Columbia Books

This is something you should really take a look at it may happen before we know it.....GORE in The White House as our Leader

Mr. Gottlieb is one of the finest photographers our country has to offer! His portrait of Washington is a love song to our nation's capitol. The photographs are spectacular, accompanied by a personal, touching and sometimes humorous text. If one thinks they know Washington, this book is a must see through this photographer's eyes. If one has never visited our nation's capitol, this will be a personal journey through a beautiful city.

This survey of the Catholic women's ordination debate provides the first sustained reflection on the differences which would happen were women at the altar. Analysis includes consideration of the implications for the Catholic church, relationships between female and male priests, and underlying politics. A thought-provoking consideration for any Catholic studies program.

A fascinating and provocative look at the controversial issue of ordaining woman as Catholic priests. Dr. Raab is a professor of Religious Studies who draws on psychology and feminist theory to study what difference it would make to have women in the role of priest. Her academic study is made lively through her use of extensive interviews with current male and female Episcopcal priests and laypeople. I highly recommend this book for university- and seminary-types interested in the fields of psychology and religion; women and religion; or ordination and for those in the educated public wanting to participate in what might well be the Catholic Church's greatest debate of the 21st century.

Upstairs at the White House

I am enchanted by the stories of the first families that occupied the White House and how they made their own homes and contributions within the walls. The interaction of history and history in the making is what makes a place like the White House unique. This book included many new to me stories, as well as some excellent photos and illustrations. Highly recommend.

This lovely book, published at the time of the 200th anniversary of the occupation of the White House, consists of a compilation of essays written by a panel of distinguished writer-historians. It contains over 100 illustrations, including the earliest photos, taken in the 1840s.

The introduction, entitled "Like No Other House" says it all!The White House is unique: a "private" family home, the hub of our government, a tourist attraction, and a place of ceremony. It has been the scene of some of history's most important events and some of history's most important figures have stayed under its roof.

The White House has survived: from the burning by the British only 14 years after John and Abigail Adams moved in through many periods of neglect and mismanagement.

The book focuses more on personalities than on politics, especially the First ladies, who are given great credit by many of the essayists.

Beginning with John and Abigail Adams' short residency, the first essay follows Abigail on her long journey from Massachusetts to the "marshlands of the Potomac", where she found a barely furnished house with no wood to heat it, an unfinished staircase, and plaster walls that were still damp.

Dolley Madison managed to combine simplicity with high style with the help of architect Benjamin Latrobe. The Madison's tenure was cut short when the British burned the Executive Mansion, as it was called, in 1814.

The house was rebuilt as a national symbol, but by the time the Lincolns moved in over 100 years later, it was a shabby place. The once-elegant public rooms had threadbare rugs, dirty upholstery, faded draperies, and few amenities. Mary Lincoln immediately took upon herself the transformation of the President's house, traveling to New York and Philadelphia during wartime to look for rugs, wallpaper, china, and crystal and having much of the furniture restored. Despite her efforts, during public events, people actually cut off pieces of the wallpaper, rugs, and curtains for souvenirs.

Theodore Roosevelt "remade the presidency and reinvented the White House and his models for both have lasted a century" according to the essayist who wrote the section about him. He changed the name from the Executive Mansion to the White House and added the West Wing for executive offices. Unfortunately, the renovation was finished too fast and was mainly cosmetic. Only 50 years later, a massive structural rebuilding had to be undertaken.

I learned much more about those who have occupied the White House, but will control myself and not go into any more of that here! Believe me, this is a book that you will learn from, even if you think you know American history fairly well.

A lot of history is presented in this book. There's 269 pages of text with 34 pages of footnotes. I learned a lot just from the historical materials presented. Turner's inferences seemed compelling, although my own ignorance in this area prevents me from being certain he's on the mark. However, nothing he said contradicted what I expected. I remain open to other sources including reviewers of Turner, but this work appears to be sharp and enriching.

I've heard many different ideas about God and, until I read this book, I was largely unaware of their historicity. I viewed arguments about God as being believers versus unbelievers: it hadn't occurred to me that, in attempting to adjust to modern developments, Christian leaders had themselves reduced the need for God as an explanation. Although Turner seems impartial, his research has done unbelief a great service. Not that unbelievers should be complacent, but it does seem reassuring that modern historical developments have undermined, and should continue to undermine, the need for religious belief and allow for more constructive responses to the human predicament. Historical determinism? Or just humanity growing up?

This book is excellently written and very illuminating on the subject of how it came to be possible that a person could say 'I don't believe in God.' Turner takes the reader through history from the Rennaissance to the mid-19th century to show the progress of unbelief. Interestingly, his thesis, which is very well argued, is that it was the Church herself who let in the demons of unbelief, which usually came in the form of scientific discovery. In brief, the Church shot herself in the foot.

This is not a tract against the Church, though. It is very clearly written to show how those events and beliefs which undermined the legitimacy of the Church were not necessarily bad; it was the Church who made them so. For example, scientific discovery in itself was not bad, but the Church before the scientific revolution had based its legitimacy so strongly on the literal account of Creation, for example, that when there was doubt thrown on that theory, everything began to crumble.

Turner is pretty much done with his story by the mid 1800s, before Darwin's _Origin of Species_ was published. Contrary to popular imagination, Darwin's theory was not particularly groundbreaking in the case for atheism; the groundwork had already been set.

This book is not difficult to read at all, yet it tackles some tough subject material. Highly recommended for readers of all scientific and religious backgrounds.

It's very rare to encounter Milton's works in the original Englosh! Almost nobody speaks, reads or writes Englosh anymore, and it's delightful to think that Milton might have been one of my drinking buddies!

This book is a delight. Great for anyone who loves English literature. Possibly the greatest man ever to write in English; rivalled only by Shakespeare. I'm not much of a fan of poetry, but this takes my breath away. Only quibble: for a text this wonderful and timeless, I would have expected a better presentation. The paperback of this book has a cheap binding, and is printed on what feels like pulp paper.

This books is great. I am so glad that a friend left it in my car and said you should read this!!!. I am happy that i did. It is really a great book, if you like to kind of get some answers, some more deeper and complicated explanations on to why thigs happen in a certain ways or even what they are and they unfold. The book definatly makes you think about whats going on in your wold as you read the book, it is something that you can definatly relate to and learn!!!

Would you like to know more about Philosofy? Or would you prefer a great suspence novel? Why the world was created? Was it created? Are you different from a plant, a dog or even from another man? If one of this questions intrigue you, you must read this book! And if they don't, it's time to think about life, death and the whole universe around us! This book can help you understand yorself! It's the kind of book you can't stop reading until you finish it! And when it ends, you ask yourself why you've read it that fast

I am a beginning oil painter and this book is great. It focuses on different aspects in great detail without confusing you.

This is an excellent book! More information than any of the other similar books I've purchased. Good maps, succinct descriptions of conditions and animal life, tide information, and site warnings. Although the entire book is in B&W, there are interesting photographs mixed in with the text.

For the most part, information in the book has been correct and consistent with my own observations. This is a great introduction to how diverse and exciting the local diving can be, and why it's considered some of the best waters in the world. Buy this book!

I have been studying the Noh drama in printed English translations, and find the translations in this volume to be quite good. The selection is tasteful, and the format is very accessible. It is surprising to me that there is still so little in the way of Noh performances in the US, and I live in a large metropolitan area where there is a considerable Japanese-American community. Thus, I have to content myself with English translations in books. Some more recent Noh translations also contain elaborate stage directions, something lacking in the Keene volume. Thus, the Keene collection is of value primarily for the literary interest of the plays. Nonetheless I highly recommend it.

IF you are over sixty, you must have this book. It has all the great songs that you grew up with like Deep Purple, Star Dust, Thanks for the Memory, Sophisticated Lady, and You're nobody til somebody loves you, and 94 others. This are wonderful melodies about love and life from a bygone era. Some of the early scores lack the chord notations that I find helpful when I play the piano. But they have all the words, and many of the stars that introduced them on the stage or the movies. This is a great book.