Phillips Books

The author presents well-documented material on a very current controversial subject which is affecting l5% of the population severely, and many more in lesser degrees; creating debillitating illness in productive members of society, causing them to become disabled and unemployed. The tragedy of the message is poignantly spelled out by the author, revealing the AMA's denial of the diagnosis of MCS, which contributes to the distress of patients who must suffer through contempt and lack of care by medical doctors who are influenced by economic dictates and refuse to treat the complex patient. This book is a blessing for MCS sufferers, since it offers hope that it will alert proper politicians and governmental officials to address this issue properly, offer medical care to the Veterans of the Gulf War Syndrome, and implement legislation to prevent further chemical poisoning in our public indoor environment. I highly recommend this book for everyone, to instill awareness of the dangers of chemicals in our environment. This is a very thorough documentation on the subject of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

It's a shame this indispensable book has gone out of print because it is one of the best I have read on the subject. Environmental allergies, Sick Building Syndrome, Gulf War Syndrome, or Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is the subject at hand, and I think it one of the most important subjects of our time. MCS, despite some doctor's insistence that it does not exist, affects every living thing on Earth. An estimated 40 million Americans already show clear and obvious signs of this illness. The rest of us are undoubtedly affected in less obvious ways. We cannot afford to ignore this problem.

One of the most fascinating parts of this book, which has stuck in my memory for a number of years, is descriptions and interviews with the sickest people alive with MCS. The descriptions of their symptoms and the great lengths they must go to just to try to live their lives is tragic and fascinating and a warning to us all.

Even though you may not know how chemical poisoning is affecting you, it almost certainly is. Sticking our collective heads in the sand will not help us, and will almost certainly allow things to get much worse before they get better. Inform yourself and read this book.

Peter Radetsky has experience writing popular science books, and this one is very readable. He interviews a variety of sick people, scientists, doctors, and psychiatrists with a wide range of opinions on the subject. Though the role of infectious pathogens is fairly well understood these days, the role of toxicity has been almost completely ignored by modern science and allopathic medicine. This topic must blow open, sooner or later. In the meantime, we can inform ourselves and take a tip from the sickest among us. We do not need to wait for mainstream science and medicine to acknowledge or solve problems before we act to protect our own health.

It is too bad this book has apparently not gone to paperback because the subject is so important, and this is such a well-done job on the topic. For little more than the price of postage, you can inform yourself on a topic of great importance that we have only begun to scratch the surface of.

5 stars because I couldn't think of an improvement I'd want to make. It's well-written for the understanding of non-health-professionals (I'm one) and seemed like a very comprehensive (for the time, given that recognition of MCS is in its infancy) overview of what appears to be the tip of an iceberg. Rationally, I believe that multiple chemical sensitivity is real, but I don't personally know anyone who is involved, so I have no basis for bias. This book quoted several individuals who have symptoms of multiple chemical sensitivity, and their accounts of the desperate measures they must take to not feel rotten really opened my eyes to the possible future for the rest of us.

The doctors who were interviewed and quoted don't all agree on every aspect of the syndrome, which makes their opinions seem more authentic. Some of them have outright antipathy, not just disagreement, over specific points regarding MCS; however, it seemed to me that they all agree that the specialty of allergies (and MCS) is inexact, almost as much art as science. Some of the avant-garde treatments I read about seem fairly dubious, but the results are apparently well-documented. Although relatively few scientific studies have been done, they seemed appropriate and meaningful to me.

This book is neither anti-industry nor "chicken little" in tone, but it certainly added fuel to my back-to-basics, organic-gardening, anti-industry fire. The facts (some statistics) and opinions (from informed health professionals) presented herein constitute a firm, but rational, warning that we may have opened a chemical Pandora's box when we jumped on the industrial bandwagon. The rising incidence of many chronic diseases (cancer, asthma, ulcers, you name it) may be due only to the fact that those people didn't get felled first by typhoid, malaria, or saber-toothed tigers, but I'm still concerned, and I don't think the coincidence of higher cancer rates and widespread use of industrial chemicals is due to chance. This book doesn't spend many pages addressing solutions; it is aimed at illuminating the source of the problem. I'd recommend it, without reservation, to other laypersons who want to expand their understanding, especially to school kids doing research on industrial chemicals or allergies.

As someone who has to deal with someone who insists that they have MCS, I found the information quite illuminating. It is truly an interesting book which will make you think of their lives have changed.It really gives a humanizing outlook of someone who has to live in a world where everyone thinks you are crazy.

I'm an allergy researcher and when I came on this excellent book, I sat down and read it cover to cover. Couldn't put it down. The writer is very good, the information new and interesting, and thought provoking. "Sick Building Syndrome" is quite real and affects many people on a daily basis. I am sad to see that this fine piece of work is out of print. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it. Tom Ogren, author of Allergy-Free Gardening :::: from Ten Speed Press

This book really was a bucket-load of belly laughs - C J Philips has collected some gems over the years. I am afraid to say that the book loses a star, though, as it overlooks the fact that around 90% of graffiti is poorly spelt invitations to ........ trysts with men who, in all probability, are not being entirely candid about their anatomy. Let's hope this imbalance is addressed in the next edition.

A very entertaining book. Plenty of duds, but also tons of great one liners and graffiti "conversations". I noticed that "people who have bought this have also bought:" includes Harry Potter. This being bathroom graffiti, a lot of it is unsuitable for children. But for adults, tons of great laughs.

Funny books like this can do wonders for people in need of a lift. I'm a nurse and I show it to a number of my patients who generally love it.

I feel though that I should actually be writing this review on a bathroom wall.

This book is an extra large book, alot bigger than I expected. Really funny stuff and I've seen a lot over the years.

now ! It is SoO FuNny ...the characters are wonderfull . . .
1. ARCHIE is so Funny & carless !
2. JUGHEAD (archie's best freind) dosent think but only about food !
3. REGGE a bad & notey guy , who likes to make a fool out of archie !
4. MOOSE the most dump fool at the whole RIVERDALE(their city) & the strongest one !
5. MIDGE moose's girl friend . (regge & moose alway's fights over her) !!!
6. VERONICA the richest girl in RIVERDALE...& the most spoiled & famuse girl ever !
7. BETTY COPPER the sweeteset girl ever ( always fights over archie with veronica{most of the time}!
dear readers I never liked reading like that from before !

Archie Comics are the best!!!! Okay that doesn't say a lot abou them, but They're sooo funny. Even though Veronica & REggie can be really snobby at times. It's still a really funny comic. It's really just about archie and his friends + his life!!!! You can also get ones that r called betty and veronica which are mainly about them. Either way I think there really good. Just try one! YOu'll luv em!!! [....]
p.s. sorry if this doesn't really describe the comics. it's kinda hard to explain, ya see.

Archie comics are soooooo funny!Buy archie books ARCHIE COMICS R A MUST HAVE.when your'e feeling down they make u feel up!GET THEM NOW

I LOVE ARCHIE COMICS! I have only been reading them sice for like maybe a month and a few weeks and I have already fallen in Luv with them I think that you should buy this comic if you wanna see some good stories,you collect comics,or you just wanna have fun.Well thanxs and have a great day.

Okay, I've been collecting Archie comics since I was like 8 or 9 (5-6 years) and I've got to say that I LOVE THESE COMICS! I have about 500 digests and about 100 flat comics. They aren't you normal "superhero" comics or your Garfield type comics that are only a strip long. These stories run about 4-7 pages long each (there are a lot of stories in a digest comic, even more in a double-digest), except the many part ones which can run up to like 20-30 pages. There are also little page joke ones scattered throughout the books. These comics are funny and very enjoyable to read. Some of the characters and problems you can relate to, while others are just plain outragious and funny! The characters are each well planned out. Here are a few:

The five main ones are:

Archie Andrews(of course)-a nice, girl-crazy, well-meaning, but VERY clumsy all around American boy who is in love with two girls (Betty and Veronica)

Betty Cooper- a too nice, typical girl next door girl who loves Archie with all her heart. her best friend and worst rival is Veronica

Veronica Lodge- snotty, daddy's little rich girl whos father is a zillionaire! but underneath it all, she has a heart of gold. she loves Archie some of the time, but also uses him as a puppet.

Reggie Mantle- richer than Archie and Betty, but not a millionaire or anything. he flaunts his new cars and stuff in people's faces. REALLY REALLY conceited and in love with himself (also Veronica) the trickster of the gang

Jughead (real name Forsythe) Jones- eats too much, sleeps too much, really lazy, girl-hater. the best friend of Archie, Jughead is really a real great guy. He may look like a slug, but he's really one of the nicest guys in the world

other characters include:
Moose Mason: very strong, very jealous
Midge Klump: Moose's girlfriend, nice, smart
Dilton Doiley: a genious, but short which causes girl problem
Big Ethel: in love with Jughead
Hiram Lodge: Veronca's father, hates Archie

Waldo Weatherbee: principal of the high school, has the same problems with Archie as Mr. Lodge
and many more, but it would take FOREVER to write them all out!
Put them all together, and you get CHAOS!!!!!!! These comics are prettily drawn (and in color). If you buy one of these, you'll be hooked for life! (Hey, they've been running since the 40s! People MUST like them!) I personally would give them 5000000 stars! Buy them and you won't regret it.

This is a very rich collection of essays. Two of those which were of special interest to me were Jonathan Rosen's, "The Talmud and the Internet" which was later expanded into a book by that name. And Floyd Skoot's Kismet a most moving essay about his own family and his brother's death.
Lopate has a great understanding of the genre. He includes 'rediscoveries' Orwell 's "Some Thoughts on the Common Toad", and Derek Walcott's "The Antilles."

OK, man, I'm gonna go read this book -- The five stars stand for your passionate, exasperated review!

This is such a damn interesting book, filled with really inteligent inspiring voices. I think there is plenty of idiocy out there in Amazon land, but I'm sort of bummed to be writing the first review of the thing. Come on folks! Also, check out Lopate's Bachelorhood. A Gem of a book

It's kind of like a bound collection of op-ed pieces...which I like...on topics I may never confront personally from a point of view hopefully as different from mine as it can get. Gotta disagree with the Bachelorhood assesment. I found his last collection Portrait of my Body to be more focused and more intimate written by a man who already has spent 25 years reviewing his life in print.

I absolutely loved almost all the essays in the book: some of them were so engrossing, I got on the wrong train to work because I was too busy reading them. I find these eassys a bit more divrse then the "Best American Essays" and tighter than the ones in "The Pushcart Prize" collection. Phillip Lopate is a wonderful essayist in his own right, and he has chosen wisely.

I'm a honors philosophy student at Eastern college, and Dr. Cary is my professor. I haven't read all of this book, but have flipped through it enough to know its worth. Dr. Cary's knowledge of Augustine is at once both vast and concentrated, and his writing is highly academic but very clear and easy to follow. I would recommend this work to any one interested in Augustine, the inner self, or historical and modern Christian thought.

Fortunately, The Teaching Company led me to Phillip Cary and Augustine's Invention of the Inner Self: The Legacy of a Christian Platonist.

His book brings two thoughts to mind. First, when I entered Western Washington University as a mixed-up student who had been disenchanted with "organized religion," an anthropology professor said, "Dick, you must find yourself." Secondly, I've always loved my Catechism's definition of a sacrament as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace," but now Cary challenges me to look beyond the beauty of those words in order to gain insight into their Augustinian-Platonic meaning. His book unites both thoughts and sets me on a demythologizing journey.

This is a book I'll need not merely to read like The Reader's Digest. I'll have to live with it. That will require much study. At little over 200 pages, it's not long, and one quarter consists of notes and bibliography. But what his book lacks in length it delivers in depth. Happily, Cary is incurably interesting. And that's the problem. I have a hard time trying to put it down. He keeps digging dilemmas--or maybe I should call them paradoxes--that arrest my attention. Moreover, it's not the end of the story. Just this year, he published Inner Grace: Augustine in the Traditions of Plato and Paul, and Outward Signs: The Powerlessness of External Things in Augustine's Thought. The titles are witty references to my Catechism's definition of a sacrament. I'll need to read and mark all three books if I wish inwardly to digest all Cary has to tell me about Augustine's thought.

Moving from the Catechism to cataracts, the book's nine-point font bugs me, and I need my most powerful magnifiers to regain the joy of reading. Oxford University Press doesn't seem to realize America is aging. Nor does the corny cover reflect Cary's colorful style that, fortunately, is better reflected in the covers of Outward Signs and Inner Grace.

Prof. Cary's book on Augustine resonates with me as few books have. Every page is so fruitful. What is the soul? One might say: what are the limits and opportunities posed by "introspection" or "self reflection" or "self consciousness." The remarkable development from Plato through Aristotle through Plotinus to Augustine is captured in a unique, sensitive, and joyful way.
I'm a layman who formally studied a lot of philosophy in my twenties (forty years ago). I think back on my own painful quest for meaning earlier in life before I became a born again Christian (under reformed baptist doctrine). I was studying under a program of philosophy completely controlled by the logical potivists and the analytic philosophers of the 20th century. I was cut off from the history of philosophy with its great riches. In this book, I see the love for philosophy that I never was able to bring to fruition in my own studies. It is a joy to see that someone has succeeded where I failed.
The problem of the inner and the outer has dogged me all my life. I had a fixed mindset that the "Truth" lay with the inner -- the inner was more "spiritual." In this book, I better see the weaknesses of the "inner" yet, at the same time, the reasons for its great appeal to deeply reflective persons. The power of inwardness still has some hold on me. There is a mystical element of "union with Christ" in my philosophizing about my life and theology. Yet, by grace, I have been freed from the domination of the inward. To see the whole matter laid out in vibrant prose is a thrill.
Thank you Prof. Cary. Perhaps you never would have guessed that you were performing a great personal as well as a professional service in writing this book?

In his 'Augustine's Invention of the Inner Self' professor Phillip Cary shows the reader in a brilliant way how to reveal one of the most complex issues in Western culture to the average reader. As if it was his main goal to offer a didactic achievement the book is readable as a detective novel. Origin and conceptual development of the inner self are convincingly demonstrated.
Nevertheless I have one question about the book. That is: why doesn't Cary give us a more thourough explanation about Augustine's rejection of literature in education (see p. 97 and footnote 9 on that page)? According to my view finding ones self, being one of the purposes of education, depends for a great deal on exploring one's culture's history and literature. By searching the one and only Truth in the self being Christ, and at the same time repudiating culture's traditional vehicles for that search, as is vehemently recommended in Conf. 1.16, education as Augustine saw it might have been severaly hindered.
Since Augustine's time the humanities have suffered from enduring attacks by Christian critics. The search for the inner self, as we find it again in Pascal (see 'Pascal et Saint Augustin' by Philipe Sellier, Paris 1970; another reference I missed in Cary's book is 'La découverte de Soi' by Georges Gusdorf, Paris 1948), might be victimized by those attacks up till today's educational practice. On many schools and colleges in Holland and in many other Western countries, humanities are a bit of a nonitem.
How is Dr. Cary's opinion about the posibility of the actual consequences of Augustine's thought on these matters?

Dr. Guido Everts, Historical educationist
Amstelveen
The Netherlands
E-mail: geverts@hetnet.nl

To critique Augustine, is to critique Christion theology. All Christians pay homage to the feet of Augustine, and, ironically, all Christians seem to think that Augustine somehow agrees with them. This is true of both Protestants and Catholics. This is seen in a lot of popular writing, and sometimes even in scholarly writing. Because St. Augustine is neither Protestant nor Catholic (Catholic in the sense that we now understand it today) understanding him on his own terms has radical implications for all Christians. When I was reading this book I would ask myself, what is this guy driving at? What is the point to demonstrate that Augustine invented the inner self? Who cares if Augustine was a Christian Platonist? Well... everybody should! Because Augustine is considered one of the most influential writers since the apostle Paul! Dr. Cary draws some startling criticisms that are often considered 'biblical doctrine.' (E.g. the doctrine of the division of the soul and body, or that heaven is this aerial and surreal place.) No, Dr. Cary says, Christianity is a faith of heart and flesh. Christ came in human flesh to restore creation. My only disappointment with this book is that the conclusion is all too slender. I hope this is not the only book that Dr. Cary writes on this subject. I hope he is working on more.
Dr. Philip Cary is a brilliant scholar, and (I think) an incredible lecturer.
I first heard him in a series of lectures that he did to the Teaching Company, ... This book is accessible to both the scholar and the inquiring student. Dr. Philip Cary masterly uses common words and clearly defines unfamiliar words.
As someone who is always on the lookout for well-written book's and scholarly books to cite in later Ph.D. work this book meets both of those requirements. It is a bit pricey, but it is worth it. I bit Oxford Press now offers a more affordable paperback edition.

It is easy to miss what seem to me the principal cores of this fine book--in my view, by far Phillips's best: (1) the complex, usually misperceived nature and mismanagement (even, or perhaps especially, in most psychoanalyses) of infantile desire/curiosity, and (2) the restricted validity of articulated, "logical-rational" (Heidegger), propositional thought. Readers already have to be close to realizing for themselves the points Phillips is emphasizing in order to be able to "hear" them.

If one is ready to hear it, Phillips's discourse on proto-linguistic realms and their residue in "adult" language is a unique and centrally important gem. Don't miss the core of this book by letting yourself be misled or distracted by its many interesting but peripheral points.

This is a collection of layered and complex writing by a clear and humane thinker -- and a wonderful writer. Phillips ranges widely, and cites inspired references from psychology (including his London practice), philosophy, and literature, and always with distinct purpose. Freud, Hanna Segal, H.G. Wells, Auden, Blake, Marion Milner, John Keats, D.W. Winnicott, and Melanie Klein (among others) are cited in this book, effectively. He's blazingly creative, more subtly political, and good-hearted -- and it shows. The book is a slower read than his earlier ones, but well worth it.

This is a collection of layered and complex writing by a clear and humane thinker -- and a wonderful writer. Phillips ranges widely, and cites inspired references from psychology (including his London practice), philosophy, and literature, and always with distinct purpose. Freud, Hanna Segal, H.G. Wells, Auden, Blake, Marion Milner, John Keats, D.W. Winnicott, and Melanie Klein (among others) are cited in this book, effectively. He's blazingly creative, more subtly political, and good-hearted -- and it shows. The book is a slower read than his earlier ones, but well worth it.

Adam Phillips' book THE BEAST IN THE NURSERY, is a collection of some of most compelling essays on psychoanalysis to be gathered together. His prose makes some of what might seem to be the most opaque ideas about pyschoanalysis appear shockingly lucid. He's a terrific writer and demands that you think for yourself as a reader.

This erudite author becomes even poetic in some of the text, making this book a joy to read. He gives a more positive, ideology-free reading of many of Freud's basic ideas and thoughts. While he does not advocate tossing theory into the wastebasket, he does enjoin the reader to go deeper into psychoanalytical tenets, to think less dogmatically about them, and to realize that theory is only an aid, not a mold into which each analysand must somehow be forced to fit. The reader must be familiar with psychoanalytical writing in order to get the full benefit from the book, however, since the ideas presented assume that the reader understands their background and meaning.

Barnhouse et al have penned stories that see life from a wonderful perspective. They notice the small things, they wonder about life and how to make it better. They are gentle and kind and hilarious. These are people who you long to talk to on your front porch, who you wished lived next door. They encouraged me to look through new eyes at an amazing array of subjects. A refreshing collection of stories that will make you laugh and cry.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of its realness. In this book, the authors explanations of the real life stories make the reader think about issues that we would sometimes overlook or disregard as someone else's problem. Some of the stories were purley ment to entertain, and they made me laugh untill I couldn't breath. I enjoyed this book because I could see myself in almost every story I read.

I had the privilege of reading the first ever copy of The Best of Radio Free Bubba as it came from Pat"Bubba"Jobe's computer. This book had me rolling in a hurricane of laughter for two solid hours. I finally had to stop while the second half of the book printed, and I was afraid that if I didn't go to the bathroom soon, I would wet myself! I recommend this book to anyone who can read, including teens like myself. :)

This book is a joy and delight. Of course it helps to be able to identify somewhat with down-home Southern culture, but most readers will be able to relate to the writers' wisdom and humor no matter where they're from.

Finally, the world can get to know some real "Bubbas." With the publication of "The Best of Radio Free Bubba" by the Hub City Writers Project, the South has unleashed a powerful force and sent it out to create havoc among the prejudiced. For those of us who have been listening for years to "Radio Free Bubba" on WNCW in Spindale, N.C., the book holds no surprises, just 170 pages of some of the best essays we've already heard by four writers who believe in people. Meg Barnhouse, Pat Jobe, Kim Taylor and Gary Phillips share their thoughts on everything from blister packs to making lists. The book's philosophy is summed up by a bumper sticker: "It's Not Up To Somebody Else." Here in the South, we know that "Bubba" is short for "Brother," or rather it's the sound small children make when they call to that older sibling who looks out for them, protects them and teases them. Bubba is the real "good ol' boy" who will haul your furniture in her pickup, pull your car out of the ditch with his tractor, take care of your children in times of distress, and pray for your body and soul.

My Boyd's Bear's book arrived very quickly and it was in excellent condition. Thank You!

I have been looking for a collector's guide for the last several years and stumbled across this. As soon as the book arrived I could not wait to check the secondary prices for all my "friends".

This book will be a wonderful help in getting an extra rider on my homeowners policy to cover my friends should anything happen to them.

The pictures and descriptions in the book are outstanding and the supplemental information is invaluable. I have several friends that have multiple looks and it helped me to distinguish between the bears that have the same name but slightly different looks.

If you are looking for the ultimate collector's guide for Boyds Plush - you must get this book!!

This book is an absolute must have for the true Boyds collector. It is the most accurate guide produced in years... a true Boyds encyclopedia. You won't regret the investment of this guide to find all the history behind your favorite Boyds pieces.

This is a must for Boyds Collectors. Great pictures and great information. Love the Paw Notes. A vast improvement from the First edition.

I have collected Boyds Bears for years and there has been a serious gap in the Price Guide and information Guides for Boyds since Checkerbee went bust.
This Bangzoom Tracker is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Color pictures, info, tons and tons of stuff I have and want and needed to put in some order!
This is the way to do it with Sense and Brains!!!
If you collect Boyds-you MUST buy this Tracker.
Book or CD-rom; either way you need this to get your stuff organized, catagorized and listed so you know what you have and what you are looking for!
Great Job Bethy And Bangzoom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it's just the sort of material a business English teacher needs to meet the requirements of both business classes and executives.it is comprehensive and includes major business communication skills . I have been using it for the past two years. it is just exellent. it would probably be better if an answer key was attached to it.
well Done!!

"Business Objectives" is targetted towards adult English as a Foreign Language learners who are currently learning with a trainer.

It is directed towards pre-intermediate/intermediate level learners, and supported by teacher's book, cassettes, pairwork material and lively videos, it is comprehensive and up-to-date.

Topics include: meeting people, telephoning, presentations, socialising, describing products and trends - each in easy-to-use units that can be used as on-going training, or stand alone modules. It makes great use of sketches and role plays, and references to actual companies and situations and for a trainer with little business experience it is easy to use.

Its partner "Business Opportunities" is directed towards higher level learners, and frankly there is not an English training organisation that I know who is not basing it's business English course around this book. A must!

This is the kind of English business book that gives plenty of subject for discussion and giveas the student the satisfaction of knowing that he or she is learning useful English. It is also complete and varied, can be used with any businessperson, no matter the area of interest.

"Business Objectives" is targetted towards adult English as a Foreign Language learners who are currently learning with a trainer.

It is directed towards pre-intermediate/intermediate level learners, and supported by teacher's book, cassettes, pairwork material and lively videos, it is comprehensive and up-to-date.

Topics include: meeting people, telephoning, presentations, socialising, describing products and trends - each in easy-to-use units that can be used as on-going training, or stand alone modules. It makes great use of sketches and role plays, and references to actual companies and situations and for a trainer with little business experience it is easy to use.

Its partner "Business Opportunities" is directed towards higher level learners, and frankly there is not an English training organisation that I know who is not basing it's business English course around this book. A must!

I, just want a audio cassette of business objetives

This book gives you a thoughtful look at what Spiritual Direction is. It shows how Spiritual Direction is benificial to the directee and the director. I thought this book was insightful and honest. I highly recommend this book to those on a spiritual journey.

I had essentially no knowledge of "spiritual direction" before reading this book and picked it up because I was curious about the subject. What a great find! The author has done a magnificent job of explaining the principles and methods of spiritual direction through both narration and example. She shares her experiences with us through her interaction with nine "directees" who have come to her with various spiritual issues, many in the midst of life-changing events. You feel like you are in the room with them as these people relate their fascinating stories from many walks of life and religious perspectives. The author shares so much of herself that you get to know her, too. I was so impressed with the many spiritual insights I gleaned from reading this book and was astonished to see how God worked in these people's lives. This book is superbly and sensitively written, very well researched and yet a very down to earth look at a deeply spiritual endeavor.

As a spiritual director, one always wonders how others perform their art. This book was insightful and rewarding in that regard. The reader is allowed to be behind closed doors to sit in on the sessions with the directee, experiencing both the responses of the director and nuanced interactions. One is not TOLD how direction is done but SHOWN how it is done in a variety of scenarios. The author provides a myriad of situations/needs and the issues span across human experience. My only suggestion for improvement would have been placing the directees' spiritual direction journeys sequentially instead of having to locate the next installment several chapters away. I understand her desire to give us three separate phases of direction, but it made for challenging reading.

Susan S. Phillips' Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction, is the book I wish I'd had when I first became interested in spiritual direction and it is a book I wish I'd had when I was learning to be a spiritual director. By following nine people from their entry into a spiritual direction relationship until the conclusion of the relationship, it is easy to see what spiritual direction looks like; the difference between spiritual direction and therapy or pastoral counseling; and the ways the person receiving direction grows in relationship with God. At every step, Susan makes explicit the assumptions and methods that are important in spiritual direction. In addition, this book also clearly shows the way the director's own internal experience in each session informs his or her responses to the person being directed. During my training and in the first days of my own direction practice, this internal listening was the most difficult and elusive part of spiritual direction for me. In all my reading, until this fine book, I had never read or heard such a helpful description of the director's decision making within a session.

Susan was my director for several years while I lived in California. Much of what I know about doing spiritual direction, I learned from Susan as she helped me orient myself toward God. Now, reading her explicit description of doing direction, I find my understanding of my own work as a director is enlarged.

Candlelight is a great read, probably even for those who don't practice spiritual direction. What's so terrific about this book?

* Great stories make great books, and this book is structured around nine readable, captivating stories. Will Charles find a mate? Is Jim's health going to hold? Will I, when the time comes, be able to die as beautifully as did ... well, I won't ruin the ending. But it is beautiful.

* Held gracefully within the context of these stories are short but excellent discussions of suffering, theodicy, Sabbath, death, decision-making, evil, Keats's "negative capability," the prayer of examen, the "middle voice" as a metaphor for the life of engaged faith, ... etc. etc. The book's one fault is its lack of an index. When I reread the book I plan to create my own rough index as I go along.

* Candlelight gives a view into what normally cannot be observed. As a spiritual director, it is extremely difficult for me to know whether my practice is like or unlike that of my colleagues. Just what ARE those spiritual directors doing behind those closed doors?? Well, read Candlelight and sit in on sessions with a master. Your style might differ, or you might disagree with Phillips's approach at points, but merely finding out exactly what she does during direction sessions is fascinating.

* Candlelight offers helpful definitions of spiritual direction, as do many other books and web sites. What is special here is that Candlelight offers definitions of spiritual direction as practiced by the erudite, mature, faithful, humorous Susan Phillips. Seen through her eyes, spiritual direction takes on a whole new glow.

* Phillips uses words beautifully and seems to know precisely what they all mean. She's not just flinging them around.

* Finally, and maybe best of all, Candlelight shows God in action. Maintaining faith in God's goodness can be challenging for those of us who hope to do so; it's delightful to have a book that says, over and over, in concrete terms, "Look over there, at that faint light! Just a bit to the left ... there! Do you see it now? THAT is the benevolent God at work." Reading Candlelight is like looking at the world through God-vision goggles. Transcendent goodness, purpose, and beauty can shine, sometimes quite subtly, through human experiences and suffering, and we need all the help we can get if we are to stop and pay attention long enough to see them.