Wagner Books

Ditto on the book keeping one up at night and thinking about it all day. I was an awe at the wordsmithing, even with stuff that had little or no provence to me. They usually found some sort of mental allocation with me, in the end, which is half the fun of it. The pills Chess and other's were dropping were all unknown to me bar one or two, which had the effect on me of making them more toxic. So I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that glossaries be made by the author for his books, but it might add to the chase.

Big question for me is what the hell was really segueing in the end? I Truly experienced the sight of the guardian columns protecting no-thingness.

Peculiar about this book is that it is dream from end to end without a single snap-to, while still maintaining a healthy professional writer's edge. The sort of concentration necessary for that is something I dip my hat to. Most of all though I sense something older than civilisation here that lends the language/intent the ability to envision the future very precisely and unbiasedly, which is something of great value right now, and the reason why this book is as morninghorrifying as it is crepuscularly joyous. K Gibran said, 'We live only to discover beauty, all else is a form of waiting'.

I also enjoyed the love story part of it - very lightly eluded to (by the author and the characters)- with Marj and Ray, very sweet.

Bruce Wagner is a truly original novelist, capable of gargantuan humor, horror and pity all on the same page. His voice is unique and as the critics have noted, Memorial evidences a growing sense of compassion towards his tortured characters.That said, this novel needed a lot of editing! It could have been cut by a third.

I am a big fan of Bruce Wagner's work. I have read all his previous novels so I eagerly awaited his latest. I was not disappointed. This novel is witty, tragic, beautiful, gritty and somewhat horrifying. Like life, right? Wagner's characters are so three-dimensional, they are so fully alive. You get into their heads and understand their motivations. His references to pop culture and arcane matters keep your head reeling. He writes with such passion and humor. If you are searching for a book that will keep you up all night and thinking about it all day, I suggest "Memorial."

In the inside of the dust jacket it says: "In his most profound and accomplished book to date, acclaimed author Bruce Wagner breaks from Hollywood culture with a novel of exceptional literary dimension and searing emotional depth."

That's sounds pretty good doesn't it? It sounds like something I would really like to read. I read all 507 pages of Memorial and I still wouldn't mind reading the book described above. This sure isn't it.

I was sold on the book by hearing an interview with Mr. Wagner on WBAI radio. (One can find the interview by Googling "Cat Radio Cafe". It's somewhere on that site, or at least it was a couple of weeks ago.) It's an interesting interview. Mr. Wagner is an interesting talker. I wish I could say the same for his writing.

Maybe it was over my head. Maybe I'm not deep enough to grasp the "exceptional literary dimension". Maybe I'm too shallow or cowardly to plunge into the "searing emotional depth". Or maybe the novel is just as disappointing and depressing as I think it is.

So what is it? What did I read and get from it? This is a story of a family divided and yet still connected although through most of the novel they don't know it and one of them never does. We are presented with four interlocking stories. Once upon a time many years ago Ray and Marjorie were married. They had two lovely children Joan and Chester. Ray blew some sort of business deal, felt bad about himself, and quite the family, took off one day unannounced. As we enter the story the two kids are about 40 and the parents are old. There has been no contact with the absent father all that time. So that's the setup and then we get to go with them all through the personal hell or torment of Job. This is a novel where all the bad things you hear about on the news happens to happen to these people and those around them. All this is highly unpleasant and, well, sometimes feels exceptionally sadistic. That might not be so bad if there was a point to it all and since I lack the ability to grasp the exceptional literary dimension of it all, I guess I missed whatever that point or literary pay-off might have been. What I got was a sad, mean, ugly, and cruel story told with a whole lot, way too much, up-to-the-minute mass media hipness. Mr. Wagner sure knows his TV shows and personalities, and his LA gurus. Well, I know about this crap too and I didn't need him to point them out to me. But I don't waste my time actually watching the TV shows he insists on writing about, I just know about them and that's enough. I think Wagner should spend more time reading other novels than watching TV. It might help his writing or dictating or however this mess was produced. I didn't need him to tell me how horrible and sad modern life has become. I didn't need him to rub my nose in it. Everything he says about this country, the economies system, LA, is obvious to me. And he adds nothing on top of that. He just wasted my time with lists.

But then again I may well have missed the point. I tend to like most things I read and hate to have to be so negative, yet this is how I feels about this one.

"Memorial" is definitely a very West Coast, Californian, specifically L.A.-kind of book. That's not to detract from the writing style, which is actually fairly original and deeply personal. Wagner writes in the third person, but really brings out his characters' flaws and strengths. The characters in this book are not one-dimensional, the relationships are complicated and multi-faceted and change over the course of the plot, as in any good novel they should.

However, in some ways, the characters are almost cliches of the West Coast stereotype. "Memorial" is one of those books in which you're not really sure if the cliches, the parodies, the factual innaccuracies, the shallow commercialism (the constant references to pop culture and celebrities) are supposed to be critical, supportive or simply illusrative of American culture at the beginning of the 21st century. I should be more specific: greater Los Angeles culture at the beginning of the 21st century. I don't know anybody with a name like Laksmi who had a Jewish father who idealized the Hindu God Ganesh and work as an actress on a pseudo-reality TV show. That's very L.A. and I often had trouble identifing with these characters (with the exception of Ray). Wagner's greatest strength is that he makes these people accessible and relatively believeable.

It definitely has that feel of "Magnolia" or "Crash" or those other L.A. movies in which the plots and characters lives overlap with each other. But not a similar film genre like "Syriana", the underlying theme being social and political, and not personal and cultural. Also, it lacks the edge of a story like that - the trials and tribulations of a family dog shot by police doesn't exactly stack up against international terrorism.

Again, after reading the book, I'm not sure if Wagner was trying to condemn this mindset (all this tragedy in the world and all we care about is Nip/Tuck! We're lawsuit crazy! We're obsessed with memorializing our own dead, and don't care about the rest of the world!), or simply illustrate it (this is the way we are). I tend to favor the latter, only because I feel like he draws more from real events than by this alternate-universe L.A. that he created on his own.

If you really want to read a book that has something to say about loss, and is personal, cultural, spiritual, social and political, I would recommend Johnathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

But again, not a bad book, and a pretty bold attempt, it just rings a little hollow. (But is it supposed to...?)

I bought this for my Dad when he was building a new lean-to to store his new tractor. He read the thing cover to cover and used it as a guide not only for the lean-to but also for the addition to the garage for his woodworking area.

Nicley done, introductory how-to book for those wanting to undertake a barn project themselves. It does not give adequate guidance for sizing your project to meet varying needs. Therefore, you really have to have done your own field investigations to understand what size(s) different functions require, what heights and depths make sense for different equipment, animals, sports uses, etc. Useful, but not as comprehensive in the planning process as it could have been.

A good book on basic info plumbing and electrical and structure but very little on plans

this is a good book for learning how to build from a small shed on your property to a barn. gives you all the information and materials.

This book comprehensively covers all aspects of building a barn, shed or outbuilding yourself; it would also help someone who was planning on having one built for them. It covers everything from top to bottom and inside and out: siting, foundation, framing, roofing, weatherproofing, finishing, electrical and plumbing. It is easy to read and the illustrations are instructive, not merely decoration. Since many of the techniques are used in homebuilding, the book would be of interest to home owners as well.

The first par of an inter-company crossover stunts, really. This part is set in Gotham City granite jawed lawmen with little tolerance for outsiders with strange abilities in their cities, clash, as Batman finds Judge Dredd in his town, and wants to know why the hell he is there.

Posturing and snarling follows.

A SPOILERS-heavy review.

The graphic novel JUDGEMENT ON GOTHAM was published back in 1991 and was the first of four Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers. This particular effort offers up minimalist writing by Alan Grant and Judge Dredd creator John Wagner, while visceral British artist Simon Bisley graces us with his glossily violent renderings. The story has Batman facing off against the ghoulish Judge Death in Gotham City, only to end up in Mega-City One via Death's stolen dimensional belt. There, he bumps into Judge Dredd and it's not an amicable encounter as Dredd has no feelings of leniency towards vigilantes. Batman is summarily arrested but, thanks to the beautiful Psi-Judge Anderson, escapes and materializes back in Gotham with Anderson to stop the rampaging Judge Death, who had teamed up with the fear-obsessed Scarecrow. Of course, Judge Dredd can't be too far behind.

Most people assume that the superhero antithesis of Batman is Superman, in terms of methods and attitudes. But, in a way, the dark knight's more diametrical opposite is Judge Dredd, who is a stickler for the law while Bats seeks to administer his own brand of justice. Bats is fervently against guns and killing; Dredd totes lethal weaponry and part of his job allows him to play executioner. Bats is a vigilante. Judge Dredd is an officer of the law. The one thing they have in common, other than the requisite need to apprehend criminals, is their very similar dispositions. We are apprised of the contrasts between the two immediately upon their initial meeting. Judge Dredd does not suffer vigilantes in his purview and promptly puts the cuffs on Bats, while Batman comes to find Dredd's law enforcing methods too rigid and restrictive. At the closing scenes, Dredd and Bats still had not made amends with each other and are clearly not any closer to having any kind of working relationship. The most positive thing elicited from Judge Dredd with regards to Bats is his throwaway comment to Judge Anderson: "Bit of a tough guy."

The so-so storyline, understandably, gives way to showcase Bisley's lush, exaggerated brushes. His artwork recalls to mind the angular surrealism of Bill Sienkiewicz and the in-your-face immediacy of Frank Frazetta, who Simon himself admitted had greatly influenced him. JUDGEMENT ON GOTHAM is a violent graphic novel, as to be expected with the caliber of villains on hand. Simon wades in there and gleefully depicts numerous scenes of brutal evisceration and impalement as victims and even the villains are indiscrimately torn into. Very graphic and gory book, this one.

Now, I don't follow Judge Dredd that closely so I'm not that familiar with his rogues' gallery. I will say that his foes are certainly intriguing and grotesque. I like the brawny, headbutting Mean Machine, who has four dial settings on his skull ranging from "surly" to "brute." The seemingly unstoppable Judge Death is awesome and certainly seems to be a Grade A bad guy, very capable of wreaking massive havoc. The Scarecrow, to be blunt, pales in comparison.

While the story is relentlessly grim, there are a few infusions of humor. I actually guffawed twice: one, at Judge Death's attempts to emulate the official Judge costume as a chicken is nailed to his shoulder by the accomodating Scarecrow and two, upon discovery of Judge Death's greatest fear as the Scarecrow sprays him with the fear spray.

In final analysis, this is a pretty positive review. JUDGEMENT ON GOTHAM, however, doesn't merit more than three and a half stars from me, and most of the stars truly are because of the great blood-and-guts artwork. Writing-wise, there's a lot of personal interactions left out between the characters. It doesn't help that the two leads are as stoic as ever. The one bright spot in the book is Psi-Judge Anderson. However, I will say that it certainly makes me look forward to reading the other three Batman/Judge Dredd team-ups: VENDETTA IN GOTHAM (1993), THE ULTIMATE RIDDLE (1995), DIE LAUGHING (1998), all with the same authors (John Wagner and Alan Grant), but with different artists.

When Oakshaman calls Dredd a machine, he has it all wrong. Dredd belives in his system. If Oakshaman had read the Helter Skelter trade by Garth Ennis, he would have seen Dredd risk his life to save Darrin Kenzie by submitting to his foes including Chief Judge Cal, Rico Dredd, and Murd the Oppressor. As he tells her at the end of the story, as comprehension dawns on Kenzie, "You called the Judges a privileged elite. You were right. We are an elite. There is a privilige. I've told you what it is twice now. You're a citizen of Mega City One. And I'm sworn to protect you." In the Necropolis saga, Dredd loses his faith in the system and takes the long walk out into the Cursed Earth, but returns to save the citizens of Mega City One from the Dark Judges. During the Judge Child saga, Dredd turns his back on the Judge Child, beliving that something evil could never be the Chief Judge, that the position required purity and integrity. Dredd is not just a law spouting machine as Oakshaman states in his post.

If you want to see Batman fight Judge Dredd, you'll find this book disappointing (unless you think a three- or four-panel scuffle constitutes as "fight"). You'll also find this book disappointing if you're hoping to see Batman and Judge Dredd team up, because they don't. Instead, Batman teams up with Anderson to go after Judge Death, who has teamed up, rather randomly I think, with the Scarecrow (surely the Scarecrow and Judge Fear would have been a more logical combination?) It's not an activally bad comic, but it's certainly not a great one.

Before I read this graphic novel I really didn't see the fundamental difference between the characters of Batman and Judge Dredd. This was inspite of the fact that I had followed the former all of my life, and the latter for 15 years of so in both the U.S. distibuted comic books and the original Eagle publications from England.

It took Batman being tranported to the Cursed Earth in pursuit of Judge Death to make me see the difference. Batman is the living soul of Justice. He will take Justice over Law every time, even if it means fighting cops. Judge Dredd on the other hand is a living law book. To him the Batman is just a vigilante, another law breaker. It doesn't even occur to him that they might be on the same side. Dredd is just a machine- Batman truly is the Dark Knight....

The scene where Batman smashes Dreddd in the face with all his might while shouting, " YOU CALL THAT JUSTICE?", puts everything in perspective.

As a result of reading this book I have even more respect for Batman/Bruce Wayne- but much less for Judge Dredd.

A children's picture story book, set in the Australian bush. This illustration is excellent, and gives the book an overall whimsical and sweet feel that nicely complements the tale itself.

Definitely a good, simple introductory type book for kids, and let's face it, bunyips are cool.

A bunyip emerges from a creek one night and wants to know what he is. The bunyip asks several Australain animals questions about itself, only to be confused and dissapointed by their response. Finally he has enough information to answer the question for another.
A nice little Australian story, well illustrated, a little bit sad, but with a happy ending.

Our two and a half year old daughter loves this book, preferring it to many Caldicott winners and other fine books. I understand the appeal. The drawings are brilliant, truly fantastic. The story is provocative to a two year old: the Bunyip has a mysterious origin, doesn't understand who he is or what he looks like, gradually discovers that he is a Bunyip, and eventually finds another Bunyip to spend time with. It's a tale of self-discovery and friendship, what could be better.

Jenny Wagner's _The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek_ is an award-winning picture book from Australia.

In it, a Bunyip (an ugly but harmless creature) emerges from the mud of a creek. Various animals, including a platypus and emu, tell him that a bunyip is ugly. Eventually he meets a scientist who looks "right through" him, and tells him that bunyips don't exist. Eventually he packs his belongings and hikes away from his home. He comes upon a billabong, pitches camp, and lo and behold meets another bunyip. The new bunyip is in need of the same friendship and reassurance that our first bunyip could have used at the beginning of the story.

Themes explored here are the value of support and friendship, and the importance of self-esteem. Also noted is the harm done by insults and indifference. Far from being preachy, the author and illustrator skillfully weave the theme into the plot.

The illustrations are dark, and frequently are smaller than the page, framed in white. They are reminiscent of Maurice Sendak.

The bunyip is no monster. He's not the horrific ghoul portrayed in movies such as Dot and the Kangaroo. He's an ugly but harmless patchwork of a beast, with mismatched body parts. His attitude is one of bewilderment, hopefulness, and persistence. I can't recommend this picture book highly enough. USA residents should check their public libraries, because the book is currently out of print in the USA.

Ken32

This is a nice story about a young Bunyip seeking it's identity. The story begins when a Bunyip comes up out of the mud with no notion of what it is nor what it looks like. It asks a platypus and some other creatures about what a Bunyip looks like, but the replies are never flattering. Still the Bunyip continues on his quest, asking his questions, until he finally runs across a scientist who is so wrapped up in his work that he asserts -without even looking up to see who he is talking to-- that there is no such thing as a Bunyip.

Well what is a Bunyip to do about that! The answer apparently is to head off to live alone. That is, until one faithful evening, when another Bunyip rises out of the mud asking the eternal Bunyip-question: what am I.

Four Stars. [B-] The artwork is wonderful. Good Read-aloud. The storyline is a little deep for very young children, but they should enjoy the cadence of the words and the pictures. Better suited, I think, for 8 to 11 year olds. Overall I give it an good slightly above average rating.

Great step by step instructions... simple enough for Homeowners without experience to learn from and in depth enough for Drywalling professionals to use as a solid resource. I highly recommend this product!

This book gives a good overall treatment of the drywall process. It covers tools, supplies, and techniques. However, a few of the layout drawings are hard to understand, particularly those on ceilings. It could also benefit from including more detail on topics such as finishing.

If you are attempting your first drywall project, haven't hung it in a long time, or want to know how to do it better, then this is the book for you.

Besides just hanging drywall, this book goes into:
Selecting the drywall
Preparing the wall (masonry, wood, steel)
Cutting holes
Repairing damaged drywall
Fixing popped nails and screws
Soundproofing

Sure, if you are a professional installer you may find the book a bit trite, but the weekend warrior should find it very useful. The first paragraph in the book: "This book is written for the do-it-yourselfer who brings beginning to intermediate building skills to drywalling projects large and small." I think that says it all.

If you have never hung drywall before this book will have you doing your first project this weekend. I highly recommend it.

As someone who has had a little rudimentary drywall experience I found this book to be an excellent and thorough treatment of what is possible and how to do it. The illustrations are great, including photographs, structural drawings and drawings of workers in action. These drawings are especially well done and show you how to hold and use tools most efficiently in step-by-step procedures.

As you would expect, the book begins with tools and materials. The basic hand tools are described along with sophisticated professional equipment for drywall handling. Ways to efficiently and safely handle large sheets are shown. Drywall comes in a wide variety of types and sizes that are not "off the shelf" items at your lumber yard, but can be ordered. Here you will find out when and why you should use these specialty items that can be very advantageous in the right situation. Also covered are all the various fastening and corner treatment options and the advantages of each.

There is a detailed section on preparing walls and ceilings, including framing repairs or modifications that might be needed. This includes enhancements such as adding a niche and soundproofing. Preparation for drywalling over masonry and with steel framing is also covered. Then the techniques of measuring, cutting and hanging the drywall are presented. Special situations such as curved or irregular walls, stairways and arches are emphasized. This book shows you how to handle the difficult applications.

Drywall finishing, troubleshooting and repairs are also covered in detail, including a number of textured finishes that can be applied directly to the drywall. Many of these can be done using joint compound and they add an easy but sophisticated premium touch to your walls. Written with a personal touch, expert tips throughout and a "can-do" attitude, this is the book you need to get those walls up safely and securely.

This is a great broad overview of the drywalling process. Lots of pictures of these two guys in blue and red. However, it doesn't tell me what I want to know, the art of getting two boards taped together. The taping chapter needs to be tripled in size.

This book was very useful with the pre and post tests and all of the sectional quizzes. I felt the authors did a good job explaining all of the different topics.

Definitly would buy from again! quick responses and very fast shipping which i needed! Condition was just as described!
Thanks!

This text was great with all the review questions. It helped to read it and I got an A in my class!

This book has been very helpful to our new nurses who seem overwhelmed when they first get out of school. Self-paced modules help them incoorporate their knowledge with the types of patients they take care of. I have used this book for seasoned nurses too. They like the validation they get from being able to pre- and post-test.
A great teaching and learning tool for all nurses looking to review or to upgrade skills.

I am a senior nursing student and I am appalled at this book. Our instructor loves it and has been using it. I brought to her attention that in the pediatric module, some of the pretest answers are WRONG!!! I know they are wrong- or I would not be a senior nursing student!!!! Out of all the majors and careers and textbooks that need to give accurate information- ACUTE CARE NURSING IS THE ONE!!!!! This is sooo extremely important! I am very disappointed.

A must have for anyone who desires to learn tree identification. Quite technical but has been in use since 1913.

I did not realize when I ordered this book that it was in black and white illustrations. I would have much more prefered it had colored photos of trees to help me identify them. I considered it a waste of money.

Pretty decent book, quality paper and covers, informative, a fairly good guide, I would prefer full pictures of trees, which would show the bark, even if only in black and white.If your new to trees this book could be quite helpful and useful.

I have been identifying trees since childhood, and have found this book quite useful. It is applicable not only to Michigan, but also to surrounding states (I live in Illinois).

The front of the book includes a summary of basic leaf anatomy. It includes sketches of leaf shapes and leaf margins. There is also a diagram of oak leaves as related to their immediate environment of growth (swampy, etc.). A sketch of inflorescent types is also provided.

The remainder of the book is primarily a key to tree identification. Two pages are devoted to each tree. The left open page is a description of a particular kind of tree. A moderate level of knowledge of botanical terminology is needed to fully comprehend it. The right (facing) open page contains diagrams (not photos) of leaf shapes, flowers, seeds, etc. for the tree being identified.

This is a great book both for identification and for planning which trees to plant in your yard. For each tree, not only its size, but also shade tolerance, growth rate, moisture requirements, preferred habitat & other trees that share its habitat are listed. A second book is planned to cover the shrubs & vines, which I am looking forward to.

The final chapters cover aspects of the Michigan climate including the different types of plant communities, vegetation history of Michigan from the glaciers to the present day, length of growing season for different areas, and average temperature & precipitation.

I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to attempt to bring an old fool like me into the world of computers. I enjoy my machine and am trying to learn as much as I can about how to use it, so getting a book like this is very helpful. Thanks for putting this material at my disposal.

I read the book in sections because I just couldn't stay focused. My mind was racing. The book is really helpful. I am using sitebuilder so half the stuff wasn't as useful, but the other half was really worth it. He really knows what he's talking about.

I needed to set up a web site faster than it was going to take me to learn Dreamweaver. Yahoo! SiteBuilder for Dummies successfully walked me through the process of setting up a site at Yahoo! in less than half a days time. It's well written, clear and broken down into distinct components so you can go directly to the material you need without wading through all sorts of stuff that's not relevant to you.

It did the trick for me, I hope it does for you.

I would not recommend this book. It was really not helpful for us. We currently have a yahoo store with over 6000+ items and this book is really geared for stores with 50 or less items. The attached software was not useful. However, I would recommend another book: "Starting a Yahoo! Business For Dummies", by Richard Snell. The Snell book is much more useful and full of informative advance stuff for starting and improving your Yahoo store. David Mark, Cmdstore

Ever since Yahoo acquired Geocities, it has aspired to be a major web hosting site. To this ends, it has striven to help users make web sites. Wagner describes how Yahoo's SiteBuilder simplifies a lot of messy details and, hopefully, lets you concentrate on the actual design.

Maybe the most important aid is the numerous templates. For such subjects as a birthday, education, electronics or music. If you are new to HTML, these can greatly help you put up pages. More experienced users might want to start from scratch, however. While the site's templates are well done, the sheer fact that each is used by many hosted sites means that inevitably if your site does likewise, there will be an element of cookie-cutter-ness.

Along the way to describing what SiteBuilder can do for you, Wagner also offers useful and quite general guidelines for site design. These are independent of actually using SiteBuilder. An added advantage of the book.

The advanced section of the book, that deals with using JavaScript in your pages, gives a synopsis of that language. If you are serious about using JavaScript, consider also getting another book, devoted to it. (Like "JavaScript for Dummies".)

D. Roberts review, below, convinced me to buy this book immediately

"The prophecies and Divine Eternal Promises relating to the People and the Land of Israel are plentiful, precise and explicit...The Jewish inheritance to the Land promised throughout Scripture beginning in Genesis and the prophecies relating to their regathering and the end times are ridiculed."

Absolutists like Roberts have been duped by the very end times false prophets that Jesus clearly warned his disciples to shun, the "ferocious wolves in sheep's clothing," revealed by their fruits.

Prescriptive prophets who presume to divine "precise and explicit" prophecies are the greatest threat to peace. Then again, that is not what they want.

Roberts' denunciation is a resounding endorsement.

While D. Roberts suggests that Wagner's excellent and vitally necessary book is merely anti-Israeli propaganda and a misinterpretation of Scripture, the reality is that D. Roberts is blinded by his own anti-Catholicism and insistence upon a fundamentalist reading of Scripture. Those who seek the spirit of the Word will immediately see the truth in Wagner's book.

This book should be read in conjunction with Fr. Elias Chacour's "Blood Brothers," a moving tale of one man's quest for true peace, reconcilation and brotherhood among all the children of Abraham.

Some 80% of the Hebrew-Christian Bible consists of prophetic truth. By reading this book you would not think so.

The prophecies and Divine Eternal Promises relating to the People and the Land of Israel are plentiful, precise and explicit. The prophecies and Divine promises relating to the latter days/end times and where they appertain to the Church, the Jews & the nation of Israel are equally plentiful, precise and explicit.

Yet these elements of the Written Word are either misinterpreted or perhaps deliberately manipulated here in pursuit of an obvious agenda which is anti-Jew, anti-Israel and anti-Christian.

Yet again another book uses the `Palestinian' as the tip of the spear in the war against the Jewish People/Nation. The terrible plight of the Palestinians suffering in the squalid condition of the refugee camps is used to `point the finger' at Israel. It is ignored that the Arab world placed the Palestinians there to be used as just such a political and humanitarian weapon. It is also forgotten here that Israel has done more to relieve their plight than any single Arab nation. The context of Middle Eastern history in this work is incredibly selective, biased and inaccurate.

I feel incredibly sad at the mis-use of Scripture to promote such an obvious agenda as that portrayed in this work. The Jewish inheritance to the Land promised throughout Scripture beginning in Genesis and the prophecies relating to their regathering and the end times are ridiculed.

The viewpoints of Evangelical Christians supportive of Israel such as myself are not a matter of religious `brainwashing' or indoctrination but are based on a solid Biblical foundation. Their basis is there for all to see in the writings of the Hebrew prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Zephaniah, Joel etc., not to mention the many references within the New Testament itself. Jesus Christ Himself is quite explicit in His own words. How this book can treat these factual writings with such contempt is beyond me.

The book appears to promote a philosophy that the God of the Bible should forsake his Promises and His Word for the sake of what the book describes as `tolerance'. A tolerance of sin and an agenda which sets itself directly against the God of Israel Himself. That the Eternal Divine Promises relating to Israel & the Jewish people should be usurped by the man made issue of the `Palestinians'.

The Bible clearly declares that God loves each nation and each individual. However when a nation or individual turns it's back on God the Bible is also quite explicit about the consequences. The history of the nation of Israel is a clear illustration of this with their dispersion throughout the nations being just one case in mention. The Hebrew-Christian Bible is also extremely explicit about what faces those who deliberately come against the Jewish People/Nation, what the Bible calls the "apple of God's Eye". This book and the nations supported by this book have done just that.

Might I respectfully suggest that those who would support the ideology behind this book all read "Islam Revealed" by Anis Shorrosh, a Palestinian Christian. Mighty I also suggest that they read any of the works on the Mid-East, Jerusalem & the Palestinian/Israeli issue by the learned Christian author Randall Price. Most of all, might I humbly and earnestly suggest that they get down on their knees, remove their anti-Israeli blinkers, pray to Almighty God for wisdom & insight and then study the Holy Hebrew-Christian Scriptures themselves with an open heart, paying attention to the Divine Promises, the Hebrew Prophets & the Words of Jesus Christ Himself.

I am sorry but I cannot in any way recommend this book. Thank you.

Don Wagner has written a captivating and fascinating account of his own transformation from a Christian who subscribes to the dispensationalist pro-Israeli stance heresy that festers within many evangelical churches today to a person who desires compassion and love for all people. This is what Christ came for - not to cause division over land, but to be the final fulfillment of all prophecy.

And it is prophecy that is the very problem, says Don Wagner, and hence the reason for the title of this book. Some say that God has blessed the Israelis in their ability to dominate over Arabs with such power (e.g., the six day war). But such a view is not completely accurate if we also see how many Christians who are "anxious for Armageddon", who want to "force" their view of biblical prophecy to occur, have been great supporters of the Israeli regime. And a regime it is. Palestinians to this day live in refugee camps and exist in a virtual apartheid.

The very prescient point of this book is not anti-Israeli, but an attack against pro-Rapture, dispensationalist Christians who use their skewed and incorrect view of prophecy to support the existence of Israel at all costs. This is not to say that Israel must not exist, but should it at the expense of the lives of Palestinian families?

Wagner presents these arguments with passion and love. It may be controversial, but it is hard to ignore.

Read and Enjoy!

I could not write a better review than Robert L. Knetsch. This book is a must read for ALL people.

This sequel of sorts to Batman Year One is actually pretty good, and seems to keep to the style reasonably faithfully.

A subplot involves Commissioner Gordon establishing and defending himself against various corrupt cops, still.

They have a bigger problem in that people keep turning up no longer alive with their throats torn out and drained of blood.

When Bruce Wayne's girlfriend runs into those responsible, things get personally bloody for Batman.

Many good reviewers and fans had stated how good this book is.

My only gripe with this title is just how shallow is: not much character construction, not of Batman, not of Gordon, not of Nicholai Tepes, not of Alfred.

Pluses:
* Great art, specially inking. Batman looks superb
* Many sub-plots going on, that keep things entertaining.
* Solo Batman is great. Keep them coming!!
* Tongue-in-cheek allusion to Robin

Cons:
* Flat-out lot-to-be-desired story, a bit cheesy at times.
* Another person finds out who Batman is.
* The villain is not such a worthy opponent and the fight scene is fairly short.

It really deserved a 3.5 star rating.

Batman and the Mad Monk is a sequel to 2005's Batman and the Monster Men, also written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. This story takes place very early in Batman's career, predating his first encounter with The Joker. Batman "persuaded" an organized crime boss to forget about the debts owed to him by businessman Norman Madison, father of Bruce Wayne's current flame, Julie. Yet the encounter with Batman has left Norman mentally scarred, and more in fear of the Batman than the crime boss. Batman is already working closely with "Captain" Jim Gordon, a situation that puts Gordon into conflict with the corrupt police commissioner. Batman also has his first encounter with Assistant D.A. Harvey Dent, before he becomes Two-Face, but already, as Batman points out, bound by the law, but smoldering for justice.

Gordon asks for Batman's assistance with a recent series of murders where the victim's throats were torn out and they were drained of all their blood. His investigations lead to the discovery of a shadowy group known as the Brotherhood who have taken up residence in the decrepit Rallstone Castle, built by a family even more wealthy than the Waynes. The group is led by the charismatic and hypnotic Niccolai Tepes, Tepes also having been the family name of Vlad Dracula. Niccolai and his underlings soon set their sites on Julie Madison and plot to use her to help steal her father's fortune, after which they will make her a blood sacrifice. Niccolai bites, but doesn't drain Julie, keeping her as his thrall until she can get her father to will over his estate. Batman, weakened after a fight with a pack of wolves and nearly crushed between a wall of spikes, will have to face off against the powerful Niccolai in order to save Julie's life.

While this Batman story is set in modern times, Wagner infuses it with a permeable scent of 1930's crime noir, and set against a backdrop of classic Universal Studios horror films. Batman's exploration of Castle Rallstone leads him into deadly traps as steps turn to slippery inclines as well as the aforementioned crushing walls of spikes. It's just like something out of an old movie serial. It's funny, but criminals always use the wall of spikes despite the fact that I don't think I ever saw anyone actually get killed by them. When Batman battles Tepes' wolves, you can almost hear Bela Lugosi proclaiming, "Children of the night...what music they make!"

Wagner's art only serves to take the reader back to the days of beautiful dames and melodramatic villains. In typical, nonchalant villain style, Tepes doesn't even check on the person whose fallen into his trap in the castle, confident that whomever it was, won't be getting out alive. Wagner is also able to show a Batman who is extremely vulnerable (he takes a major butt-kicking in this book) yet also extremely resourceful, relying on his wits as much as his fists. We can only hope that Wagner doing a Batman mini-series will continue to be an annual event.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

There is good news and there is bad news when it comes to Batman and the Mad Monk.
First the good news.
The book does what most Batman movies, and for that matter most Batman comics don't, it keeps the love interest and story moving forward rather than discard them for a cute new villain. The art is also pretty top notch throughout, it's not Jim Lee but its style is very akin to something wholesome yet enticing. Think cartoon style.
Batman is still new to this whole crime fighting thing, and he also hasn't had to fight the big villains (yet). What this does is allow Wagner to focus on Batman and his new rank as Gotham's protector. Once the jokers and killer crocs come in this will be a different book. Nobody is going to argue that.
Now for the bad news.
Continuing the storyline where we left off makes for a lot of back story people will need to know. If you haven't read Batman and the Monster Men you'll be confused. Another aspect carried over is his girlfriend's father and his weelings-and-dealings with the mob. At this point we don't' care anymore. Before we cared about his plight due to the impending danger he brought to Batman's girlfriend. Now it doesn't even matter, she's in danger all on her lonesome. Wagner seems to be carrying over this gangster theme but Batman isn't even involved (at least not in this book).

The villain in this book isn't very well thought out. Is he just some cultist or something more? We never really know, and he's introduced so suddenly you feel cheated there wasn't more back story on him. Sure we see the murders he's committed and his henchwoman doing her job, but who is this guy? Strong storytelling is absent when I could care less if he's on the next page or not. When he does end up fighting Batman a cheap confrontation involving the Bat mobile and the big climatic battle leave much to be desired. We read through pages of the evil lurking in the shadows, but never really get a sense of danger since everything is so easily defeated. Even when Batman is stuck in one of those spiky walls closing in on you rooms, he simply struggles for a few panels, then sneaks out "just in the knick of time, woo!"

The overall theme is also lost here, the dark knight and the "darkness in the night" or some such direction Wagner is going with it. You can tell he's going there, you can see it since we've seen it done before better, but it never really makes the strong connection. We sit waiting for some confrontational dialogue, some moment Batman faces his own image...but it never comes. What a let down.

Ultimately by the end of the book you feel short changed. The bad guys are so poorly written and introduced you think if Paul Dini wrote this he could fit it into one issue. A cult who sucks people dry of their blood could easily fill 32 pages rather than 128. In the Wagner-Batman mythos I'm sure this will be better read when there is a volume to follow it, but as it stands alone it doesn't leave you wanting more. Wagner's take is fun and refreshing at times, but this one needed more thought. Or at least more intrigue. Batman and the Mad Monk...the Mad Monk of what; by books end I don't think anyone really cares anymore.

For me, with this second entry in the Dark Moon Rising series of Batman novels, Matt Wagner joins my list of the best Batman writers in the past 5-10 years or so alongside Miller, Dini, and Loeb. Not only can he write the character well, his art is quickly becoming what I imagine when I think of Batman. I think other writers/editors agree too, as more and more of Wagner's Batman illustrations appear on covers.

The Mad Monk picks up where The Monster Men leaves off, the first book in this series. A new villain is introduced, but Batman and the rest of his relationships are developing. It's still early in the dark detective's career and he's having to deal with keeping his identity secret from his girlfriend, and sovling cases with Gordon for the first time. Wagner weaves a simple tale, inspired and reinterpreted from one of Batman's earliest adventures where he encounters a Monk cloaked in red who may or may not be a vampire. Batman is investigating the recent murders while trying to balance out time with his girlfriend Julie, who was introduced in Monster Men. Julie's father Norman returns, as well as crime boss Sal Moroni.

What I'm really enjoying about these books, are how they intertwine story and art elements from both Year One as well as Loeb and Sale's Bat books. It's beginning to bridge the gap and fill in the time between Year One and The Long Halloween in Batman's continuity. It's making Bruce's early years of crime fighting that much more enjoyable to relive for me.

It's hard to say if I enjoyed this more than Monster Men or not. They fit so nicely together that I like to think of them as an ongoing storyline. Julie's character is getting more interesting and less annoying in this book as she deals with being the neglected flame in Bruce's life as well as her father's downward spiral into alcoholism and paranoia. Batman's partnership with Gordon is in full swing by this point, although it's clear that Gordon struggles with his affiliation with a man that dresses like a bat and how that might affect his career and his family. Overall some good solid development all around. The inner monologue and dream sequences contribute greatly.

Not quite as much action in this one as Monster Men, but still some excitement in every chapter. The way the story is told visually is really fluid and helps the flow of each scene. I hope Wagner is in the process of writing another installment, because currently he's creating some of the best recent additions to the Batman canon.