Resources Books

Authors Mark Hurd and Lars Nyberg have brought a wealth of business management wisdom in this book. As the book is classified under business intelligence and information services, it is likely to be missed by business managers and students of management. The book defines contemporary global company to be one that collaborates effectively across the entire organization, whether worldwide or in one country. The other fascinating theme in the book is how a global business could manage effectively by centralizing goals and democratizing decisions. The best part of the book are the brief case studies from real businesses on how a concept that is explained is put into practice. The amount of wisdom packed in 130 pages makes it an outstanding book on "fact-based management" in practice.

For many years, hardware and software vendors have preached the benefits of unifying databases for major companies. In recent years, there has been a strong move to open up those unified databases for more and more people in the company so that better and timelier business decisions can be made. Such an effort can cost a large company hundreds of millions and be an even larger cost in percentage of assets for smaller companies. Before deciding to move ahead, what can a leader expect to gain? What must the leader do, once deciding to go ahead, in order to be sure that the gain is achieved? Those are the helpful subjects of The Value Factor.

I was very pleased to see that this book emphasized the business process of making such a change . . . rather than simply touting the potential benefits. You cannot spend potential benefits, after all.

Within the book, there were lots of examples to show what kind and size of benefits can be achieved . . . and how they are achieved. I found the airline examples to be especially telling in creating fast flexibility to respond within hours to marketplace shifts. The financial services examples were also compelling, as I was reminded of how often such organizations treat us differently depending on what product of service is involved. Seeing these examples, it was also clear how much it helps streamline decision-making if everyone is looking at the same facts in the same way . . . reflecting the total situation.

The book is very brief, which will be welcome to time-weary executives. It would be an excellent choice for a three hour plane flight.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the seemingly endless repetition of the need to break down independent "silos" of operations that do not cooperate with one another and have different data sets.

A good related book is E-Business Intelligence by Bernard Liautaud of Business Objects.

See what needs to be done . . . and empower those close to the problem to get on with it!

"It's a book of staggering blandness, but in fairness, no more than thousands like it: the CEO's management manual," notes The Register in a review of the book. (...) "A title to send anyone to sleep.".

It goes on to say, "The CEO may become expert at pattern recognition, but staring at the patterns doesn't help with the predictive instincts that often go into making a hit product. That's the essential risk of entrepreneurship, and it's a wildly unpredictable factor. The technocratic management culture of the modern MBA school tries to minimize that risk, and so we have remedies such as "Information Alignment", which tell us nothing. Hurd is very much a product of his time."

We couldn't disagree more. Information leads to knowledge and to insights that allows one to have the "predictive instincts". Data warehousing and data mining can uncover true gold since information and not data is the basis of any wisdom - from personal life to corporate life.

This short book can actually be an eye opener to those who have been sleeping or tend to. As the above review shows, one more reason to read it.

This book is like a clear lamp knifing through the fog of business, saying that what really matters is developing one clear unified concept of your business, declaring who you are and what you do. The key to achieving this "unified truth" is information. Most companies stack information in silos represented by business units, so one part of the company doesn't know what the other parts are doing. Authors Mark Hurd and Lars Nyberg of the NCR global information technology firm make a cogent case that the key to overcoming this shortcoming is to take information out of scattered departments and develop centralized storage facilities for its collection, processing and retrieval. Armed with this base, this "unified truth," employees can become more customer-centric. One caveat, however, is that single view companies face the danger of tunnel vision. Sometimes companies need internal, competing views to be sure they consider the correct perspective. Although this book is an NCR public relations effort, it sets out a key point: if your firm isn't making information its top priority, you're could be falling behind the curve. We highly recommend this book to leaders and future leaders.

Hurd and Nyberg call on their vast industry knowledge to provide corporate leaders with real-world examples from top companies around the globe where information gathering steers profitable business decisions.

This quick read (only 132 pages) provided me with the confidence I need to drive practices within my organization to get and maintain good information for decision-making purposes.

I was pleased to see leaders at Hurd and Nyberg's level, who really understand the value of a unified corporate vision based on levelheaded information management, are willing to share their insight.

This is a must-read for anyone making key business decisions!

This is a great book for all leaders of church small groups. It is not the usual "how to" book on small groups, but rather has great tools on how to improve group dynamics. Anyone who has led a small group for sometime will readily identify with the group tensions that are presented. It will be encouraging to all leaders to know that they do not need to "fix" the problems of their groups as much as just bringing opposing tensions into balance. There is even an important section included at the back of the book to work through these group dynamics with your own group and let them take ownership for creating a healthier group.

One of the best books we have come across for practical application. This book is not theory about what "should" happen, but actual experience in what "does" happen in small groups. We recommend that all our small group leaders read this book!

This is an awesome book about home based small groups. Another companion book "The Seven Deadly Sins of a Small Group Ministry" is a must read too.

Before I opened Walking the Small Group Tightrope, I feared another formula for "how to do small groups." But Donahue and Robinson provide fresh insight into the realistic tensions of small groups. Through their experiences, they share failures and successes.
Donahue and Robinson claim, "Each chapter will identify the challenge, define the inherent dynamics of the tension, describe what happens when groups lean too far toward one end of the continuum, and offer suggestions and tools so leaders can help their groups manage these polarities." The hope: leaders gain the skill to walk that tightrope. Overall, they fulfill their promise.
The authors, experienced pastors of small group ministries, who've overseen thousands of groups, studied their failures as small group leaders. Through these failures, they identified six challenges. Each chapter of this book defines one of the six challenges. And every challenge presents two tensions, creating the ends of the tightrope. For example, "the learning challenge" creates the tensions of truth and life. The other tensions consist of care and discipleship, friendship and accountability, kindness and confrontation, task and people, openness and intimacy. Small group leaders must find the balance between the two polar extremes. A target in the middle of the tightrope balances the continuum and gives the leader an aim. Tools and suggestions facilitate next steps.
The identification of the six challenges, definitions of the tensions, examples of the polar extremes and tools assist in management of these tensions. The real life stories and the honesty engage the reader. The authors reveal real struggles of small group ministry without pat answers. They give insight into identifying group challenges as well as ways to spot where the reader's small group walks on that tightrope continuum.

"Tightrope" was a lifeline as our 350 member church approached the launch of our small groups ministry after 18 months of intense study and preparation. It artfully provides the reality that every aspect of small group life involves competing worthy goals ie: caring vs Bible knowledge. Which deserves more time? How to decide? Have I even considered the goal opposite the one to which I'm dedicated? Are you even aware of the 12 goals? They are intuitive once you've read about them. The opposing goals are the anchors of each 'tightrope' and we leaders determine how close to or how far from each extreme we are. AND the balance point shifts depending on the group life at that heartbeat. Wow. A new leader, convinced she could not possibly BE a leader, read "Tightrope" and said, "Oh. Now I get it. I can do this!" Truly, this book can make an 'Ah Ha!' difference in small group stewardship. Again, thank you, Willow.

Gerard Koeppel has done a remarkable job of ferretng out material and documents which demonstrate how long it took, how much cash it took, how much politicking it took to get the simple compound H2O to complex NYC. I don't mean to be glib about this. As one reviewer has noted, Manhattan without fresh supplies of water would've been another unliveable coastal town.

Just like DeWitt Clinton's Erie Canal brought goods in and out of the city, the many visionaries (Burr[for politicial and banking reasons] and Colden [for practical reasons]) gave the city an enormous insurance policy for its future which is difficult to ignore.

This book is a compelling dedication to the people who saw the need for the reservoir system and made it a reality. Sometimes the book gets bogged down with details, but that's to be expected. What wasn't expected, by this reader, was the author's perserverance and dedication to this important matter, and for that he deserves the highest accolades.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS, and THE FIVE POINTS CONCLUDED, A Novel

In "Water for Gotham," Gerard Koeppel tells in a compelling way what could have been--ahem--a dry story. Its focus is on the civic history of a nascent metropolis thirsty for water, the self-interested politicians who used that thirst for their own ends, and the few dedicated visionaries who labored against man and nature to bring cold, clean water to Manhattan. Koeppel paints a vivid picture of life in New York from colonial days through the early-1800s, when the Croton Aqueduct was opened.

One of the few significant criticisms I have about the book is that while it frequently discusses structures, equipment, and emerging technologies, little effort is made to clearly explain and describe them. While the book is not meant to be a technical or engineering review, better explanations (as opposed to cursory descriptions) of some of the methods of construction (e.g., dams, the aqueduct) would have been appreciated.

A second criticism is that the book ends too abruptly with the arrival of water through the Croton Aqueduct, with only passing mention of later developments to the City's extensive water supply system. An additional chapter on how the other reservoirs in the system were created--sometimes through contentious legal battles and property condemnation--and the disposition of some of the original Croton structures, would have been welcome.

Notwithstanding these minor quibbles, the book is enjoyable, informative and enlightening. Recommended.

When we turn on the tap we take it for granted that pure and wholesome water is supposed to come out. For Americans in the early 1800's, the supply of fresh water to New York City was an achievement on the order of the moon landing in our era -- carrying a river for 40 miles through hills and valleys and across rivers to a desperate island city.

The amazing story of New York's water supply has long been known to historians, infrastructure buffs and residents of the Westchester villages through which the beautiful Old Croton Aqueduct still passes. Gerard Koeppel's new book, Water for Gotham: a History, makes this story accessible to all.

Unlike previous works on the subject, which have emphasized the engineering accomplishments of the Croton Aqueduct, this book explores New York City's social and political history with a liveliness and wit that make the turbulent decades following the American Revolution come to life. Experience the terror of cholera and great fires, the antics of scoundrels and demagogues, and the heights of idealism, dedication and genius that are all intertwined in this epic tale.

Mr. Koeppel's book is impressively researched and is a true contribution to our understanding of New York history. That a work of non-fiction is so lively and engrossing is another reminder that truth is stranger than fiction.

The book illustrates the folly of trusting our elected officials. How often did they use a public fear to enrich their own pockets? The sordid ancestory of the Chase Manahattan Bank is a case in point that Gerard Koepell, a person who I shared classrooms with when we were growing up, brings out particularly well. The point of history is for us to learn from our collective experiences and Gerard lays it all out for us. Gerard points out that at first no one knew about cholera and it's relationship to contaminated water. I had no idea that well into the 1800s people from New York had no running water or toilets and used the streets as their "trash" depositories. What else did the book teach me? Politicians in the past had no stomach for a long-term project or long-term thinking ... Politicians were/are corrupt and weak-minded and despite the huge legislative bodies, politicians are overwhelmed and the real laws and decisions are made by 1 or 2 people and everyone else is, at best, a yes-person. The status quo is often very comfortable. In old New York, beer was a relatively safe drink because of the brewing process (ie boiling) and New York had great economic incentive to keep people drinking beer instead of water. What are the present day unrecognized-evils? Air quality? I worry that the tremendous rise in urban asthma will eventually transform into an increased risk of lung cancer, even in the non-smokers. What interests are happy with the status quo of our air? Automobile manufacturers? Oil companies? The Advertising Industry? The Media? The Pharmaceutical Industry? Anyway the book is great food for thought. Gramatically some of the sentences, particularly in the early chapters are attention grabbing gems. And that is from someone who was hit with a tennis raquet by the author. Good work Gerard! END

It is about time that an in-depth book on the subject of New York's water supply was completed. The author has done a fabulous job of putting a highly readable work together that brings to life a period we rarely think about and a topic hardly considered in our hurried modern lives. Reality, however, is that New York without water would be just another coastal town. Those interested in a photographic history of the same topic should seek The Croton Dams and Aqueduct which will be publihsed by Arcadia Press in August of 2000.

The book serves as best teacher.Being a water resource engineer,it gives me pride to read the rich experience inherited by the great author and makes me more energetic in applying the theory in to real practice.
In order to ripe the fruits in the book by a large community,in practice, in this field, in the third world,it need less to emphasise that the these editions , may be made available at prices amenable to the users.I hope every water resource engineer should have a copy of the book thus satisfying the possible great objective of author Ray K Linsley and co authors for popularising the system as a whole for the benefit of users.

This is an outstanding book despite being over 10 years old. The clarity of the text and examples is far superior to the average text. One of the few books I have been able to easily learn new material from without having the benefit of a class to attend.

This book is one of the few books that introduced me to Water Resources Engineering as a student and I am still using it more than twenty years later as a University teacher and a Professional Consultant!

It contains some hydrology, some probability, some engineering economy, and some water resources planning to supplement the material on hydraulic machines and structures, water resources projects such as hydropower, wastewater treatment, irrigation, river engineering/navigation, flood damage mitigation, and water supply. It also has worked examples, exercises, and useful tables.

This book does not overload you with verbosity. It just gives you enough to make a topic sufficiently clear for one to proceed with using the same in real situations.

As part of the McGraw Hill series in Environmental Engineering, this book covers all aspects of Water Resource Engineering from Hydraulics to Hydrology to Water Supply and Flood Control.

The book contains many useful reference tables and descriptive graphs and illustrations as well as all the standard equations and calculation methods. The book also gives tables and empirical equations in both Imperial and SI units.

The indented audience for the book is a professional engineer and may be beyond the general reader.

This was my textbook for Water Resources during Engineering School in the Spring of 1985. I have the Third Edition. It is well worn, underlined, highlighted and annotated, evidence of a very useful book! At my current position as Water Engineer at an Air Force Base, it is at the top of my shelf with my most used refernces. The right mix of theory and application. You will need a basic knowledge of Fluid Mechanics to use this text effectively.

I was very pleased with the book all the info in it was excellent!!!!

I enjoyed everything about this book. Not only are the trail maps well drawn but the descriptions of the waterfalls almost makes you feel like you are standing next to the falls as you are reading about it. One thing that makes this book unique to hiking books is the Historical Detour section at the end of each chapter. I enjoyed learning about the history of the White Mountain National Forest and the many stories about how these waterfalls got their names. I might add that the photography in this book is excellent. There are some beautiful shots of almost every waterfall mentioned in the book. Not only is this book goood for finding good waterfall hikes but it also makes for some relaxing reading.

I am an avid hiker of the Appalachian Mountains from the Carolinas to Maine. As such, I have purchased my share of guidebooks. Without a doubt in my mind, this is the best guidebook ever published. It reads more like a novel. I live in both Florida and New Hamphire and I find myself picking up this book to read for pleasure when I'm in Florida, 1000's of miles from the White Mountains. This book is efficient. As the title suggests, one can cover 100 waterfalls in 30 hikes, most of which are not very grueling. The book describes the waterfalls in detail but reads like a novel. It uses descriptions from early guidebooks as well, some over 100 years old! The directions to the waterfalls are clear and well written and include vital statistics like distance to each, vertical elevation gained, difficulty and altitude. A sketch map is shown for each hike (although one would use a separate topographic map for the actual hike). In addition, and I think this really separates this from other guides, a history is included for each hike of the area. These histories include Indian stories predating European settlement, stories of the early European settlements, the first grand hotels and even ski resorts. It truly gives the reader/hiker a sense of time and place. If you hike the White Mountains get this book!

This book inspired one of the best vacations I've taken (while closest to home!)exploring the waterfalls of NH. The directions and descriptions are accurate and easy to follow, and the falls themselves are exquisite--even in dry August weather, when we saw them. This will be a gift to friends, to be sure. Experienced hikers will appreciate it, but it's suitable for beginners. Not many geriatric hikes, however.

To my thinking there is not much more thrilling than turning a corner to find a spectacular and beautiful rush of water cascading over cliffs or through a rocky terrain. Who doesn't like waterfalls?!

This terrific guide to the waterfalls of New Hampshire's White Mountains details 30 hikes to 100 waterfalls, so many of the walks take you to several falls. A regional map pinpoints the thirty treks and a lengthy introduction relates waterfall nomenclature and origins, tells you how to use the book and offers tips to make your trip enjoyable. Detailed within four subregions (the Connecticut , Pemigewasset/Merrimack, Saco and Androscoggin watersheds), entries are 6-10 pages long and include location, distance, altitude gain, difficulty, access information, a map, trail and hike details, and a photograph of the falls.

An indispensable guide for waterfall lovers, particularly those travelling with kids.

The book concludes with appendices on regional geology and camping facilities, a bibliography and an index.

This book is awesome and powerful!!

Nancy Missler gives biblical advice on how to love God's Way and she delivers this life changing truth in a beautiful and simple way!

It doesn't matter if you're a guy or girl, young or old, married or single- if you are a Christian you have to put this at the top of your reading list!

Nancy Missler's book is for those who have gone through life difficulties. And who hasn't? Every person goes through something in life that will challenge us to grow either emotionally, or spiritually.

It could be a difficult marriage, or a depression, or a painful childhood, or past mistakes, or perhaps a betrayal of a friend. The book gives many examples of how people have pulled through trying times. How did they do this? By learning to love themselves and others God's way.

The Way of Agape encourages us to look at the bigger picture, and seek out God's love in the midst of our difficulties. Nancy Missler encourages us to begin to see things from God's perspective. If God truly lives in our hearts, how can our lives reflect this fact? Nancy Missler explores this and the many facets of love and relationships, and scriptures related to God's love.

Experiencing tough times is something we can all count on , and having God's tools available to cope, not only builds character, but builds and heals lives..what can be better than that?

Nancy Missler has offered us something of real value that we can use and apply in our daily lives. Great book and great study on love.

So many of us who claim to be Christians believe that we are loving others with the love of God. The dilemma is that only God can impart that kind of love to us as we seek His will above our own. Nancy Missler uncovers the reasons for the failures in our lives and shows us the only way to truly overcome them - by loving others and laying down our "right" to our own feelings, desires, and ways of doing things that are typically diametrically opposed to God's ways. This book is one of the most influential and instrumental instruction manuals for maturing your walk with Christ, freeing you up, and opening up your love floodgates. Nancy teaches us what it means to love God in practical, easy-to-recall terms. She outlines a practical methodology for rising above the challenges in life to achieve victory and progress rather than always repeating our failures. Read it and gain victory!!

There are very few books I would call "life changing," but The Way of Agape is one of them. Even if you're already a Christian, this book is a must read.

Also the book could use a good editing, and sometimes you might feel your wading through some small sections, the message Missler is giving is clear and extremely important.

You really gotta read this one.

I went through this book with the study guide in a women's bible study group and haven't been the same since. I highly recommend it. It gave me not only a new perspective on God's love but practical tools for applying God's love in every day situations. On a scale of 1 to 5 I give it a 6.

Wow! This book equips Christians to build and enhance a web ministry. It is easy to ready and is filled with practical encouragement.

I'm involved with our church's website and I found this book a hugh blessing. I'm recommending it to leaders in our church.

If you are interested in using today's technology to minister to members and the wider community, this book has much to offer you in your efforts.

It is worth the time to read it.

I have read and truly appreciated this book. Showed it to some church leaders who are set to get themselves a copy! It is great the way you are walked through the process of setting up the web ministry and what worked and did not. In a nutshell, they say, we made these mistakes, don't make them! Must read for anyone considering a minitry website! Especially if you are in touch with the current century

This book provides a rare, behind-the-curtains look into a very successful church website ministry. It describes how they did it, what didn't work, what went well, what became too successful and died, and how you can learn from them to avoid mistakes.

Mark Stephenson has written a good book on internet ministry, as it relates to the average church website. Mark is on staff with Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, OH. They have an active, community oriented website built using Typo, an open source content management system that they have customized into the Web Empowered Church (WEC). The only fault I can find for this book is that it is very narrow in solutions, with the WEC pushed as the best solution to churches communicating their message on the internet. After reading the book, the slant makes sense but I hoped it would be a broader scope. Nevertheless, Mark does a good job of covering why a church should have an rocking website and has many suggestions for what should go on there. It's a very non-technical read and is approachable from any experience level. I will use it in acquainting members of our church and ministry teams to web ministry.

I've been doing church websites for over 10 years, and wish I had the benefit of the teachings and tools presented in this book when I started. Many of the things the book talks about are lessons I learned through trial and error over this period. Many other issues, such as use of a Content Management System, were technical challenges that I thought were unobtainable, but now seem very possible. I found this to be a easy read and a worthwhile use of my time. Outstanding!

I found this book to be the most informative financial book that I have every read. If you are only going to read one book to help you manage your finances, this is the one. I consider myself well informed and this book gave me ideas and methods of handing my finances that I had never heard of. I regularly recommend this book, it is great!

I saw Jennifer Openshaw on Oprah just a few days ago and was so impressed that I picked this book the very next day. Great information about how women can take charge of their financial futures. On the TV show Jennifer seemed to really understand the kinds of obstacles that stand between women and their financial goals, and after reading the book I think she has given us all a clear path to achieving them! Once you finish reading What's Your Net Worth? pass it on to your sister, your daughter, your mom, or your best friend.

Openshaw writes this book for women, but the advice is right on the money and can be used by everyone. An excellent feature of the book is the list of internet links at the end of each chapter. These references easily allow the reader to find additional information of any specific topic. For example, her brief discussion of options opens the door to using those investment tools to produce additional income. This is a topic often overlooked in books of this type. To learn how to use options, I also recommend THE SHORT BOOK ON OPTIONS.

This book was fabulous! I loved the personal accounts of all the different women and their financial stories. It really spoke to me in particular because I was divorced several years ago, and all of our joint assets were in my husband's name. It was incredibly difficult to start all over again, trying to build credit, and get loans. I was forced to become financially independent, but learned everything the hard way. If only I had known earlier what I know now! I would recommend this book to any woman who is looking to build wealth or secure her financial future. A great resource no matter what your age, marital status, or career!

Fear of our own finances can literally leave us shaking when it comes to taking control of our financial lives. I travel on business, so I take Jennifer Openshaw's book with me on the road! I surf the Web sites she recommends when I have free time, and I read the antecdotes from women she's interviewed on the plane. I have bought numerous copies of the book for co-workers, and will be giving it to friends as well. It's a book that can be read quickly - but then re-read it, mark it up and make notes in the margin....above all, follow Jennifer's advice. She writes from the heart and experience.

For a new trainer, this tome has proven to be an invaluable source of ideas, inspiration, examples, watch-outs, suggestions, and additional resources. Without this book, my first training sessions would have been lackluster meanderings into unfamiliar (and dangerous) territory. Mr Eitington's suggestions, guidelines and examples served to help me structure and flesh-out my seminar to be a strong success. The book is clearly organized with both a Table of Contents and an Index, and every chapter is broken down into relevant, digestible chunks. This guide focuses only a little on actually setting up and starting a training, in favor of creating a great deal of detail on training techniques, scenarios, and tools. The copiable sheets (for everything from pre-work to team games to feedback) 1included at the end of the book also provide much creative fodder, as well as saving a great deal of time. Of the five training guides I have, this is the one I use more than 80% of the time.

I found Eitington's The Winning Trainer the best of the category. If you were to have only one training book for limited space available for your suitcase, I recommend this. Actually, when I leave my office for an overseas assignment, The Winning Trainer is always my companion. It is comprehensive and practical. Yes, it is the reference for active trainers.

This is an encyclopedia in one volume for the training professional -- one you can't do without. In clear, concise language the Eitington provides the concepts and ideas to prepare the learning environment, involve the participants, deliver content, and evaluate the learning experience. You won't find another book like it anywhere!

This is an excellent resource for new and experienced designers and trainers. The book contains HUNDREDS of ideas for active, interesting, meaningful learning. EVERYONE in the learning field should own this book.

Joanne Polichetti Integrated Learning Solutions Adjunct faculty: Milano Graduate School: New School University

No one in the training field or doing anything even close (teachers take note!) should be without this book. I started workshops for high school students and have done exhaustive research, and spent a great deal of money. This book is by far one of the most outstanding resources anyone could have. I have covered mine to keep it from tattering, since I use it constantly in planning. It is so comprehensive...you can start with just a subject/topic...and find dozens of ways to present it. You can be a novice, or an experienced professional and benefit from this book. I simply don't have the words to express how valuable it has been to me. It is a gold mine of information about the teaching and learning processes.

Dr. Davis has written mulitple homiletical commentaries on the historical books. Having read these I was eager to read The Word Became Fresh and it did not disappoint! He has a passion for the narrative sections of the Old Testament, and that passion shows clearly in his writing. "But many simply write the Old Testament off. If it's as complicated as they have been taught, it is far too bewildering and esoteric for them to bother about, except for dipping into the Psalms for occasional funerals." (preface). Fortunately, the author is very helpful in making the OT accessible for the preacher who desires to preach "the whole counsel of God". Many of his tips and suggestions seem obvious, and yet he shows how they make the OT narratives come alive and suggest many fruitful directions a preacher can go in preaching them. Davis is also very humble and entertaining as he writes - a rare bonus! And there are little nuggets of wisdom and direction throughout the book:

"We are guilty of arrogance, not merely neglect, when we fail to beg for the Spirit's help in the study of Scripture." (pp. 1).

"In my view, however, if we omit 'application,' we fail to answer the 'So what?', we are short-circuiting the whole purpose of Scripture (and 'is profitable for..,' 2 Tim. 3:16). If I cannot rub the results of my labor into the pores of the souls of God's people (or of pagans), why am I taking the trouble to do this? If what I study won't preach, there is something wrong with the way I study what I study." (pp. 7).

This book is very helpful and practical and I would highly recommend it to any preacher who wants to faithfully preach from the OT to his congregation.

Dr. D. Ralph Davis has done a remarkable job in this book. He has shown repeatedly how to preach (& teach) through Old Testament passages in ways that are faithful to the Christian Story without going completely into an historical-redemptive approach. But he has also avoided the opposite malady of falling into the 'Nice Moral Stories' trap. Bible teachers, preachers, and just plain Bible lovers will all gain richly from this book.

About a decade ago one of my former customers encouraged me to read the first of Dale Ralph Davis' Old Testament commentaries. It was on the Book of Judges, and subsequently, Davis produced commentaries on Joshua, 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings, all of which I acquired and read - usually more than once.

If six commentaries strike you as too much for one book review, then the solution is to check out the book Davis produced in 2006 called The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts. While this book does focus on preaching the OT, it also gives a clear outline of Davis' approach to studying the OT, and I believe you'd be hard pressed to find a better overview of OT Bible study anywhere.

This book, like Davis' commentaries, is very readable and not at all heavy-going. Nor, on the other hand, is it lightweight; while Davis doesn't have the room here to work in detail, as he does in the commentaries, he still discusses background and structure.

Davis is no slouch: he not only preaches what he writes, but he's also a full-blown Bible scholar. His footnotes often contain the views of other commentators he disagrees with. While he's never unpleasant towards these other writers, it's plain he's done his homework, and his reasons for saying what he does are valid.

He's also a great storyteller. Both in this book and in his commentaries he backs up his arguments with stories from the American Civil War, or the Second World War (remember there are a lot of battles in the narratives!), or from his own experience. His own stories, like the rest of his writing, are full of wit and good humour.

He treats the text with great respect. If something is there, he sees it as being there for a good reason. If it's obscure he'll do his best to elucidate it, but he won't speculate just so he can give an answer. Sometimes he admits that the answers aren't easy for modern readers.

Perhaps his greatest gift is to remember that the Bible is literature. Time and again he clarifies the layout of a section or chapter by looking to see how the writer has planned the story. This is one of Davis' great skills: to be able to see the structure in the midst of what might appear to be randomness.

This is a book for preachers, teachers and lay people. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Ralph Davis has done an excellent service by providing a very readable yet challenging primer on Hebrew narrative. If you are familiar with the text of the Old Testament, it is simply too easy to pass over the nuances within the text that actually establish the tension and complexity of a good narrative. I thoroughly recommend this book for everyone who wants to read their Bible. If you are in a teaching capacity, say in Sunday School, this will challenge you to read familiar texts with fresh eyes.

The freshness Davis brings is not a quest for novelty (as is often the case for books like this), but rather a freshness of pulling out both the magnifying glass and the telescope. The tapestry of God's Word is much more exciting if you can see the individual stitches and if you can see the whole pattern. Worth your time.

The title is descriptive of the content. With his characteristic wit and penetrating application, Dale Ralph Davis shows us how to read the Old Testament Narrative texts and hear the voice of God from them. Buy it. Read it. Digest it. Apply it. Enjoy it.