Owens Books

This book, along with D.A. Carson's "Becomming Conversant with the Emergent Church" are both NECESSARY critiques; and I m glad that someone has made them. If Christians cease to believe in the propositional truth-claims of Scripture, or at least cease to believe that they have any bearing on our lives, it will be giving up on alot!

Grentz's Primer is singled out by the articles in Reclaiming the Center because it is an important contribution to formulating a coherent view of postmodern thought; however, the direction that Grentz suggests in his conclusion is well-intentioned but misguided. A survey of recent intellectual thought within the Christian church shows the Grentz is within the missionary tradition of the church: he embraces certain aspects of postmodernism in order to reach postmoderns. The same desire gave rise to liberalism at the beginning of the last century: to reach adherents of enlightenment rationalism the gospel needed to accommodate itself to an intellectual world in which rational man was the center. Toward the middle of the twentieth century, neo-orthodoxy sought to communicate the gospel to existential man through a program of demythologizing the gospel, and form and redaction criticism. Likewise, Grentz seeks to convert postmodern individuals to Christianity by framing the gospel in postmodern terms. Like earlier attempts to convert people through by accommodating the message, there is a reaction. Some will embrace Grentz's program as a means of reaching the unchurched. Others, like the contributors to Reclaiming the Center, will reject Grentz's proposal as an unacceptable accommodation.

The fundamental question is whether postmodernism is compatible with historic Christianity. I do not believe that it is. First, Christianity makes universal truth claims. Jean Francois Leotard, the most famous European postmodern, in The Postmodern Condition defined postmodernism as "incredulity toward meta-narratives" because meta-narratives promise but cannot deliver. Christianity, like all philosophical systems, is a meta-narrative (cf. 1 Cor. 15; John 14:6f., 8:31f., 1:1ff., etc.). The gospel is a target for postmodern deconstruction because these truth claims are total and exclusive. Second, the Bible is a text that purports to be the word of God. Jesus said, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). For postmoderns, the authorial intent is impossible to assertain (contra E. D. Hirsch, Validity in Interpretation). And if intent could be assertained, it should be deconstructed because it is necessarily oppressive. Furthermore, if "every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16f.), then the subtext of scripture is oppressive. Postmoderns feel the need to deconstruct these oppressive elements to become liberators of a radical (Nietzschean) kind. Third, from its inception to the present, Christianity is fundamentally a belief system that can be expressed propositionally. The scriptures contain propositions or statements that can readily be transformed into truth claims. The historic doctrines and creeds for Christendom are expressed propositionally. Postmodernism rejects the validity of such claims. They are the social products of communities rather than discovered or disclosed truth. Grentz's evangelistic zeal leads him to seek accommodation with a school of thought that is antagonistic with what he holds most dear.

Experience over doctrine. Inclusivistic instead of exclusivistic. Discomfort with propositional truth. Synergistic. It may sound like ordinary heterodoxy, but it is a movement posed to take over normative church life--indeed, in some circles, it has already done so.

Reclaiming the Center seeks to reclaim what is being lost through the influence of "postconservative evangelicals" like theologian Stanley Grenz and pastor Brian McLaren. This recovery is presented from a wide-range of viewpoints--from philosophy to theology to historiography to third-world perspectives.

This theological pilgrimage begins with a concise and informative introduction to the issues (written by Justin Taylor), as well as an overview of how the book is organized and what each chapter is about (which I have in turn summarized in the next few paragraphs). Next is a chapter by D.A. Carson "summarizing and critiquing the broad outlines of Grenz's vision for evangelicalism" (p. 26).

After the introduction, a philosophical framework is begun. The three chapters in this section take a philosophical approach to answering postconservative accusations by discussing the correspondence theory of truth (Goothius, Ch. 3), foundationalism, reliabilism, inerrancy (Moreland and DeWeese, Ch. 4), and finally with epistemic/linguistic access to the real world (Smith, Ch. 5).

After setting up the philosophical framework (for every theology needs a foundation), the book moves on to theological assessment. Two of the chapters have to do with postconservative's view of Scripture. The postconservative cultural-linguistic model of Scripture is shown to be unreliable and the canonical-linguistic is put forth as a biblical alternative (Caneday, Ch. 6), and then Steve Wellum (Ch. 7) shows how "their doctrine of Scripture is incompatible with the Bible's own claims for itself and weakens the possibility of doing theology in a normative fashion" (p. 28). The final chapter in the section evaluates postconservative theology from a Third World perspective (Ch. 8, Donkor).

After the philosophical framework has been set and theological assessment made, the book moves on to historiography. Paul Helseth leads this section by showing that postconservatives have become a new brand of fundamentalism that they sought to remove themselves from (Ch. 9). Bill Travis then shows how orthodox doctrine has been a central concern throughout the centuries--even by those who have influenced postconservative ideas, contrary to the postconservative claim that commitment to orthodoxy is a relatively new "neo-evangelical" idea (Ch. 10). Finally Chad Brand wraps this section up by defining evangelicalism and showing what has been its historic doctrinal beliefs (Ch. 11).

The final section deals with the future of postmodernity. Jim Parker predicts a transmodern period, one that embraces the strengths of modernism and postmodernism but avoids both extremes (Ch. 12). Millard Erickson concludes with a prophetic vision for the future of evangelical theology that will help us navigate through the current "theological fog." It is a global, objective, practical and accessible, postcommunial, metanarratival, dialogical, and futuristic vision (Ch. 13). Such a vision is extensive and time will only tell if such a theology will result.

There are many strengths in this book. It is edited by three highly skilled theologians who promise to give you a fair and balanced look at the issues. The diverse nature of the chapters give the reader a taste for the many implications that such a shift in "evangelicalism" has.

This could also not be released at a better time. More people than ever are hearing about the "emerging church". Relevant magazine continues to grow in popularity. The interest of laymen continues to peak--especially with the younger Christians (whose culture has been "lobotomized by television" and the ever-present image), who realize some of their mumbo jumbo postmodern theology has a name.

All this brings me to two criticisms, both minor. The first is its highly academic nature. This is, of course, their intention because "as goes the academy, so goes the church" (p. 31), however, it would be helpful if it were a little more in reach of the average laymen who does not have extensive theological or philosophical training. I do believe most of the chapters are accessible to the majority of Christians, but for some of the more philosophically oriented chapters (especially 3-5) I recommend having something like the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy or the Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion handy.

My second criticism is the book does not deal with the practical church and dialog issues as much as I would have liked. How are we to interact with postconservative evangelicals in church settings? What is the best way to combat these tendencies from taking over our churches? In what way should we use medium--such as the Internet, one of postconservative's major strengths--to our advantage? Questions like these might take a sequel to answer. However, we may have to look to the upcoming Becoming Conversant with Emergent by D. A. Carson (expected April 2005) to address these questions.

While Reclaiming the Center is a thoroughly academic work, there is no reason for the book to be read only by those in academia. But don't just take my word for it. This book has endorsements by famous scholars such as J.I. Packer, Albert Mohler, Timothy George, Richard Mouw, and David Dockery. And, with them, I conclude that anyone who is interested in the emergent church movement will find this helpful and enlightening, and I highly encourage you to examine it and consider the devastating effects of postconservative theology in our calling to "test all things" and "hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Josh Sowin
fireandknowledge.org

Although I loved the Rough Riders movie on TNT, they got the character Buckey O'Neill wrong. This book will set you straight on a forgotten hero, who did more in 38 years than most men would do in a life time. Just how far would he have gone had he not been killed at Kettle Hill? The next time that I'm on Whiskey Row, I will give a toast to William Owen O'Neill. This is a great book.

Buckey O'Neill was a legendary lawman, a gallant soldier, and a Democrat when being one meant fealty to the flag and country. Even in a Republican state like Arizona Buckey O'Neill is a state hero - and much revered in Prescott.

This son of an Irish immigrant and Civil War Veteran risked death many times, chasing outlaws across the deserts and praries. If he hadn't recklessly strolled along the front lines facing the Spanish emplacements on San Juan Hill, O'Neill might very well had gone on to bigger and better things, including possibly being territorial governor. He was a particular favorite of Theodore Roosevelt's, who took his death very hard.

Dale Walker has already written a superb book about the "Rough Riders" in the "Boys of '98" and here he sets the record on the man who is arguably Arizona's favorite son - above and beyond t Goldwater, the Earps, and perhaps even John McCain. Only the late hero Pat Tillman's life and career might be as adventurous and as legendary as O'Neill's was.

Dale L. Walker's biography of O'Neill, one of the early West's most fascinating figures, is richly drawn, authoritative, and distinguished. O'Neill is best known as one of the Rough Riders of the Spanish-American War, but Walker meticulously depicts all the other facets of this legendary Arizonan. This is surely the standard work on O'Neill.

Please know that this edition of the book was not authorized by Dr. Moore. While the information is the same, he is not getting his due compensation for it. The authorized version has a slightly different title which is, "The Science of Melanin." When encouraging others to read this book, please direct people to the authorized version to be respectful of Dr. Moore's hard work.

Melanin is not just something that gives color to the skin it is used thoughout the body for everything from agility to eyesight. This book should be required reading for all afrocentric people. The way the book is written makes it very readable and understandable. This book has things in it that the majority population in america dosen't want you to know. for example:
A black body is physiologically much stronger than a white body.
There is a physiological basis in blacks being smarter, faster, and a more intelligent than whites. This book has made me ask the question if this is true than what else is true about blacks in the light of the significance of melanin. The author dosn't just tell you blacks are better he takes you step by step through the reasoning and it actually makes sense.

I own this book and the author does not do what the reader wayne says. In fact Mr. Moore explains in great depth about the differences in the different functions of melinin and melanoycte found through out the human bodies of ppl of different colors, and as well with other volitional and nonvolitional things. In no way does this author suggest that Black ppl are superior over White ppl and vice verse. If anything he clears up the misconceptions of the supposable experts as well as the laymens. I would give Mr. Moore's work ten stars if i could because he did not choose sides but only shared his observational emperical research. Which is quite accurate with most scientist in this field who do not share the same color.

A Scrap of Time is a collection of short stories that masterfully presents the Holocaust experience from the perspective of survivors, witnesses, and victims in the villages of occupied Poland. Acts of personal courage, the day to day decisions that meant life or death, personal attempts to carry on with dignity, are all expressed here in powerful language and moving tales that evoke the Holocaust as it is not often told: as an experience that was as personal as each person who lived it. I have read and re-read this book several times. Each time, the stories seem to resound with their original power. Ida Fink, a Polish survivor of the Holocaust, is a master storyteller. With the very first sentence, she has the ability to create scenes of astonishing clarity and suspense. You simply cannot put the book down until you finish the story. With simple, lyrical language, she creates scenes of tremendous emotional impact. I don't believe I will ever look at the Holocaust in quite the same way. No television documentary could ever do justice to the Holocaust experience as these unforgettable stories of the personal lives of human beings in the most impossible of situations.

Ida Fink uses vivid langauge and impectable details to bring faces to the Holcaust. She tells haunting stories about Jewish life in Poland before and after World War II. Fink's stories are beutifully told and evoke every emotion; from fear to joy, hatred to pity. The book tells about individuals and gives faces and lives to the often impresonal Holocaust.

Though the concentration camps are never mentioned, these 23 short stories are a haunting collection about life in Poland at the time of the Holocaust. The theme of the anthology is on the excruciating agony of life in a broken world. These are stories of resistance, submission, betrayal, hope, regret and remembering.

Each story is the nightmare of an otherwise quiet ordinary people, previously living a secure and ordered existence. What is most striking is the uniqueness of the tone and style in each short story; and that none of the stories talk of the camps, only the horror before and after.

Perhaps, the author's own words (see below) taken from the first, title story captures why this collection is ultimately crucial to an impression, an understanding of those times. [Recommended for Young Adults/Adults]

[quote]
I want to talk about a certain time not measured in months and years. For so long I have wanted to talk about this time, and not in the way I will talk about it now, not just about this one scrap of time. I wanted to, but I couldn't, I didn't know how. I was afraid, too, that this second time, which is measured in months and years, had buried the other time under a layer of years, that this second time had crushed the first and destroyed it within me. But no. Today, digging around in the ruins of memory, I found it fresh and untouched from forgetfulness. This time was measured not in months but in a word--we no longer said "in the beautiful month of May," but "after the first "action," or the second, or right before the third." We had different measures of time, we different ones, always different, always with that mark of difference that moved some of us to pride and others to humility. We, who because of our difference were condemned once again, as we had been before in our history, we were condemned once again during this time measured not in months nor by the rising and setting of the sun, but by a word--"action," a word signifying movement, a word you would use about a novel or a play.
[/end quote]

I am reviewing this book because, to date, no one else has done so. That is a crime. "A Smile in His Lifetime" may be the best Gay book ever written.

It is certainly the best Bisexual one.

It is a story of obsession, as sensitive, married, impoverished writer Whit Miller goes off the deep end for his down-canyon neighbor, a seldom-available ne'er-do-well with "stud" written all over him.

Whit's wife Dell makes ends meet, simultaneously emasculating him and supporting him in his writing. He mustn't do physical labor around their dilapidated house, she warns; he must protect his hands so he can type.

So he types, sometimes, but no one cares; very few people, anyway. Whit knows he'd spend his days better patching the roof, but Dell insists he come down; so he does.

She eventually runs off with a "real" man Whit envies and despises, then a second tragedy strikes: Whit sells a book. Not only does it sell, it's a huge hit. He gets totally disoriented. Success makes it even harder for him to connect with another person. A sudden bigshot, he gets involved with a bunch of hippies, has a heterosexual tryst under a pier, but the only creature who really cares for him is his cat.

What makes this a great novel? That's a lot to claim, and I don't tout books lightly. This is art, in my opinion, because Mr. Hansen has captured the quintessence of Gay men: we are lovers. More than dickhounds or drag queens, we want to be husbands. To my knowledge, this is the first book to point that out. As throbbing and insistent as the sexual impulse is, our need and ability to love is stronger than sex. Whit is often foolish; he is never insincere. He thinks constantly of the best interests of others, and wears his heart on his sleeve, knowing it will be broken repeatedly. He's not a masochist, he just wants someone to belong to.

You can't help thinking, he deserves that.

He succeeds in his work, but wanders clueless in life. Sometimes success is worse than failure, especially in California. Have you ever known a happy movie star?

I've read "Smile" half a dozen times; my most recent reaction was more critical than before, as I finally got tired of all the anti-Gay epithets the author uses. But then, internalized homophobia is the Gay man's biggest problem, and Mr. Hansen seems to recognize that, without solving it. What would Whit's life have been if he hadn't gotten married, but found an emotionally open, available Gay guy to love? Maybe he'd have constantly lusted after the elusive rough trade; or maybe he'd have discovered something masculine in his lover, the decorator.

Stereotypes aside, love is a tricky and tragic business; for all Whit's talent, he succumbs like the rest of us. His heart not only gets broken, it stays that way. At least he's always got his cat--until a storm blows up...

Read this book with your highlighter pen nearby, as Hansen's phrase-making will put you in awe. He is a stylist of the first magnitude, who has never received the recognition he deserves from Gay readers. He puts the Lavender Quill crowd to shame; they yammer endlessly about pecs and pricey merchandise, obscure opera stars and viruses, while Whit Miller falls in love impossibly, stirring his coffee "little boy-style" with lots of cream and sugar to mask its bitterness. Maybe it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all; or maybe the most we can hope for is a loyal housepet.++

Occasionally, but, unfortunately not often, I run across a book that is totally, absolutely wonderful. A book that completely captivates me...that takes over my life and changes it. It happened once upon a time when I first read "The Catcher in the Rye"...and then again when I read "Shogun" and again with "Sophie's Choice".
I wasn't particularly interested in reading Joseph Hansen's "A Smile in His Lifetime," and certainly didn't expect a classic. But I had finished all of Mr. Hansen's Dave Brandstetter mysteries and his novels, "Living Upstairs," and "Jack of Hearts," so I decided to have a go at "A Smile."
For me, this book is an indescribable joy. It's a compendium of gay and bisexual feelings and urges and needs and desires - and a dead-on description of what it's like to be gay in a straight society. It's.... well......it's just an incredible treasure.
Thank you, Josh Thomas, for your review of "A Smile in His Lifetime." It caused me to read this outstanding book, and for that, I'm very grateful.

Josh Thomas wrote an excellent review of this book. I can only add: Amen! I have read just about everything that Joseph Hansen has written, and in "A Smile in His Lifetime" you will find this wonderful author at his absolute best. I highly recommend it! (And while you are at it, also check out Josh Thomas' "Murder at Willow Slough" - it's a great book).

I have to admit that I don't even watch gay porn. But Keehnen's interview questions, ranging from the frivolous to the serious, make this a compelling read. Why get into porn? What are the rewards? What are the drawbacks? And who do the porn stars fantasize about? Keehnan's a deft interviewer and his playful side makes the performers happy to share their thoughts on sex, relationships, (usually difficult if you are in the business) aspirations, and more. Great for the fan or the armchair sociologist!

about 60 of the biggest names in the biz (literally) get a full 4-6 pages of interview questions, plus, of course, 1 or 2 nude publicity stills in which they look absolutely stunning. Along with stats for each star, including height, weight, SIZE, favorite sexual position, they are asked questions about how they got into the biz, the scenes they had the most fun doing, crushes and relationships involving other porn stars, and plenty more. And the selection of guys is diverse, including daddies, bears, black, Latin, twinks, muscle hunks, leather boys. If you love porn and its stars, this is definitely a cover to cover read, and not just for the pictures. It would be great to see a DVD version of this sort of book, with one-on-one interviews with the stars so we can get a more intimate feel for them as real men, not just onscreen fantasies.

Hey this is my book - and I hope you'll enjoy it. If you've ever wanted to get between the covers with a star of gay XXX movies this book is for you!!! This fully illustrated compendium contains 60 exclusive interviews with some of the hottest names in the gay porn industry -Carlos Morales, Michael Brandon, Eric Evans, Chad Hunt, Michael Lucas, Zak Spears, Bobby Blake, Lou Cass, Donnie Russo, Rob Romoni, Parker Williams, Michael Solider, Jason Ridge, Will Clark, Aaron Tanner, Tony Scalia, John Galt, Matt Sizemore, Andy Dill, Caesar, Rick Pantera, Sam Tyson, Eric York, Damian Ford, Chris Steele, Tag Adams, Bret Wolfe, JC Carter, Nick Piston, Marco Montana, Sean Storm, DC Chandler, Nino Bacci, Rik Jammer, Rod Rockhard, Austin Black, Steve O'Donnell, Owen Hawk, Enrico Vega, Shane Rollins, Tom Southern, Mike Vista, Gino Colbert, Jason Hawke, Brad McGuire, Carlo Cox, and a whole lot more. In this delicious collection you'll find behind the scenes gossip, learn tricks of the trade, sexual techniques, keys of seduction, likes & dislikes, how to navigate a relationship through the XXX world, and a whole lot more. Learn who lost his virginity to a plastic banana, who is a moonlighting banker, who dreams of a career in horror films, and who fantasizes about sex with Queen Elizabeth II! It's crazy and enlightening and loads of fun. It makes for great compulsive reading! Discover that there is no such thing as a "typical" porn star.

I orginally bought a copy of this book for my eldest son in 1997 on a visit home to Vancouver Island. My younger son, aged 3, discovered it in the bookshelf and absolutely loves this story and wants to read it nearly every night. It has all the elements of a great children's storybook - the illustrations are lush and vibrant, with great attention to historical, cultural and artistic detail. The story is simple, with minimal text - half of the story is alluded to via the illustrations. The boy accidentally finds himself in a parallel supernatural undersea world, and eventually returns to his own village bringing spiritual gifts to his people. I will definately be buying a copy of Frog Girl. More please...

Paul O. Lewis does a great service to children by using a scholarly approach to his young hero. Giving us not only rich and evocative artwork but portraying the ancient tale of the mythic hero with fresh and innocent eyes is a wonderful gift. Readers seeking the beauty of a children's book that provides an uplifting experience and faithful cultural feeling will fall in love with this book just as I have. -V.S.

People will be framing the artwork from this book fifty years from now. And it's one of my son's favorite books. Great for reading aloud, one of the books you keep reaching for. A classic story, well told and beautifully rendered with images that are faithful to the actual traditions and styles of the Haida and Tlingit people. So it's not just "mind candy" -- it's an introduction to a culture.

The book starts where the mother of Jeroen dies. For years he has hated his mother and tries to explain why. This leads him back to the Japanese camp where he and his mom spend several years in torment when he was only 5 years old. In the beginning you think of Jeroen as a strange man, but while the story goes on you start to understand him more and more. The ending will move you to tears. This is my all time favorite book and I can recommend it to anyone.

Angoissant, fascinant, d'une beauté et d'une cruauté absolue. Comment la perte d'un être cher fait ressurgir dans la tête de l'auteur ses souvenirs (insoutenables) d'internement dans un camp japonais en Indonésie, et comment de ces souvenirs, l'homme nait au jugement de lui même, de sa famille (des pages magnifiques sur sa mère) et d'autrui. A lire absolument.

Ce livre retrace la vie terrible dans les camps de concentration en Indonésie détenue par les Japonais.Cela vous arrache les entrailles;et à chaque page les larmes restent bloquées dans notre gorge devant le courage de cette mère face à ce destin inhumain. Il n'y a pas de partie pris car la cruauté en tant de guerre est partout la même.

In Tahoe Killshot, author Todd Borg takes the reader up the mountains, through the towns, into the woods, down the bike trails, on the water, and on the winding roads of the Lake Tahoe, California, area in another one of his whirlwind murder mystery thrillers featuring his now famous cast of characters: private investigator Owen McKenna, his trusted dog Spot, and his girlfriend Street Casey. Borg brings these characters to life and puts them in a place he knows best: his home town. He uses this formula to write a truly convincing murder mystery that has bodies, suspects, and motives piling up with each turn of the page. From the opening scene to the surprise ending, Borg will have you under his spell and keep you guessing as friends become suspects and accidents become murders. And if this is your first time reading this author, you'll be happy to know there are three other "Tahoe" thrillers waiting for you to read.

Todd Borg does it again. Tahoe Killshot is a page-turner.

When I started the book, I was thinking I had an idea of where Todd would be taking us, but my ideas were pleasantly battered into little pieces by page 20 or so. Todd takes Owen Mckenna, private eye, his dog Spot, all 170 pounds, and best of all the reader on a seriously wild ride.

I can't recommend reading this book without reading the previous three. Certainly you would be able to follow the plot and character development, but without the background, the characters would be less vivid - especially the minor characters in Killshot that were major characters and more developed in the previous novels.

I encourage anyone who has read the first three to buy and read this book. If you haven't read any of these books, just drop the cash right now and buy the lot (of four). I promise you won't be sorry.

Todd Borg is a most excellent author. Tahoe Killshot is an excellent read!

Todd Borg and his wife [...]own three Great Danes, which provide constant inspiration for their character of Spot in Borg's mysteries. Three prior books, TAHOE DEATHFALL, TAHOE BLOWUP, and TAHOE ICE GRAVE, set the stage for the newest Todd Borg mystery, TAHOE KILLSHOT.

Owen McKenna is a retired San Francisco cop turned private eye when homicide duties became too much...as in the accidental shooting of a child. McKenna, his Great Dane and animal soul mate, Spot, return to duty when a famous singer, Glory, is killed on the Flume Trail situated in the mountains to the east of Lake Tahoe. McKenna quickly discovers that a mysterious caller by the name of Faith witnessed some damning piece of evidence. Faith is killed in a horrendous explosion which pulverizes her boat and nearly kills McKenna and Spot. When McKenna interviews Glory's bodyguard, his life is suddenly in peril and some man with an electronic voice is dogging his footsteps and attacking at every turn:

"It was like he had a seizure. He jerked and thrashed. I pulled myself up to my feet. He jerked so hard, the chair fell over sideways. The vacuum fell away and the man slumped away from the electrified lamp. I limped over toward him and kicked at the wooden handrail. It flew across my office. I was bending down to pull off ski mask when he kicked up hard. He foot caught me in the groin. I bent like a pretzel, unable to breathe. It took all my concentration to reach across the desk and grab the phone cord. The man was standing up, staggering. I swung the phone by the cord, and it wrapped around his neck and hit him on the head."

Todd Borg's tales are nail-biting page turners, packed with action and labyrinth plots. His characters are well wrought, interesting, and each intensely unique. His relationship with Street, his girlfriend, Glennie, his platonic friend, and Diamond, the Mexican cop with brains and brawn to match, combine with McKenna's own sense of justice and persistence to weave a wonderful yarn. Borg incorporates the beautiful backdrop of Lake Tahoe, along with the music business, a crooked non-profit, and even public office to create a trail that is as complex as the Flume Trail bike path, where the story begins. Borg's proof is in the pudding. A great read!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

This is a great, though all too brief book on the Tasmanian Devil. It is well written, giving anecdotes and highlights from scientific research on the little creatures' ecology and evolution. It also gives a chapter on devils in captivity, a great insight into those myths of devils being uncontrollable, voracious little predators that will bite the crap out of anything and everything. It tells of the persecution by man, which, unlike some books on persecuted animals, is told without being tedious.

It ends with some insight into the mystery surrounding the disease that is decimating wild populations.

I really was hopeing for more on the ecology of the animal, unfortunately there was not enough in this book. However, that merely highlights the lack of research that has actually been done, by amateurs or professionals.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in Australian animals, or anyone interested in animals fullstop.

_Tasmanian Devil_ by David Owen and David Pemberton is a well-illustrated and researched overview of the natural and human history of the largest living marsupial carnivore.

After the introduction the first chapters of the book focus on the animal's natural history, the authors taking care to dispel popularly held myths about the animal. Devils are opportunistic feeders, eating live prey and carrion as well as invertebrates, fruit, and vegetation. A solitary hunter, they aren't fast enough to chase down wallabies or rabbits but do go after wombats (though some researchers have reported that they can chase prey at about 12 kilometers per hour for short bursts). They have tremendous jaw strength and powerful teeth that enable them to consume gristle, skin, and shatter bones (the equivalent of a dog four times their size or for their body mass more powerful than a tiger's).

Though usually solitary, devils feed communally on particularly large carcasses. Often described as being some sort of free-for-all with lots of screaming and apparent fighting, devils in fact have elaborate vocalizations and postures to maintain order and some speculate that just as the sight of daylight-circling vultures attracts other vultures the noises devils make may serve to alert other devils in the area to a large food source. The first arrival is the dominant feeder, making way for a challenger once it has gorged itself, the feeder defending only the amount of food it needs, not the entire carcass. Devils will generally seek to take what they can and hide with their share, consuming it in peace.

Though maligned by ranchers, the devils are the "great hygienists" of the Tasmanian bush. They consume dead and dying livestock and have been credited with breaking the sheep tapeworm cycle and keeping down blowfly populations.

Another social trait of devils is that of the communal latrine. Though most of the time devils are solitary animals, depending upon population size, dozens of devils will defecate in one area, "for reasons of communication barely understood, and further calling into question the "solitary" tag."

Interestingly, hyenas and ratels (or honey badgers), two species presented as examples of convergent evolution with devils, also use communal latrines. The authors go on to compare interesting examples of convergence with wolverines as well, looking at sense of smell, skull structure, markings (both devils and wolverines have white neck and throat patches), body posture, locomotion, and diet.

The evolution and fossil record of the Tasmanian devil are discussed also. The famous Riversleigh fossils site of northwestern Queensland has a species that is 15% larger than a modern devil with a 50% greater body mass. Scientists have speculated whether the modern devil is a dwarfed version of this species or if it coexisted with the larger extinct version. Some believe that several different-sized devils occupied a range of predator-scavenger niches. Devils apparently went extinct on the mainland as recently as 500 years ago for reasons unknown, though climatic issues and the introduction of the dingo are most often blamed.

The authors go into detail about the history of the study of these animals. The animal was known only to the island's 4000 indigenous inhabitants up until 1803, when Europeans started to settle what was then known as Van Diemen's Land. George Prideaux Harris was the first to scientifically describe the devil (in 1806). Other important figures are Louisa Anne Meredith who in late 19th century/early 20th century bred devils in her private zoo and helped the devils' public image tremendously and Professor Theodore Thomson Flynn, a pioneering 20th century mammalogist.

A chapter of course is spent on the history of the famous Warner Brothers cartoon character Taz. This "whirling, brown, slobbering creature" has vast international recognition, far beyond that of the real animal. Some have speculated that Warner Brothers studios had another Tasmanian in mind when they created the character, Errol Flynn (son of the aforementioned Dr. Flynn), who worked for the studio. Errol Flynn in his autobiography even titled the first chapter "Tasmanian Devil, 1909-1927". It would seem that that was merely coincidence as the authors provide the history of the development of the character (for all his fame only five Taz cartoons were made between 1954 and 1964 until his 1990 resurrection) and of the legal battles involving the character (Warner Brothers had trademarked the name Tasmanian Devil, a fact that has bothered and hampered many Tasmanians' use of their iconic animal in economic matters and in promoting tourism).

From the earliest days Europeans regarded the devil, along with the thylacine, as "stock-destroying vermin" and sought to trap, poison, and shoot them into extinction. Later researchers showed that neither species was to blame for livestock losses on the island (instead one could point at poor management and farming practices as well as packs of feral dogs), but "bush myths" proliferated that they would hunt sheep and even people (though in reality not preying upon healthy sheep and only consuming murder and suicide victims, the devils never having been known to kill anyone).

While enormous strides had been made in protecting devils from persecution, in 1996 Dutch wildlife photographer Christo Baars noted ghastly facial growths on devils he photographed and by 1998 researchers came to realize many areas were experiencing a serious decline in devils thanks to the spread of Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a virulent facial cancer that kills within five months of its manifestation. Poorly understood, some researchers believed it was a naturally occurring retrovirus, one that perhaps had caused devil population crashes in the past, perhaps triggered by pesticide or fertilizer chemicals or the rabbit-killing calicivirus, while others think it may have jumped species, perhaps from feral cats, to the devils. Attempts to save the devils have been complicated by political infighting over conservation and research funds, difficulty in diagnosis of the disease, and feral cats and foxes filing the emptying devil niche. Attempts to quarantine the devils to small islands have met with numerous obstacles as well.

This is one of the few books available about the Tasmanian devil that is not geared towards children. A fair, unbiased description of an often misunderstood animal, "Tasmanian Devil" tells the habits, myths, and cultural reactions to the animal behind the famous cartoon character.

Also addressed is the animal's vulnerable state, with a final chapter on the little understood disease currently ravaging the devil population and what is being done to save these animals from extinction.