R Books

Integrative Theology is one of the better theological resources because it doesn't just focus on one aspect. Most Theology books look at a system, a few focus on the biblical data on a specific issue. For each issue, Demarest and Lewis run through half a dozen formulations for the issue at hand, followed by a summary of the Biblical texts, and conclude with a systematic formulation and sections on apologetics and application. While the volumes do not cover as broad a range of topics as some comparable works, the depth in which the important issues are covered is difficult to understate.

While not written at the level of technical philosophical detail as Aquinas or Pannenberg (as another review here stresses), this text is still set apart from most general theological treatments by its philosophical clarity and coherence. This is in addition to the virtues of its serious treatment of the range of Scriptural data concerning each topic, its apologetic engagement with differing views, and its practical counsel for life and ministry. It is a great resource for thinking through major theological issues and positions. I recommend it highly.

Okay, I'll confess up front that I am a former student of the authors, but that was before this book came out. As a student I appreciated the theological method modeled by Professors Demarest and Lewis, as it had the virtue of teaching the student how to think theologically, testing various theories against different alternatives as well as Scripture. They didn't just teach theology. They taught us how to DO theology. None of this simply memorizing and parroting back canned answers. Now, as a professor and practicing theologian my appreciation of the method has increased to the point that it has highly influenced my own theology text, to be released in Brazil (in Portuguese) later this year. I have found that students respond with enthusiasm to this type of presentation, as it brings theology to the heart of their world, and allows them to really engage the issues. Simply put, Integrative Theology is the best text available for providing a comprehensive treatment of how the task of Christian dogmatics can be a world view building enterprise. It's a great way to learn (and teach) theology and that alone merits five stars.

However, there is more than just that. The content and insight into historical, biblical and philosophical issues are a great way to demonstrate how the various disciplines in the seminary curriculum should come together in a balanced manner. Too often these disciplines ignore each other, or are outright antagonistic. Here the tendency of biblical theology to atomize the text and the tendency of philosophical theology to launch off into unbridled abstractions, divorced from revelation, are both avoided. Instead, you get a warm and practical treatment of relevant issues as the traditional loci of doctrines are developed.

As for the complaint of some reviewers that there is some sacrifice of depth and rigor, it must be kept in mind that a key part of the authors' purpose is to provide an introductory seminary level textbook. After spending the past three years working on such a text, I can testify that there are just some things you have to leave out, or at least treat with less detail, lest the discussion go over the head of your intended audience. Readers and students can make up for the lack by pursuing more advanced reading in the references, or taking upper level seminary courses. With Integrative Theology as a background, they'll have much easier going doing so. It's a great starting point for aspiring theologians, or laypeople who simply want to deepen their understanding of the scope of Christian doctrine. You may not always agree with their conclusions on every position, but you will come away being challenged to think it through for yourself and arrive at a coherent view that will deepen your understanding of divine truth. This book belongs in the library of every pastor and serious layperson.

Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest were for many years full-time colleagues in Systematic Theology at Denver Seminary. Dr. Lewis is now Professor Emeritus and Dr. Demarest is half-time, still teaching in the area of spiritual formation. Both are good friends and cherished colleagues. The strength and uniqueness of Integrative Theology is its "verificational" or hypothesis-testing approach. Ask any classical theological question (or a new one for that matter!) and, to test the validity of the various possible answers that have been given or might be given, one must survey the Scriptural data, book-by-book, passage-by-passage, interpreting each text in its original context, then look at the main ways answers have been formulated throughout church history and why, then create one's own systematic synthesis of all of the relevant Scriptural data as informed by the various readings of history into what seems to be the most internally coherent and consistent whole, as well as corresponding to any external evidence that may bear on the question, along with that which is existentially viable, i.e., livable. A wonderful bonus are the short sections of application or contemporary significance at the end of each topic that the authors filter through this multi-step grid.

I really appreciate the work. I was teaching trough Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology" when the footnotes mentioned this book. The approach made me an instant student of the histtory of theology and the church fathers, whereas I was not interested in, nor had the time needed to try to search out what has been said in history on these various subjects. These authors gave me a great foundation in learning to use these various disciplines to do theology.

Excellent resource!!! I found it useful at work the first day I
received it.

The item was just as described. Very fast shipping. Would do business with again. Thank you!

This book is a great refrences book for medical staff professionals. I work in a hospital and when ever I need to find out dosing, stability ,or even description of a intravenous medication it's in this book. Also this book tells you all about how to store IV medication properly. This book really helps me alot. It's also a great resources for pharmacy school as well.

I am a pharmacist with the Cleveland Clinic and need to have a reliable, thorough, and handy reference available at all times. This book is one of the best resources I have come by thus far in my career. It is a must have! Quick and easy look up to a wealth of organized information. All hospital pharmacists should not go without it!

As a hospital pharmacist, this is the book I have at my side at all times. Gives important information on infusion rates, stability, and usual dosages and concentrations. This information can be found elsewhere of course but I have been accustomed to looking here first.

i really enjoy reading this book because it help me understand fibroids and know more about them.

I brought this item as a gift for someone who was dealing with fibroids. Prior to ordering the book on line, I had the pleasure to review the book as well. It is an excellent and informative book, which is well written. I recommend this book for any women who is dealing with fibroids.

Thank you.

the best book on the market for women of color who suffer from fibroids.when i was thinking of surgery monique's book helped me make the final choice.I am so glad I bought it.I will recommend it to all those who are going through the same thing.

I found Monique Brown's book more informative than any I read of its kind. So much so, I recommended it to a number of women and even purchased it as a gift for some of my friends.
Many of them wished they would have known about the book prior to undergoing a hysterectomy or a myomectomy.

I found the case studies inspiring and the resources quite helpful for my research. The diagrams were awesome as they helped me to picture what fibroids actually look like in and on the uterus. Furthermore, the natural healing information has been extremely helpful in providing alternatives to surgery. Overall, I especially liked that it was an easy warm read and not cold and clinical.

First, let me say that, "It's A Sistah Thing," by Monique R. Brown, is one well written and well researched book on fibroids. Ms. Brown's credits include: senior editor of Black Enterprise Magazine, an adjunct professor at Long Island University, and President and Founder of Professional Women of Color.

The author, Monique Brown, had fibroids and has herself faced the horrible specter of hysterectomy. She was one of the lucky ones and got a myomectomy. She reports that her myomectomy improved her sex life.

The main thrust of the book is to advance alternative approaches to fibroids; however, she does take the op to sound many important alarms. She is delicately raising the hysterectomy/race connection. She notes UAE is new with few studies done and then adds Dr. Scott Goodwin's remark, pg. 203, "If you embolize and block the blood supply to the nerves going into the uterus, those nerves may very well be damaged. And if you were feeling something in your uterus that was pleasurable, you may no longer feel that after embolization."

And Monique is pretty straightforward about hysterectomy and sex. On page 204 she quotes Herbert A. Goldfarb as saying that 40% of women indicate a reduced sexual response after a hysterectomy and then goes on to briefly explain why. But what made me buy the book?

One short sentence found on pg. 201, "There's also a theory that the vagus nerve, a nerve that shoots from the cervix to the brain stem, is a pathway for orgasmic sensations." Readers, that is not common knowledge. Ms. Brown has done her homework.
Let her share what she has learned with you!

This important book reveals another dimension to Tolkien that remains obscured by his monumental storytelling. Tolkien was gifted with a many-sided creativity, as most artists are, and his visual creativity casts as vivid a vision of re-enchantment as his written work.

This book is much better than I thought it would be. Mostly I was curious to see more of Tolkien's art, but the text that goes along with it is wonderful. Christopher Tolkien asked the authors to write this book to showcase his father's art, and they do a wonderful job of describing the pictures, pointing out details that I missed, and putting them in context of when and where and why Tolkien drew them. Several versions of the same pictures are shown so you can see how Tolkien worked through a problem until he found the best final product. Plus the inspirations for some of the pictures are also shown, to show that Tolkien copied others sometimes, but in the end put his own mark on it. By copied, I don't mean plagarized. He drew his eagle from a book of birds to make sure he got it right, or was inspired by other artists particular works. Highly recommended if you are a Tolkien fan. If you are just into art and not a Tolkien fan, then I don't think this will interest you.

This book is a great way to collect some of Tolkien's best works of art and to get a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Highly recommended.

Lleno de ilustraciones color, y algunas en blanco y negro. Me gusta porque es lo que Tolkien imaginó para sus obras... eso es lo que lo hace más hermoso. Además demuestra que Tolkien era un alma muy sensible, amante de la naturaleza, y esto se refleja no solo en sus libros sino también en sus dibujos. Me gustaría que estos dibujos estén incluidos en sus obras, no solo los dibujos de otros artistas. Hermoso, hermoso, para todos los admiradores de Tolkien.

This book features many of Tolkien's ink, watercolor, pencil, and colored pencil works. The detailed descriptions of each drawing include history, explanations, and dates. Quite a few maps are included, as well as illustrations for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is wonderful to see how Tolkien imagined Middle Earth and its inhabitants. The colors he used are very earthy and lovely.

My favorite drawing in this book is "End of the World" done in pencil and colored pencil on a sheet of notebook paper - you can actually see the lines of the paper. It is so simple; yet, the story it tells includes subtle intricacies and complexities similar to those in his writings. I also love the pencil and colored pencil drawing, "The Tree of Amalion," which obviously blooms with the flowers of Tolkien's imagination since they do not resemble traditional flowers. Finally, the hand drawn Christmas cards are beautiful mini-stories with dancing bears and penguins, and Father Christmas making deliveries.

This book is truly exquisite, full of details and surprises for those of us who didn't know Tolkien was an extremely talented artist. It is a worthwhile purchase in my opinion.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles

The "Rowan Gant Investigation" series by M.R. Sellars is an excellent mystery/suspense/crime series. Mr. Sellars's writing style is a bit different than most other authors' but it makes for compelling, page-turning drama. Every time I pick up one of his books, it's nearly impossible for me to put it down. This particular installation brings into focus the idea that whatever you send out will come back to you three times over. And, oh boy, does something come back for one of the characters!
Pick up the series if you want a great summer read!

What a roller coaster of a book - I literally could not put it down until the very last page. Good plot, great characters and the witches are the GOOD guys for once. A must read, but only with the lights on!

This is a great series of mystery books that deal with Witchcraft in a very respectable way. The main characters are witches who help the law decipher occult symbols found at a St.Louis murder site. It's a fairly realistic portrayal of wiccans. Christians won't approve, but the book gets heavily into the craft and it's tenants.

Check this one out, it was a rollercoaster ride.

MR Sellars is a deliciously addictive author. The Law of Three is his best work yet (although I'm sure I'll ammend that once I finish Crones Moon- the first two chapters are certainly promising!) Anyone looking for a spine tingling whirl wind of a read is sure to find MR Sellars works to be superb. The only negative thing I can say is that they just don't come out fast enough- but like all good things- they're WELL worth the wait!

I have just finished this book and really loved it! Once again, M.R. Sellars has scared me silly. I think the thing that makes the Rowan Gant series so good a read is that unlike some books that have fantastical bad guys, trolls, and wizards (oh my) he gives us rather ordinary folks and completely plausiable bad guys. There really are crazy fanatics in the world, we all know it. Sellars just shows us what they are capable of doing. Read it with the lights on!

Being from the same part of Texas as Joe Lansdale and about his same age, I probably get a boost of enjoyment from his books that not everyone might feel. I think I've read most everything he has written, and 90% of it I found very satisfying. I think that next to "The Bottoms" this is the most enjoyment I've had from any of his books. I read the whole thing on a Sunday afternoon. Simply couldn't put it down...it was that kind of book. It's obviously a fast read. As some other reviewers have mentioned, not every character is fully developed, but these are not necessary for the story. The characters who count are definitely interesting. I am hoping that Joe will bring Cason and Booger back together for some future books, maybe like he did with Hap and Leonard some years back. If you've never read a Joe Lansdale book, this is a great place to start. If you've read and liked his other workds, odds are you are going to love this one. Gratuitous sex, violence, murder, mystery, blackmail, and revenge all in those deep dark pines of East Texas.

Ignore the title, Leather Maiden, because it's not what you think. There are no sexy ladies dressed in black leather, playing the femme fatale role in Joe R. Lansdale's newest novel. While maybe not in the same league as The Bottoms, A Fine Dark Line, and Sunset and Sawdust, this is still a well-written suspense novel with plenty of Joe's dark humor, great characters, hardcore action at the end, and a strong sense of nostalgia that seems to occupy many of the author's later books.

What Leather Maiden does deal with is Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and Iraq war veteran, Cason Statler, who got fired from his newspaper job in Houston for having an affair with the boss's wife and step-daughter, and then decides to move back home to Camp Rapture, which is located in East Texas, to be closer to his parents and hopefully to fix things up with his old girlfriend. Unfortunately for Cason, his old girlfriend doesn't want to fix things with him and threatens to issue a restraining order against him if he doesn't leave her alone and his new job at the local newspaper sets in a motion a string of events that will place him on the trail of a team of serial killers, led by one of the most evil people that the author has ever created, and to a final confrontation with the lives of two women that Cason has grown to care about hanging in the balance. And, as good a fighter as Cason is, he won't be able to do it alone. He's going to need the help of Booger, a sociopath and natural-born killer who saved his life more than once when they served together in Iraq. This is going to be Booger's opportunity to pit his skills and training against someone who's just as good as he is, if not more vicious and cunning.

What Joe R. Lansdale has written is a novel filled with pure Texas noir, plenty of mayhem, characters you love and hate, a vivid sense of humor that eases the tension at various places in the story, unspeakable torture (Leather Maiden refers to the victim being skinned alive), and a finale that makes you feel there is indeed justice in the universe. Though many of the story's characters may not be as well developed as others, the author still manages to bring each one to life with a few choice descriptions, especially Cason's parents and the little girl that lives next door to them, playing Tarzan in his old tree house, Booger, who even scares Cason at times, Belinda and her braces, the Geek, who made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and the beautiful Caroline, who's disappearance is the catalyst that begins Cason's journey into the hellish abyss.

Leather Maiden is Joe working his mojo as only a great writer can. It's fun and entertaining, while offering a brief glimpse into one's own memories of the past. All of Joe's novels during the last several years have touched something deep within me that causes me to yearn for that special place a person calls home. This is certainly pure Lansdale at his best and is a novel not to be missed by his fans or for newcomers just approaching his work for the first time. Highly recommended!

If you want a book that will keep you up late at night because you can't stop reading then this is the book for you. Joe R. Lansdale can write suspense as well as anyone but he does it with better characters than most. His feel for characterization and dialogue is outstanding. I can't add anything that the other reviews here haven't already said. This is a great read and I don't think you will regret buying it.

I'd give this book 3.5 stars, but rounded up for this review. I am a big fan Joe R. Lansdale and will read almost everything that he writes. That may be my problem with this book.

The first 1/2 or so of this book feels like other stories I've read by Lansdale. Even with the feeling of "been here, read that" that I was still entertained by Lansdale's characters and his dialoge.

In the final 100 or so pages Lansdale takes the story to a different level in terms of the gore. It reminded me of his early novels like Act of Love and The Nightrunners, but with a more refinded writing style. There is both on page violence as well as violence that happens off the page that we are shown the after affects of, as well as descriptions of torture.

So all in all I would say that I was entertained by this new Lansdale novel very much, but I wouldn't rank it among my favorites of his work.

Joe Lansdale is a prolific and talented author - the teller of tales that take on a homespun, country charm - until this cagey author throws you out of Mayberry with an edge and shock quotient that is as far from lemonade on a porch swing as Ken Bruen is from singing lullabies. "Leather Maiden" is no exception - indeed, I'd rank this as Lansdale at the top of his game - a pleasantly twisted mystery that easily rips its way into the year's top five.

Leading the cast of well-rendered and convincing characters is Cason Statler, an Iraq War vet who is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee for work he'd done in Houston - before getting fired for "having relations" with not only his editor's wife, but also their adult daughter. Clearly not the kind of stuff to which chapters of career building manuals are dedicated. So Cason returns to his backwater east-Texas home of the allegorically named "Camp Rapture", scoring a column on the local paper. It is here where he encounters the formidable Mrs. Timpson, owner of the paper, exactly the kind of cantankerous, raw, and lovable country folk that lend so much color to Lansdale's work - an absolute gem of a false-toothed demon boss who adds depth and humor and dimension and contributes greatly to that "X" factor that separates guys (and gals) like Lansdale and Megan Abbott and Bruen and Swierzynski from the pack. When Cason stumbles across the months-old story of the disappearance and suspected murder of an impossibly beautiful co-ed, his column stirs up some mostly unwanted attention in the seemingly sleepy town. But with mom and dad still entrenched in his childhood home, and a successful big brother teaching at the local university, "Leather Maiden" starts feeling a bit like an updated "Hardy Boys" mystery - complete with old clock towers and spooky abandoned houses. But the crafty Lansdale tears the bandages away without warning, voiding any semblance of down-home normalcy and veering sharply and unexpectedly to a tale of sordid sex and unthinkable depravity. "Booger", Cason's near-psycho buddy from "Sand City", another example of the author's mastery of character development, adds enough instability and pent up terror to keep both Cason and the reader off balance, while Lansdale drops his own red herrings along the way to finish it off.

So this is not the perfect novel - a carefully drawn and expertly plotted start seems to wrap up a bit too quickly - with maybe just a slight overdose of incredulity in the conclusion. But I quibble - perhaps I was just sorry to see it end. "Leather Maiden" is benchmark modern crime fiction - a story of brutality and violence as gritty as Charlie Huston, but sung to a southern prose that rivals the power and beauty of James Sallis. If you're a lover of well-written fiction, great mystery, and are not too easily offended, well, what are you waiting for?

I took "Lt Colonel de Maumort" on a cruise in 2006. I started reading the book on the flight out and was virtually in awe of what I was reading. The discription of his youth and his relationship with his father was very impressive. When it came time to start the cruise, I put on my seasick patch that kept me from getting seasick but also dulled my mind enough that this book suddenly became "over my head". After I had switched to a less intensive series of books, I returned to Lt.Col de Maumort and read it one chapter at a time. I liked it better that way for some reason. Maybe it was because it is so intense a style and depth of writing that I preferred savoring it. When I came to the end of the book, I planned on reading the 130 or so pages of letters and files that comprised, I believe, the further notes on the outline of this posthumously editted and published work. I still haven't gotten to that part but I'm sure I shall some day. This is the fourth book by Roger Martin du Gard that I have read and all, with the exception of the short novel "The Postman", seemed to be very deep. I am always on the look out for more of his work translated into English. I have read a book entitled "The Thibaults" but I get the impression that it was just one vollume of a larger worker under the same name. I would appreciate any information that might clarify that for me. In the meantime I would rate "Maumort" as the best of his works that I have read. The book bogs down a bit about halfway through with a prolonged incident that didn't, in my opinion, add much to the book.

As I understand it, du Gard left a partially completed novel that was completed largely on the notes he left behind. I an many others are grateful for the effort. Often it is an author's lessor works that appear after their death (probably because the author might not have thought that particular book was worthy of publication). However, in the case of Roger Martin du Gard, it is just the opposite.

Some people like short books, others like them long - I like them great. I read this book in every spare moment I had for two weeks. I've finished it, and now I am bereft. Reading it, I felt so known, so human, so accompanied. I want the honesty and clarity of this book in my life.

I stopped reading Colonel Maumort at the halfway point. So good, I'm saving it for vacation. Same feeling I had when I read Tolstoy.

I was hooked early in this amazingly ambitious novel by a lovely metaphor where the narrator Maumort compares the way our early memories follow one another to the fish that came each morning out of the lake on lines that he and his sister had set the evening before. Yet memory is only part of the story, as Maumort, a career army officer, is also in thrall to matters abstract, in love with ideas, theories, analysis--all that intellectualising that we Americans love to have the French do for us. However all that cerebration also serves du Gard in developing his characterisation of the Lt Colonel himself, a man determined to understand himself and his society. That such an ambitious story reads so fluidly and fluently is a testimony to both du Gard's and his two translators' splendid prose. Midway in the novel is is a cinematically rendered and unsparing account of a tragic seduction that utterly establishes du Gard's gifts as a novelist, and which by itself might justify the entire novel, were there not so much more here: the marvellously canny portraits of character after character who Maumort encountered in his life, the unflinching account of human sexuality (especially early male sexual experience), the lavishly detailed picture of French society, and as already mentioned, no shortage of food for thought. All this capped by a poignant and powerful moment of dark paralysis towards the close, as the aged Colonel, having just reclaimed his beloved rural estate from its Nazi occupiers, takes one last look back at a relentlessly examined life.

Timothy Crouse has always had an eye for the telling story that's right under everyone's nose, but which most everyone else misses. His book "The Boys on the Bus" was the first not only to notice the enormous power of the press in a presidential campaign but also candidly to describe its operations.

His journalism over the years has been marked by a stubborn willingness to describe contradictions and unfairness, bringing a clear Orwellian eye to an examination of the social and political conventions by which we live and would just as soon forget. Yet he has always been among the most entertaining and fluent of writers, successfully tackling many genres.

His update of the libretto to Cole Porter's musical "Anything Goes" matched that 1920s show with the madcap spirit of the `80s, and ran for years in New York.

When, lately, the word trickled out that for his latest project Crouse was engaged in translating a massive, 60 year old French novel, by an obscure (to Americans) Nobel Prize winner that dealt in detail with French life in the 19th century, readers wondered what was with this chronicler of our own times and spirit.

Trust Crouse, however, to find the contemporary in what everyone else thought of as antique. The book, "Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort" (Knopf), written by Roger Martin Du Gard, is now out in a fluent, companionable translation done jointly by Crouse, and his collaborator, Luc Brebion Ph.D.

Brebion himself is a distinguished, Berkeley-based, writer, translator and lecturer on aesthetics

As an example of the translators' art, Brebion and Crouse have produced a model. The text flows easily and persuasively; the notes are few and unobtrusive; the narrative voice is candid and companionable. In age when most writers are writing books designed to be read in 10 minute spurts, Brebion and Crouse offer a text that inveigles the reader into a richer, more rewarding reading experience. The ten minutes you have before bed for reading, quickly becomes with "Maumort" thirty, thirty minutes become forty-five.

Ostensibly the memoir, written as the Nazis invade France in 1940, by a retired French officer of his life in the previous 80 years, "Maumort" is a surprisingly frank and insightful account of social, family, political, intellectual, and sexual manners.

It may indeed have been too frank - the author, Martin du Gard, who died in 1958 before he could finish the work, had, at any rate, ordered its publication to be posthumous.

One of the most modern portraits is of a single woman, who adopts a child, only to be disappointed when the adopted child fails to prove to be brilliant. The consequences are horrible as the mother withdraws from the adopted daughter. As Martin duGard writes, "In fact, she was not satisfied with loving the girl, she wanted to be proud of her as well, wanted her affection to be, as it were, justified by the child's exceptional qualities." This novella, "The Story of Henriette," sounds an eerie current note as one listens to contemporary parents measure their children's worth primarily in terms of schools, and tests.

Written with enormous sympathy for the plight of each of its characters, "Maumort" nonetheless posits that much human behavior is situational, not innate. As Americans, these days, feel more and more that they are born into tribes, some may find this view controversial, others, objecting to the reduction of personality to traits, may find it welcome. It is an insanely contemporary discussion.

Martin du Gard's detailed portraits of marriages will leave readers' jaws agape as they see themselves in the lives of these early 20th century Parisian couples.

And as baby-boomers find themselves in small families, wondering about old age, Martin du Gard's assessment of the failures and strong points of large families, and on the emotional life of the aging, is vivid and apposite.

"Maumort" is one of the first novels in which there is a serious, modern treatment of gay themes. A subsection of the novel, entitled "The Drowning", an account of a tragic obsession between a schoolteacher-soldier and a baker's apprentice, rivals Melville's "Billy Budd" as a depiction of the high cost that is paid when societal strictures cross passion, drowning not only happiness, but also courage.

Not the least of the book's valuables, is the vocabulary Martin du Gard - and here the translation work of Brebion and Crouse is at its most pellucid - gives to the evanescent moments when a relationship shifts and suddenly redefines itself.

Although Martin du Gard was unable to finish his portraits of French military leaders, his panorama of Parisian intellectual life is rich. Again, while these portraits are rooted in a long gone age, they are of more than antiquarian interest: Here is the academic who, beguiled by the media scene, never writes anything important. Here is the blustering ideologue who has nothing to say, but says it about everything. There, the trust-fund baby, rendered impotent by an addiction to comfort, who nonetheless considers himself part of the great world of affairs.

His sketches of French military and political leaders also resonate deeply. As I read them, I found myself thinking, "that's as apt a description of Bill Clinton [or George W. Bush, or Al Gore, or Bill Bennett, say] as I've ever read.

So Brebion and Crouse have pulled from history, a novel valuable not only for its description of olden days, but primarily for its uncanny, and needed, articulation of the people, mores, and manners of our own day.

Part and parcel of the book is a section containing Martin du Gard's notes and files. These "Black Box files" offer a fascinating insight into an author struggling with, and conquering, problems of narrative. A boon for writers.

This is one of my top 5 favorite books by a contemporary author. I'm tempted to call it my favorite, full stop. Reading this book is tantamount to doing yourself a favor. Enjoy.

Living Prayer is a very fitting title for this book. I enjoyed reading it very much; usually at bedtime before going to sleep. These are well told stories of a life lived with prayer at the center. Each chapter leads you around for a little while you may wonder what this story has to do with prayer. Then you suddenly see the connection. A very satisfying experience, touched with humor, humbleness, grace, hope and wonder.

This is Benson's finest offering. The writing is great; the thematic arrangement is outstanding. I read this book as I was beginning to discover the contemplative lifestyle, and this book helped me to understand the rhythms of prayer and of the church year. This is not a how-to manual: the chapters are descriptive of Benson's experience and of what he has learned in the art of prayer. Therein lies the power of the book: Because Benson does not tell us what to do, he has left us the freedom to join in the "Dance" in whatever way we can. He runs the gamut in prayer experience. From simple prayer, to journaling, to praying the hours, to keeping a journal, there is something in here for everyone who is on a spiritual journey to/with the Christian God, regardless of what stage they are at. This book and Benson's first, _Between the Dreaming and the Coming True_, are the ONLY books on the spiritual life that I recommend to people. They are that good! You cannot go wrong with this book.

This little book is beautifully written, making you feel that you are with Benson, either in conversation or actually in his head. As he brings you through aspects of his spiritual search, you are also given seven or more ways to spiritually connect with God. I rarely keep books once I have read them, but this one will always remain on my shelf if not in my hand.

This is Benson's finest offering. The writing is great; the thematic arrangement is outstanding. I read this book as I was beginning to discover the contemplative lifestyle, and this book helped me to understand the rhythms of prayer and of the church year. This is not a how-to manual: the chapters are descriptive of Benson's experience and of what he has learned in the art of prayer. Therein lies the power of the book: Because Benson does not tell us what to do, he has left us the freedom to join in the "Dance" in whatever way we can. He runs the gamut in prayer experience. From simple prayer, to journaling, to praying the hours, to keeping a journal, there is something in here for everyone who is on a spiritual journey to/with the Christian God, regardless of what stage they are at. This book and Benson's first, _Between the Dreaming and the Coming True_, are the ONLY books on the spiritual life that I recommend to people. They are that good! You cannot go wrong with this book.

I am a disabled person who was overjoyed to read David Ford's wonderful exposè. My progressive condition should be causing unbearable pain and spasms at this point...and DOES without this great medicine. Someday the truth will triumph because of people such as Mr. Ford and books as bold as his. Someday this book will be a collector's item, like the Soviet flag, because of works like this. I have heard Mr. Ford on talk radio, as well. With his survivor's courage and enlightened convictions-having won his battle with cancer with a big help from marijuana-David Ford provides a wealth of knowledge and insight into the absolutely ridiculous and ineffective War On Drugs. This WOD, this total misuse of our money, is being promoted by alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical companies. Dirty politics? You bet! Marijuana is a superior product plain and simple, and more doctors would publicly agree if they could do so without negative consequences. After reading "Marijuana: Not Guilty As Charged," I would not be surprised if the future reveals some sort of conspiracy involving advocates for the gun industry and the DEA's War On Drugs...perhaps gun lobbyists pressing officials to pass WOD budgets to fuel more crime to increase the demand for firearms. In any event, the War On Drugs has achieved this: in every American city, illegal drugs are more readily available today than ever before. And not many consider the by-products of the WOD's destruction, the constant displacement of farmers in developing countries among them. CLEARLY, the War On Drugs has become an out-of-control habit supported by taxpayers coerced by ill-conceived laws. Mr. Ford's book has an easy style and light approach, but makes one think deeply...and hope for a sequel.

I have had the honor and pleasure to read "Marijuana not guilty as charged" and brought several copies of it for friends and family. As Glenn, one of the readers, so correctly stated, it should be in every household to not only inform but educate people. It once again proves that we are a spoonfed society and that it takes individuals such as this author, David R. Ford, to break through that barrier and do the work for us. I applaud you Mr. Ford on having the courage to write a book on a very controveral subject and bring the facts to a very misguided society. I am looking for (hopefully) more publishings of yours. Gratefully, Elisabeth M. Drews

I've been working with Cannabis Action Network for about 3 years now. I've recently walked away from doing any political work due to an armed robbery I fell victim to due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You would think that would have ended any relations I had with Marijuana at that point.

It's an interesting story but I wanted to say how after reading MARIJUANA: NOT GUILTY AS CHARGED and actually feeling a taste of the REAL drug war that does exist in America, this book helped me to not feel alone and to make sense of what is happening all around us that we take for granted or wish to not see and give our power over to those in Authority in whom we "feel" should be giving us the truth on drugs. When in most cases the story is far from the "truth" in America.

This book gave me encouragement to not be a VICTIM of the Crime of not knowing the facts on Marijuana and gave me a conviction in my heart to let the world know they're is healing, growth, and most importantly Hemp that can bring an impoverished land back to a land of healthy, strong, individually stable people.

After the robbery and learning so much about the legalization of marijuana from short excerpt of one page papers and people I came across, I then found this book. I had many books to choose from. this book seemed to have the right information and well spoken best of all it was all in one great book. I've managed to help many people while working as the Office Administrator for CAN after reading this book. Thank you David Ford for taking the time to reach all of the people you interviewed!

After talking to people across the US over the phone on counseling them for marijuana use while working at CAN I saw the overwhelming need of Americans who felt hopeless and alone due to pressures of family, church and friends.

I grew up living on the East Coast and this book helped convince me how wrong I've been in my thinking but that it's due to my upbringing and the way we are all taught in school and life.
This may be something we have all heard before but the way David Ford lays out the facts and in a well understood way brings one to a new state of enlightenment.

After reading "Marijuana Not Guilty As Charged" I have decided to become active in this marijuana movement. This book made me realize that marijuana is a medicine. I wonder how long our federal government is going to be wrong(about medical marijuana) to try to prove that they are right. This book addresses their own DEA administrative judge Francis Young and his support of marijuana. David R. Ford also talks about the "steppingstone theory" and addresses the fact that marijuana was once legal in this country and what happened among many other issues. This book has changed a part of my life. I now know that I cannot sit back and let everyone else do the work in the marijuana movement I have to join the fight. Like David R. Ford, I too can do courageous things to help. This book is a must read. In the book David Ford dedicates a chapter to NORML(National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws) and ten things that you can do to relegalize marijuana.
David R. Ford is so sure of the benefits of marijuana he offers a $50,000 reward to anyone who can scientifically prove marijuana is not medicine. I think this book is a must for the "non-users" of marijuana as well as the users to gain some insight into this misinformed subject. Read this book it's possible that it could help you make the quality of life better for someone you might know or for yourself.

As a Caribbean person, who has lived most of my life in Guyana and Jamaica, I wish to highly recommend Dave Ford's timely book on the issue of marijuana use and persecution. Though Ford focuses on the problem in the USA he refers to other countries, and especially studies done outside of the USA which serve to support his thesis that marijuana is not guilty as charged. Ask the Rastafarians of Jamaica. He uses an impressive collection of facts to disclaim the various medical problems that are blamed on marijuana use. He shows how marijuana regulation got caught up in the attempt to deal with abuse of drugs such as cocaine and heroin and how the government bureaucracy for reasons which reasonable people can speculate on, refuses to correct. The noted Caribbean jurist, Aubrey Fraser, documented this same issue.

The hysteria surrounding the war on drugs creates a climate in which it is difficult for reasonable and workable approaches to drug use reduction and user rehabilitation to be implemented even though we have examples around the world of what works and what doesn't. A neglected aspect of the war on marijuana which Ford also discusses is how the war has drastically reduced the cultivation and use of hemp, one of the most useful plants known to man.

I would highly recommend Ford's book to anyone who is interested in the truth about marijuana and wants to be empowered to make an intelligent choice about what this relatively harmless intoxicant really is all about. It would be remiss if I did not also note that one of the things that is lost because of the irrational approach to marijuana use is the medical benefits of this plant. This has been the subject of study by scientists around the world, including specialists in Jamaica, the UK, and the USA and is one of the points Ford makes in his book.

Author Norman R. Howes tackles project management in all its intricate bureaucratic glory, and brings the process up-to-date in what is essentially a book of instructions. Helpful in designing and tracking projects, this clear, crisp manual comes with Modern Project software, the program used to carry out the project management steps delineated in the book. The book, like any owner's manual, is very list-oriented. Howes does not teach you how to manage a project, either practically or theoretically, as much as he outlines the managerial process. His step-by-step guide focuses on detailed information telling readers how to take advantage of the software as they manage projects. While we from getAbstract recommend this guide specifically to project managers - who should keep it on hand, particularly if they use the related software package or want to learn more about it - the book is also designed to be used in corporate training programs and college classes.

Great book. Clear, well thought-out, and useful. I am using the method and tools to manage a series special event projects with 19 staff and 6 other vendors. Everyone has read the book so we all have a common understanding, and everyone is using the tool to generate reports - very cool.

Doesn't cover every aspect of PM but every aspect it covers is done very well. An easy read that can change how you do things. The enclosed software reinforces your knowledge.

I concur with other reviewers that this book is
extremely valuable, insightful, and comprehensive. It
provides clarification of several Project Management
concepts that are typically glossed over and sometimes
completely ignored in other texts. Perhaps the most
important contribution the author makes is in his
explanation of the subtleties of Earned Value - the
primary measurement for a project's performance. Many
Project Managers that I have worked with do not
understand how to measure Earned Value and end up with
incorrect measurements, or simply fail to use this
critical indicator altogether. I recommend this book to
all project managers who want clarification on this and
other topics that will help them improve their own
performance as managers.

This book focuses on modern project management concepts and techniques, but covers the standard stuff like what you will find in the PMI PMBOK. The project management system that comes on the CD with the book contains tools you won't find even in expensive PM systems. There are at least a couple dozen tools on the CD and an example project you can use to try the tools out on.