T Books

Fun to read the anecdotes and stories from the inn that are interspersed throughout the book. I am a gourmet cook but I connot emphasize enough how much I hate to bake. Due to my disasterous history with baking I don't even make birthday cakes and I don't make Christmas cookies. HOWEVER, there are two things for which I will make an exception; they are both in this book. The Rabbit Hill Inn Oatmeal-Molasses Bread makes the best cinnamon toast you will ever, ever eat. (Just try not to eat the whole loaf at one sitting.) And the Raisin-Pumpernickel Bread with a Secret is just divine. The flavors are strong enough that the bread is distinctive and wonderful but not overpowering. I promise you, you will NOT be disappointed.

A neighbor and I trade cookbooks. She lent me The Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook. I loved this book so I went out and bought my own copy! While reading my new book, I immediately found a number of recipes that I wanted to try. I first baked "Raisin Pumpernickel Bread with a Secret". It was absolutely delicious and the extra loaves were shared with neighbors and friends. One thing that I especially liked about this book is that as I was reading it, I felt such warmth, love and kindness emanating from it. This book has such personal touches, from the asides about life and experiences as an innkeeper to the interesting introductions with each of the recipes, that I felt as though the author was talking to me as another friend who obviously loved food and cooking as much as I did. Even after I put the book down, the warmth stayed with me for a long time. I recommend this book to everyone who has a passion for cooking, especially with a friend.

This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever used. Every soup I have made has been either very good, excellent or superb. It is engagingly written and easy to use. Highly recommended.

This book features recipes from the Dairy Hollow Inn. Well-known food writer and innkeeper Crescent Dragonwagon puts in the soup and bread recipes that won her inn the "Uncle Ben's" award, a prize for excellence in small inn cuisine. She shares her spotlight with other inns from around the US.

Right now, as I am writing this review, I am sipping her New England Corn Chowder, which is a corn-squash chowder that can be made with vegetarian ingredients or chicken broth. I tried both versions; right now the base is a golden vegetable broth from a tetra pak but you can use her recipe for vegetable stock. The soup is sweet and spicy and I served it to guests and nothing was left; had to make a second batch. The soup recipes here are all winners. There is a vegetable soup base that can become minestrone or what-have-you, and many other fine recipes featuring vegetables. There is also a section on southern greens.

The breads are everything from a raisin pumpernickel with a secret (chocolate chips) to oatmeal molasses and baps, Scottish soft white rolls.

If you can't find a soup in here you like, you are hard to please--or you don't like soup. Ms. Dragonwagon's commentaries on the inn are fun reading so this is a book you can peruse even if you aren't stirring up something in your kitchen. I use this book almost everytime I entertain for casual affairs; soup and bread are always welcome and easy to serve and enjoy.

We've only owned this cookbook for a short time, but already it is one of our favorites. The author includes background on each recipe in an informal style that makes the reader feel like a good friend being given an enthusiastic recipe tip. In addition, the book includes a large amount of useful information from how to deal with an artichoke, to various soup garnishes and how to work with yeast. It's the recipes that shine, however.
We started with the Wintery Chicken and Pasta Soup--delicious. Then I made the Rabbit Hill Inn Oatmeal-Molasses bread--an outstanding bread my husband wants me to make again. The big winner was A Salad for Fall which we just couldn't get enough of. The combination of flavors is as close to perfect as you can get. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves good food and is willing to spend a little time in preparation.
As I write this, one of the bean soups is simmering on the stove. Bon Appetit!

This is wonderful resource to deal with bullying. I use it both in my classroom and with my own children.

This is a powerful book. I'm an elementary school music teacher and we're using this song as our school song this year in an effort to raise our students' awareness that ALL people are special. EVERY child in the world should hear this read or sung over and over until the whole world gets it!

I say individuality and not bullying, or self-esteem, because kids that face adversity become interesting, dynamic adults. This book is conceptually excellent, beautifully written and illustrated. My only negative (because I am an illustrator) is that Glin Dibley's style is a blatant 'borrowing' of Joe Sorren. Look it up. But to Glin's credit, he does do a wonderful job, and the style fits the subject perfectly.

I was introduced to this book (and song) by a music teacher at a school where I was substituting. It is an appeal for children (good for adults, too) to not make fun of those who are different from them. I was so impressed with it that I went home and ordered it immediately. It is a wonderful tool to bring up discussions about how it makes you feel when someone makes fun of you. The book comes with a CD which has the song with vocals and instrumentals only. This is perfect for teaching the song, and then for performing if that is desired. I think the content of the book is fabulous!! The pictures are excellent, too.

This is a great book that you can use to discuss the power of differences with kids. It seems to ellicit good responses, even when used with my fourth graders!

Highly recommend.

I felt better knowing that my fears with my illness are not mine alone.

I recently read this book, and I can't honestly say that I liked it. I too have been diagnosed with MS. I'm happy that Mr. Lander can find humor in his condition, however I find nothing he had to say not in the least bit funny.

MS is a terrible diease that affects the Central Nervous System and there's nothing funny about that. Even the title of the book is seriously upsetting(How Squiggy caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody). You can't catch MS, and to put that in print is misleading.

I take my MS, the treatment for it, and all the symptoms very seriously. I have no desire to joke about them.

Some of the information in his book were very informative and very much worth reading, however I believe his approach is less than ideal.

When my father finally told me he had MS (like David Lander, he kept it a secret), he suggested I read this book. The insight it gave me was priceless. Everyone will find their own path, but I can tell you that by sharing his experiences, Mr. Lander has helped me to be the best son (and friend) that I can be.

I just loved this book. It is a very quick read and very upbeat. For someone with MS or caring for someone with MS it is a story you can relate to. My husband was recently diagnosed with MS and has been very reluctant to read anything about the disease. I am going to have him read this book because while I whink it might confirm some of his fears, at the same time it does so in a positive manner.

The book is a quick read. Sometimes you feel very alone with MS. This book will help you feel better. And, it explains some of the MS symptoms that you are experiencing better than a medical text. It will put some words on your feelings.

...and really take my faith seriously. This story is about struggle....and struggle.....and struggle.....and more struggle. It is the story of the life that Christian leads when he follows Christ. A great narrative.

Having stumbled across this book during travels in the Caucuses I found I had come across a book which describes one of the most remarkable men of Soviet Russia.

The book was initially published in the west and smuggled into the Soviet Union due to the state repression of religion and its belief that the late father and his followers were members of a fanatical religious group (a term used often during the Soviet era to describe anyone remotely religious) It was also privately published and distributed amongst his followers and like minded individuals.

The late father was a scholar in art who had been ordained a priest. He was imprisoned during Stalin's most ruthless suppression of religion and transported to a gulag in Siberia where he was to spend 20 years of his life.

The book begins describing the late fathers life at the Gulag. Here it seems there were two main groups, criminals who were sent there for crimes ranging from petty crime to the most dangerous crimes of murder and robbery. Some of the men the father met where without doubt by our standards psychotic, they had raped, murdered and killed many without conscience. The second group were intellectuals, men who had fallen out of favour with the Stalinist regime, usually men who had rubbed party officials the wrong way or who had been condemned with trumped up charges put together by political rivals. These included, doctors, scholars, politicians, artists. There were a smaller group of men who had fought along side Germany in the second world war but they were featured later on in the book.

The first half of the book narrates stories recounted by former inmates at the Gulag who later on became the fathers spiritual childern examples of his generosity, his compassion to others and even of miracles that were performed. The stories give life to the every day life in the gulag, the punishments, the daily toil, how death was an every day event. There are stories such as when the father stood up for a young intellectual who had fallen foul of the criminals and they both ended up serving 3 days in a punishment cell, a punishment in the freezing conditions of Siberia that usually meant certain death. The father prayed and instructed the young man to do likewise and both were saved by the grace of God. The young man was later to become a follower of the father.

The second part of the book narrates the life of the father on his release from the gulag where he lived in a small town and his students who would visit him, some reaching important positions in the Soviet government others becoming men of the cloth themselves. Each story narrates the lives and struggles of the individual and how through prayer and belief in God they were able to overcome the trials they faced.

I found the book a fascinating one (In fact I read it in just over a day) and was personally moved by several of the stories (The husband devoted to his wife, the young man who became a priest in a small town after being a war hero in WW2, how the father reformed a known criminal and prayed for the dying monk) I would recommend reading this book to not only those interested in religion but also who would like to know something of the life of those who lived in the Soviet Union.

I have mixed feelings about this book. At several different points the stories about Father Arseny brought me to tears. It is clear that God used him to bring humanity, goodness, and hope into the life of the Soviet Gulags. He was a beacon of light that the powers of darkness could not extinguish, by God's grace. Father Arseny changed the people who encountered him, and after reading his story I hope and pray to be more like him.

On the other hand, Christ and the truths of the Christian faith are missing from these stories. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he said: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor 2:2). Christ was the sum total of Paul's message. If you take Christ out of Paul's writings, or out of the N.T. there is absolutely nothing left. It is all about Jesus, about his life, his death, his resurection, and the salvation that was wrought on the cross for our sakes. Christ is the all and all of Christian faith and life. Consequently, if you go to the simplest Pentecostal or Baptist church, and attend a time of testimony, or listen to a sermon there, you will probably hear about Christ, the cross, salvation, and living for God.

But in reading these recollections of Father Arseny we find very little mention of Christ at all, let alone the great truths of Christianity. At best we get a sense that Father Arseny was a deeply moral person, who loved those around him, and worshiped (venerated?) Mary, the Mother of God. But Christ himself is absent. The Cross is absent. The gospel, in effect, is absent. Someone unfamiliar with Christianity will not learn few, if any, theological Christian truths from this book. Even at those moments in the book where the gospel would have been most crucial... when someone on their death bed is struggling with their sin and struggling to believe in God... Father Arseny never responds by explaining the gospel or even mentioning Christ. At least no one recollects him as having done so. Compare this approach, for instance, with similar instances in Lutheran bishop Bo Giertz' classic "The Hammer of God."

In sum, there is very little that is specifically Christian about this work, in the sense that it does not proclaim or explain the gospel, or any truths of the Christian faith. There are important moral lessons to be learned, of course, but that is not enough. No doubt, many people will be upset at that claim, but I do not see how it can be refuted. Similar biographies of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and St. John of Kronstadt are unmistakably Christian through and through. But with Father Arseny's book, I could not help but think something important was missing.

A life so filled with the Love of the Lord Jesus Christ spreads the Glory of God wherever that life is told. The living word of God written in the heart of Father Arseny shows us Christ within this humble Orthodox priest. I cannot read more than three pages or so without weeping, both in joy and in profound sorrow that I fall far short of such a Christian. This is not only a book, but a treasure of how to live the Orthodox Christian Faith which has so much to tell us about the Gospel of Christ and how to cooperate with His Holy Spirit in our hearts and consciences. Note: a friend visited a Russian home, and the grandma warned him of thieves in the neighborhood. She made the sign of the Cross over him with prayer. That evening he was indeed accosted by someone who stood, ready to attack, and then ran away into the darkness ..he knows that the Lord protected him - again by the simple faith of Christ's people. Please do not keep this book to yourself, but pass it along to as many as have the heart to receive it. It is a powerful, life-changing testimony.

Most Christians, Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox, think of the great saints as people who lived many centuries ago. But every generation has its saints, its shining lights of God's glory, and Fr. Arseny was one of the 20th century saints. Every person has the potential to become a beacon of God's glory. Fr. Arseny showed how one can become transformed, or divinized, even in the most wretched circumstances. Must reading for all people of faith or doubt.

Excellent book. Straightforward and lucid grasp of history.

The section on Islam alone is worth the the small cost of this book many times over.

Mr. Belloc never leaves one doubting his opinion. His direct and authoritative style might anger those who disagree or thrill the faithful. Either way you will be led through the reasoning Mr. Belloc took to draw his conclusions which will drive you to think the same matters through to your own. In this work, Mr. Belloc does not provide an in-depth theological background on the heresies cited but instead gives a rough sketch of each and categorizes each as a type. Then, using this typology approach he carries each to their logical conclusions to convey their affect on the societies they infected. Mr. Belloc provides the superstructure for understanding other heresies by giving us the essential root of Arianism, Islam, Albigensianism, Protestantism, and Modernism. Through each description he also draws some interesting parallels to the various heresies. Of course, as a Roman Catholic, Mr. Belloc will step on some Protestant toes in particular since they will be the most likely to read his book outside other Catholics.

Mr. Belloc's approach is opinionated and he writes as an expert without always providing the evidence for his opinions. At the same time, there is enough evidence in the form of his logical approach to give one the opportunity to explore his opinions more themselves. Mr. Belloc was one of the great philosopher-historians of the early 20th century and his thoughts will always be valuable to the seeker or any one wishing to improve their critical thinking skills through practice. In this key work, he reminds us how ideas, and particularly, theology has consequences to society. It is not a topic to ignore or think only the realm of the theological hair-splitters. Our culture today has the marks of the theology that created it and upholds it. Mr. Belloc helps us focus on those aftershocks in theology that have shaped our culture.

Hilaire Belloc begins his book by justifying its existence. Modern education and thought largely ignore religion, particularly the parts that unfolded in what we label "The Middle Ages". But Belloc has some inconvenient facts for us. The history of civilization is the history of religion. A society rises or falls by the strength of its individuals; those individuals rise and fall by the strength of their religion. To understand the past, grasp the present, and know the future, we must know religion. The one religion that has stood at the center of human history is the Catholic Church. And to take the measure of that religion, we must look at the challenges it has faced and overcome.

Belloc's spare, straightforward prose takes us through a whirlwind tour of five heresies that the Church defeated. The Arian Heresy denied the full divinity of Jesus. It was rejected by Church leaders, but survived in the Roman Army for much longer. The Albigsenean attack came later, during the High Middle Ages. It was an attack not just on theology but on the fundamental nature of reality. The end product of denying reality was an obsession with intense experience, such as bizarre rituals involving fire-worship. Fortunately for us, both of these notions passed into the dustbin of history.

The chapter on Islam is the longest and the most illuminating. Belloc begins it by unerlining the fact that Islam was a heresy. It was not a brand new religion, but a corruption and oversimplification of the Christian doctrine that the Prophet Mohammed learned in Syria. But more importantly, Belloc focuses on the social environment where Islam first rose. A massive underclass in the decaying Persian and Byzantine Empires toiled under the restrictions of the upper class. Among these oppressed, the nascent Islamic movement found willing support for its doctrine of total equality and total submission to God.

We all view Islam as decaying, stagnant, and backwards-looking. We rarely remember that until about three centuries ago, Islam dominated the world with the most advanced technology, thought, and political systems. Belloc does. He enjoins us to remember that almost into the 18th century, the Muslim hordes were knocking on the doors of Central Europe, and that Vienna was only saved by a last-minute intervention by the Poles. (It happened, in a delightful historical twist, on September 11.) In 1938 Belloc saw an Islam that was down but not out; he predicted that it would soon be knocking impolitely on Europe's door again. A far-fetched prediction at the time, this has now come true, and Belloc knows why. Islam thrives on social injustice; when westerners decided to prop up oil-wealthy shieks throughout the Arab world, they created the exact conditions in which the Muslim message can rally the masses.

Thr fourth and probably least popular chapter is "What was the Reformation?" Belloc acknowledgeed that by the 16th century, the Catholic Church was badly in need of a correction. Yet the cure, as so often happens, may be worse than the disease. He emphasized that Martin Luther aimed to fix the Church from within. It was only John Calvin who insisted on breaking away and forming a new church with a radically different theological basis. Belloc predicted that the Protestant world would lose its vitality and join the secular world. Again, time has proved him right; Protestantism remains strong in the USA but throughout northern Europe the churches are disintegrating.

And that leads us to the final chapter, "The Modern Attack". Secularism is the first heresy to try overthrowing all the building blocks of Christianity. In denies not only the supremacy of God but also the need for justice, equality, joy, and love. It replaces morality with self-interest, education with job-training, freedom with tyranny. And yet, awesome as this final attack may have seemed, Belloc saw the seeds of the Church's victory already sprouting. Time has proved him right yet again. Pope Jonh Paul II stood up to lead the defense against communism. Now Christianity regains it strength in the former Soviet block and also throughout the third world, and there are tantalizing signs that Western Europe will soon be Christian again. And so Belloc finishes the book with tempered optimism. Christianity will survive; we have Jesus's word on that. How it will look in the future remains to be seen. But in any case this book gives a spirited look at parts of world history which our schools now ignore totally, and for that alone it's more than worth reading.

As Belloc argues in his other book Europe and the Faith, Europe is the Faith and the Faith is Europe, referring of course to Christianism. The development of Western Civilization is inseparable from the Christian religion and its ideology.

As every Civilization is built upon a certain ideology, in order to understand our Civilization, its history and the challenges it faces today, one must understand its ideology. And in this, it is important to know also the views that have arisen within or in the fringes of Western Civilization, that go against the Christian ideology. On this, The Great Heresies by Belloc does a very good job.

And on the issue of Islam as a threat to our civilization, in the 1930s Belloc asked himself if Islam would again present that threat. He believed it would. And in that, we now know that he was, as in much everything else, extraordinarily clear and correct.

This book is a must-read.

Fantastic book! An amazing summary that rings so true you can feel it in your bones. Particularly stark and foreboding is his warning that Mohammedism will be back to try again to destroy us - and here they are now! Anyone who thinks if we only ignore Islamofascism it will go away needs to read this book. Belloc understands the threat and categorizes it within the broad expanse of human history. Ignore him at our peril!

This is masterfully written, solid, proven, best of the best, based on Scripture and years of God confirming His Word with signs following,just as He promised in His Word. The proverbial Philadelphia lawyer could not have laid out a more airtight case. Don't miss it. I sent a copy to a friend just diagnosed with cancer. He could not thank me enough.

I highly recommend this book for anyone , especially for those who need Physical or Spiritual Healing.

I am enjoying the book as a bibile study with my church. The book is easy to follow and understand.

A great book! If you only half believe that Jesus wants to heal you, read this book. If your faith in divine healing is wavering, read this book. One of the best ever written on this subject.
If you want to balance it with someone else's teaching, grab The Real Faith for Healing by Charles S Price and read that as well.

This was a life changing book for me, as were FF Bosworth "Christ the Healer" and Norvel Hayes "How to Live and Not Die". I actually read the latter two first. While reading the scriptural teachings in those two books, I received healing and cancelled a scheduled surgical consult. While reading the scripture in "Healing the Sick," I received healing again from a different condition. Praise His Holy Name!

The latter two books are available on audio tape or CD.

A foundation from the Bible and the Holy Spirit, with the combination of teachings in these books, along with Kenneth E. Hagin Sr, Kenneth Copeland, and Keith Moore (all his are free on his website) have been invaluable healing resources for me. I pray you are blessed as well. Peace to you.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

I've been in sales for 15 years. I'm a learner and I've read many of the books and been to the popular seminars on sales (Strategic Selling, Selling Solutions etc.). I just got into the IT sales field last year and highly recommend this book. This book is a solid, no-hype approach to complex selling. It gives me a blueprint to follow, it's very accurate for today's technology challanges and I found it easy to read as well! I usually don't recommend stuff but this book is a real "secret" weapon.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview for a sale position with a much respected software company. A few days before the interview I had just finished reading I.T. Sales Boot Camp. The concept and fundamental ideals of selling in an I.T. arena that were taught and express in the book enabled me to land the job. I believe that the knowledge that I gain from I.T.Sales Boot Camp made the different in my interview.

As opposed to most "hot new" sales approaches which focus on changing your personal style, this book does a great job of providing a strategic step-by-step plan from A-Z. It's void of fluff and gets right to the point of outlining the nuts and bolts of the process including pre-sales planning, performance tracking, maintaining growth, and writing proposals. It's worth reading in general and especially for those migrating into tech sales.

Once you get past the strange layout (described in other sections), this is a great edition of Henry V. It is easy and fun to read and offers valuable insights (not just for students either). Well worth a flutter.

This play is best known for the St. Crispian's Day "Band of Brothers" speech given by King Henry just before the battle at Agincourt. It is a powerful speech that rallies people at all times and everywhere. Sir Lawrence Olivier made a film version in 1944 during WWII and Kenneth Branagh made another as recently as 1989. You can count on there being more versions. Epecially so when computers can help them make spectacular battle scenes (that aren't really in the play) with less expense.

Audiences love this play and they should. There is a lot to like and enjoy. I think upon repeated readings Henry becomes a more equivocal character than he seems at first. And readers of the King Henry IV plays will know him before he became King Henry and know something deeper about his personality.

And of course there is the whole bit about the drive to France being sponsored by the Church to avoid confiscation of property by the Crown. Moreover, there is the slaughtering of the French prisoners, and his treatment of Falstaff (who dies offstage in this play). This isn't revisionist stuff, it is right there in the play, but it is easy to miss the first time you are trying to take in the play.

In any case, this Arden edition is the one to buy and read from. Why? Because it has the most authoritative text, but that is only the beginning. It also shows variants between the early sources. The notes at the bottom of each page of the play are simply fabulous. The editor includes not only helpful notes explaining what might be obscure in the text of the play, he provides sources Shakespeare probably used such as Holinshed and makes for some very interesting study. There are also some helpful notes on how various scenes have been performed over time.

And to make this sound more like an infomercial, you get more! The introduction provides great background material on the play, its sources, and how it has been performed throughout history. After the play, there is a photo reproduction of the first Quarto from 1600 and it is fairly readable. There are also a couple of maps showing the path of the English Army from Harfleur through other towns on its way to Calais and makes clear how they had to pass through Agincourt.

There is also a helpful genealogical table so you can see the confusing claims used by Henry and the French nobility to make their claims. And there is a doubling chart so you can see how theater companies can perform all the roles with fewer actors.

This is a great edition as are all the plays published by the Arden Shakespeare. The amount of work collected in these volumes is stunning and they will enrich your experience of the plays tremendously. I can't recommend them enough.

This play more than any others in the histories glorifies Englishmen and England. His characters in this one are larger than life, but each has their own limitations and flaws. The play covers the time of the Battle of Agincourt when the French King Charles was so sure of victory that he sent a messenger to Henry to ask him to give up and to pay a ransom before the battle. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, the English were outnumbered five to one, Henry's troops were on foreign soil and riddled with disease. The scenes where Henry dons a disguise and goes out amongst his troops to bolster their confidence are great. The English managed to triumph in this battle where all was stacked against them mostly because of Henry's leadership. This is such a sweeping story that it is hard to condense in a few words, the plot of the play, but it is a wonderful example of Shakespeare's skills as a writer.

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' What more need I say? Henry V is an imortal classic of western literature. And this edition is complete and accurate. See the film if you want, but be sure to read the words at least once. They are inspiring.

"Now, if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the King that led them to it."

Particularly poignant poetry in these times of pompous presidential sabre rattling and wars based on questionable facts.

I absolutely laughed till I cried. It all makes sense now... This is a must read for anyone who has ever taken religion tooooooo seriously.

This book is easily in my top 5 favorite books. I might even say it's #1.

When I laughed out loud at the first page... I knew I was going to love this book. I could totally see everything in the book unfolding back in the day.

Some people didn't like the ending, and I must admit I was a little surprised... but when I thought for a minute, 'I got it' and it was the perfect ending.

Definitely a conversation starter... definitely a keeper for rereading over & over again.

I love this book for how it incites great conversation and it is a welcome addition to my small collection.

This is one of those books that really gets people talking. Conversations range from the story itself, to the historical truths or lack thereof, the religious implications, and now its look.

I really enjoyed reading this book the first time around when I would find myself laughing out loud when I would least expect it, and most recently with this edition where a friend thought I was laughing about something in the Bible itself.

This new edition was a great idea, with only one flaw: It can be difficult to hold open because it is bound tightly. I'm afraid of causing too much wear to the spine of the book, but in retrospect I guess that would only add to its charm of looking like a Bible.

This is one of my favorite books of all time! Yay Christopher Moore!

Anyone who has any interest in Christianity should find this book hilarious! Moore clearly knows his Christian and world history then and now. His treatment of Jesus and the people who worship him is outrageous and irreverent and strangely loving at the same time. I'm an athiest who went to Catholic school (I LOVED it) and while I don't believe a word of it, have a great appreciation for all things Catholic, especially Catholic humor (the movie Dogma Dogma (Special Edition), the play Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You.Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All You and the Actor's Nightmare: Two One-Act Plays) I also appreciate a big dose of skepticism, and this book delivers on all fronts. Moore is such a great writer that this is a PERFECT BOOK! This new Bible edition is sexy and great!

At first, I have to admit I was a bit put off by the look of this gift version of "Lamb" when first saw it at a Barnes and Noble while doing some window shopping. I'm not very religious now, but as someone who basically got ten years' worth of Catholic dogma engrained into my DNA, well...the irreverence in the very look of this book made me worry just a little. I picked this book up and cracked it open to a random page, not expecting to see anything particularly interesting, and was pleasantly surprised when I ended up reading something that made me laugh. I ended up reading a few pages farther, and even though I hadn't read the rest of the book, the stuff I did read was very funny and clever, and I knew I had to have this book. So...I bought it here instead because I wanted to save a few bucks. :P

This book is definitely worth reading. It's irreverent, yes, and there's a bit of coarse language sprinkled throughout the story. And there's one gross (but funny) experience involving Biff, turnips and a toothless old Chinese woman. Despite that, however, I really don't feel this book is disrespectful to Jesus or to Christianity at all. If anything, it pokes gentle fun at what Christians are taught to know about the Bible--you have to know your stuff, as a Christian, if you expect to understand all the references made to it in this book. But I don't feel it makes fun of Christianity itself. So if you want a clever, funny, well-written book to read and you don't mind laughing at least a little at what you've been taught over the years if you're Christian, this book is for you. :)

This book gives an excellent analysis of human dignity and its relation to the beauty of human sexuality as a gift, and from that gift is life. The book gave me an insight on how our culture has exploited our human dignity and sexuality, such as viewing people as "objects" (e.g. pornography); this book speaks the Truth and I love it! I highly recommend this book for anyone who plans to read Theology of the Body, teach Theology of the Body for Teens, as well as teach Theology of the Body in marriage preparation courses or young adults groups.

Pope John Paul II provides answers to questions many don't ask, and most don't know how to answer. This book provides a strong foundation to those who seek to do what is right in relationships (relationship with God, significant other, fiance/ee, or spouse). The authority and correctness of this book has made me, a life-long Protestant, take a second look at the Catholic Church.

This book is so beautiful and stunningly true. It took my breath away and it spoke to my heart. It brought me to a new understanding of my body and how I express Love through it. I feel that it is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit and is a "must read" in this age. It's a great companion to his "Theology of the Body."

This is a poetically dangerous book. I first read it some ten years ago, just after having graduated college, when I was emerging from my adolescent decadence & skepticism.. I was searching for understanding, for faith. The thought herein is so limpidly potent it made me high, like great poetry. It radically changed my thought & heart for good. For better. It made me actually embrace the Faith, and the Church's ethic on sexuality & the human person. It really sheds the deepest insight, revealing the pith of what it means to be a human being. To be a man or a woman, a Christian.

So I cannot possibly recommend it highly enough. It should be read by, or explained to every Christian, not just Catholic. It ought to be a part of every Catholic's catechesis, as well as at the top of the reading list of anyone who seeks to understand the Faith.

[Aside: If you are a priest, have you quoted this book in a homily yet? Please, Father.. I mean, I realize hearing from the likes of SS. Ambrose or John Chrysostom is waaay too much to ask, but can we get at least this much of the Tradition? Please? Is thirty years back already too far? By that mark we should have already had enough of the St. Louis Jesuits & their ilk by now.. and we all know we're *never* going to get sick of them!]

I've heard (or rather have read) some folks - a rank few - attack this work, and it's author, on the grounds that they are theologically suspect: for being phenomenalist. More Heidegger & Husserl, than Augustine or Aquinas.. For being modernist, in other words. Instead of being reactionary, the pope's too "liberal" for some. Funny. People are such a hoot.

All I can say is that I know nothing about this supposed masonic subversion of the papacy, myself. I only report the nattering for the sake of full disclosure, as it's the only negative criticism I've read of this book anywhere. Virtually every Catholic I respect who has read this book loves it.

Lots of folks from the other side of the spectrum shoot their mouths off and scratch their pens over the Church's teaching on sexuality in general, without ever really bothering to understand it. They call John Paul (and Paul VI & Benedict, etc., etc.) authoritarian killjoys, amongst worse things. (The Church's prohibition of condoms prevents the control of AIDS! Or didn't you know? Wait.. Or is it the Church's prohibition on sexual activity outside marriage? Is that killing people too? I get so confused.. Anyway..) They would never bother to touch this book. They cannot afford to give it a fair read. Like witches with water, trolls sun, vampires garlic, or Kal-El kryptonite, exposure to the truth in these pages burns.

Despite all the cocky posturing, I think many of them sense this.. They know it might actually awaken conscience, and move them to become someone they would rather not be. For, as we all know, an informed conscience can be a truly inconvenient thing. Tant pis..

But useful, nonetheless. Being that it can free you from unhappiness, addiction, "poor self esteem," and that ultimate killer of love, freedom & life: sin. Which is why this book and the "inconvenient" yet beautiful truth that it proclaims is so essential.

Purgatorial fire (Truth, Love) hurts, but cleanses.

Final admonition: acquire & read this book.

"Love and Responsibility" is Karol Wojtyla's analysis of erotic love between men and women. Originally given as a series of university lectures in 1958-59, the book was first published in 1960, ironically the same year the first oral contraceptive pill was approved by the FDA. "Love and Responsibility" is the philosophical foundation on which Wojtyla (later known as John Paul II) based his "Theology of the Body".

The overarching theme of Love and Responsibility is the personalistic norm, whereby one treats others as persons, not as objects of use. This idea is especially important in the realm of sexuality since it can be easy to use the other person even within the bounds of marriage.

I found Wojtyla's writing about shame to be especially interesting. Shame has negative connotations these days, but in Wojtyla's understanding, shame is simply when something that is private crosses a boundary and becomes public. The sexual values of our bodies should remain private, but today many young women dress immodestly making the sexual value of their bodies public, so this would be "shamelessness".

And if anyone is under the impression that the ideas in this book are going to be prudish, just take a read through the final section of the book on Sexology. Wojtyla says a husband must take into account the different sexual arousal rate of his wife so that "climax may be reached by both the man and the woman, and as far as possible occur in both simultaneously." I can see why women liked this pope!

While the reading might be a bit on the philosophical side for some readers at times, I believe if every man would read "Love and Responsibility" and take it seriously, women today would be treated with more dignity and respect that they currently are given.