such as this helps.

Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content from Presentation by Owen Briggs, Steven Champeon, Eric Costello, Matt Patterson, is a great way to not only be introduced to CSS but also to learn the details that will ultimately help you to design or convert existing sites using the CSS language. The book introduces you to simple CSS formatting involving text and other web elements such as lists, tables, and more. After relishing some of the simple formatting concepts, the book guides you through the more complicated process of creating layouts using CSS.

Beyond direct applications of CSS, the authors explain some subtle issues that you will encounter while using CSS. While CSS is standardized by the W3C organization, the implementation of CSS varies across various browsers. The authors do an excellent job of covering some of the inconsistencies and how to resolve them. You are provided specific examples of code, and you are also given code that would help older browsers into displaying CSS-based layouts.

The book also takes interesting breaks from explaining CSS concepts and provides insights into unique features about CSS that are cool to know! One such section, explains how to make your pages downgrade gracefully and display properly in text-only browsers.

The various authors present the information very clearly, and you, towards the end of the book, will have learned how to not only use but also implement CSS in your design solutions. To aid you in your quest of applying what you have learned, the authors provide sample projects and brief guidelines before sending you off on a full filled CSS coding journey.

This is a great book for beginners and advanced users of CSS to learn and reference from.

Overall, this is an outstanding text for learning CSS and how to appropriately use it with HTML and XHTML. It is perfect for someone who is already comfortable with basic HTML markup and would like to leverage the various advantages of CSS. The book's only weak point is its coverage of the CSS box model. Arguably one of the more difficult parts of learning CSS, the chapter on the box model makes only passing reference to the float property, which is used very frequently in CSS layouts. Other examples in the box chapter were overly simplified and did not give much more info than I've found online.

The chapters on the basic syntax of CSS are very good and the typography coverage is outstanding.

The first time I read this book I was in 5th grade and I filled out the check-out card checking it out from the library over and over again. A few years ago, I was browsing through amazon.com and stumbled across it and so I bought it. A while later, my neice (who was probably 10 or 11 at the time) was over visiting me and saw it and borrowed it from me to read and she loved it. She wanted my copy, but instead I bought her another copy and gave it to her for her birthday ... like her aunt it has become her favorite book!

I read this book when I was 12 and still, 16 years later, I love it. This is a preteen book about a very sheltered 13 yr.old girl named Melanie who is forced to go away to camp for about 6 weeks.( Her Aunt Katherine,a pyschologist, strongly suggest that to her folks and they finally agree that Mel needs to grow up a bit and learn new things and meet new people.) At first Mel is quite homesick and scared of all the new activities, but she starts to really enjoy herself and grow up.She makes new friends and learns assertiveness,especially when it comes to dealing with a bully.
I could definitely relate to shy, sheltered, insecure Melanie when I was a preteen, which is partly why I adored it so much. I did attend summer camp when I was 10, 12 and 13. When I was 12 and 13 I had a mad crush on 1 hot blonde guy at the camp. His good looks and cool demeanor reminded me of "Steve", Melanie's boyfriend in the book.
Even though this book was written in the 70's, it is still relevant for today's preteens. I hope this book comes back in print some day and I hope no changes are made. I think this would also make a great made for tv movie.
Parents, do your preteens(especially girls) a favor and buy them this book. I can't see how any kid couldn't relate to the story.

Around 1978 I found this book. I purchased it brand new from the book store shelf. Over the next 9 years, I read it again and again and again. By the time I headed off to college the book was almost in tatters. It went with me to college but I only managed to read it once or twice by sandwiching it in between text books and classes. After I was married, I packed it away.

Fast forward to May 2006. Ok, call me overly dramatic. I was scheduled for surgery and I had time to read one book before going under the knife. I had to chose what might be the last book I'd ever read. I chose Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood. I couldn't find my own copy so I turned to the local library system. They had one copy about 45 miles away. I put in my request.

It was almost 30 years after the first time I read the book. Here I was, almost 37 and worried that this "young adult" book would dissapoint me. Had I made the wrong selection? Would I be bored? Would it still be my favorite book?

I made the right selection. I wasn't bored. It was still my favorite book - even decades later. As I turned each page, I remembered every thing in the book. As I read each word, it came spilling out of my memory as though I had just read the book the day before.

As you can surmise, I survived the surgery (or at least I am in the process of recovering). So, technically, this wasn't my "one last read". However, I think I'll find my copy and make sure I have it around just incase the situtation ever arises again.

Ellen: If you read these reviews, thank you for an incredible book!

I read this book for the first time when I was in elementary school, I actually filled up the library card for the book, that was how many times I checked it out, and read it. I never got to go to summer camp, but I always wanted to, and Timberwood was as close as I ever got. I am 31 now, and I still remember this book, I can't wait to get mine so I can visit Camp Timberwood all over again. I am going to try to get my boys to read it, I don't know how interested they will be though. An excellent read, I highly recommend it!!!

My friend gave my this book to read before we went to Camp Classen on a school trip. Her grandmother works at a library and gave it to her. She was dying to read it and told me I should when she finished. I simply loved it. The author put emotions in it that were exactly like those of a real teenager.
In this book, Melanie is leaving her parents, with whom she thinks of as best friends, and goes to Camp Timberwood. She meets a good friend there and an enemy. But when a little boy she meets in swimming class sends her on an errand she comes face to face with romance. You can not put this book down. It is completely mesmerizing. You will absolutely love it!

Perfect for the business end of landscaping or design. Things that they didn't teach you in college. This book is an asset for almost any home based business. Thank you Owen, it's just what I needed.

If you want to start a ladscape companey this uis the book you want!
From the foundation to the long run it's full of great advice and instruction. I would recomend it to any new buisiness owner.

The book has plenty of information and ideas for starting a landscaping biz, and presented in a light-hearted style that I appreciate. Thanks to Mr. Dell for sharing his insights.

This was just what was needed. Lots to learn. Explanations were clear and direct. Very useful.

If you are considering starting a business this book is a must read. the principals listed in the book apply to almost any business, but the references are definately targeted at landscaping.

The book is well written, easy to undersatnd, and makes a lot of sense. this is money well spent.

Paul Bowles had already established himself as an American composer when, at the age of 38, he published 'The Sheltering Sky' and became one of the most powerful writers after world war two. By the time of his death in 1999 he had become a legendary writer. From his base in Tangier he produced novels, stories, and travel writings. Bowles describes collisions between 'civilized' exiles and unfamiliar societies. In fiction of slowly growing menace, he achieves effects of horror and dislocation.

In 'Let It Come Down' ( 1952 ), Bowles tells the doomed trajectory of Nelson Dyer, a New York bank teller who comes to Tangier in search of a different life and ends up giving in to his darkest impulses. Rich in descriptions of the corruption and decadence of the International Zone in the last days before Moroccan independence, Bowles second novel is a comic and at the same time horror-like account of a descent into the pool of nihilism.

I give 4 stars because Bowles' philosophy is sometimes oversimplified and the comical can be childish. For instance one of the characters slips over a little heap of dung and he falls to the ground. But altogether this book is interesting for its mixture of adventure and vivid descriptions of Tangier and the surrounding landscapes.

What would you do if you were dropped into the middle of a small Moroccan town with a briefcase full of embezzled currency under your arm in bills too big to change, not speaking the language, high on kif, marked as a foreigner, lost in the streets & unable to ask for help for fear the police will discover you sneaked in illegally from Tangier?

That's the existential crisis "Let It Come Down" builds up to, and like Kit's similar predicament in "The Sheltering Sky," it turns out against all expectations to be a strangely liberating one for the main character, who discovers a sense of pattern and purpose in his life only at its extremes. I liked this story better than Bowles's more famous novel: the plot is more focused, the characters better drawn (especially the ancillary expatriates like Eunice Goode and Daisy de Valverde, based on personalities Bowles knew first-hand in Tangier), and the individual scenes in the bars, cafes, and great homes of Morocco's International Zone more noir and threatening than the sleepy imperial outposts in "The Sheltering Sky." Best of all, Bowles takes a stab at a Moroccan character, the sympathetic and streetwise Thami, who picks up some of the narrative slack from the story's flat anti-hero, Dyar.

Bowles wrote the last section of the book, "Another Kind of Silence," with the help of kif, not knowing where the plot would go next, just letting it come down of its own accord. It's the most experimental but maybe also the most unsatisfying part of the novel, where Bowles indulges in vague philosophical speculations on the meaning of existence while pushing his characters through a desultory plot that involves a lot of aimless walking around, eating, and descriptions of altered states of mind. I liked Bowles's honesty in exposing the plot as just a contrivance, a sort of buttering-up for the great truths he wants to deliver at the end, and the last section is where the intellectual meat of the novel is. But I thought the elements he'd put into motion in the earlier parts were too good to be dropped so carelessly. Daisy & Luis, Eunice, Hadija, even Wilcox--and certainly Thami--deserve more than the story finally gives them. Still, it's a fun read with an impeccable feel for a vanished Tangier.

Paul Bowles' Let it Come Down is a footpath into the woods which appears promising at its entrance, but eventually peters out. Our protagonist, Dyer, arrives friendless in post-war Tangier and quickly finds the love of his life (a prostitute), and his true calling (illicit currency exchange). He navigates past the expatriate shoals and the native doldrums, and experiences his first original thought (steal the money) when he arrives too late at the foncier. You figure out "foncier" from context, but the trail narrows further and eventually the context peters out, too. The trail's end is a hashhish induced torpor in which childhood memories erupt and the essense of irrationality is explored. No worry; we're sitting on a sunny terrace outside Thani's wife's family's shack in the hills of the Spanish Zone, the policia seem to be several miles away, and the birds are singing. Let it come down.

Paul Bowles (THE SHELTERING SKY) lived as an American expatriate in Tangier, Morocco, where he wrote LET IT COME DOWN (1952). Set in the 1950s, Bowles' novel--reminiscent of Camus' STRANGER--follows Nelson Dyar, who leaves his mundane job as a bank job in New York to work in a friend's travel agency in Tangier, where he soon discovers that the agency is only a front for an illegal currency exchange. Dyar is a "wire-haired terrier" of a man--"alert, eager, suggestible" (p. 104), but he lacks brains and soul. Although he resides in an exotic city, Dyar, as his name suggests, is essentially already a dead man living a meaningless existence. "For years," Dyar "had gone along not being noticed, not noticing himself, accompanying the days mechanically, exaggerating the exertion and boredom of the day to give him sleep at night, and using the sleep to provide the energy to go through the following day" (p. 177). Dyar describes himself as a "victim" (p. 8), and soon after his arrival in Morocco, Bowles' protagonist is victimized by the situational, exotic culture of expatriates, drugs, alcohol, and casual sex that permeates Tangier. However, Dyar is neither a sympathetic nor a likable character, who seems to live a separate existence. He falls into a meaningless relationship with Hadija, a young prostitute, who is also the object of an alcoholic lesbian heiress's affections. Perhaps much like his former life in New York, Dyar's life in Tangier never becomes a movement toward or away from anything, he only continues to live his "life for life's sake . . . in the meantime you eat" (p. 183), all of which results not only in a darkly intriguing novel, but a highly satisfying existential thriller as well.

G. Merritt

I am a total Paul Bowles fan and this is the crowning masterpiece of his career. I wish I could give this novel 10 stars rather than just 5. Whereas Sheltering Sky and The Spider's House are totally excellent, Let It Come Down moves beyond them into the territory of the totally blank driftless soul with no meaning, a situation that Bowles shows is the most dangerous of all states of the soul.

The basic story is that of an American average young man, but beware, he is about as average as the frightful vapid drifters that populate the novels of David Plante. In fact the protagonist of Plante's The Age of Terror is similar to Bowles' protagonist, Nelson Dyar. Nelson Dyar comes to Tangier Morocco in the 1950s to work for the son of a friend of his mother's who runs a travel agency that is involved in illegal currency transactions. A plot is hatched to scam the currency exchange and Nelson is the fall-guy. But beware the fall-guy with brains and no soul. He meets a young prostitute, Hadija, but they don't fall into love, they fall into driftless sexual obsession with no future or commitment. Hadija is also pursued by an obese alcoholic ill-tempered lesbian heiress. One of the most vivid scenes in the novel is when this lesbian, Eunice Goode, goes to a cocktail party for Americans and Europeans hosted by two successful Morrocan businessmen. She drinks too much and passes out,in her long evening gown, on the walk leading from the patio, thus requiring every guest to step over her rotund sloppy mass of fat flesh to reach their cars to exit the party. Yet Eunice is only one of numerous characters of low intentions and lost expectations.

The parade of low-life Westerners may be a commentary on the value systems of the modern sophisticated American and European consciousness in comparison to the world of North African Islam. But I think there is more being said here. Nelson goes beyond the simple greed and lust and ego-centered schemes of the other characters and enters the world of total amorality. He moves beyond greed and into the world of the emotionless and thoughtless killer.

This supreme work of existentialist terror is embedded in a novel of beautiful spare poetic language. Nelson is no witty clever antisocial Ripley from a Patricia Highsmith novel. He is far more empty, a Zen murderer, a driftless pointless danger.

I love these books and have read everyone now. This one is as a good as the others. I am glad that Owen has finally returned to Wales for a time. Brother Michelo's growth is fascinating.

I agree totally with the reader who wrote that a simple list of characters would have helped. I too, thought the names were very confusing, Dafydd, Dyfrid, the dogs names so close to the men's names...ahhh. The names were also very long. I found myself having to go backwards to read to figure it all out. It was more work than enjoyment. I have read about 5 other Candance Robb books and I enjoyed this one the least. The others were very good.

How do I rate the best thus far in a series of 5-star books?!?! If there were more stars, this book would get them from me. I read it in one day, devoured it like Belgian chocolates. What can I say? I loved the journey through Wales, the pilgrimage. It was great to meet Martin the Fleming again (Jasper's old friend). Sir Robert and Michaelo were wonderful. Tangwystl, yes what a beautiful name. It was fascinating to find out Owen's feelings upon revisiting Wales, crossing the Severn, meeting up with countrymen and family. The author does a phenomenal job of characterizations. The bard Daffyd was fascinating, as were his friends Cadwall and the two dogs. Great books, all of them so far, but this is my favorite. I've been to Wales and this book captures the mystery perfectly!

Spring 1369, Owen Archer, one-time soldier and spy is out recruiting archers for the Duke of Lancaster, but he is also on a mission to find out whether the Duke's own steward is betraying him to the Welsh rebels. Trouble goes before them and a body in the Duke's livery is left at the city gates.
All of Candace Robb's novels have great appeal to those interested in the medieval period and this one is no exception. Owen Archer is a believable hero and the area of York in which he lived is not too far from my own home which lends a extra dimension to the novels from me.

I think this is my favorite so far of the Owen Archer series. It certainly gives one much to think about. Although A Gift of Sanctuary takes place in Wales and lacks the Archbishop's Spy Owen's charismatic wife, Lucy, the apothecary, it does expand on the characters of her father Sir Robert D'Arby and of the Archbishop's secretary, the mercurial Brother Michaelo. These are characters with which the reader has become familiar in earlier works. When the elderly knight and the irritating brother are thrown together as companions on pilgrimage to a sacred site in Wales and travel with Owen who is on a mission for the Duke of Lancaster, the reader has the opportunity to know them better. Both individuals grown in depth throughout the story, adding human interest to the story of murder and love betrayed. Indeeed, the story focuses as much on the development of these two people as it does on the mystery itself.

Haunting too is the tale of Owen's long separation from his family and of the many changes that are wrought by time in one's absence from home. In the years during which the action takes place, travel is a dangerous pursuit undertaken only rarely and then usually for religious or commercial reasons. Most people had not travelled more than a few miles from their home. For Owen, who left home years before to become an archer for the Duke of Lancaster, returning home to Wales is a bitter sweet experience at best.

Interesting too is the reintroduction of the poet Chauce--he appeared in an earlier story as well--and of a Welsh bard (with whose name I am unfamiliar). Both add some comic relief to the story, especially Dafydd ap Gwilym who plays a wise fool throughout. I took a class in Middle English, reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, when I was working on my MA in history, and although I struggled through the unfamiliar and vaguely familiar words of the poetry, I never learned much about the man himself. Robb's recreation of his personality, while it may not be perfectly accurate is probably not far from the truth.

Again the author provides an interesting summation of the history of the period, including the political climate of the Welsh-English frontier of the 14th Century.

This is the fifth in the Owen Parry civil war series based on the duties of Abel Jones. The book was hard to put down, characters well defined and the plot great to the end. I look forward to the next book in line.

keeps you interested . You can not wait for the next book to be published in this series.

Owen Parry's "Rebels of Babylon", an "Abel Jones" Civil War mystery novel, is a slam-bang pageturner, with an opening sequence worthy of Indiana Jones. Owen Parry's characters may tend to be rather larger than life, not exactly fully-realized and three-dimensional, although he constructs an exciting plot against a vivid but nonetheless authentic background. Unlike so many "historical" novelists, Parry does not create a tale set in a thinly-disguised modern world. The situations and characters in his novels are genuinely from the mid-Nineteenth century. Abel Jones, a Welsh-born veteran of Britain's wars in India and now a Union officer, disabled from further field service by an injury suffered at First Bull Run, is a reluctant but not wholly untalented detective in the services of the Lincoln Administration, dragged into investigating politcally sensitive crimes. This later adventure brings him to exotic New Orleans, once again in Union hands. Jones is a stiff-necked, moralizing Methodist who is hard on those who do not live up to his high standards (but, to be fair, he is equally hard on himself) and much of the humor in the books stems from juxtaposing Jones's self-perception against reality. Jones is true to his times, filled with the prejudices and assumptions of his class. He is not a terribly genial companion, perhaps, but he is admirable for his dedication and integrity.

I think it best to read the Abel Jones novels in published order (the first was "Faded Coat of Blue"), as Jones's life does evolve over the course of the series and eventually characters from earlier volumes do reappear and passing references are made to past adventures.

If you're one of those folks who thinks reading just "ain't real enough" life for you, and you fill your days and nights with wheel barrel haulin' of half decayed tree bark and wormy soil to make yourself feel useful to God and country. Well then I feel mighty sorry for you. You are missing out on one of the true treasures of Americana by not reading Owen Parry's mystery novels of the "War of Noth'ron Aggression"; the master of the genre. I'm not going into a synopsis of the novel, that's already done here times over, but suffice it to say the book put a big smile on my face as I clutched it to my bosom after each session of reading. Parry's other novels were wonders, especially "Call Each River Jordan", but this latest will have you marveling over each sentence like it's a snifter of Highland Scotch after a morning in the pews with "polite society". Such clever goodness from the sad dark of the Civil War. Thank you Owen Parry. I sweep off my dusty brimmed hat, bowing in antique gestures to your fabulous skills and joyous imaginings with English words and letters. Sheer genius.

Usual Owen Parry protagonist Abel Jones finds himself in war ravaged 1863 New Orleans investigating a murder. Jones, a major in the Union Army has been commissioned by none other than President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward to unravel the mystery of the death of young abolitionist Susan Peabody. Peabody's father was a powerful Northern industrialist with immense political clout and therfore worthy of placation.

Jones was stonewalled in his inquest due to the wide variety of beliefs exhibited by the denizens of New Orleans including formerly prominent citizens and newly freed slaves. The tenets of voodoo were prevalent and the Negro and Creole populations were leary of Union soldiers. Jones received much needed assistance from a former compatriot and ex-haberdasher Barnaby B. Barnaby a colorful character able to gain entrance into enclaves tabooed to Jones. Barnaby's dearly departed wife was of mixed heritage and this enabled him to be accepted by all levels of society.

Jones and Barnaby painstakingly amassed enough evidence to uncover a plot that distorted abolitionist Peabody's idea to return the freed slaves, by ship, back to their roots in Africa. The guilty parties not only stole the $150,000 earmarked for her plan but actually gathered up the freed slaves and sold them back into slavery in Spanish held territories.

Parry's descriptive narration of the tumultuous setting that existed during the war in New Orleans greatly aids in this appealing historical fictitious offering. Parry populated his fiction with a wide array of interesting characters representative of all walks of life, as Jones tries to make sense of all that he discovers.

Introduction

Return to WorshipWorship is something that is hard to define, even as we try to seek out a theology of worship from the Scriptures. There are many worship leaders today who are leading churches into corporate worship even though they have spent little time trying to understand what they are doing, never mind what Scripture itself prescribes. It may be a tedious task to ask ourselves what it is we do every Sunday, and further, to ponder how our corporate gatherings of worship are any different than our daily life worship. Nevertheless, this is something that we all must do as a preliminary step before we actually do worship.

Return to Worship by Ron Owens is a helpful tool for worship leaders and church leaders alike. Addressing theological and practical issues concerning worship, Owens presents an encouraging yet brief volume on God-centered worship that is organized as a series of letters addressed to the church and to worship leaders. What results is a unique book that confronts contemporary worship issues head on.

Summary

The book is divided into two sections. The first section contains 15 letters that are addressed to the church. Owens begins by declaring that worship is defined by Scripture alone and our need thus is to search God's Word in order to rightly worship Him. He explains that worship depends on a reverent and awe-filled view of God for who He is and what He's done. While using the illustration of God's Word as the Christian's "plumb line" or standard, the author reminds us that that our understanding of who He is affects how we think of Him in worship. As Owens writes, "the fundamental issue today is not the `how' of worship, but it is the `Who' of worship. [...] Instead of spending all our time discussing `how' we worship, we need to be asking God to help us change the way we think about Him" (14).

Owens then continues with four letters that directly address the worship of God from the first four commandments of the 10 Commandments. He explains that we must never worship other gods or little idols like Mammon, but that we should rather be present a biblical image of God to the world. Our worship should honor His name, never using God's name in vain. Furthermore, Owens reminds us of the sanctity in observing the Christian Sabbath - the Lord's Day - as a testimony to the world about the God that we worship and as a sign of our covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ. "How we keep that covenant will reveal what is really important to us. It will show what or Whom we truly worship" (37).

Owens suggests that worship is about a lifestyle of praise, for how we respond to God everyday of our lives reveals our true heart of worship. He also advocates that believers are born, namely re-born to worship God - worship that entails giving God glory rather than man's own efforts. Hence, Owens stresses the necessity of acknowledging God's authority and sovereignty over all things, and worshiping Him as the eternal God of not only creation but also redemption. Worship is also a matter of humility, namely giving up our rights to Jesus as Lord. For Owens concedes that "humbling precedes the offering of prayers that are acceptable to Him" and "no revival in history has begun with a self-satisfied people" (68).

Consequently, such genuine worship culminates in service, as God is not worshipped if His people will not serve Him. Worship contains not only receiving but also giving. Acceptable worship requires a living sacrifice, for all sincere offering is worship.

In the second section of the book, Owens addresses letters 16 through 47 to worship leaders. He begins by explaining that the gathering for corporate worship is for the purpose of going, that is, for edifying and equipping Christians to go out into the world. The Pastor of the church should be the principal worship leader in the church, giving oversight to all those involved in planning worship services. Owens rightly advocates that the worship time should be infused with times of prayer, a priority that has been lost in today's churches. Furthermore, the author commands that prominence should be given again to the public reading of Scripture, as well as preaching. Just as Owens writes, "As important as it is for [people] to have time to express themselves to God, it is more important that they hear God express Himself to them" (103).

Turning to the issue music's place in the church, Owens explains that our music should glorify God and edify others while not neglecting the great heritage of hymns in favor of choruses. At the same time, silence should also be restored in our services so that people can have time to pause and think quietly about what has been expressed in the corporate gathering. Furthermore, the author suggests that giving of tithes and offerings should not be put off to the side of worship services, but rather, its should be restored as a time of meaningful worship where people can search their hearts concerning the purpose of giving to God what is already His.

Owens also takes time in the book to address the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism. He suggests that the Lord's Supper should be revived with a higher place in services, so that it can be a time of quiet reflection, honest evaluation and self-humbling in order to recall what our Lord said at the Last Supper. Similarly, baptism should never be tacked onto a service, but we must make appropriate time for it, ensuring that candidates are certain of the meaning of such an important sacrament. For the baptism of new believers is a very appropriate time "to ritualize His victory over death and the grave, to bow before the Savior in humble adoration, to thank Him for His incomparable gift" (131).

Speaking directly to music leaders, Owens gives a timely reminder that they are not to be entertainers, but instead be ministers of the gospel who use their talents to display God. The author then shows that music itself is a language that has great psychological, learning-reasoning, emotional and behavioral effects; music that matches biblical text should thus be chosen with careful discernment. Because of the adrenaline high that can be had from repetitive singing, worship leaders must employ spiritual discernment to see how necessary it is to repeat certain lines in songs. Owen warns us of the dangers of playing with peoples emotions through music: "The tragedy is that they have been led to believe that what they are experiencing is the Holy Spirit, when it is nothing more than an intense emotional response" (147). For those who lead worship, Owens advocates that no unbelievers should be invited to such a ministry, for such would be defiling the holy and making it common. Applause in our services should be reserved for God, and he suggests that pastors and worship leaders much teach the congregation appropriate ways of responding to music presentations.

Further, Owens emphasizes the importance of preparing for the worship time, for both those who lead and for those coming to the service, providing a description of numerous ways that churches can help worshippers prepare their hearts during the pre-service time (162-163). Building continuity in worship is also important and must not be neglected so that there may be a good flow to the service.

Owens concludes with exhortations to specific people involved with music ministry. He calls for all those involved in the ministry to serve and worship with grateful hearts, boasting only in the cross. Even AV technicians are exhorted for their important, behind-the-scenes role. Owens appropriately ends the book by stressing that returning to worship involves removing things that aren't honoring to God, restoring the alter of prayer, and leading people to covenant with God. Such a change in the church must begin with the leaders, not the congregation.

Critical Evaluation

I found this book to be thought-provoking and heart-warming. At least three strong points distinguish this book from others in the field of worship. Firstly, the book is unique in its format. Just like the epistles that the Apostle Paul wrote to the New Testament churches, Owens organized this book in the format of letters to both the congregation and to pastors/worship leaders. This format allowed the author to be frank and honest with each group of people, and further extends the intended audience of this book. To the congregation member who knows little about worship theology and the things that go on into planning worship services, this book gives them a glimpse into the world behind the curtain and on the stage. To pastors and worship leaders, such worship planners are given explicit reminders of the follies in modern church worship. Owens is confrontational and yet humbly so, convicting church leaders of various areas of failure, but at the same time convincing them of the grace of God that is available to them also. He provides helpful suggestions in the planning and preparation of worship services (e.g. 162-163), as well as pointers in recovering the ordinances of the Lord's Supper (letter 24) and Baptism (letter 25).

Secondly, this book is stellar in its applicability. While there are letters that do address the theology of worship, Owens is also very helpful in giving practical suggestions to music directors and pastors. This shows Owens own theology of worship at work - after addressing Who it is that we are to worship, Owens then address how we ought to worship God in the church. As Owens wrote, "worship is and always has been a matter of the heart" (67). What is to be conducted in corporate worship is addressed in letters 18 through 25 (prayer, 92; Scripture reading, 99; preaching, 102; music, 105; silence, 112; offering, 115; Lord's Supper, 118; baptism, 126). Furthermore, Owens also writes directly to specific people who serve on the musical side of things (choir, 168; soloist, 178; audiovisual ministers, 182).

Lastly, Owens' Appendix contains four additional resources that will be tremendously helpful for worship leaders and worshippers themselves. Owens provides: an example of a Choir Covenant (189) that can be a template for further use; a Checklist for Worship Leaders (191) to remind pastors and directors of music of their own need for self-examination before getting on stage; a list of twenty-four questions to examine ourselves with before partaking in the Lord's Supper (193); and a fascination article about consumerism and the entertainment mindset that has infiltrated the church (196). All together, these appendices add even greater prowess to an already fascinating book.
Conclusion

In Return to Worship, Owens addresses key issues in regard to the practical aspects of worship that are applicable to pastors, worship leaders, as well as worshippers in the pew. While not a complete biblical theology of worship, it is an easy yet challenging read for those in music ministry. It is a worthwhile book for those looking to revive worship in their hearts and in the church.

I cannot fully express how powerful this writing has been in my life. It is a honest, brave, and thought provoking work on the whole topic of Worship. As Ron states, it is not just about music. I am eternally grateful to Ron for bringing my life of worship 10 leaps forward by the inspiring message he gave to me through his writing. Thank you.

A personal study of worship has led me to read several books on the subject in recent years. This one is the best I have found. The book is scriptural, practical, and thorough. I highly recommend it.

I have spent multiple occasions in worship with Ron and Patricia Owens and have been extremely thankful for their fresh style of worship. I purchased this book from Ron himself with great anticipation. I was unfortunately dissapointed. So much of the book lacked the scriptural support that I have come to expect from him. Secondly, as a former missionary, I was greatly dissapointed by the western bias that was at times evident. Certain items are deemed unacceptable in the book because of their regard, or disregard, in our culture yet they are in reality used effectively among other cultures and this is not considered in this book and neither is a scriptural support given to explain Ron's difficulty with these matters. All in all it is certainly a thought provoking book, yet one with which I must regretfully say failed to live up to my expectations for it.

This diverse collection of letters by Ron Owens to the church and various individuals and leaders of worship is challenging, gut-honest, and inspiring. Owens takes an honest look at worship in the church of America today and is calling the church to a higher standard. He helps us look beneath the surface issues of worship styles and music programs to the heart of worship.

Owen's fundamental starting points are that God alone is worthy of our worship, and that we were created to worship God. Worship begins and ends with the sovereign Lord. We must learn to come to God on his terms and embody this worship in our everyday lives.

While the letters in part one of this book address the church and its worship, the letters in part two are addressed to worship leaders. These letters take on a more practical tone and offer great wisdom regarding worship issues ranging from how we should understand and practice baptism and communion to the appropriate place of applause in worship.

This book is a wonderful resource for worship leaders not only for personal and professional challenge, but for use with worship boards, teams, and choirs. These letters are thought-provoking and convicting and could inspire tremendous change in the hearts of readers willing to make changes in their worship of God.