P Books

It was good, but not the best i have read. I did learn a lot so I need to give credit for that.

Weil writes a very comprehensive book that asks the essential question, "What is health if not th absence of sickness?". Very informative and thought provoking!!!

This book is required reading for all students at the Clayton College of Natural Health. It should, in fact, be required reading for anyone entering the field of health, as it convincingly drives home an important point: just because allopathy ("conventional" or "western" medicine) has the most powerful medical lobby in the US, its history is far from flawless, and is often downright embarrassing when compared with that of time-honored systems such as homeopathy or tribal approaches to healing. In an entertaining and lucid manner, Dr Weil introduces the reader to many of the alternative approaches still being practiced the world over, and their advantages and shortcomings. He also points to the need for ALL kinds of medicines, and provides guidelines on which types of dis-eases are best handled by the various specialties. All in all, a thoroughly readable and informative book which will hopefully abolish forever the popular regard of M.D.s as "demigods in white," and the idea that allopathic medicine is the only credible and worthwhile approach to healing our sick.

Andrew Weil's book was assigned as supplmental reading in a sociology of health and healing systems course at Park College in Southern California. With phrases like, "nothing works all the time and everything works some of the time," Andrew explored health systems worldwide from accupuncture in China to witchdoctors in Latin America. The idea that Western doctors actually gain much of their credibility not because of their own skills, but because they take credit for what the body already does is interesting. Health and medicine previously seemed like a highly scientific study, but viewed from Andrew's perspective, it is, in many ways, philosophically and culturally specific. Andrew brings a whole new world to medicine. Fascinting perspective.

Pinned on my office wall is an uplifting reminder titled, "Seven Rules Of A Winner". I found it interesting that the author listed health as the first rule. He wrote, "Be proactive and preventative about your health. Your body is your one and only vehicle for your journey to success, so start taking care of your health through exercise and diet." (The Psychology of Winning, by Denis Waitley). I didn't take that statement seriously until after a medical problem sent me to the hospital. Since happiness seems to go hand-in-hand with having a healthy body, I highly recommend this book. If nothing else, it provided me with a positive perspective on illness, and that alone made it worth reading. It also opened my eyes to the down-side of high-tech medicine, or rather, it put American medical practices into perspective and introduced me to alternatives. Herbal remidies are investigated as well as many others. The bottom line: read this book to learn how the body can heal itself and just how much is not known about the process of healing. A must read for anyone wishing to take control of their own health.

For 20 years Alan McGowan worked for the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich where he was the head of a department with responsibilities for ships plans and models before being appointed Chief Curator and Deputy Director. Today he is Chairman of the Victory Advisory Committee. Illustrator John McKay is an architectural draughtsman from Vancouver, Canada with a world-wide reputation for his work with regard to sailing naval ships. His own previous works include books about the Bounty, Pandora and also the Victory. The combined talents of these two men has led to a book which will not disappoint the reader.

HMS Victory was never decommissioned and has become, therefore, the oldest and longest serving naval ship in the history of the world. Famous for being Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, this book reveals all there is to know about this great ship including - as the full title of the book suggests, "her construction, career and renovation."

This is a large format, hard-backed book which is fully supported by modern, relatively modern and historic photographs and pictures in addition to the many illustrations of every aspect of the ship itself. In short, this is a book which will answer any question the reader might have.

Furthermore, speaking as someone who is also just about to embark on making a very large scale model of HMS Victory, I have found the plans, drawings, cutaway sectional drawings (deck by deck) in addition to the minute detail of masts, rigging, sails, guns, pumps, figurehead, ship's boats etc, etc to be so detailed that I could almost throw away the instructions which accompanied the rather expensive model kit.

A must for all those with an interest in Nelson and his ships.

NM

I bought this book shortly after it was released. It was money well spent. I am in the process of creating my version of HMS Victory and USS Constitution in 3D. The first half of the book shores up my knowledge of the history of the ship and her ongoing restoration with well written text and great photos. But it is the second half of the book that was worth the purchase. The author has had illustrations included that lend themselves perfectly to rendering the ship in 3D computer graphics: all the drawings are done in exploded isometric perspective views, showing all the parts of deck equipment, masts, rigging, armaments, hull construction, etc. This allows 3D artists to really concentrate on creating very detailed 3D models. The drawings have even helped me create deck objects, etc., for my 3D USS Constitution, that were indicative of all ships from that era, that I couldn't find for her elsewhere. If you are a 3D artist, and need a comprehensive source for details on ships of the Great Age of Sail era, this is it.

Great book, but FYI, this book is now (June 2005) on sale for 9.99GBP (about $19) at the Victory souvenir store in Portsmouth England. If you are already going there this summer, pick one up and take lots of photos of the Victory, she looks great!

Although this book deals mainly with the restoration of the HMS Victory it does delve into the history of the ship in the process. My resaons for purchasing the book relate to a modelling project that I'm doing and knowing what problems are associated with restoring the Victory help in my quest to build an accurate model. The book starts out with a brief history of the ship and then gets stuck into the restoration aspect which does get a bit tedious but I'm glad someone has made the effort to document this aspect of the Victory's career. It is important. The second half of the book is filled with outstanding drawings of every aspect of the ship you could ever ask for. John McKay has done an outstanding job with the drawings here and I'm of the opinion that this book combined with his other book "The 100 gun ship Victory" would enable the construction of thr Victory from the keel up. "The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships" is another must have and I have all three.

In all honesty and simplicity this book is great. It is a substantial sized book with excellent paper quality. The layout is professionally done which makes it very enjoyable to return to on a regular basis. The first half of this book contains very interesting info in the form of tables, charts and text on the Victory's history and career, pictures also help tell the story. The second half of the book is made up of drawings; John McKay once again has done a superb job at preserving the Victory's details. These drawings make a great accompaniment to the drawings in "The 100-Gun Ship Victory" by McKay. They are of a different style, if one could say that. More of an effort has been put towards conveying detail and workings rather than drawings suitable for reconstruction. In closing I will say that the title explains the contents accurately, and the reviews below are true and accurate. Enjoy.
Michael

Goes into detail as to history and how to maintain a Corvair. Shows in detail each componant of the car and gives suggestions on maintaining or modifing the car.

You can buy this book for $15.95 in clark's Corvair Parts calalog, if you see anyone trying to sell the "How to keep your corvair alive" more than it should be.

The author gives information in this book which is probably not compiled anywhere else.

This book is probably the only one around which gives details on how to keep the Corvair running. Common-language terminology makes the author easy to understand, and Corvair ancedotes keep the reader entertained.

The one drawback is that many of the illustrations are hand-sketches. Such sketches may or may not be useful to the reader when trying to use them to supplement the text. Similarly, some of the photos are too dark to be useful, though most are quite good.

I generally enjoyed the book.

After purchasing my first Corvair, this was the first book I purchased to support it.Well known to all Corvair enthusiasts, Richard Finch hits the mark by providing basic survival information on the Corvair. A "must have" when new to the Corvair world and a great addition to any automotive library!

This book has saved my life, not to mention a lot of time, in restoring and maintaining my 1964 Spyder Convertible. Many thanks to Mr. Finch for the many photos and drawings. Also for easy to understand language used in the book.

I've been reading Gina's column, which is called G-Spot, for a long time. I'm a guy, and I really like her work. I'm not sure but I think she's been doing it for a couple of years. Anyway, if you want to get a good idea of her humor and take on relationships, I suggest you visit her site and read The G-Spot. I think there's even a couple of chapters there that you can check out. Its www.ginabarge.com, and you should check out her blog, and read more of my comments there.

This book is a must read for ANYONE who has ever dated or been in any romantic relationship - the stories are hysterical and eerily accurate to many of my singledom dating moments. The writer is witty, charming, devastatingly wise in her "hindsight" and a gifted story teller. The G-Spot captures the frenzy of dating and relationships and allowed me to laugh when I recognized myself. I look forward to more from Gina Barge!

A great book. Gina Barge gives insight and understanding to a subject where I have failed miserably - relationships. This is the book I should have read before meeting my last few girlfriends.

This is the best book I've read on relationships. The author tells it like it is. Too many times women question the reactions of men. Why did they do this? Why did they say that? What was he thinking? Why didn't he...? This book explains it all. It also cautions women to stay true to themselves. Sometimes men want to change women into want they want instead of having what they need. This book explains what we all need...some sanity in the dating world.

I love how Gina expresses her stories in an informative yet entertaining form. I'm almost sorry to enjoy her writings at her personal expense, but somehow I feel that we can all relate or learn from what we read in the "G Spot". The author writes with a pace and description that puts you right there with her. You experience what she and/or her acquaintances experience as you live through the relationship episodes within the pages. Surely Book Club material, this book is a great sitcom waiting to happen!

This has become a very useful tool for my adult Sunday School preparations.

It is packed with loads of information not only in the form of Biblical commentary but also in terms of information about people, places, things, and events in the Bible. Also, while Bromiley tends to be on the Evangelical side of things in terms of exegesis (he's from Fuller after all, as are some of his co-editors, one of whom is from Wycliffe), he at least mentions the many interpretations that various passages of scripture have (including neo-orthodox and liberal). He also provides numerous, though at times cryptically short, references for those with the desire to look them up in a good reference library.

One criticism I have is his writting style, particularly in some of the exegetical sections, is a little terse, and more explaination of the Hebrew/Greek would be helpful.

Beware of the new cut-price printing of this set being offered various places for $99.99. The ads say you are saving $180.00, but it's not the same product. The cheap version has a cheap glued binding and no dustjackets. These books are too thick and heavy to be bound that way. With mine, the picture pages in the center just cracked loose and fell out. A 200-page novel that will be read once can have any kind of binding, but heavy reference books that will be used repeatedly are a different story. What looks like a super deal on eBay or Amazon Market is likely to be the cheapo version.

Earlier printings are available used for about the same price, with dust jackets and some of them (not all) have a far-superior sewn binding. It's nice not to worry about pages coming loose, and to have a book that lays open flat. The ISBN does not tell you what you are getting. For example, the May 1993 reprint of Vol 4 has a sewn binding, but the otherwise identical November 1988 printing does not. Maybe there were complaints about the earlier printing coming apart, I have no idea. I don't know whether the set Amazon sells for $176.40 has a sewn or glued binding; my advice is to call Eerdmans and find out before buying. The text is always identical, as long as it's the "Fully Revised" version; I believe the last volume, Vol 4, was first issued in its fully revised version in 1988, the other volumes earlier than that. The first printings of fully revised Vol 4 have 1211 pages, later printings have 1240. The difference is a set of errata pages, which you can photocopy from a library.

As a pastor, I find the ISBE a wonderful tool, not only for study but for ideas. Material from articles on subjects like "peace" or "conscience" provide information and insights not available elsewhere.

The ISBE contributors represent various evangelical positions. The set often includes articles that are barely evangelical, contributors frequently holding to inspiration but not inerrancy. Though I find myself more conservative than many of the contributors, I find the insights invaluable and the thinking scholarly. There's not a lot of the same old same old surface info, but depth and even some original thinking.

Highly reommended for students of the Word, with a note of caution to those of us on the conservative end of evangelicalism.

Great reference material on any and every subject you can think of in the Bible. This is definitly worth the price, if you're a serious Bible student, having this comprehensive work on your bookshelf would be an invaluable asset!

Highly Recomended!

This is an increadible resource for any serious studant of the Word of God. I bought research both this and The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Both are Well done. Though this one, to my delight, is written from a more Conservative stance. If you appricatiate folks like Chuck Swindall, John MacArthur, Tony Evans as I do, you will enjoy this work. I WOULD HOW EVER HIGHLY RECCOMEND THE DIGITAL VERSION. The folks at Logos really got it right. One reviewer above mention compuer being hard on the eyes. To that I say increase the font, which you can not do on the printed version. I like the elecronic version as a siminary student when i quote from the book and copy and paste it to my paper it carries over the footnotes for me. What a Godsend.

Sanders sheds light on the Jewish Jesus; Jesus was creating an eschatological (end of the world) Jewish movement; his execution came from challenging the political authorities (overthrowing the tables in the Temple), and his followers expected his return to restore Israel (which including Gentiles worshiping the God of Israel). If you are looking for a source about Jesus and his Jewishness then I would recommended this book; it shows that Jesus was not in opposition with the Pharisees as he did not transgress any part of the law and that his followers followed Jewish law and kept it after Jesus died.

This is one of the books written by E P Sanders that swept biblical studies from the grip of Bultmann and his followers to a new direction. Today it seems strange that so many scholars could, for so long, ignore the fact that Jesus was a Jew.

E P Sanders, a true historian, very cogently argued that not understanding the culture and beliefs of Jews during Jesus' lifetime was to not be able to grasp the historical Jesus at all. And it was a very good argument.

In this book, Sanders points out that "the biblical laws seem to have been widely observed" (p 184) since ritual baths were everywhere. The temple was central to belief and to sacrifices (p 64). Purity laws were kept by most people, although most involved "corpse uncleanliness... menstruation, intercourse, and childbirth" (p 182) and not hand washing.

There is a long discussion on why Jesus overturned tables at the temple. The temple was central to sacrifice, so why be upset at the money-changers who helped the practice of sacrifices? "The obvious answer is that destruction, in turn, looks towards restoration" (p 71).

There were charges at Jesus' trial about him threatening to overthrow the temple. Even during his crucifixion, Matthew and Mark report people taunting Jesus with promising to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.

Sanders investigates the "two questions 1)whether or not a complex of prophetic themes (the gathering of dispersed Israel, the rebuilding of the temple, and the entry of the Gentiles) continued in the post-biblical period; 1)whether or not a word s and gesture indicating the destruction of the temple would imply the expectation of renewal" (p 87).

'Jesus and Judaism' by E. P. Sanders is a superb model for how to read Christian scriptures in the light of the world of Second Temple Judaism, without a lot of sociological baggage. Sanders is a pure historian, who is looking for how and why things really happened. There is little I can add to the other four current reviews, since I certainly agree entirely with their overall evaluation. My only modest suggestion may be that when one wishes to embark on a study of the gospels, one begins by reading at least a few chapters from this book. Of course, if you are taking on Paul's letters, Sanders has even more important books, such as 'Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People'. This book leaves no doubt on why Sanders has become the most influential writer on New Testament issues in the latter half of the 20th Century.

The arguements of Sanders in this book have marked a decisive point in scholarship after which ignorance concering and derisive stereotyping of 1st century Palestinian Judaism juxtapose to Jesus and primitive Christianity is inexcusable. For this reason, texts written before Sander's work or texts that neglect his study seem to be outdated and obsolete. While some revolts in American scholarship have occurred since this book was written (e.g., Crossan, Borg, and the Jesus Seminar), the foundation of this book have remained firm and unshaken. The primary reason for this is Sander's moderation and erudition. He distinguishes very well between what we can and cannot know about Jesus and is not given to speculation.

The most powerful result of his book is how he brings to light why in fact Jesus faced opposition and eventually suffered martyrdom. This he does through an articulate examination of Palestinian Judaism in the 1st century and a scathing critique of past scholarship which generally failed at doing this task.

Recommended for those who are seriously searching for the history of Jesus and his society. Casual readers who do not have much background in this field will be perplexed or overwhelmed.

Sanders is more of a historian than a theologian. He is concerned to uncover the real, historical Jesus. He explains his methodology in some detail. That is a good place to begin, because it enables the reader to evaluate both Sanders' methodology and his sifting of the historical evidence.

Sanders explicitly bases his reconstruction on the facts of Jesus' life, rather than Jesus' sayings. He is on the cynical end of N.T. scholarship -- he believes that it is impossible in virtually every case to establish the authenticity of Jesus' sayings. However, he believes there is considerable agreement about many of the facts: e.g., that Jesus threatened the destruction of the Temple, that he appointed twelve apostles, and that his followers sought to convert Gentiles.

Sanders agrees with Schweitzer in setting Jesus' ministry in the context of Jewish eschatology. That is, Jesus believed that the end was at hand: God was about to intervene and create a new order of existence, including a new Temple. At that time, God would appoint Jesus' apostles to rule over Israel. When the end of the current order did not immediately come about, Paul (and other early Christians) set out to convert Gentiles -- a necessary stage in the process leading up to the end.

On the other hand, Sanders rejects some of the traditional interpretations of Jesus' life and work. In particular, he denies that Jesus was killed for his teaching about law vs. grace. Sanders (who is widely acknowledged as an authority on extra-biblical Jewish literature) argues that all Jews believed in grace, including the Pharisees. If Jesus had brought about the conversion of notorious sinners and offered them forgiveness on condition of repentance, he would have been hailed as a national hero -- not crucified as a heretic.

Sanders argues that, when the Gospels speak of "sinners", we should take the word at full force. Jesus taught that, in view of the imminent end, wicked people could enter the kingdom without repentance and reformation of life. Thus the Pharisees and other Jews were understandably offended by his practice.

The value of Sanders' work is: (a) His cynicism leads him to be very careful in his handling of the evidence -- no speculative leaps. (b) His expertise in extra-biblical Jewish literature enables him to refute some of the stereotypical caricatures of Jesus' Jewish opponents -- particularly the Pharisees. Such caricatures are still being expounded in pulpits throughout North America, and Sanders sets the record straight.

On the other hand, I think Sanders is too cynical. He rejects conclusions which are widely accepted by other scholars. In specific, his opinion that Jesus accepted the wicked without requiring them to repent stretches credulity.

Nonetheless, this is still a five-star work. A careful reader will learn much, and be considerably challenged. It isn't the last word on the historical Jesus, but it does go some way toward defining the parameters of the debate!

Every thing it's all rigth, but
Not to send to me never more with DHL, it is a true disaster.
I order 3 items the same day.(My country it's Italy)
The first: Uncommon places by Stephen Shore it has been delivered after single 6 days.(thanks,thanks, thanks, thanks, UPS)
The other two "5X7" by William Eggleston and "American Prospects" by Joel Sternfeld. It has been delivered after very 16 days seeeexteeeeen days!!!!
(The DHL disaster!!!!!)
However, thanks Amazon
Gastone Scarabello

JOEL IS A GOOD NAME AND THIS IS A FABOULOS WORK.This man is travelling a lot!!!I want only says that J.Sternfeld is able to meet people and discover particulary little object too that can be fundamental for go inside these pictures,he use colour in a cool way too,soft traditional in colours but in meanings is not really traditional expecially if we related his work in the world of landscape's photography.He use landscape like it was reportage.It is a way for put something else inside.That picture could be sometime strong somentime enchanting but always are intresting me.Put something strange in your picture and maybe that landscape could change his own value.
I like a lot
ciaoooooo

The title of this review suggests that I am exaggerating, but I promise that I am not. This book of photography blew me away the first time I opened it. How had I gone for so long without hearing of Joel Sternfeld?

This book is full of large, beautifully printed color photographs of a quality I couldn't have expected. Each image is beautifully thought out and perfectly executed. The photographs are sometimes humorous, sometimes somber, and always carry a visual impact. Stephen Shore is an obvious point of reference; both photographers were working with similar materials right around the same time, both traveling the country capturing their view of America. I find Sternfeld's photographs to be placed on a somewhat grander scale, while Shore's photos suggest a more offhand manner. Both have a permanent place on my bookshelf.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, I suggest that anyone interested in serious photography buy it right away.

What a refreshing twist on the usual coffee table photography book. Sternfeld's photographs of the natural and manmade environment are so interesting. They almost have an old-fashioned hand-colored postcard-feel to them, but the images are often startlingly futuristic. Great contrasts of the ugly and rusting and vacant with beautiful natural landscapes. The publishers did a wonderful job of cleanly presenting the photos to speak for themselves and putting all the verbiage up front.

if you want to know where the comtemporary obsession with large format color "street" work came from, this is it. newer books, by artists like alec soth and other color documentary artists, are excellent, important books, but it must at least be noted that the true groundbreakers were working a generation ago, putting out these kinds of books before it was the accepted trend. and simply put, this work along with shore's 'uncommon places' and eggleston's 'guide', are still, in my opinion, unsurpassed.

on top of that, the size and reproduction quality of this book are mind-blowing. i can't imagine any photography fan not loving this book, or any serious student not wanting it (for a decent price, of course, which this actually is with the discount.)

Take the ultra-researched science of a Michael Crichton novel (with only a slightly milder level of paranoia), the challenging futuristic conceptual philosophy of a Philip K. Dick novel, mix in the self-evolving computer premise of David Gerrold's superb novel, "When Harley Was One," and what do you have? You have "Julia and the Dream Maker," the brilliant science fiction debut of P.J. Fischer. Fischer combines computer technology, cellular biology and the angst of three post-doc college students in a very near future to bring us the story of a prank experiment gone rogue, and the aftermath that leads to a unique possible future for humankind. With believable characters, a compelling premise and a natural story-telling style, Fischer's debut is a must-read not just for science fiction aficionados, but for anyone who likes excellent, page-turning fiction.

Set in the near future and opening with a courtroom drama, Julia And The Dream Maker is the story of graduate students who find themselves caught up in lives of ambition combined with rapid advances in technology compelling them into "a seminal moment with evolution". Steven his friends are preparing for academic careers in the field of biology. These gifted students feel that there is nothing they cannot do or accomplish. But a science project they become involved with sets of an unexpected chain reaction dramatically altering the very pattern of human evolution, and do so, create a doorway to Julia's world and an uncertain future for them all. P. J. Fischer has a true storyteller's talent for creating very real characters and catching them up in a series of plausible events and fascinating dilemmas. Highly recommended and entertaining reading for science fiction fans, Julia And The Dream Maker will leave the reader looking eagerly forward to the next book in Fischer's deftly crafted series, Julia And The Song Of The Soul.

I am a science fiction fan and computer scientist, my wife (very proudly) is not. Rarely do our paths cross on books. When my wife suggested the book to me after her book club enjoyed it, I was a bit hesitant, the cover suggests something a little too squishy for my tastes. I was pleased to find that it blended a compelling story with sound science. The science is not overpowering, but when it is used, it is appropriate and correct. The author did a very nice job of predicting the advantages and pitfalls of technology we might find in the near future. Highly recommended to nerds and non-nerds alike.

Science Fiction/Fantasy books generally hold no interest for me, and to label this book a part of that genre alone diminishes it as it is so much more! It is part literary thriller, part mystery, part romance. It is educational and provocative. It's funny and poignant. Left breahtless from page-turning to find that the end is only the beginning, I can't wait for the sequels!

Talk about "integrated curriculum"! This is a book that weaves science, computer technology, social studies, literature and the one thing that always grabs students - romance, into a page-turner that I know will leave my students begging to know "what happens next!?!" I am not usually a sci-fi fan myself, but found this book so relevant to today's headlines about scientific discoveries that will change the very way we live and view the world, that it was not hard for me to get engrossed in it. I highly recommend it for high school teachers looking to integrate science into their literature curriculum, or literature into their computer technology curriculum, among others. And, like the students, I can't wait for the sequel!

Ms. Sam Grabelle
Providence, RI

If any of the following applies to you, go ahead and put Life, Inc. in your Amazon shopping cart and enjoy the ride:

* Worked in an office and can appreciate the fact that most people in that setting are imbeciles
* Appreciate insightful, edgy and sharp wit... fans of the TV show Arrested Development understand what I'm talking about
* Fan of science fiction...but not in a dress up like characters on the weekend kinda way...but a fan who appreciates M. Adams, F. Herbet, L. Niven, R. McCammon, J Morrow; have DVR'ed episodes of X-Files and Twilight Zone (in color or black and white); and thinks Battlestar Galactica is genius.

Life Inc. is well-paced and thought provoking. You'll often find yourself nodding your head in reluctant agreement or utter disbelief... an excellent combination for any novel. The author brought to life truly original characters the reader can pity, despise and love all at the same time. Enjoy. Bryan - Chicago

A surreal and spiritual fable, Life, Inc. spins the reader through adventures that navigate the insecurities littering the lost path to the authentic self. Davis also moves corporate familiars into entirely new territory. By turning common office annoyances inside out, he inspires audiences to find their own story. Closed minds need not enter - this book breaks all the rules.

The Author has brilliantly created a word picture of our universe that we have only imagined in our mind. A world in which the mysteries of the space between life and death have plagued us forever. The story explains a possibility of what and why the balance in GOD'S master plan works.
Terrific book with no excess language for the reader who likes to think.

Life, Inc. is a fascinating mystery that held my attention from the getgo...as my introduction into the sci-fi genre. The word-pictures the author uses are so appropiate and crystal clear that I found myself dwelling on each one. It is obvious that J. Davis has put much thought into figuring out LIFE and that he has been blessed with a creative dramatic mind. A fast moving book that can be read on many levels. Thought provoking. A good conversation starter.....would make a good book club read for a group discussion.

Finally, here's a story that challenges the intellect and still reads well. While a work of fiction, it makes you ask yourself, "Who am I?", "Where am I going?", and "What am I doing?" as you ride along with the protagonist through his journey. Definitely worth reading.

An aspiring writer striving to complete her first novel, young Fleur Talbot finds herself loitering in post WWII London with the intent of gathering material for her literary debut. When she is offered a job as secretary to an eccentric troupe of autobiographers, it seems like just the thing. And it is, but in stranger ways than she could have foreseen. And what an eye has Fleur for the foibles of her employers, who, being Very Important People, lead Very Ordinary Lives. As Fleur incorporates what she is learning into the fabric of her novel, some of the VIPs begin to sense that art is imitating life - or, is it the other way around? Perhaps her book is a little too good, and it's nearly lost before this serious but amusing literary tour de force draws to a close. But Fleur is no English Rose, she's one smart cookie who, after a series of mis-steps, beats her nemesis at his own game.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is well written, has colorful characters and the plot is great. I couldn't put it down.

Muriel Spark's Loitering With Intent (1981) is a remarkable autobiographical novel based on the author's experiences on the intellectual and literary fringes of post-World War II London; the book may be Spark's greatest achievement following The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961).

Wise, poised, hilariously funny, and almost seamlessly written, the book is also wonderfully instructive: Spark was fairly impoverished in 1949, and Loitering With Intent reveals not only how an individual can successfully combat the banal evil of the everyday, but perfectly illustrates Camille Paglia's maxim that "hunger is no excuse for groveling." In fact, the voice of narrator Fleur Talbot, Spark's stand in, is not unlike the voice of Paglia at her determined, sharp-tongued, pretension-piercing best. Fleur, like Paglia, calls it as she sees it, and isn't afraid to acknowledge that some people are irredeemably and aggressively awful. But Fleur doesn't avoid such people as a matter of principal: she accepts them as inevitable and lives a life of creative "infiltration": "I was aware that I had a daemon inside me that rejoiced in seeing people as they were, and not only that, but more than ever as they were, and more, and more." Fleur reveals other unusual skills as the story develops: like many artists, she is a bit of a mystic, a bit of a shaman.

Also like much of Paglia's work, Loitering With Intent is something of a blistering attack on high WASP hypocritical good manners and social decorum. While Fleur clearly believes in human decency, fair play, and politeness, she also believes in determined counterattack when duly provoked ("I was not any sort of a victim; I was simply not constituted for the role"); and her responses can be volcanic ("I was glad of my strong hips and sound cage of ribs to save me from flying apart, so explosive were my thoughts"). Fleur uninhibitably recognizes her eventual adversaries as "swine," "stupid," "awful," "hysterical," "insolent," and "self-indulgent fools." The Baronne Clotilde du Loiret is "so stunned by privilege that she didn't know how to discern and reject a maniac," homosexual poet Gray Mauser is "small, slight, and wispy, about twenty, with arms and legs not quite uncoordinated enough to qualify him for any sort of medical treatment, and yet definitely he was not put together right," and a friend has "the ugliest grandchild I have ever seen but she loves it."

Loitering With Intent is partially a transposition of Spark's experience as General Secretary of The Poetry Society in the late Forties. In her autobiography, Curriculum Vitae (1993), Spark stated that she was "employed, or embroiled, in that then riotous establishment." In the present novel, Fleur becomes workaday secretary to the Autobiographical Association, a crank operation run by social snob and blackmailer Quentin Oliver, who also suffers from a messianic complex of vast proportions. Ever perceptive, Fleur is confident that what she is witnessing around her is pure collective madness.

In Spark's first novel, The Comforters (1957), protagonist Caroline Rose slowly awakens to the fact that she, everyone she knows, and indeed her entire perceived universe are actually only the fictional creations of an unknowable author composing Caroline's history on some unrealizable, presumably higher plane. In Loitering With Intent, almost the opposite is true: as Fleur nears the end of completing her first novel, she becomes aware that the members of the Autobiographical Association are genuine human doppelgangers of the characters she has created, enacting an identical drama to the one she has constructed from her imagination. Thus, Fleur has foreseen the future unaware, and hazily anticipates the unavoidable disasters to come to those who are manipulative, vain, foolish, arrogant, petty, and power crazed.

One of the book's most fascinating elements is the chronically antagonistic relationship between Fleur and the aptly named Dottie, the maudlin wife of Fleur's bisexual lover, Leslie. Dottie is 49% friend and 51% enemy, and thus their oddly symbiotic relationship is of a kind most readers will recognize as having experienced at some point in their own lives. "I don't know why I thought of Dottie as my friend but I did. I believe she thought the same way about me although she didn't really like me. In those days, among the people I mixed with, one had friends almost by predestination. There they were, like your winter coat and your meager luggage. You didn't think of discarding them just because you didn't altogether like them."

Loitering With Intent is also one of the most acute examinations of the artistic temperament ever committed to paper. "When people say that nothing happens in their lives I believe them. But you must understand that everything happens to the artist; time is always redeemed, nothing is lost, and wonders never cease." And: "I have never known an artist who at some in his life has not come into conflict with pure evil, realized as it may have been under the form of disease, injustice, fear, oppression or any other ill element that can afflict living creatures. The reverse doesn't hold true: that is to say, it isn't only the artist who suffers, or who perceives evil. But I think it is true that no artist has ever lived who has not experienced and then recognized something at first too incredibly evil to be real, then so undoubtedly real as to be undoubtedly true."

The novel is also a celebration of applied self knowledge and the self confidence that evolves from it: Fleur repeatedly realizes "what a wonderful thing it was to be a woman and an artist in the twentieth century," and, regardless of the formidable enemies positioned against her, continually "goes on her way rejoicing."

In keeping with the era in which it is set, Loitering With Intent also includes a brief portrait of Osbert, Edith, and Sacheverell Sitwell as Leopold, Cynthia, and Claude Somerville, owners of The Triad Press, the publishers who eventually accept Fleur's prescient first fictional work.

It's hard to believe this book is out of print (as it appears to be in many editions). Spark is the finest living English writer (as of early 2000, she's still with us) and this is one of her best novels. It folds back in on itself. It's obviously autobiographical even with the kind of foreshadowing and self-reflection of the author, who doubles back the flashback, first seeing herself, then seeing herself remember herself.

The plot is fascinating and a constant undertow back into the same themes of the true reality of a book. Is this memoir (fictional) told by an unreliable narrator? I think so. It's hard to know. Some events seem Kafkaesque in their bizarreness, but then turn out to have plain explanations.

Ultimately, evil bizarrely destroys itself; good triumphs with sacrifices. All is never as it appears with Ms. Spark.

There is a sense of the autobiographical in this novel which in fact is quite appropriate when one considers the actual pivot around which the whole plot revolves. As a note of caution however I must add that I make this statement without having any knowledge at all of Muriel Spark's actual life. As the author spins out the plot she manages to capture the essence of the main character's experience as a secretary for a group of people organized by an individual with the sole aim of writing their biographies so that they may be put away in a safe place for seventy years and their contents not actually revealed until all the people mentioned in these sets of memoirs are actually no longer alive. The idea is that this will be of interest to the historian of the future. Not that the novel itself concentrates unduly on the efforts of this group but rather on the intellectual and emotional reactions of the novel's main character, a young writer whose main concurrent aim in life is to get her first novel published. She is quite a likeable and attractive character and in fact she seems to be the only normal person amongst the rest of the characters portrayed in the novel, even though this impression may in fact be subconsciously and gradually formed in the reader's mind by the first-person point of view of the novel since everything is seen and judged through the eyes of the novel's main character. Even though this is a rather short book it is rather rich with experience and latent meaning well beyond the mere surface of the mostly humorous type of entertainment that pervades it from beginning to end.