Wagner Books

You just do not see much about the wildly popular Grendel Comics from Comico written by Matt Wagner and the Pander Brothers. That is unfortunate, but maybe it is time for a new generation to discover the character. With the 25th anniversary editions coming out, and the original Comico comic books being reissued by Dark Horse they are slowly coming back into circulation, it is time to find out and read about the Grendel story. The premise of the Grendel series was that various people snap and then take on the character exacting bloody revenge on the problems and issues of the day. Some are darker than others, some explore human issues, those times where we could be stronger about our principles and morals but fail abjectly.

The Devil by the Deed looks at the Hunter Rose period, the original serialization is hard to find, but the anniversary edition is worth reading. Dark Horse has done a wonderful presentation of the original material, and the book is just as rich, dense, and enjoyable as it was the first time around as a comic book. They are well worth picking up and taking a look at the implications and conclusions. Grendel is a machine in many ways through these, there is no way for the character to accomplish his goals, without changing everyone around him, friends, family, and everyone else. What the Grendel character never seems to understand or realize is that change will only come with him as a leader, not as a source of violence and destruction. The series is overall interesting, and worth reading.

Grendel will influence you, these are much more than comic books, in many ways, Matt Wagner has hit on one of those few universal meme's, power, revenge, anger, that consumes the actor in the end.

While Devil by the Deed still stands as an important and quite beautifully realized milestone in comics history, I did find the decision to recolor the work in the 'black, white, and red' style to be a mistake. The coloring of the original version of the story had always been one of my favorite aspects of the work, and I do not think the revision was necessary or desirable. While it is nice to own a hardcover of the story (which is mostly undiminished by the alteration), I may have thought twice had I known about the recoloring. That'll teach me to do a little research, I guess. Fortunately, I do still own a copy of the 1993 re-issue (I've never run across a copy of the original Comico collection).
I can at least content myself with the fact that this version of Devil by the Deed still stands lightyears ahead of the alterations that Image did to the original Mage collection.

The art work is very much like something you would expect from a talented highschooler; the writing is like a movie treatment written by a highschooler who is NOT remotely as talented as his mother says he is.

This book is a visual and literary masterpiece. Matt Wagner took a novel approach to the comic book format and created the poetic dark story of Hunter Rose aka Grendel, the most sadistic and romantic killer in comic book history. It chronicles the birth and death of Grendel in a smoothly flowing pictorial, with text inserts. This book is a must read if you are a fan of the dark and twisted. This is not a children's book by any means

This book included chapters on Gustav Stickley, joinery and woodworking techniques, wood finishing and upholstery. The heart of the book is ten projects, complete with large color photos. They range from a hall mirror to a Morris chair. Some designs may be original, one is from Popular Mechanics' Mission Furniture, How to Make It, and the rest seem to be based upon articles from Stickley's The Craftsman magazine.

Not surprisingly, since most of the general designs are based on Stickley, they are on the whole quite attractive. They are simplified versions of production designs, and were originally meant for the home woodworker. Unlike the reproduction book Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture, there is a wealth of detail and all of the pieces have a place in the modern home. The author has included two pieces that I call Neo-Craftsman: a coffee table and a hall or foyer magazine table.

The engineering of the pieces, beneath the facade, may cause some problems. In particular, Mr. Wagner seems to be unaware of the problems that seasonal wood movement can cause when large panels are tightly secured. For instance, his coffee table top is doweled in place. I should be mentioned that the author is very fond of using dowels EVERYWHERE in the furniture. He even uses them to assemble drawers.

I recommend this book, with reservations. Like most similar books, you must have a shop full of power tools, and be familiar with their use, so it really is not for the complete novice. Knowledge of doweling and making mortises and tenons is a must, and it seems that one would have to have a jointer and a planer (or be accomplished with the hand tool equivalents) for the majority of the projects. There are a wealth of exploded drawings of the parts, but they are poorly drawn. I suspect that the illustrator Ms. Barbara Smullen is not a draftsman or a woodworker. Some of the perspectives are drawn wrong, and one would think that some tenons are haunched when they are not. However, all of the measurements seem to be correct, so one can go by them.

Note For The Advanced Woodworker:

It is useful to see completed pieces from the Stickley book. I don't like some of Wagner's joinery techniques, but you can use proper tabletop fasteners and can properly dovetail the drawers, etc. Another thing he has done is skip tenon shoulders for some spindles - I guess to make construction easier. Of course, then the edges of the mortises have to be perfect. One odd thing that I noticed in the photos is that he doesn't seem to use quartersawn oak anywhere. I wonder whether this book was a project assigned by a publisher...

After reading Blair Howard's "Arts and Crafts Furniture", I was expecting a lot from this book and it didn't deliver. I agree with all of Donald Thomson's complaints above. The joinery seemed questionable and he took short cuts I would not have made. Additionally, I felt his pieces lacked the elegance that the better mission designs have, both by Stickley and by others. However, the book is very detailed and easy to follow, so it should be easy for a beginning woodworker to follow. Joining boards and cutting mortices appeared to be the most advanced things he ever did, and he avoided cutting mortice and tenon joints whenever possible.

When I became interested in building "Mission Style" furniture I purchased this book. The designs are wonderfully illustrated and easily followed. I particularly appreciated the comments provided by the author as to the skill level required to complete a specific project. The beginning of the book provides a brief but informative history of Gustav Stickley and some important techniques that are required in building the projects.

I would highly recommend this book to any beginning interested in building "Mission Style" furniture. This book has inspired me to read more about Gustav Stickley and to build more challenge pieces of furniture. Absolutely Excellent!

Wagner has done a great job explaining wood working techniques for the beginner. This is a great book for beginning woodworkers to use when building this Mission furntiure. I built the table. Had great results. (A nice historical introduction makes the best reading in the book!)

I read this book to get an understanding of the history of korea in the greater sense, and also as one of a group of books on Korean history. It is very comprehensive, coverinig gthe range of Korean history from a brief synopsis of the prehistory of Korea, through the major part of ancient Korean history to the bulk of more modern history. I enjoyed this book finding it to be an interesting read, with a lot of details, would make a good history text for a class on korean history, which is exactly what I wanted from this book.

This book provides an excellent overview of Korean history. It is neither too skimpy nor too detailed. It also contains a number of useful photographs (black and white) and illustrations (black and white), which helped me read this book through. While many books (either written in English or translated into English) on Korean history deal almost exclusively with Korean War, only a few books are available that describe the history of Korea from its prehistoric beginnings to the modern colonial occupation of Korea by Japan. Although Korea is the most important neighboring country of Japan, the history textbooks used in Japanese schools spare very little space for this topic. I recommend this book to anyone, who is interested in learning Korean history, as a first book to read.

In the original Korean version of this book, there is a very significant final chapter on elitism in Korean society. This chapter is omitted from the translated versions. That aside, the book offers a wealth of detail and provides what is probably the most comprehensive single-volume overview of Korean history in English. However, the historiography is limited to the listing and description of events. There is little analysis and the reader will, as I had to, read a number of additional and more specialised sources in order to understand why things happened as they did. Professor Yi's book is a good place to start learning about Korean history.

This book is very difficult to read because it is not well-written and also because there are too many details. Furthermore, the author introduces so many characters in each chapter but never talks about them again later in the book. So it is difficult to determine who is important and who is not important.

I find it impossible to believe that one reviewer found this book "neither too skimpy nor too detailed." How else do I know that this book is truly too detailed and inaccessible for most readers? One of the translators, Edward Wagner, concedes in another book ("Korea: Old and New") that this book was, in fact, too detailed.

I never received this book. Your earlier message said it was sent the middle of January but to day it was not received. Please track for me. David Fine

If there is a book that presents valuable and valid lessons in how to resolve differences, be they in attitudes towards the arts, the lack of music in our educational system, the etiology of the Israeli/Palestinian dichotomy, and so much more, then this collection of conversations between Daniel Barenboim and Edward W. Said as edited and synthesized by Ara Guzelimian is it. This powerful but too brief book reaches for the Nobel Peace Prize in its courage, exploration of the state of man and the possibilities for the future, and in its tremendously accessible format that makes the workings of these three great minds available for us all. Each of the extended conversations taped betaween 1995 and 1999 addresses an interesting topic that serves to open vistas that go far beyond the crux of the topic. Hearing Barenboim expound on the fact that no one can exactly interpret a composer's score because the spirit is not on the page but in the making and experiencing the 'sound' that happens in a live performance rather obliterates all critics who descry individual interpretation of the great composers as "not the composer's intention!" Said carries this into the realm of literature, suggesting that contemporary writers are where they are because of the giants of the past and that we, as readers, are influenced in our interpretation of new work dependent upon our exposure and digestion of works by the old masters. Contemporary music by composers such as Carter, Schoenberg, and Birtwistle are discussed in a way that assists our concept of listening and learning in the concert hall. Similar parallels and similar paradoxes in the international political arena are given the same level of inspiring dialog and paths to understanding. This is a fine, fine book and we are indebted to Ara Guzelimian not only for his written and conversational contributions, but for persevering in having this volume published. Read this and gain insight and intelligence on many streams of thought that will help us all save this planet.

Having heard Barenboim and Said interviewed on NPR I rushed to Amazon to acquire this book. I was not disppointed! These are highly literate men, wise men, who see music in a social context. Although their roots are Israeli and Palestinian, their exposure to other cultures has broadened their perspectives so that their opinions are informed by their experiences in Egypt, Argentina, America, Germany, Israel, etc. The continuing theme is music, especially that of Beethoven and later Wagner, but in the context of their societies and ours. It may be that the hope forpeace in the world is shared music!

I was very excited to read a book written by one of my favorite 20th century intellectuals and one of my favorite pianists. This is not a musicology text; it is perhaps, something more valuable than that. Edward Said, who died recently, was a pianist himself; this fact combined with his explorations into the meaning of democracy and social culture made reading this book a very interesting proposition alone. The book did not disappoint and offered many surprises both in terms of exploring what classical music can offer to contemporary culture and what music - especially Beethoven's music - means in political terms. The book is organized as a series of conversations in which Baremboim and Said discuss topics that include the apparent detachment that classical music has today from the rest of culture as opposed to the time when an understanding and admiration for it was deemed indispensable for the educated and higher classes. However, what makes the book a pleasure to read is one one level Said and Baremboim clealry love music passionatley, on the other Baremboim is an Israeli citizen, who was the first to perform in the occupied Territories with a palestinian orchestra and also sponsored a Palestinian orchestra to play inn Germany. Edward Said was an intellaetcual that argued passionatley for the Palestinian cause. Their firendship and coomon interest in music offers an undeniable sense of hope for those of us, like myself, who are troubled by the ongiong Arab-Israeli conflict that appears to worsen ebery day. That this hope should be nunaced and coloured with the music of Beethoven seems to be not only fascinating and beautiful, but a tribute to a composer who saw and used music to shake the world and argue for freedom. In so doing baremboim and Said discuss the possibility that music can serve as a model or for undertsanding between peoples and global citizenship. They are both idealists in this sense, but their vision makes beautiful sense nonetheless.

This book was a great start for something I am hoping to do on a regular basis, iPhone development.

It's just a basic web app which are a combile of AJAX and CSS. Not much new.

I've never owned a Mac (until now) and never done any development for that platform. While this book doesn't intend to cover the recently released iPhone SDK (it was published before the SDK's release), it does provide excellent coverage of web-based development for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). It leverages a free, open-source library to take much of the grunt work out of it, but also provides detailed code samples and examples and enough information so you could probably do it without the library should you desire. If you're interested in making your site look and feel like an iPhone app, this book will get you there. You should understand HTML, CSS and, preferably, a modicum of Javascript to get the most out of the book.

This book contains quite some materials from the book you can also find them in Apple's documentations. It also has quite some details on Joe Hewitt's iUI framework. But generally speaking, it lacks more detailed explanation (on CSS, AJAX, JavaScript). Here's the dilema: if you are an experienced CSS and JavaScript developer, you will find it lacking the depth. It barely scratches the surface of what real AJAX-powered iPhone applications can do. If you are somewhat a newbie developer, you will need more explanation on the subject. Unfortunately, this book falls in-between the above 2 scenarios.

After all, this is the first and only book on iPhone programming, it's a nice start for anyone that's interested.

"Radical Hollywood" is both fabulously entertaining and enlightening. For movie fans (who isn't) and students of American history, it provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the radical politics of the directors, screen writers, and actors who were part of the Hollywood mainstream until McCarthyism drove them out. When you reflect on the greatness of their work, you realize that the witch-hunt was our loss as well as theirs.

The cover photo of "Radical Hollywood" suggests that many of these figures were not ordinarily associated with the left. With James Cagney placing his hand somewhat menacingly on Jean Harlow in "The Public Enemy", you have to wonder what the connection is. As it turns out, the script was written by William Bright, who was one of the first left-wing innovators in Hollywood. Hailing from Chicago, he was part of a group of youngsters around Dr. Ben Reitman, Emma Goldman's longtime lover. During the Great Depression, he worked for a time as a smalltime bootlegger and was inspired by this experience to write about criminal life, emphasizing how social relations are distorted by capitalism.

Cagney threw his support to the burgeoning labor movement in the 1930s on Bright's prompting. He signed on to a support committee for strikers in the San Joaquin Valley in 1934. When the Hearst press began to redbait Cagney, he pulled back from future involvement with the left. If witch-hunting had not been a factor in Hollywood from the beginning, it is not too difficult to imagine much more willingness on the part of movie stars to speak out on social and political questions.

To see how figures such as Ed Asner, Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn are stigmatized in the equivalent of the Hearst press today for having the temerity to speak out about US foreign policy, you can only appreciate the scholarly effort that went into "Radical Hollywood". For in the final analysis its authors demonstrate that radicalism is very much a phenomenon that grew out of the American soil and was not imported by agents of a foreign power.

Radical Hollywood, by Paul Buhle and David Wagner, is an exhaustively (if at times exhaustingly) comprehensive and, as far as I can tell, mostly accurate (if at times chronologically confusing) catalog of the many U.S. motion pictures created during the brief cinematic "Golden Age" from roughly the beginning of the New Deal to the onset of the Cold War by what could loosely be called the Hollywood Left -- or the Left in Hollywood, such as it was.

The fact, though, that Buhle and Wagner had to write a book largely to explain the alleged "radical" subtext in these films by their non-monolithic screenwriters illustrates how the "threat" posed to U.S. society (read: the capitalist class) by such pictures was wildly exaggerated by right-wing anti-communists for political reasons. (Was Lassie Come Home, for example, going to undermine the foundations of capitalism simply because it was adapted for the screen by a Communist?) And yet, maybe that perceived subtlety (where present, enforced perhaps at least as much by studio economics and cultural restraints as by national politics) was the kind of "subversion" the inquisitors found so dangerous to the interests of the social class they actually represented.

Or maybe it was a case of guilt by either membership or association, with the work of any Communist -- or anyone associated however remotely with a Communist or the Communist Party -- being cast under suspicion, whatever the nature of his or her work. But just as Freud is reputed to have said that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, sometimes, say, an expressly comedic film is just that, and nothing more. And even from a Leftist perspective, that is not necessarily bad. Consider, though, Sullivan's Travels, which oddly political yet intriguing picture instead of self-consciously being "an answer to communism," actually makes a case for it in spite of itself, and which despite its intentions (or perhaps because of them), may be more politically effective than many a more tendentiously political piece of cinema, even when the title character keenly observes that, "There's a lot to be said for making people laugh," it being "all some people have." (Curiously, the opening scene-within-a-scene of this 1941 comedy -- written and directed by Preston Sturges, who, like this film, is not mentioned by Buhle and Wagner nor is he identified by them as being a part of the Hollywood Left community -- anticipated the ending of the 1948 drama Ruthless, co-scripted by one of the Hollywood Ten and discussed by the authors.) Indeed, there is nothing inherently wrong or reactionary with making people laugh, provided one sees that culture can and should be for the edification as well as the entertainment of the public. And this is where skilled and honest Leftist cultural workers are in their element. But just as an artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery, according to the great Paul Robeson, so, ultimately, must an artist's audience.

However, Buhle and Wagner betray a kind of not so much discernibly anti-communist as anti-Communist (or anti-Communist Party) subtext of their own throughout the book -- typical of that tendency of neo-Left thought developing in the 1960s which, by intent or in effect, sought the very break with the historical continuity of the Communist Left that Buhle and Wagner see as a consequence of the Hollywood blacklist, as when they blame "Party bureaucrats" for the demise of the Hollywood Left (or what passed for it), when were it not for the (albeit imperfect) agency of the Communist Party (often in the midst of internal struggle as well as external attack, the effect of the former evidently not sufficiently and fairly understood or appreciated by the authors), most of those who became the radical screenwriters and filmmakers of Hollywood would likely never have even thought of attempting what they somehow managed in some form to bring to the movie screen.

This is a good look at the often ignored early radicals of hollywood. It gives a good history of the time leading up to and the aftermath of the Blacklist and it's antisemitic tendencies. Paul Buhle, et al seem to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject but I found their method of sharing the information a little overwhelming and pedantic. Every page is dotted with references to very obscure films, many with alternative titles, that are impossible to find. It's difficult to envision many of the situations and influential aspects of the films when you can find no more information on them much less see them. Taking all of the authors information on faith is not the usual film studies method. In contrast to many books about hollywood this one dosn't have many salacious details about harlets and moguls. I would recommend this book to serious film/hollywood history buffs only.

It's quite true that the authors' knowledge of Hollywood film history is encyclopedic, and this alone makes the book an indispensable reference to the stories behind the stories of innumerable great and less-than-great films. Described elsewhere as "the Abbott and Costello of film studies," these two spew forth gallons of embarrassingly wrongheaded and outmoded leftie humbug; nevertheless this is exactly what makes their work so useful. Yes, all those "paranoid" right-wingers were right all along about the real motives and agendas in Hollywood "back then." And not much has changed...it's still "Fantasyland" in more ways than one, which ought to be an important clue to the etiology of leftism. My only real objection to this work is that being so thoroughly deluded by their own political fantasies as they are, the authors attempt to claim almost everyone in Hollywood as a real, potential, or lapsed leftie, whether or not there was ever much actual evidence of it...a kind of triple-reverse McCarthyism. One final tip: buy this book second-hand. I'd hate to think I'd given one red cent (no pun intended) to either of these authors or their publisher.

This book is a wonderful resource for anyone trying to understand more about spiritual warfare and its application to things we buy, places we live, and the actions we or our bloodline have done. Buying a ceramic cat in a voodoo shop will surely bring spiritual darkness on the home. I have prayed in various homes that were oppressed by spirit(s) of darkness and found this oppression tied to articles people owned as well as things that have happened on the land even before the home was built.

Rebecca Wagner Sytsema and Chuck D. Pierce have written a great Scripturally based book that is a must have reference for those folks who want to keep their homes free of demonic oppression.

This book is a tragic commentary on the mind-set of too many Evangelical Christians. Promoted here-in is what might be called the "Fortress Mentality" - an insular, paranoid attitude that fixates on religious "purity." It fosters fear, paranoia, ignorance and the inability (or worse, the unwillingness) to think critically, rationally or logically, and it operates from the premise that to be a "True Christian," one is required to undergo the ruthless amputation of the intellect, the sense of humor and most particularly - the imagination.

What nonsense!

Purge your house of crystals, cats, comic books, video games, fantasy novels and anything at all representative of mythical creatures or pagan gods? Well, the Encyclopedia Britannica will have to go. And oh yes, that King James Bible mentions unicorns - better burn that, too.

Are you really so pathetically insecure in your faith as to harbor the fear that possessing a Harry Potter novel can invite demons in your front door? Okay, if you happen to be a recovering cult victim fleeing the wrath of your former coven members, by all means, set fire to the tarot deck, the pentagrams, the Ouija board and the scrying glass. But a born-again Christian with no ties to genuine occult practices has nothing whatsoever to fear from harmless fairy tales, nor from the presence of ceramic cats or decorative crystals. And Christians who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and the Person of Jesus Christ are not vulnerable to demon possession! (Matthew 8:29, I Corinthians 10:20-21, James 2:19.)

As to this book's absurd contention that all "books dealing with fantasy" should be consigned to the proverbial bonfire, one can only wonder how that proposal would have been received by such great _Christian_ fantasy writers as John Milton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, G.K. Chesterton or George MacDonald, or by modern Christian fantasists such as Katherine Kurtz, Stephen R. Lawhead or Tim Powers. They would likely be appalled. And very, very saddened.

The innate human aspects of intellect, humor and imaginative creativity are _not_ demonic. They are God-given!

Please utilize the brain God gave you and do not follow this book's puerile, paranoid advice to purge these things from your life and home. You'll only be the poorer for it, and this world is far too poor a place already.

- A Christian fantasy writer

If you are looking for this book, it is available. It's available in stores and here on Amazon.com. It has been retitled. The book is now called "Protecting Your Home From Spiritual Darkness". ISBN: 0830736379

This is the best "how to" book on ridding your home, office, living space, car, etc. of demonic influences. You may not have thought that "pretty little vase Aunt May brought back from Russia" was demonic but it very well could be. You are taught through balanced biblical teaching that you need to "spiritually house clean" where you are living. This book travels with us when we go abroad and is a mainstay of our home library. If you do not get this book you may be in for trouble that you could and should have avoided. BUY IT NOW!!!!!

I think this book was a very nice well written book. It is good for cildren of all ages. My daughter is 15 and she really enjoyed it. [Her favourite rugrat is Chuckie.] I think you should get yours today!

Kathi Wagner has a great future. Share this book with a child

This is a silly book that little ones will think is fun, but for a parent trying to introduce potty training it leaves one wondering....... For instance, I did not appreciate the part where Chuckie is supposed to be using the toilet paper to clean himself after using the potty because it shows a chaotic mass of toilet paper all over the place. I'm trying to encourage my child to use a few sheets & not to unravel the entire spool of toilet paper! Also there's not much in the way of a story to read. I've read a half dozen other potty books and they were heads above this one.

Whether you're child loves Chuckie, Tommy, Phil & Lil and Spike or not, the pictures and situation in this book will delight. The only thing missing from this wonderful paperback is Angelica's devious influences. In several short pages, author Kathi Wagner and illustrator Ron Zalme capture the babies' individual personalities and send Chuckie on the quest of a toddler's lifetime. Pure fun, whether you're potty-trained or not!

I bought this book to help bolster my magic skills in my daily battle against satan as his army of invisible devils. At first, I was skeptical, but i got this book used for 35 cents. I thought this might be a bad sign that there were over a dozen available for under a dollar, like maybe some of the spells didn't work, or maybe the whole war was over (the enemy is invisible so it can be hard to tell). I didn't want to be buying any prayer war surplus.

I flipped through it when i got it, excited to learn maybe a fireball spell or lightning. I could not find either spell for this. The book focuses mainly on summoning magic, calling forth ghost to destroy enemies and such things. I did the spell, but I didn't see anything happen. Maybe I did it wrong, it's hard to say.

Wrap up: great book for basic summoning spells, not so good for the offensive magic.

This book has helped me to understand warfare prayer on a greater level. NOt only is it filled with practical data and experiences, but it is also biblically sound. Dr. Wagner has succeeded in informing intercessors and aspiring intercessors to strategically take back what belongs to the LORD.

My interest has come to be warfare prayer in many areas. I use it in the areas of prayer for: elders and ministers, petitions, personal and many others. I have found this book to be extremely useful for this. It gives you not only basic help for how to do this type of prayer, it also gives you Scriptural backing for why. It also underscores how important prayer is in the life of the Christian. The book also gives some guidelines on how to do warfare prayer, if you should be doing warfare and other such topics. I would recommend this book for anyone that is interested in doing warfare prayer and would also recommend it to congregations as a tool for having warfare prayer as part of their prayer ministry.

1. Is this an in depth presentation?
This book is a ground breaking study on territorial principalities and power and how to engage in spiritual warfare against them. Dr. Wagner draws from many real life examples, but readily admits that we have only begun scratching the surface and that a lot more study and maturing is necessary with regards to the understanding of strategic level warfare principles.

2. Did I agree with the way that the author interprets scripture?
In many instances in the book the author points out that one of the primary objections against strategic level warfare is that there is no specific mandate in the bible that it should be done. This has also been my primary concern with regards to strategic level warfare. The author devotes a large section of his book addressing this issue. In Chapter 5 (Territoriality then and now) the author argues that throughout the old and new testament it was taken for granted that certain spirits ruled over certain geographical areas. He uses many scriptural references in the hope that together they will form a coherent picture. Though difficult for our post-modern minds to accept I do agree with Dr. Wagner. The next question that automatically follows after accepting the fact that there are spirits assigned to territories is: "Do we have the authority to come against them?" Once again Dr. Wagner makes a very convincing case that God is raising up certain people to do exactly that in Chapter 7.

3. Was there any new information?
This book was almost entirely new information to me. The most useful information in this book is that which is presented in chapters 6, 9 and 10. In chapter 6 the author gives the preconditions of a Christian who wants to get involved in strategic level warfare. They are:
* Submitting to God - seeing him as Lord.
* Drawing near to God - having a vital prayer life.
* Cleansing our hands and our hearts - living holy lives (though we do not have to be perfect).

In chapter 9 the author gives 6 rules for taking a city for Christ. They are:
* Identifying an appropriate are (well boundaried and not to large)
* Getting the pastors of that area to stand in unity and regularly pray for the area.
* Getting the entire body of Christ involved (not just the Charismatics or Pentocostals)
* Prepare spiritually as described in Chapter 6.
* Prepare strategically by researching the area in terms of past history, sins of the people in that area and also by using the spiritual gift of discernment.
* Involve intercessors that have been gifted to do battle on this level of warfare.

In chapter 10 the author gives a list of potential pitfalls to be avoided:
* Being ignorant of the concept of spiritual warfare or the danger involved in spiritual warfare
* Being fearful of the enemy.
* Underestimating the enemy.
* Overestimating yourself and being arrogant in spiritual warfare.
* Not being covered in prayer by fellow warriors.
* Not waiting on God and not being guided by Him in warfare prayer.
* Being impatient and running ahead of God's timing.

4. What impact did the book have on me?
The book inspired me to seek God for an increase in personal holiness. It also made me think of the spiritual powers assigned to my own life and my family in general. It has inspired me to pray for discernment for knowing what they are and guidance in praying against them.

this book is utterly useless. the author makes good points, but he would have been better off just writing a short essay. the book drones on and on, every paragraph feels exactly like the one before it. saying something over and over again, hammering it in like that works sometimes but this authorly surely cant. go to borders, read the introduction and the last chapter, and then move onto something better.

dont waste your money on this.

"Wagner's concise and vivid chronicle of the rise of paternalistic American charity is a valuable handbook for anyone who wants to challenge the duplicitous nostrums that the vapid stars of both political parties have lately offered up on everything from welfare to the widening class gap to the impoverishment of public education to the more and more degraded public-health system"

"Wagner's book will be interesting reading for donors, policymakers and advocates for the poor...with charities' influence growing, the time is right to raise red flags -- and Wagner's (criticisms) are largely on target....His book attempts principally to raise questions in an unquestioning age."

David Wagner's book What's Love Got to Do With It, provides the reader to an insightful perspective on American charity. Penetrating the veneer of "do-gooderism," Wagner exposes the abuses, distortions and deliberate social control mechaisms that have been a part of the American charitable entrprise since its inception. This book is a must read for anyone involved in philanthopy, social welfare service provision, or social work education.