General Practice Books

Rev. James L. Meagher, D.D., has written the most powerful Catholic history that we have ever seen. Discover how the entire history of the world is tied together in the story and origins of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Read how God foretold the Crucifixion and the Mass to Adam and his children in types, images and emblems. Learn about the signs, symbols and ceremonies of the Mass in the Jewish Temple and how the mysteries of the Mass were unveiled in the Temple. Discover the origins of an unmarried clergy, holy water, candles, statues in churches, ciboriums, incense, sanctuaries, vestments, liturgical colors, credence tables, bread, wine, oil, chalices and various liturgies in the Jewish Temple of the Old Testament. See how the Mass was foretold in the Passover and the Cenacle, and how the sacrificial lamb was crucified and roasted on its cross. Learn why no bones of the lamb could be broken. This phenomenal work reveals many curious insights such as Adam and Eve's 63 children, the origin of the races, Adam's skull buried on Calvary, and the fact that Judas was the nephew of Caiphus, the high priest. Learn the knowledge that the early Church Fathers knew and the reasons and origins of every aspect of Holy Mass to each move that Christ and the Apostles made at the Last Supper. Staggering research! Helps all to realize what a hidden treasure we have in the Mass.

This is truly one awesome book. It is not only historically informative it is a good apologetic work. This book details how everything we Catholics do liturgically and some of what we do in our personal lives (Holy Mass (in all the rites), prayer for the dead, administration of the sacraments, intercession of the saints, vestments of the clergy, etc.) all come from the traditions of Old Israel, traditions which Jesus never rebuked and practiced himself.

This brings me to the apologetic aspect of the book. Jesus himself said in St. Matthew 5:17: "I came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish it." Folks, Jesus was Jewish, and this book lays out that Judaism at the time of Christ was very similar to Catholicism. Why this similarity? There are two reasons to explain this:

1) The Catholic Church was founded by the Jewish Jesus and lead by the Jewish apostles who knew and practiced the venerable traditions of Judaism in the light of Christ, therefore making Catholicism the true fulfillment of Judaism.

2) The early leaders of the Church in the 3rd-6th centuries corrupted the sparse evangelical-type church that Jesus founded, and introduced these Jewish practices.

The second explanation fails because much of these Jewish traditions preserved by the Catholic Church became non-accessible to Gentiles after the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. How did the "apostates" of the early Church get access to this information? They couldn't, unless of course they were a chain of heretics passing this information down from time of Christ waiting to subvert the Church. That clearly is not the case.

The Talmud is quoted extensively in this book. That is a good thing because the Jewish Talmud is an authoritative source for Jewish temple worship, practice and faith before the time of Christ. (It also has its corruptions after the time of Christ, but the good can be discerned.)

This book reawakened in me a godly joy to be Catholic. I no longer view myself as part of a 2,000 year old religion, but a religion that stretches back to our father in the faith, Abraham. This book has helped me sense a connection back to the Old Testament like never before.

Overall, if you have an interest in church history, liturgy, Messianic Judaism, or just Judaism in general please buy this book!

Adam

If you're interested in learning more about O.T. types and symbols that prefigured the Mass then this book is a must have. Organized by subject page by page, it is an excellent companion for your Bible study. This book packs a wallop and you really get your money's worth.

In How Christ Said the First Mass Fr. Meagher shows that many of our modern day church practices come from either the practices at the Jewish temple or from the synogouge. Our Mass sprang from the Passover. The big Easter candle, holy water, the use of bread and wine, choirs, altar rails, incense, deacons, the poor box, the reading from the bible at Mass and the collection of offerings are all "descendants" of what the Jews of Jesus's time did. Fr. Meagher makes it clear and says so more than once that the church is the daughter of ancient Judaism.

There are many things about day to day life in Israel that the Gospel writers left out in their accounts because the listeners of the day were already well familiar with them. This book goes back and talks about those ancient details. For example, it was common for a rabbi in the time of Christ to wait until he was 30 years old to start preaching and it was common for rabbis to travel with 12 apostles and a band of followers. The book is full of little details and it really brings the ancient world alive for the reader.

Now, I have to point out that this book was written at the turn of the century so when he's speaking on non biblical matters Fr. Meagher sounds like a man of his time. Some of his off the cuff comments may offend modern readers. Don't worry about those four or five comments and look at the heart of the book. The brilliant scholarship far outweighs the embarassing bits.

This book is a real forgotten gem and if you are serious about the ancient origins of the Mass it is one you must read.

Slow at the beginning but excellent in scholarship. One can see an unbroken line of how a Catholic altar is a type of continuum of the Temple Jesus worshipped in- himself. Marvelous, it gives the reader true roots of the Catholic Mass. Awe-inspiring and informative reading which you will not forget.

I first came across a reference to this book in a medical ethics class. After watching an attending physician take the wrong tack in explaining a terminal condition, I decided to learn a better way. This book has excellent summaries, frequent examples of the "wrong" way and the "right" way, and is the single best book on talking to patients I've read. A must-read for any health care provider, and especially anyone who has to talk to critically ill patients or their families.

How to Break Bad News is one of the best books on the subject I've found anywhere. I wrote a book called "Difficult Conversations" which deals with some of the same issues in a broader context, and I am impressed indeed by Buckman's book. I wish healthcare workers everywhere would read it.

This is a unique, delightful, and highly practical book. I recommend it very highly for all physicians and mental health professionals. The authors explain that, despite the American focus on informed consent, some patients who develop life threatening disease do NOT want to know all the details, or even the prognosis, of their condition. A wise and useful six-step protocol for breaking bad news is proffered, incorporating both readiness to fully inform and readiness to respect the patient's psychological vulnerabilities. Since bad news comes in many forms in this life, the skills and attitudes described have wide applicability in the helping professions. A TRULY OUTSTANDING videotape also exists as a companion to this book. I don't know if it is available through Amazon or not. PKC

This is chock full of great advice when you don't know what to say, or are feeling slightly shy or uncomfortable. Just curling up with these study cases in how to tell someone their colon is infecting their entire body and they only have a few weeks to live, or that a hemorrhage in their daughters brain will keep her in a state of vegetation for the rest of her ... life is enough to make anyone feel better about their own situation. Not sure what to say at a party? Just imagine yourself in one of these terrible situations and you'll thankfully be chatting up a storm.

I am a psychololgist. I read this book very carefully and outlined it, it was that good. It is very practical information on how to deliver difficult news. I found that I deliver more difficult news than I thought. I use the six steps outlined in the book now, and teach residents about the book. This is the best resouce I found for delivering bad news to patients.

This book will give understanding not only to animation but drawing all together and will allow you to elevate your understanding of composition

A complement to the earlier editions of this series, this book teaches you how to draw mecha's (daily machines), nature and animal characters, rounding off on how to put together a short story. There are helpful tips such as time-savers when drawing effective backgrounds even if there is less detail. The book is geared towards the aspiring mangaka, showing how drawings begin in sketches, inked, and toned in a step-by-step manner.

All in all, this book is more for the person interested in drawing manga. Not recommended for the average learner who just wants to draw manga style and not interested in creating a manga.

I loved this book the moment I cracked it open. Lots of great tips on how to draw houses (inside and outside), trees, clouds, water, rocks, and all sorts of nature things that I couldn't draw before. I highly recommend this book to any artist. Some drawing skills are needed for this book to be very effective, though.

this book is the BEST
because when I reed this book,
there were hundreds of infomation that I didn't
Know before...

This is one of the best HtDmanga books.The book cover and name isnt all.The book is full off nature drawing like trees, sea, fire, cat.It also have about drawing houses and cars.

If you've ever seen Tibetan Buddhist art and wondered who or what is represented in these colorful paintings (known in Tibetan as thangka), what the various objects in the paintings symbolize, or how the paintings are used in the practice of Buddhism, Images of Enlightenment may answer your questions. Concisely written for a western audience of general readers by two English students of Tibetan Buddhism, this book also provides an introduction to basic Buddhist principles and practice, as well as a brief history of the Tibetan school and short biographies of some of its greatest teachers.

Images of Enlightenment is organized around 32 full-color plates, paintings by Andy Weber, a UK-based artist trained in Nepal by refugee Tibetan painters and now himself a widely traveled and respected teacher in Europe and North America. (See the artist's website for more examples of his work and his current teaching schedule.) Each chapter of the book begins with a theme, followed by explanations of the handful of paintings that best represent them. The first chapter on the life of the Buddha and the basics of Buddhist philosophy, for example, includes descriptions of paintings of the Buddha, stupas, and the Wheel of Life.

As an introductory text, the authors cannot hope to cover the nearly 200 deities of Tibetan Buddhism. They manage, though, to provide an informative, well-written, and properly illustrated volume covering some of the most popular images. If you'd like to learn more about the methods and materials used in painting thangka, you might like to see Jackson and Jackson's Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods & Materials. The paintings used in this book, while well executed, are quite simple and not cluttered with many of the background items found in many thangka. There is, therefore, little in this book explaining many of the minor elements of Tibetan painting. For a more thorough treatment of symbolism and iconography, see Robert Beer's A Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. If you'd like to see larger and more elaborately and finely detailed thangka, have a look at two collections in Romio Shrestha's Celestial Gallery and Goddesses of the Celestial Gallery.

The most definitive guide to Buddhism. The deity are all beautifully illustrated in rich color, complete with the historical background of the deity that gain enormous popularity in the east.

It had all the answers that you had always wanted to ask in the past. For illustration why some deities look so wraughtful, fierce and the significance of those implements or objects they hold.

I like the most is the explaination on the deity background concise, full illustrated, very well elaborated and accurate description.

An indispensible guide! Highly recommended.

Though I am an SGI Buddhist, Tibetan Buddhism intrigues me with their beautiful art. Mr. Landaw clearly describes each entity and Mr. Andy Weber beautifully illustrates in color each image. If you have ever wanted a deeper understanding into Tibetan images, I highly recommend this book

Written by experts who spent years living in India to study Tibetan Buddhism and its art, Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice is a straightforward, plain-terms guide to the rich history, legends, and spirituality expressed through Tibetan Buddhist sacred art. 32 full-color plates illustrate Images of Enlightenment, while the text describes the symbolic self-transformation and expressions of enlightenment depicted. Chapters survey different paths and aspects of Buddhism as expressed through art, including the Bodhisattva Path, and the Path of Bliss and Emptiness. Images of Enlightenment is especially recommended for students, scholars, and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

This is an excellent book for all those interested in the practice of Deity Yoga. Written by Westerners with a very clear insight into the elements and art of the practice.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are poems by Philipp Nicolai with Carl P. Daw Jr, and Alberto Taule; a photo of a cross of the community by the artisans of La Palma, El Salvador; a responsory reading by Miriam Therese Winter; and a painting by Glen Strock.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are photos by Paul Chesley, David Austen and Dennis Oda;excerpts from Robert A. Raines and Jospeh Wood Krutch; poetry by Dom Helder Camara and Thomas John Carlisle; and a detail from art by Naul Ojeda.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

Gorgeous book of art tied to the Christian lectionary. Poetry, paintings, photographs, sculpture, scripture quotes. A real treat!

This is a thick soft cover art book that accompanies Biblical passages with art objects - paintings, sculptures from all cultures, Italian Renaissance to Modern Chinese water-colour that attempts to IMAGE the WORD - the gospel, and puts the love of Jesus in Christianity into a non-preachy, very emotionally and aesthetically moving document that appeals to the modern, intellectual, sophisticated, sensitive, cultured but atheist reader. It makes the Bible come alive in a fantasy of visual ecstasy. A marvellous gift for those who are hurting from a lack of understanding God's love. A spiritually soothing gift in a coffee-table book format.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are poems by Czeslaw Milosz, Sandra Cisneros and Janet Morley; a photo of a festive cross by Claudio Jimenez; quotations from Lamar Williamson Jr. and the Gelasian Sacramentary; a song by Arthur G. Clyde (contemporary); paintings by Rodolfo Abularach and Salvador Dali.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

This is a very good book for every programmer to grow to next level. Book is written to address almost all issues related to software development. Need to have book for every programmer.

All .Net developers have to keep Patterns & Practices publications under thier radar screen because one of the best works come out of that group.

A great book that covers in detail any areas you need: CLR, strings management, collections, asp.net, ado.net, xml, SQL Server and much more. A practical handbook that should be on your desktop as a reference for you everyday programming.
[...]

To be honest, I hate two kilos books. Usually such a book contains not much information. But not this book.
It starts from design guidelines and 40-pages(!) length questionnaire, and covers in detail a lot of subjects, including CLR, interop, remoting, ASP, XML, Web Services, etc. performance. How to measure, how to test, how to tune.
If you have to know a lot of things about a lot of things concerned with .NET performance, this book is for you.

In a word...WOW! There is such a wealth of info in this book. Direct for the source, one of the performance architects of the CLR (among other authors). This book is a must have for any developer who writes high use web apps or web services. The book goes into so much detail, and explains why one coding method is more efficient than another. Probably not a good beginner book, you should have a good grasp on .Net development first.

One moment Taylor will have you pondering a simple yet astounding truth and the next you'll be laughing over the sad state of his family's car rental. His style of writing is very approachable and endearing. In this book you will not have to deal with a self-righteous narrator on his way to tell you how to reach his level of spirituality. Rather, Dan Taylor openly admits his doubts, concerns, and failures. But, he also gives us something to aspire to and helps us to seek out our own pilgrimages not only when we're abroad, but also when we come home again.

I've visited all three of these places and, at least for me, Taylor has captured a good bit of their magic. His writing is easy to read and entertaining and leavened with just the right touch of humor.

Let Dan Taylor take you to unplanned destinations, traveling with a family grouping of seven in an unreliable Toyota van over forbidding roads and through staggering vistas. Perhaps not your idea of a relaxing vacation; but Dan (an English literature professor friend) in his "...Search of Sacred Places" doesn't intend to make the reader comfortable. However, his sense of humor is evident in facing unscheduled, difficult obstacles as is his awe at the devotion of Celtic extremists and frustration over his own frailties along with those of spoiled 21st century Christians. He smoothly blends Celtic biographies and historic Christianity along with insights from loved English poets, leaving the reader - and himself - with more questions to answer than when the Taylor clan first set out on pilgrimage. A thoughtful book to reread and give to others.

Literature and writing professor Daniel Taylor presents In Search Of Sacred Places, the testimony of his spiritual quest and journey toward understanding in his experience among islands once considered holy to the ancient Celts. Part history, part memoir, part travelogue, part spiritual quest, and part personal introspection, In Search Of Sacred Places ponders both the unknowable and the mundane, and brims with the author's abiding insights and wonder. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this deeply respectful and spiritual account.

Although the sacred places Taylor shares with us are moving, it is his personal honesty, humility and his wry humor that make sacredness and pilgrimage, commitment and faith, accessible. I am grateful to the author for voicing the questions and the doubts that I have as he (and I and many others) try to live our lives in ways that keep us awake to the wonders and blessings of our world in the midst of what often seems hopeless.

The book itself is a fantastic example of very thorough investigative journalism. The writers obviously spent years doing massive amounts of research and interviews. It reads very well and presents a cast of characters as they truly are. It is written for the layman and casual reader. Once you put it down you will be extraordinarily disheartened at how the S&L crisis came about. The book sheds light on the roots and origins - the push for industry deregulation in the '80s and its massive, and quite apparently not well thought through, embrace by legislators. But it does a fair and balanced portrayal of the actors - highlighting that the worst people were already professional con artists and had links to organized crime. What is truly disheartening is the massive participation by and interference by top level career politicians (a handful of whom are still around)- many of whom were found by their peers to have severely violated ethics standards. It does a good job of portraying why regulation and oversight of certain industries - particularly the financial services industry, is so difficult. The rulemakers (legislators) are often severely conflicted because they are so heavily funded by the industry - most people don't like taking shots at their meal ticket. Some legislators, as detailed here, won't even hesitate to attack regulators when they threaten their lobbyist/campaign lifeline - rather than protect their citizens overall.

This is a very good read in light of current events with the mortgage lending crisis. One will find creepy, even shocking similarities. The bottom line is the same - poorly written loans (given to an elite group in the S&L case) with no real, credible basis for believing they would be repaid - shoddy underwriting, shoddy controls, shoddy monitoring, weak regulation/deregulation/regulation with no teeth [which is always exploited by those opportunistic few who quite literally make a living as con artists (criminals)], massive interference by the rich and connected.

The best, and saddest part, is this book is real - the events really happened, the facts are portrayed very objectively (the writers did an extraordinary job with research and documenting sources of information), the people involved were people well known and are still around in some circles, the costs and consequences are real and still being paid for to this day. Reading this book in light of current events will make one pause...pause and worry.

A must read - will leave you speechless and much wiser.

I give this 4.5 stars out of 5 - very well done. The most accessible, well-documented history of the S&L crisis caused by Reagan in the 80's. Even though the topic is dated, the book provides a good subject for students of history, and also an eye-opener for people interested in the irresponsible (and costly) fiscal policies of the neo-con right wing.

In the first few pages, this book summarizes a problem (a scam, actually) perpetuated on the American taxpayers by a small handful of ultra-wealthy elitists. In just a few minutes, you will have a firm grasp on how the scam works, and the long term effects on the US economy - something even the press never really understood and failed to adequately convey to the public. The author uses metaphors and plain language, and even though it is dense, the book is easy to read.

Besides being a good overview, what I found most interesting was the secion on Neil Bush and his insurance fraud scams (over 100 of them), and how George H Bush was able to pardon him before the public or press got full wind of his embezzlement. Subsequently, I read the book "Silverado: Neil Bush and the Savings & Loan Scandal" - which was also very good, but franky, I thought that the short section on Bush in the Inside Job did more than an adequate job of covering all the facts.

Except for the historian, economist, or political scientist, this book is probably too much detail for the average reader. For those of you who want the quick & dirty fact, I suggest reading about it online (Wikipedia), or getting the the abridged version of this book, or listening to the abridged audio book. But the length of the book does not detract from my positive rating - very well done.

This is a tragic story of the looting of hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers money, money that could've gone for needed social services or other things. The government let it happen and this book tells you how.

I highly recommend this to those of us who were not adults at the time: in the 80's, I was still a kid - I couldn't be bothered to know what was happening in the world of S&Ls. Little did I know, but those high-flyers would affect my taxes for years (and years and years).

The book is easy to read - not too technical. It was a bit repetitive at times, but I think that's because many of the S&L crooks used the same types of illegal ponzi schemes to move money from one pocket to the other.

If you're like me, and knew very little about the S&L debacle, then let this book educate you. It's a telling tale of the problems brought-about by rampant de-regulation. I never knew that the S&L scandal(s) involved the wholesale looting of these banks (and American taxpayers - since they were federally protected deposits).

If you're already well-versed in the subject, you can read this to get some of the more personal stories of theft and graft.

There were also stories of corrupt politicians. I know it's a shock, but to me there's nothing more disgusting than a public trustee bending the rules to their advantage: they work for us.

I read a couple of pages each day and try to implement a little goodness into my life and others. It's almost like a little reference to the good life for me. It's in list format and I LOVE lists! I highly recommend this little book.

This book is one that I actually carry around with me almost everywhere. It's fun to read, and many of the suggestions inside actually are a great pick-me-up during the day. I like it's small size, and I also like how you don't have to read the suggestions for good karma in order if you don't want to.

As far as to say if the book actually does bring good fortune is something that I can't really prove... but it really does make one feel good.

A collection of the simplest possible ideas for adding positive influence to your life and the lives of those around you. With few exceptions, the suggested actions in this book transcend religion and culture; they should raise little controversy and are beyond debate. If you find one you are uncomfortable with, turn the page. Open the book anywhere and find a gem of universal wisdom--simple everyday direction on living well on planet earth. If you're christian, buddhist, muslim, jewish, hindu or atheist, buy this and draw inspiration from it daily. Make the world a better place. HIGHLY recommended.

This is, by far, my favorite book. Inside, you will find 8,879 amazing pieces of inspiration and advice. It's great for bad moods, rainy days, boredom, or anytime.

This has been the most uplifting little book I've put my hands on in years. So, great that I've purchased about 20 of these over the past 4 years to give as gifts for birthday, new job, new home, Christmas, etc. Every time I pick it up, I find something new and great to think about and share. You will surely find this a great little book with BIG uplifting appeal.

I always know I can go to God's Word for help on any subject. It's in there, somewhere. But, Tricia Simmons helps you find God's instructions to parents in just a few easy read chapters. She uses real life stories and Biblical stories and scripture to bring out better understanding. Parenting problems-read this one-the answers are in the book. :)

If you've ever wondered if you're doing what you need to do to raise your children according to God's word... this is the book for you. This book is filled with biblically backed ideas to be a better parent. This book gives you hope that, by following God's word, you will be able to equip your children with tools that will help them in this world. I highly recommend this book to everyone that has children or is planning to have children.

Such practial, common-sense advice and all grounded in the truth of His Word! I recommend this for anyone, especially those with young children or grandchildren. I wish I had read it when my kids were young!

This book touched my heart and made me think about being a dad, it gave me different perspectives for all ages of children and was a true blessing! I'd recommend every Pastor, Youth Minister, Parent and anyone that has children in your life (regardless of age) have this resource on hand and refer to it for guidance in many areas. If you've looked for a source that takes a biblical foundation and ties it together with day to day parenting this is the book for you!

If you are looking for sound, practical advice on parenting this book is for you!