Peter Books

This book is awesome! If you have a child that receives special education services you NEED this book!! This book is full of the answers I have been looking for, for the last 4 years.I have read it twice and will read it again. This is an easy read it is broken down into 5 sections that everyone can understand. My favorite is section #3 The Parent as Expert. I used this section along with the others to get my son ESY services and 1:1 reading remediation.

Here is my success story, thanks to the knowledge I gained from this book......

I read section 3 while attending the Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy 2 day Boot Camp .When I got home I looked through my son's file and found 2 woodcock reading mastery test. I immediately requested a meeting with the school and requested that they give him another one this year, and give me the results before our Annual Review Meeting in May.

Well, I got the results and used power point as the book suggested and designed a graph using the Standard Scores from the test. I was not sure what cluster score they used to determine regression so I did one for each of them. In our Annual Review meeting they started talking about how well my son has done and how much progress he has made this year.( I knew what was coming next because it is the same thing they have said for the last 3 years, almost verbatim) Well before they said he did not qualify for Extended School Year Services (ESY) I asked them to explain how it all worked and what cluster score they used to make these determinations; so they explained it to me. I then pulled out my graph and said " well I had to put it in a graph because I am such a visual person and this data is so confusing and It just looks like a bunch of numbers etc etc....but what you explained to me is that we use this cluster and when I plugged in that Standard Score he has really show significant regression not progress like you were just saying. They said, "well now that we see it like that we see what you are saying, it has never been presented with that sort of twist to us before."

Well, he will be receiving ESY this year,using an Orton-Gillingham based program. I just got the Notice of Conference Decision copy in the mail and I found this statement quite amusing....

" The school presented data that indicated (child's name)did not qualify for extended year services. Mrs. Graves presented data that showed (child's name) has not made significant gains in reading during this school year and is thus further delayed by his grade placement than he was last year. The committee agreed to accept this conclusion and provide summer services."

Knowledge is truly power, This book along with the Wrightslaw Special Education Law and advocacy Boot Camp helped me get my son the help he has needed for the past 4 years!

As if being confronted with the diagnosis of a learning or developmental disability in your child wasn't stressful enough, upon diagnosis and classification, a parent is thrown into the ocean that is special education and the bureaucratic nightmare that goes along with it. This book is a treasure trove of strategies - everything from managing your paperwork to managing your emotions with respect to special education is covered. "The best way to avoid due process is to assume and prepare for due process" and "treat your relationship with the school personnel as a marriage with no possibility of divorce" are two of the most powerful "Wrightisms" I came away with and have served us well in advocating for our children with autism.

If you have the opportunity to attend a Wrightslaw boot camp in your area, bypass the purchase of this book and wait until you attend the conference - this book is often included in the conference fees.

Very simplistic language makes this a good primer for parents new to special education. For those with some experience, I found this book to be too rudimentary. However, I will lend it to parents of children just diagnosed.

This book is a wonderful asset for parents who are advocating for their kids. Many times I have let my emotions control my dealings with the school and this book explains why that is detrimental to your childs education.

FETA will help you understand why it is so critical to control your emotions and use them as a source of energy.

Chapter 5 explains obstacles that parents encounter (misinformation, school culture, etc) and how to overcome. It gives examples of several personality types and strategies for dealing with them.

Chapter 6 is about resolving conflicts with the school. It acknowledges the frustration many parents feel and gives you excellent advice on the best way to handle yourself. It describes common reasons for conflict and recommends solutions.

The other chapters are just as wonderful. I cannot say enough good about this book. It has saved me from much embarrassment with my child's school - since I am a bit outspoken (understatement!)

The book also discusses the importance of record keeping. It details how to create a file for your child, obtain confidential school records under the FERPA act, the importance of effective letter writing ("Letter to the Stranger") and it even has sample letters in the appendix.

I have an autistic son and this book has been my savior. It is a must have for anyone entering into the "world" of special needs. I have many other books but I constantly refer to this book in the end. It walks you step-by-step on how to write letters requesting information from your child's school and provides templates for many other well written letters you may need to use.

This book is not a complicated read..it reads fast and is easily understandable. I bought the Wrights Law book also and was able to read this book and refer to the Law book at the same time. As you delve into the special education system you will want to get books that help you write more complex IEP goals..but trust me you will be digging into your stack of books reaching for this book over and over again

This book becomes more relevant every year! For organizations that want responsible employees, it challenges leadership to consider the assumptions that drive traditional HR performance appraisal processes - most importantly those arising from the common `parental' or `patriarchy' model of leadership and organizational development.

In this research-based analysis of the multiple purposes of performance appraisal, a labor attorney and an experienced HR professional team-up to explain why appraisals backfire - and they clearly accomplish that key goal of the book. In particular they explain why, in a world in which 98% of people see themselves as being in the top half of performers, the requirement to force-rank employees is a demoralizing and demotivating policy - if you then connect pay raises to this policy, it is a policy to pay money to demotivate the majority of staff! What responsible leader wants their name on such a policy?

So, is there a solution? Yes, but not a ready-made one. Because the authors recognize that the performance appraisal process is only a part of a highly integrated organization framework (the authors refer to this as `The System' - others ask you to think 7-S model) that drives organizational effectiveness, the book does not recommend a one-size-fits-all solution to replacing performance appraisals. Instead, it recommends that the reader make a paradigm shift away from the patriarchy model to a more adult to adult concept, think about what the organization really wants to accomplish (what problem is to be addressed), and provide choices for different individual situations. The book is not an easy read, nor does it provide a feel good solution - it is recommended for thoughtful practitioners who want to know what questions to ask for their situation, rather than what answers others have found for their own, perhaps very different, situation.

If you grapple with performance appraisal, then it might be worth thinking through the assumptions that you have built your performance appraisal system upon. And that's how Tom and Mary's book can help. They describe a series of assumptions that most performance appraisal systems are based on, and they offer up some more useful (and more reality-based) assumptions that provide the foundations for a more effective alternative (not an improvement - a completely different concept altogether).

Even if you aren't convinced to let go of traditional performance appraisal methods, you will still glean some valuable pearls from this book, that can help with problems you're currently having with appraisal.

Extensive research, good case studies, knowledgeble discussion of legal issues are strengths of this book. However, there are numerous weaknesses:
1 Linking enlightened management directly to ineffective appraisal systems. They are not nedessarily related.
2 Not acknowledging managers insight on employees performance.
3 Assuming apprasials are generally a high corporate priority compared with other management activities.
4 Not recommending one or two focused appraisal functions as an alternative to no appraisals.
5 Not providing an explaination of how to administer most pay raise systems (Hay for example).
6 Not clearly identifying how the rating drives pay, promotion and bonus. An alternative is required.
7 Not disussing how requirements may vary by industry job specifics or the impact of enviromental factors, such as, confidentiality and raises based on senioity. jrj

Get past the title, and the authors' "we are totally right" style, and you'll find good material in here. "This book is about ... choos[ing] ... the most effective ways of working with people, [and] refocusing on outstanding organizational performance."

It tells you why most formal appraisal systems have a lot of good goals, but the negative side-effects of trying to reach them through a regular, compulsory, recorded system prevent most people from reaching them. Suggests abolishing the single system, reviewing the goals, and setting up multiple voluntary systems to do the job better.

Read this book to remind yourself what real personal and group improvement communication is about, so that you can include it in your daily work.

I seached out this book when I was tasked to be part of creation of a review process for my smallish company. "Abolishing Performance Appraisals" operated as a great resource during the process.

Especially helpful were the case studies, which pointed out how real companies were creating alternatives to clunky performance appraisals.

No other writer combines a knowledge of cuisine, history, and social place with such lyricism and panache. If you want some obscure recipe in its unadulterated, early 20th century form, it is here. If you want an account of life under the hardships of war, described through the gastronomic difficulties of rationing and scarcity, look no further. But if you want all that and a style that is as beautiful in its choice of word and phrase as it is in its theme and moral, then you have arrived at the caviar of culinary insight. Fisher is so much more than a food writer and it is often easy to forget that you are reading the work of a author who is perhaps best known as merely the translator of Brillat-Savarin's masterwork, "The Physiology of Taste".

There a is haunting, autobiographical element to this work. The Art of Eating is actually a collection of Fisher's best pieces and so the anthology is divided into the books and arranged chronologically. Yes, there are recipes but I enjoy the personal stories best. Recollections of a meal in Lyon with a friend and a drunken waiter are so much more than embellishments of past adventure. They are windows to a world which has vanished; a time when food meant so much more to culture than a quirky jingle about cheeseburgers. Even if you are not a self-professed foodie this is a fantastic read and I recommend it to anyone who finds beauty and romance in a well-written story.

This is an excellent volume and great value for money as it comprises several of Fisher's best-known texts.

Even in paperback this is a thick and heavy book, which is a compilation of several of MKF Fisher's individual works offering different aspects of her thoughts on food in terms of origin, recipes, culinary preparation, and history. In addition, it divulges her own observations on the whole dining experience that we as humans go through in terms of customs, etiquette, ambience, socializing and so forth. But what makes this book stellar is the eloquent, imaginative, and sometimes even haunting style of Ms. Fisher's writing. She expresses her own thoughts and oftentimes outspoken opinions, mixing them with historical facts, tempting recipes, and home-cooked tales. With such a satisfying horn of plenty within the confines of two book covers, it is easy to understand why she still reigns as the queen of prose inspired by food and dining. I wish I had her ability to master in writing such joi de vivre and enthusiasm for food, eating, and drinking, which after all are such basic elements to our very existence.

The section I enjoyed most of all was "The Gastronomical Me", a biography-cum-travelogue in which she poignantly narrates her experiences by rendering them so lifelike that you can smell the smells and taste the tastes. She includes food episodes of her early years in California while growing up and later attending boarding school; in Dijon, France where the kitchens in restaurants and her apartments beckon you to partake of the offerings; in Switzerland where you visually can grasp the mountains and streams along train-rides she describes through the Alps to Italy; and finally in a small Mexican town, where she surpasses even the writing prowess demonstrated in her previous stories, by telling the most poignant tales.

An interesting sidelight is that this book not only covers food. You gather early on that she is far from a teetotaler since alcoholic drinks and drinking at mealtimes too are frequent topics, from sipping wines and champagnes and glasses of Pernod on ocean liners to mixing water with bourbon, which she keeps in a flask during a long, propeller-driven, airplane flight to Mexico.

The other sections I liked were the beginning (Serve It Forth) and Consider the Oyster. It amazed me that one person could write a whole expose covering around a hundred pages about only the oyster: the various types, methods of preparations, and culinary history. Plus she gives her own personal memories and anecdotes too. You name it, she said it about oysters--recipes included.

I did not care as much for How to Cook a Wolf, as I could not relate to either the off-color humor or to some of the topics she presented. (Sorry, but sweetbreads, halves of calf heads, and brains were not appetizing subjects.) Also, I gave up finishing the book. I started to read "An Alphabet for Gourmets", the last section, but got as far as "D" and couldn't force myself to read through the rest of the alphabet. It seems to me by the time in her life when she wrote this section she had become rather cynical and bitter, to the extent that everything she wrote sounded condescending. This section was such a let-down, a depressant to me after coming off the high of "The Gastronomical Me". Although I exaggerate, she seemed to repeatedly state something to the effect that she preferred to dine alone on crackers and milk rather than face gourmet meals with uncultivated people (with untrained palettes) who were unsavvy as to the proper way food should be eaten in the first place and incapable of appreciating what they shoved in their faces in the second. Anyway, other readers may disagree with me, but this last section lacks the consistency, and more important, the vibrancy and pep of her flowing, off-the-wall style that grows on you in the other sections.

Although I was a little disheartened at the end, her brilliance that shone through in the other sections more than outweighed the few negatives. I can recommend this book to everyone, especially to people who are interested in food as a literary subject in its own right instead of something that we simply cook and eat. Of course, foodies and cooks alike should appreciate it. And though it does have some very good recipes as added bonuses, this should not be considered a cookbook; instead, this book's function is to serve up delicious tidbits for our minds and imaginations to savor and enjoy.

I thought this book was interesting. Our book group also read "The Omnivore's Dilemina". She brings a post WWII perspective to food.
The tomato soup cake was OK.

We had our meeting and each made something from the book. The author had an interesting life and has written many other books so it was a good discussion.

"The Art of Eating" recountss the tale from post World War I to World War II France in gastronomic terms. This is a collection of several books. "Serve It Forth," first published in 1937, is a history of gastronomy. In "Consider the Oyster" written in 1941, Fisher finds her voice. "How to Cook a Wolf" published in 1942, when wartime shortages were at their worst includes recipes for stretching the smallest of ingredients to meet nutritional needs and the needs of the spirit. "The Gastronomical Me" is this reader's favorite, which recounts Fischer's life in France. If you have any interest in good food, well-written memoirs or French culture, you really must read this book. It defines the word "classic."

Constance is a book about a girl who moves to America and starts out on fresh land. i love romances and this book is very romantic! Constance is a complete flirt! Theres many twists in the book but i still liked it very much. basically its about a girl who grows and learns about her new home theres indians and a great sickness and many romances. enjoy!

This book was given to me when I was nine, and is a long-standing favorite. I'm now in my late teens, but every November I read it again for old time's sake around Thanksgiving, and every year I love it. It speaks many truths about life in general, and Constance is an engaging and highly relatable character. I looked online out of interest to see if it was as widely read as I thought it should be, and thankfully it appears to be. This book would make an excellent gift for a young girl; it is gaurenteed to be a book she will read over and over again and always hold a special place in her heart.

I picked up "Constance" somewhere - I have no idea where, but my copy is old and yellowed and falling apart. I read it and fell in love with it. I must say - my old copy has a fantastic cover and I much prefer it to the one depicted here. But that's by the by... =)

I'm teaching my (7th grade) son the 1600-1850 time period this year and was able to pull "Constance" off the shelf and introduce him to its delights. It has been the ONLY book he has begged me to continue to read to him outside of planned school reading times. WOO HOO! It warms the cockles of this mother's heart. We've laughed at the funny bits, sobbed our hearts out at the sad bits, and marveled how these people, with their numbers decimated that very first spring, worked together to make a successful community.

We'll be finishing the book tomorrow. I drove him bananas by reading the first sentence of tomorrow's reading, telling him WHO proposed but NOT what the answer or consequence was. He says I'm an evil mother. =D I laughed with joy at his enthusiasm for the book.

I got this book on a trip to the East Coast when I was ten years old and fell in love. It was my favorite book during all of my early teen years; and though I haven't read it in years, I think it will always hold the place in my heart as my favorite book.

I read this long before I knew a key fact about Constance Hopkins, and I thought it was terrific. Of course, I still do. The tone of high spirits forced into apparent submission is perfect. I do think the cover illustration on the Beech Tree edition is awful; the cover on the Dell edition is far better.

Key fact: she is my nine-times-great-grandmother. (Patricia Clapp, the author, is also descended from Constance.) I have dug around in other books and on-line sources about Plimouth Plantation, and the historical facts are dead-on. I don't at the moment remember whether "Constance" mentions that her father was not a Puritan, Dissenter, Separatist; he came not for religious reasons but because he wanted his own farm. Constance, her husband Nicholas, and her brother Giles left Plymouth for the same reason in 1644 -- and also because they were fed up with the Puritan oligarchy in Plymouth.

So her family represents, in many ways, the American quest for independence and farmland -- the Jeffersonian ideal of the free citizen. (Constance's descendants were still farming as late as 1940, though my father left the farm in 1921, finding farming a new form of tyranny.)

This book was amazing.It is the story of four women in their fight against breast cancer.I couldn't put it down.I didn't want it to end.This book is not just about breast cancer.It inspires you to enjoy and appreciate life.I know a few women who have battled breast cancer and it made me feel closer to them.

I read about this book in People magazine and just had to get it. The book was even better than I could even imagine. Would recommend buying the book for all your girlfriends. A real tear jerker!

I have been a long-time supporter of breast cancer research and really enjoyed the tales of these women who were all diagnosed much younger than anyone thought possible. This book made me laugh and cry. While I was sad when it was over, I walked away inspired and uplifted. Would make a perfect gift for any woman in your life!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kim at a Komen event where she was the keynote speaker. I of course bought the book after her talk.
Nodies at Noon is a very honest account of breast cancer in young women. The four women each write their experiences on several poignant topics. While some issues are universal to all women going through the breast cancer experience, this book highlights certain issues unique to young women. Child birth and motherhood are two examples.
The book is bittersweet with one of the authors losing their battle with the disease, and one giving birth to a second child. Like Kim herself, the book is warm and thoughtful.
I would recommend it to anyone going through breast cancer or supporters of breast cancer patients.

I bought this for my mom, a breast cancer survivor. I had read a bit of it before I gave it to her and really like the style, very clever and real. My mom did say she is enjoying the book but would have rather had it while she was going through her treatments. She says that it is hard to go back to that place in time be it in films, tv, or books. She is very involved in helping other women going through treatments and says that she plans to use this book to help her new friends. Best of luck to those of you out there facing this horrible cancer or have loved ones in this situation, but you are never alone and there are always angels when you least expect it.

This series of Sisters Grimm books by Michael Buckley has characters familiar to adult readers and to many kids, too. The characters come from fairy tales and from other children's literature, with this author's own spin on them. The books are as entertaining for an adult to read as for a child. My nine year-old and I both read them very quickly and did not want to put them down.
We also enjoyed the Harry Potter series, but after reading these books find the Potter books to be much longer and wordier than these. These are quick reads, yet have a lot of action in few pages. We definitely recommend them.

The second book in this thrilling fantasy series introducing Sabrina and Daphne's school, filled with strange mysteries. Tantilizing secrets about characters are revealed, an evil plot is discovered, and Sabrina and Daphne, as the fairy tale detectives, must find out what's going on! This fast-moving, magical, epic tale will keep you on the edge of your seat!

The Sisters Grimm series is an awesome series. When my mother first told me about it and I saw it, I thought it wouldn't be that cool so I didn't buy it. But then I got it from one of my friends and I read it and it was AWESOME! That immediately made me want to read the second book, so when me and mommie went to the bookstore and I saw the second book there, I really wanted to get it. Now that I got it and read it, I immediately want to read the third book.

I really liked how surprising it was when it seemed like some of the people at first I thought were going to be the bad guys turned out to be the good guys, and some of the good guys I liked turned out to be bad guys. An example was Principle Hamelin, when we thought he was helping Rumplestiltskin but then it turned out that Rumpelstiltskin tricked him, so Principle Hamelin became good again.

My girls, 8 and 10, thoroughly enjoyed this book. They are always begging for 'just a little bit more' every time we have to put the book down. They love making the connections to the fairy tale characters that they are familiar with from other stories.

I've enjoyed reading "The Sisters Grimm", and recommend it.
I particularly appreciate the "Wizard of Oz" references.

One section had me laughing out loud, an unusual occurance (outside of a Stephanie Plum novel). Even today, two weeks later, I still smile thinking about it. Without revealing anything, I'll just refer to the ink "drawing".
...get the series, and read it!

I am an evangelical Christian and I have recommended this book to many fellow believers about to embark on a mission somewhere. As far as I'm concerned, it's essential reading for anyone taking the Gospel to people who have never heard it.

I also have lived and worked in the so-called "Third World" and seen the remnants of Christian mission work over the past several centuries -- the great, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Matthiessen tells a story here of mostly bad, of course, and some ugly. Narrow-minded, holier-than-thus, do-good Christians come in and almost destroy a native culture. That, in itself, is indeed a fascinating if predictable story line.

But the story does indeed include some of the good -- of self-discovery and loving sacrifice by one of the do-gooders, and of self-discovery and perhaps "deliverance" of another major character, a Native American Indian. All involved leave changed -- one way or another -- after the arrival of the do-gooders and their attempted intervention.

It is an outstanding story that will stand the test of time, worth telling for a very long time to come.

I highly recommend it to any thinking person anywhere.

This is a very good book, but not great. Matthiessen's writing is engrossing and it is difficult to put it down. However, the vileness of some of the subject matter is a bit hard to swallow. This is, no doubt, a realistic tale, written after Matthiessen had traveled throughout the continent. The movie does have an influence, as one keeps thinking of Ms. Hannah. The plight and evolution of the natives and their values is intriguing. The disaster that results from outsiders forcing culture and religion down the throats of the "savages" is thought provoking and relates to many situations one sees. The characters aren't all that likable, but certainly very real. Hazel is a sad case. The jaguar shaman-to-be is a character about which it would be nice to learn more. Matthiessen says that he rewrote the last journey many times. This is the toughest part of the book to follow; is it real or a dream? I actually did reread parts of the end. There's no escaping the depression that comes from dwelling on the conflict in the jungle. I still feel that, despite the author's beliefs, his nonfiction work is better. But this is an enjoyable novel, regardless.

An excellent adventure story that is both fast paced and well developed. I've read a number of books by Matthiessen. This is the best I've read yet by him. His fiction is far better than his non fiction in my opinion.

I see there are many 5 star reviews here on Amazon. I 2nd these reviews. Recommended.

I am reading this book as a book on tape which is a good way to "read" it. This is a "good read" and worth your time. Recommended. Email Boland7214@aol.co

This case study of culture clash is the story of Protestant missionaries trying to bring the Word of God to jungle savages. They think themselves heroes of The Lord, but there are no heroes here save, perhaps, Louis Moon a reservation half-breed who lost his faith. Moon is now an aimless mercenary staggering through life, bouncing off one obstacle after another. When it becomes his job to massacre the indigenous people, he is revisited by drug-induced dreams of his youth and instead joins them as their rain god fallen from the sky (and a failing airplane).

Self-righteous missionary Martin Quarier, becomes less certain of his beliefs as the novel progresses, but seems incapable of moving beyond them. He sees the absurdity of the doctrinal feud between Catholics and Protestants, yet cannot think of priests as anything but the Enemy, in league with Satin. And Satin seems to be working on him, as well, churning up lust for the wife of another missionary.

The religious beliefs of the natives give a glimpse of how faith gets started. Their minor gods clearly provide more for them on a day-to-day basis than the major one Quarier tries to serve. He creates a "rice convert" or two, but is ultimately a miserable failure.
At Play in the Fields of the Lord is a classic tragedy of misunderstanding and miscommunication. If you haven't read it, it's worth that first read. If you have, it was probably long enough ago that it deserves a second look.

this is the best and most easily understood bio of St Augustine, I love it.

This is an excellent scholarly biography of Augustine of Hippo. Peter Brown gives a thorough and balanced treatment of all of the important aspects of Augustine's life, thought, and historical context. I personally used this book as my set textbook for an independent study course I took on St. Augustine when I was attending university.

Brown does a very good job of summarizing important philosophical and theological concepts that are central to understanding Augustine's significance to the history of Christianity.

However, despite my very positive appraisal of this book, I feel that this might not be the best choice for people making their first entry into Augustine.

Augustine's is a severe and forbidding character. His intellectually rigorous reasoning on(and harsh views of) salvation and grace made him an inspiration to Calvin and the Puritans. But gloomy though his view of human nature might be, Augustine was intense and passionate, a theologian and philosopher with a poet's sensitivity to natural beauty and the use of language. This books puts the reader in Augustine's mind and life: there is the young man dedicated to an idealistic pursuit of truth,surrounded by admiring friends and family; later, his imposition of that truth on the all-too-human structure of the early Christian church will be fraught with challenge. Augustine knew Rome and Roman Africa in their glory days; he died as Africa fell to Vandal invaders who would impose a century of brutal rule. Peter Brown brings the tumultuous period in which Augustine lived fully and comprehensively alive; he makes us one with a brilliant, uncompromising, surprisingly compassionate human being.

This a revised edition of a very good biography of St Augustine of Hippo. Although I am in the mist of reading this bio I find the writing inviting and histology very well done.

Peter Brown's AUGUSTINE of HIPPO is epic study of the adventure...the spiritual-intellectual ODYSSEY...that is Life of Aurelius Augustine,Saint and uber-Father of the Christian Church in the West. Brown's peerless biography details(36chapters;437pp)a life of towering intellectual genius from birth in AD 354 in Thagaste,Province of Northern Africa SPQR ;until his death as Bishop of Hippo in AD 430.His education is sweepingly arrayed ~beginning in Carthage as orator and magister;his thorough indoctrination in Manichaeism; his meeting with St.Ambrose and immersion in philosophy of Platonist...the birth & death of his brilliant son,Adeodatus,"gift of God"..;the everlasting presence/influence of his mother,Monica; the epiphany cited in THE CONFESSIONS,"to take and read(Biblical exhortations of St. Paul)"followed by his Conversion/Baptism and quick-fire Ordination as Roman Catholic priest;and almost-instant elevation to Bishop. This prelude is followed by Augustine's unsurpassed career as The West's first & premier existential-psychologist:THOU HAS MADE US FOR THYSELF LORD; AND OUR HEARTS ARE FOREVER RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE; and ironic humorist~LORD MAKE ME PURE...BUT NOT TODAY. As well as arch-foe of anti-Catholic heresy~Donatism; Pelagianism;and the Occult(with which he was expertly familiar having been 10 year Initiate therein).

Augustine's CITY of GOD is not only the first consummate philosophy of History (surpassing Herodotus "then";and Hegel/Spengler & even Marx "now" in effect on history. CITY of GOD shaped the LOGOS,world-view of Western Man for 1000 years/entire MIDDLE AGES(ca~AD 476-AD 1517).Austine wrote catechisms ENCHIRIDION);treatises on Free Will;predestination;and is formulator of the Christian concept of ORIGINAL SIN.Augustinian theology l comprises(ironically)most fundamental notions of Protestant Reformers. Catholic Church champion St.Thomas Aquinas is -as-indebted to him as to Aristotle in framing THE SUMMA THEOLOGICA.


Peter Brown's new St.AUGUSTINE of HIPPO is not so much revision but carefully written...in modus of Augustine..reflection on what he had once written.There is brief preface.There is extensively documented epilogue comprised as New Evidence;& New Directions(pp441-520).There is expanded bibliography & index.The 1967 edition is 463pp;the new is 538pp.
Any student of Augustine knows that with him "more is More. Whether 75pp mas is MORE, the reader will of course determine.Brown's book is the classic,unlikely to be surpassed,study of a genius in the service of God,SERVUS DEI. Any serious student of theology,philosophy;or history of Ideas must confront St.Augustine of Hippo.This profound, mythology-like masterwork is not the opus to start with.But when you're ready "to TAKE & READ",it is matchless story-telling that is worthy of the unique,perhaps most remarkable,QUEST for God & Truth that a great and gifted man ever committed his life toward. (777 stars)

An excellent illustrated version of a favorite old song from childhood. The illustrations are exceptionally good. Came in fine condition.

I am now a fan of Peter Speir books. This is a very nice book. The provider was very prompt and arrived in new condition.

My four children are now in their thirties and they loved this song when they were young. I bought this edition for my two grandsons aged 18 months and three and a half and they love it. No publisher has it in Australia but Amazon came to the rescue! It also has the music included which is great for our musical famly. The whole family - children and adults- join in the singing and we always end up laughing. The illistrations are tasteful and vibrant.

A favorite family song brought to life with wonderful pictures. Perfect for a child--music and lyrics included.

This is one of my all time favorites. The text consists of one version of an old folk song, general known as "The Fox." There are probably several dozen versions of this particular song, likely even more. I know of at least nine myself. The one used in this work is from a Burl Ives recording done in 1945. I was and am a big fan of Ives, so this book has been a real treat for me. The song originated from a poem, written in the 14th for 15th century in Middle English. I can remember versions sung of this song at various gatherings back to the late 1940s. This particular work was originally published about 1961 i.e. the Spire's version...not to be confused with one written by Wendy Watson which is a good work itself.

Anyway, the text consists of the words to the old song and this is a wonderful sing-along book. The art work by Peter Spier is some of the best. It is extremely detailed, the colors are wonderfully blended and even though they are actual paintings, they give a true feeling of being there. The story consists of a fox who goes out on a chilly night and visits the hen/goose/duck house of a local farmer in or near a village. The fox does this in order to feed his family. The book is the picture and word story of his journey there and back with the meal for his family. I note that there is some disagreement here as to the location of this story. It certainly took place (the story) during the late 1800s or possibly the early 1900s. The setting is rural. If I were to give a guess, I would say it probably took place in New England, possibly Massachusetts, Connecticut or Penn. Of course you could make a pretty good argument for Virginia also, but the civil war monuments shown in the book look to me more Union than Southern. Yes indeed folks, they do grow tobacco in New England. There are several pictures of tobacco drying sheds in the book. There are also pictures of covered bridges and wonderful details of the country side, farm and village.

The illustrations alternate between full color and black and white sketch type drawings. I personally find this technique quite appealing. I know the kids to which I read this book to don't seem to be bothered a bit by it. In fact, I have caught several of them trying to copy some parts of the black and white drawings. I do love the author's use of color, shades and his minute attention to detail.

Now, parents do take note: The fox does indeed kill the old goose and makes off with a duck to boot. There are not graphic details of this other than the fox family finishing off the cooked bones after their wonderful meal. Some parents may feel that their child may have problems with this. To be honest, this is where parenting comes in. Each parent knows, or should know, what his kid can or cannot handle and at what age. I personally have no problems with it. The fox is acting according to his nature and yes, foxes do indeed raid hen houses.(Goodness knows I have lost enough chickens to the little guys). Again though, this should be the parent's call.

There is another note of interest and suggestion. This book is ideal to introduce the young reader to Middle English. A quick wed search can provide the text of the original poem, along with many versions of this song. It is interesting to see how our language has developed and evolved over the years.

All in all, there is little not to like about this book. The art work is wonderful, you cannot beat the text, you get a great sing-along book and I have found that kids love the thing. I have used this particular work from Kindergarten up through the seventh and eight grades. Adults also enjoy listening to it.

I purchased the earlier version in 1991 after I gained the "Freshman 15+" and my doctor recommended it. I followed it exactly for one month and dropped all the weight+. My workout consisted of jumping/dancing around my dorm room for 20 minutes while listening to the Footloose soundtrack! This was awesome and I never gained it back! I think it is also great for reminding you what a healthy meal and healthy portions look like in our supersize world. Good luck meeting the new you!!!

This diet works wonders. I went on it after having each of my children. In 1997 I lost 40 lbs in two months. In 1998, I lost 47 lbs in two and a half months. The meals are extremely simple, and if you need to substitute you can just swap one day for another. I felt like I was really hungry for the first week, but I definitely felt great. The dinner makes you full. Every doctor (the last one was a midwife) I have asked if I could go on this while breastfeeding has said absolutely. I did increase the diet by having three extra glasses of milk per day, because I was breastfeeding and still had great results. My husband did this diet, but went off of it too early and gained all of his weight back. He lost so much more than I did, the same amount in half the time it took me. (of course he was in his early thirties). I think if he would have just kept to the diet he would have the same results I have, not gaining it all back. If your looking for some fad diet that is going to make it easy, there is not one. Losing weight takes self control and determination. If you do not want to actually lose the weight, this book is not for you. If you do, its going to take work the first week, at least. If your faithful to this the weight is coming off and you will feel wonderful.

I have struggled with weightloss for years, and lacked the discipline to accomplish it. This book makes it soooooo easy, all you do is follow the meal plans. I lost 35 lbs. and feel great.....

The beauty of this book and plan is how quickly you see results. Sure, you're pretty hungry while you get used to the reduction in calories, but it's easy to manage since you know you'll be eating soon anyway (you eat 5 times a day). The walks are something you'll need to be very disciplined with, but once you get results, you won't want to skip a walk!

The menus can get a little overwhelming, so what I did was I made a list of the breakfasts, lunches and dinners that appealed to me, and were simple - and posted them on the fridge. I often ended up eating a lot of the same stuff day after day, but that made it easier for me to go grocery shopping and prepare foods for the day. I needed convenience.

The best thing of all is I feel this diet has permanentely affected my metabolism! I did this diet for about a month or two, lost about 12 lbs in the first week and 20 lbs total and have been able to keep it off for nearly a year. I haven't remained that active and often eat a lot, so it was a pleasant surprise. If I ever need to shed some weight (and quickly!) in the future, this is the book I will reach for, no doubt.

16 years ago as I prepared for my wedding, I was faced with losing 70 lbs. I had put that weight on in college and thanks to just bad eating habits (eating late at night, eating the wrong foods, beer, etc).

My mother gave me this book because a friend of hers had read it and used it to lose weight. With nothing to lose (except fat), I decided to give it my all. Well, within a year, I had lost that 70 lbs and looked great for my wedding. I ate well exercized and changed my behaviors.

I kept that weight off for over 12 years, and only recently, thanks to my slowing metabolism, have gained weight back. And you know what, I am buying this book again and starting over. This book makes buying food simple (and the food won't put you in the poor house) and makes doing what you need to simple, in order to jump start your metabolism to lose weight.

I intend to lose 50 lbs and keep it off!

Good luck to you!