J Books

This is perhaps the most gripping World War II era thriller I have ever read (and fantasy is my more usual genre).

It pits the wits between a hyper-intelligent 11 year old, against the equally brilliant mind of a professor, who for the most part uses his rank in the Nazi military machine to further his own ends (which isn't money - he is somewhat depraved, and a borderline sociopath). In a nutshell, the boy has a wealth of information stored in his head concerning bank account information, which is worth a fortune, and the Nazis want the information so that they can access those funds. The daddy to which the title refers is the boy's biological father, who makes a late entrance in the book, yet does a lot to bring the boy out of his shell, not to mention doing some truly heroic things to protect the boy.

My only fault with the novel are the two main characters (Thomas, the boy, and Gregor, the professor). The mind of the boy is brilliant, yet robotic, often referring to the thought processes of his brain as "the machine", which made me often wonder if the author was going to reveal that the child was really some bizarrely futuristic android. The professor, on the other hand is openly contemptuous of the third Reich and it's officers, something I highly doubt would be tolerated considering the fanatical zeal of the Nazi supporters during that era.

However, if you can get past those two points, you will discover a taut, well crafted thriller, which is very difficult to put down, outlining the battle between these two brilliant minds who see everything as a game of chess, willing to sacrifice everything to put the other in checkmate.

While the ending is somewhat abrupt, I would nonetheless highly recommend this book.

This is one of the most "sitting on the edge of my chair" books I ever read. The publisher should definitely reprint the English edition. It is within my all-time top 5 favorite stories of the past 40 years.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I won't even lend my copy out unless I buy another one as back up. Daddy by Loup Durand is so far and above any other Thriller. The characters are so vivid and the plot is so intricate it grabs you by the throat on the first few pages and pulls you threw the entire book before you look up and realize you've read till four in the morning again. This book inspired me to start writing thrillers; I hope I'll be worthy of it.

This is the story of a young genius, his unknown father, their evil enemy (a Nazi officer yet) and their travails as they run across Europe. It is both poignant and dramatic as they both dance the familiar patterns of a father and son discovering as much about themselves as each other. The character of the boy is especially well-told - from his terror to his confusion.

I have read this book several times and have never failed to enjoy the read. It may be hard to find but the search is certainly worth the effort.

This story would count as a very long THRILLER, if done by Graham Greene. It tells of an endless chase on behalf of wartime Nazis of a prepubescent multi-lingual boy who carries in his head data on hundreds of accounts whose contents have the smell of wealth to the masters of the Third Reich. It is about human intelligence and its foibles: in the boy, his German tormentors and his Daddy--a title which his playboy turned hero biological father earns in spades as he seeks to save his reluctant son not just from Nazis but also from his inner demons.+++

It is hard to believe that this is a translation from another language (French) into English. I would go so far as to say that this is the first translated novel I have ever read that does not read like a translation.

So kudos all around. This is sheer diversion. Made for a movie serial.The game's afoot!
-OOO-

This book is a amazing book of Heroic Truth. It tells the truth about many of the literal hells of the 20th century, the countless deaths of millions. It is also the first book i have seen that actually deals with all murders by people/goverments.
In the Kellog-Briand act, if they wanted to outlaw WAR, they should have first outlawed Geonicide and Mass Murder. This may sound strange to many who think of war as the most evil thing of mankind, but in fact, it isnt. War has some loose honor, and loose rules, but they are still there. Geonicide has no rules. Geonicide, and Deomicide are just killing, pursuing, and exterminating.
This book offers a great perspective, and should be read by every living being capable of reading, and if they cant read, then it should be read aloud to them by someone else. This should be taught in all courses, all curiculums,and all course in colleges.
This book is a difficult read, but a must read. But remember though, many of these numbers for many of the atrocities are low, and he figures out the numbers by averaging high numbers and low numbers, which in the case of some, like the USSR, and the 32 million low, were placed by the USSR itself to just make propogande and make the thought into peoples minds. The Low for the USSR is at least 50 million, no less. It could very likely go up to 100 million, if you think about it too, and thus the number of Stalin's murders would go up to, as the other USSR Leaders werent as brutal as him.
China's Murder is also a extreme low. The number Mao Zedong killed is at estimates of a incomprehendable 6 million all-time low record, like saying Fat albert is a light-weight, and the number for mao is at about 35 - 56+ million murdered. This causes some strange statistics.
Overall this book is a classic and book that should be honored as much as the Bible.

R.J. Rummel has spent his career assembling data on genocide, politicide and other government mass murder (studying more than 8,200 reports with estimates). He introduced a concept he calls "democide" which includes genocide, politicide, mass murder, and indiscriminate killing of civilians. It does not include battle deaths or collateral damage. He is using a scientific methodology that he applies consistently to come up with consistent mid-range estimates for democide. His findings are horrifying. 170 million people were murdered in the 20th century alone. Later he revised this number to 262 million. For comparison, it is estimated that 70 million people died from famine in the 20th century, 25 million has died from AIDS, 250 million died from Malaria in the 20th century, and 300 million from small pox. In conclusion democide killed considerably more people than war, famine, and AIDS and as much people as the two worst 20th century diseases. It should also be noted that previous centuries were just as democidal.

Rummels book "Statistics of Democide" presents his findings in great detail (very long lists of statistics), and additional information can be found on his web site. This book "Death by Government" gives some statistics on the topic, but the focus of the book is not on the statistics but descriptions of the democides and the regimes that perpetrated them. Therefore this book is easier to read and perhaps a bit more interesting (but just as gruesome) compared to "Statistics of Democide". However, "Statistics of Democide" is a better factoid resource.

In this book he describes the following murder regimes and their democides in more detail: Soviet Gulag State (62M), Chinese Communist Anthill (35M later revised to 78M), The Nazi Genocide State (21M mostly genocide), The Depraved Nationalist Regime, KMT (10M), Japans Savage Military (6M), The Hell State Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge (2M), Turkeys Genocidal Purges (1.9M), The Vietnamese War State (Vietcong) (1.7M), Poland's Ethnic Cleansing after the war (1.6M), The Pakistani Cutthroat state (1.5M), Titos Slaughter House (1.1M), Orwellian North Korea (1.7M), Barbarous Mexico (1.4M), Feudal Russia (1.1M). M=million killed.

The descriptions of the democides are horrific and very sad. The big questions are how can these things happen? People can be very cruel and brutal towards each other that is for sure, but regimes that hold a lot of power over their citizens are the regimes that will commit these crimes. To quote from Rummels web site: "Why do dictators kill and make war? Is it for glory; for things, for beliefs, for hatred, for power? Yes, but more, because they can". Regimes that can't do it won't. Democratic regimes, especially liberal democracies commit very little democide.

It is bewildering to reflect on how many people were murdered in the 20th century by the hand of brutish governments. According to this book's estimates, the figure is around 169,000,000. This one-of-a-kind book is an indispensible compendium that informs the reader about why these mass murders were carried out, but more importantly, how. Hopefully, we will one day learn the lessons of history and stop these kinds of atrocities before they are allowed to reach the magnitude of those chronicled here.

Rummel delves into the historical tensions that brought about most of the conflicts that lead to mass exterminations. Many of us may know nothing beyond the basics about Stalin's Great Terror or Hitler's Holocaust. What's frightening to realize as you read this book is how the demagoguery that lead to these mass murder incidents is not all that far removed from what we hear from some of our own politicians today.

The author also goes into quite a bit of detail about some of the lesser known campaigns of genocide (or democide, as he insists on calling it) of the 20th century, such as that of Turkey against the Armenians, and incidents by the Polish, Japanese, and Pakistanis.

This is an important book. I believe it is one of the most important books I've ever read. No one who considers himself a serious scholar of 20th century history can omit this book from his collection.

And with reason. There is none of the sacrifice, drama or nobility reported in battles. It's not about Thermopylae or Gettysburg.

This is an account of what humanity has done to itself--and continues to this day. It's a book on comparitive demonology. One almost gets the impression that a soldier ripping a baby from his mother's arms, tossing it in the air and catching it on the point of his bayonet is the rule, not the exception. Ditto for POW's captured by front line troops.

The author is a professor of Political Science who finds it amazing that his colleagues write texts on the purposes of government, yet fail to mention that (with the possible exception of the Jewish victims of Nazi genocide) instead of protecting citizens from "the savagery of the jungle" by rule of law, governments have and continue to be, THE greatest killers of all.

"Democide" is the word he coins to combine genocide (murdering because of membership in a hated race, ethnicity,or religion,) plus politicide ( murdering for political purposes, e.g; dissidents ) and mass murder (indiscriminate killing).

Democide is always committed by governments. It is as organized as taxation or road building. Discounting civilians accidentally killed in cross-fires, or even in the aerial bombardments of cities, this still leaves horrifying numbers.

Pre-Twentieth Century? An estimate of 169,198,000 human beings massacred. Since this includes the victims of Genghis Khan, Incas, Conquistadors, etc., There's an obscene tendency to see them as not quite human, not quite real due to the distance in time. So Tarmelane, the Turkish conqueror slaughtered 100,000 people outside of Delhi and he liked to make pyramids of human heads?--Who cares?--Just stuff in history books. . .

Is WW2 is close enough? We all know about the 6 million Jews, but did you know that constituted only aprox 13% of the victims of The Nazi Genocide State?

Overall, by genocide, euthanasia, killing of hostages, reprisal raids, starvation, forced labor camps and so forth the figure is anywhere from 15 to 31 million, most likely 21 million. Rummel admits he may be off somewhat in numbers, but certainly not as to the State's intentions. The Nazis still head the list when it comes to killing people in occupied territories, with the Imperial Japanese Military being second.

As to murdering one's own people, it's estimated some 35,236,000 for the Communist Chinese Anthill. The author notes that those who were shocked by the 1989 Beijing massacre of students, really shouldn't have been--it's the norm. But even that figure is topped by 54,800,000 victims of The Soviet Gulag State.

(Not counting an additional 5-7 million comprised of German POW's plus non-combatants deliberately murdered by The Red Army).

For sheer numbers, Stalin is our grand prize winner in brutality. In terms of percentage, however, the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot beats his insanity--they wiped out nearly one third of all Cambodians.

The chapter on The Vietnamese War State is most instructive, not just for the total toll of 1,670,000 victims but for the inferences Rummel draws: Before the U.S. entered the war, the Viet Minh were already as hardened a bunch of mass killers as the most disciplined SS units under Himmler. America had no idea what it was getting itself get into.

The Balkans are something else. Off the scale.

Required reading.

Professor Rummel's work, Death By Government, is a product of eight years of research into the roots and causes of Democide - defined as the intentional killing by governments through genocide, politicide, and arbitrary mass murder of its people. The cornerstones of current U.S foreign policy - centered around fostering democratic freedom - are based upon Professor Rummel's correct observation, that liberal democracies promote the greater peace and they are essential to eliminating Democide and ending wars between nations. Through empirical research the evident truths become exposed and the reader is left with the overall understanding that absolute power corrupts and leads to the murder of a governments' people and that only through restricting and checking power can these horrors be restrained. Democracies virtually never make war on each other and the more democratic two governments, the less the likelihood of violence between them. So not only is democracy a solution to domestic democide, but globalizing democracy is also a solution to war. The existence and spread of liberal democracies (not just electoral democracies, but liberal democracies in terms of civil and political rights and liberties) provides the long run hope for the elimination of democide and war. Professor Rummel astutely notes that power's relationship to democide is on a continuum - the more absolute the power, the more democide. The problem is Power. The solution is democracy. The course of action is to foster freedom.

Well written and unique. Character and plot driven. Characters are so well described.

I absolutely loved this book. It would be a five star review, except for the fact that I've already read the two follow-ups. They betray the fact that RAW burned through all his best ideas on the first book. What appear in EWS as great set-ups for subsequent books turned out to be one-shots, left to die on the vine in the rest of the series. The Widow's Son is also a good book, but RAW spent too much time on farcical footnotes and not enough on character and plot development. So some of the genius of The Earth Will Shake is ruined by lack of cultivation.

Still, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, conspiracies and using the arts to help liberate mankind.

Anything by Robert Anton Wilson is worth reading. His Illuminati stuff is doubly so. The original Illuminatus Trilogy is one of the greatest scifi, horror, thriller, political, historical, adventure and pornographic novels ever written. All of the Historical Illuminatus books are equally well done, equally fun to read, and equally true historically.

I read this book back in the late 80's when it was printed by a mass-market publisher (Signet, I think) containing two abridged volumes; The Earth Will Shake and The Widow's Son. I loved it then and was never able to find Nature's God. Now I have all 3 books. After re-reading this edition, I've enjoyed it twice as much!! There is still yet an unpublished forth book, "The World Turned Upside Down" and we're all awaiting this gem to be published. Earth Will Shake is a coming of Age novel set in the enlightenment era where a murder happens in church during an Easter mass. From that point on it's a roller coster ride of wicked but serious fun. You are enlightened by the sheer weight of the subject matter that continues to this day. In these works you meet diverse characters who are historically real. I.e., the young Mozart, Count Cagliostro and Casanova, just to name a few. Dan Brown though entertaining, is comparatively an amateur hack when writing about the Illumniati (see for yourself and read this. You won't be disappointed). When the Da Vinci Code got ALL the attention, there was no mention of this work and I find that a sad reality though parr for the course in these "shaky" times. Remember, "reality is what you can get away with"...

Robert Anton Wilson has proven to be capable of extraordinary talent with this series. Mixing fiction with non-fiction he weaves one of the most satisfying Masonic related tales to be discovered and published. The Earth Will Shake, The Widows Son and Natures God are a type of writing that I had previously not encountered through Wilson. This series can actually be very inspiring, and it's written in such a dramatic way I am convinced it would make an excellent movie. Yet, at the end of the series, the reader sees reference to the fourth book "The World Turned Upside Down", and alas, it is non-existant. Whatever reason Bob has for abandoning us devout readers of this series (I have read all three books three times and stolen much wit from them) I urge you, dear Bob, please don't leave us hanging, finish the fourth book! More! More! Your Friend, Joey

"Endless Universe - Beyond the Big Bang" by Dr. Paul J. Steinhardt and Dr. Neil Turok." Can any one tell me please how much distance there is between the dimensional membranes (brains)? I can't find a physicist that seems to know!

Each new scientific data point seems to throw a curve ball on our best laid plans and theories. The newest discovery (announced Sept 2008) that our universe seems to be rushing into a suck-hole by some "unseen force" at 2-million miles an hour, really puts a crimp in Steinhardt and Turok thesis of two flat planes ("brains" - short for membrains) of energy colliding in multiple points on a large scale ever trillion years and starting us all over again.

I liked their idea and fair treatment of the scientific method (conjecture, observation, proof) and new interpretation for old and new data. But how can we possibly integrate in these latest released observations of the giant suck-hole way, way out there on the edge?

http://www.peaceandconflictresolution.org/

The book presents an interesting alternative to the mainstream theory of the inflationary big bang cosmology. It even indicates possibilities for experimentally deciding between the two theories.
What also discerns this book from many popular science books is that the two authors present not only their ideas, but also tha path by which these were reached. This not only makes the book very readable, but is also demonstrates the trial and error process which characterizes real science.

The big bang theory of the origin of the universe has been almost unchallenged for about half a century. Once the discovery of cosmic background in 1963 disposed of the steady-state model proposed by Fred Hoyle and Thomas Gold in the 1950s, it was essentially the only game in town. Oscillatory models never entirely went away, but the inflationary model seemed to explain nearly all the data. At the same time it had some flaws that would not go away: it left the first second after the big bang a total mystery; it left the highly homogeneous distribution of matter and energy after the violent beginning unexplained; it seemed to require absurdly precise values for the physical constants (giving apparent support to the "strong anthropic principle", allowing some physicists to claim that the universe must have been designed by an external intelligence so that it could have us living in it); it failed to explain the origin of the "dark energy" driving the expansion; and so on. Any one of these difficulties could probably be explained away in terms of incomplete knowledge and understanding, but taken together they require so many arbitrary assumptions that it becomes hard to escape the conclusion that the big bang universe has become a patchwork of arbitrary assumptions, added ad hoc to cope with a series of problems.

Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok have developed an alternative way of seeing the universe, in which the big bang was not the beginning but simply a cataclysmic moment in a history of cycles, with no beginning and no end, and in their book they explain all this in terms that are by no means too difficult for the non-physicist to understand. Their model explains everything that the inflationary model explains, but it does so on the basis of fewer and less arbitrary assumptions. It is too soon to feel confident they are right, but if they are right they provide two comforting thoughts for non-physicists: we no longer need to think of time as something that began for unexplained reasons 14 billion years ago, but can return to thinking of it as something that stretches as far back into the past and future as we like to consider, and we don't have to take the strong anthropic principle as a serious argument for an intelligent designer.

This is a book that I enjoyed enormously. If I could give it six stars I would.

Steinhardt and Turok masterfully outline and simplify their "cyclic model" of the universe in Endless Universe. This book could also serve as an introduction to M Theory, which unifies numerous string theories. Even if you don't buy their theory, you should buy this book because it addresses a number of issues that the traditional big bang theory (or the "inflationary model") fails at answering or explaining. Although the authors' own theory seems a bit far fetched (the first two stages of the model take only a few billion years while the "dark energy" stage takes a trillion), it is a needed rebuttal to the shortcomings of the inflationary model.

Great read on a great subject and a fast read!
Not only does this book contain a lot of info on the evolution of the universe, it also touches on the exciting ideas of M-theory and "branes", flurting the idea that two, higher dimensional, branes may have collided to create the beginning of our universe. But, as you'll see, it may NOT have been THE beginning as we think of it!!! Unlike some other popular reads, this book is pretty focused on the Big Bang vs. the "Big Splat"... Very interesting for anyone looking for a focused read on THE BEGINNING. Highly recommended. The tone of the book is great and easy to read.

Doug Moo offers a great exegetical and expositional commentary with the PNTC series offering on James. Well worth the buy, if you don't have a solid commentary on James. Nothing too crazy, and lots of compelling argumentation for his positions.

I have five critical commentaries on James (Lenski, Bruce, Woods, Martin, and now Moo). This one will more than likely be the primary source for me when I study the book in a critical fashion. He is thorough and that is what I want. If you are a preacher looking for something quick and in summary form, a smaller work might be more useful. For me, as a preacher, if I am in the circumstance where I need something quick I am already in trouble. I like the Pillar Series. Not long ago I read of one's review that was overly critical of the work on the epistles of John - I do not subscribe to that sentiment at all. It is a good series!

If you are looking for an answer to a question raised about the meaning of the book of Phillipians, you could not find a better treatment. This is a wonderful resource and fine treatment of the text. I used it in a series of sermons, and found it very easy to acess and get the gems of the book.

`The Epistle of James' by James B. Adamson, 1976, 227 pages in the series The New International Commentary on the New Testament; `The Letter of James' by Douglas J. Moo, 2000, 271 pages, a volume in the series The Pillar New Testament Commentary; and `James' by Ralph P. Martin, 1988, 240 pages, A volume in the series Word Biblical Commentary are all `full featured' and recent commentaries on the first of the short `catholic' epistles in the New Testament.

I find it amazing how different the material is in these three volumes. After 1800 years of commentary, one would expect a fair amount of uniformity in thinking about this short letter, but there is a remarkable range of differences in emphasis among the three.

Those of you who are familiar with the world of biblical commentary will recognize that all three are part of major series of commentaries. Adamson and Moo belong to series dedicated to the New Testament, while Martin's volume is an offering of a larger series on both Old and New Testaments. And, each volume is organized in a way to match the editorial style of their series. This is most clearly seen in Martin's volume, as his work is organized in virtually the same way as the much larger work on Paul's Epistle to the Romans by the distinguished scholar, James D. G. Dunn. This is no surprise, as Martin is the New Testament editor for his series, the Word Biblical Commentary.

Ranked by scholarly detail, Martin has the most and Adamson has the least, with Moo somewhere in between; but don't take from this that Martin is heavy on the Greek and Adamson has no original Greek. All three are specifically written for the scholar and assume that the reader either knows classical Greek or is willing to slog through all the Greek words and expressions. The irony here is that while Martin is the most heavily scholarly, it may also be the most accessible to the lay or strictly pastoral user, since this series divides scholarly observations into the `Comments' on each paragraph, while more general thoughts are spelled out in straight English in the `Form/Structure/Setting' section and later in the `Explanation' section following the `Comments'. Adamson organizes all his `special' or more technical topics in `Excursus' sections following his main commentary. I found this just a tad distracting, especially when I discovered some mistakes in references to these Excursus sections in the main text.

All three authors give us their own translations of the text, and all three agree on where the difficult phrases are to be found. If I were to pick a volume purely on the basis of their translation, I would prefer Adamson, as he seems to give translations that best resolve these difficult sections. But, in all three cases, the authors agree on where the difficulties lie and, in general, the nature of the difficulties.

In the three authors' introductory chapter on the author, themes, and canonical status of the letter, all three agree on the major points. They uniformly agree, for example on the belief that the letter does, in fact, represent the thoughts or writings of James, the brother of Jesus, who was head of the Christian Jews in Jerusalem up to about 62 CE. They also agree that the final form of the letter was rewritten and polished sometime in the early 2nd century, CE. The authors are also uniform in their citing Martin Luther's misunderstanding of James; however, I would give Luther credit for seeing scriptural support of many Roman Catholic doctrines, even if any sound reading of `James' shows that this support is probably stretching James points just a little too far.

On the major themes of the letter, I generally prefer Martin's emphasis on the three topics of `Wisdom', `Perfection', and `The Piety of the Poor' to the other authors' interest in theology and the law. James is clearly spending less times on these typically Pauline topics than he is on lessons for a Christian life.

Among all the other differences, it is most remarkable to see all the differences between how the three authors structure an outline of the short letter. If you didn't know better, you may think they were talking about two different writings. This is just a symptom of the fact that `James' is much less a theological argument a la `Romans' and much more a collection of lessons on prayer, right Christian behavior, and the implications of faith. This is consistent with the fact that the letter has much in common with the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Matthew (See Martin).

One last difference I detect between the three is the fact that Martin makes more connections to modern theology of, for example Dietrich Bonhoffer, while Moo and Adamson have more citations to the great reformers, Calvin and Luther.

If I had to pick only one of these, I would go with Martin's volume in the Word Biblical Commentary series. If I were interested only in pastoral interpretation, I would go with Moo or the article `The Letter of James' by Luke Timothy Johnson in `The New Interpreter's Bible', since both refer heavily to the standard NIV and NRSV translations. If your interest is in a scholarly study of the letter, you will probably want all three.

This is Moo's second commentary on the epistle of James. He wrote his first one in 1985 as part of the Tyndale series. This commentary is the result of fifteen years of reflection on that work. The content of this commentary makes it evident that this is the mature thought of a noted scholar on the letter of James. Those fifteen years left him more convinced "that the heart of the letter is a call to wholehearted commitment to Christ" (x).
Moo provides a lengthy introduction to this epistle (46 pages worth). This introduction includes the history of James in the church, nature and genre, authorship, theology, occasion and date, and structure of James. Concerning authorship, Moo holds that James, the bother of Christ, is the author. He presents arguments against this traditional view and then answers them. The section on the theology of the book is a feature more commentaries would do well to include. He dates the writing of the letter around the middle of the 40s AD. This is important because the date of writing has great implication on the relationship of the letter to Paul's teachings. Moo does not place a ridge structure on the letter. Instead, he finds "several key motifs" which "are often mixed together with other themes in paragraphs that cannot be labeled as neatly as we might like" (45). Denying the assertion of some commentators that the letter has no unifying purpose, Moo argues that the central concern of the letter is spiritual wholeness of the readers (47).
Moo's analysis of the text is insightful. His word studies are well done. He presents a wide range of possible meanings but uses the context to determine which meaning is James's meaning. Moo also does a good job in showing James's relationship with Paul. James is not writing against Paul. James means something different by faith than does Paul. They are addressing different problems.
The format of the commentary is user friendly for the most part. One helpful aspect is that Moo's introductory notes precede the verse by verse exposition of major points and most sub-points. Moo transliterates Greek words making the commentary usable to those who do not have the advantage of knowing Greek. One slight critique concerns the chapter divisions. The chapter divisions of the commentary are based on the chapters of James. This is fine, but the table of contents is broken down by his outline. One would whish the editors would choose a method of division and stay with it. The only other criticism is that Moo's writing style can be difficult at times. These two minor criticisms in no way change the fact that this is a masterpiece. It is short at only 251 pages not counting indexes. Anyone from a layperson to a scholar will benefit from this commentary. This reviewer would recommend it without hesitation (something he does not do often).

This book explains the general principles of financial planning and gives other resources of useful information. It also talks about some specific situations. While it cannot teach you how to do it yourself, it is a good start for everyone who needs to do financial planning!

This is a great book. It is full of helpful information on the financial planning process. I highly recommend it!

If you are cautious on your personal finance and don't want to just listen to your financial advisor, the book might be good for you. It covers a lot of topics of personal finance. The second part is especially good. It talks about the financial issue at life time changes such as marriage, becoming parents, divorce, etc. Very solid information on tax issues. A lot of tips on tax saving.

When I started teaching financial planning to US Air Force officers planning on reentering the general economy it was a little known subject and you had to scout up your material from pamphlets, magazines and newspapers with help from stockbrokers.
"Ernst & Young's Personal Financial Planning Guide" published by John Wiley & Sons, which is the same publishing house that publishes the JK Lasser's tax manual puts the information all in one volume.
Of intense interest to us is the chapter on starting your own business, which as authors we are doing in our senior years. The material is geared to the younger generation who are just starting out, but the advice is sound and easy to understand without an extensive background in accounting and economics.
Financial planning is rough at this period in our history, because of the skyrocketing prices of necessary goods and services not used in the consumer price index, hence they are excluded from inflation percentage calculations. Gasoline, medicines and health care are three I can name, off hand, that affect the general population, but fall outside the index. This phenomena is not addressed in the planning guide, but then Congress has not touched it since the Johnson adminstration either. It is not something that winning the lottery will answer for an individual, but it is like trying to hold a large balloon half-full of water in one-hand and keep it round.
"Personal Financial Planning Guide' is the best we have found for a realistic look at all aspects of financial planning. The table of contents and index are outstanding for locating information.
Nash Black, author of "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

Absolutely one of the best financial planning reference tools around! If your personally planning to restructure your financial life or hire a professional to do it for you, then this book is a must have. It provides a wealth of information as well as an extensive array of guidelines and tips for every area of your life . I especially like that it brings to light concerns of areas you may not be immediately affected by (aging parents) but should be planning for now. Having hired a professional, this book has proved Indispensable in that we have been able to knowingly select and plan individual or particular methods of approach towards our financial futures and better implement them through a professional planner!!!

Executive coaching for results provides an interesting insight into the world of executive coaching across the US. The authors and their contributors have condensed into this volume much of the coaching research on what makes for effective coaching, coach matching and coaching impact. These research elements are mixed with excellent short real life case studies which illustrate the points made from the rsearch.

Overall this is an excellent read.

Using contemporary data and years of coaching experience, the authors offer a robust tool for guiding the coaching process. Experienced and beginning coaches will find gems that will enhance their coaching effectiveness. This book is a focused, no-nonsense guide to effective leadership coaching and development.

Executive Coaching for Results provides an invaluable service to the field of talent and management development:direct information from dozens of top flight corporate leaders and practitioners of executive coaching.
Quite simply there is nothing else like this book in the marketplace and anyone who wants to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the state of the art of this ever dynamic field and area of practice needs to purchase a copy today.

This book is a helpful and practical guide with stories, research and ideas. The authors describe how organizations successfully implement coaching. A must read for any leadership development professionals!

This book belongs in every internal and external coach's library! Leadership Development, Talent Management and Human Resource practitioners, who play a direct or indirect role in leadership development, would also find it greatly beneficial.

This very comprehensive and easy-to-read resource covers all aspects of executive coaching. The research, authors' experience and organizations' first-hand learnings and best practices are insightful and invaluable.

J.R.R. Tolkien was the master of fantasy, and that's not just because he was the first to write a very popular modern epic.

What makes Tolkien superior was how he used his extensive knowledge of mythology and linguistics to create his own complex world. He was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College where he studied and taught the linguistics of early English. Over many years he created his own elvish language with a complex syntax and grammar, and a complete history and mythology of Middle Earth (see the twelve volumes of The Histories of Middle-Earth below.) This gives his works so much complexity and texture that when you read them, you feel like you've dropped into the middle of a real civilization.

Besides the amazing world-building, Tolkien builds excellent characters and uses them to explore such heavy human themes as friendship, love, greed, power, redemption, gender-roles, self-sacrifice, and death. This is not a light epic for a Sunday afternoon. This is intense, bone-chilling, goose-bump raising stuff. You can feel the weight of the world on the shoulders of Frodo and his companions. And, though there's a happy ending, it comes with much suffering and loss.

And all the while, Tolkien's writing is beautiful and poignant. In my opinion, the only writers I've read who even begin to compare are Ursula LeGuin, Susanna Clarke, and perhaps Lois McMaster Bujold.
~FantasyLiterature.net

It would have helped if I read the Hobbit first.

This book had a depth, I had never read before. The complexity of Middle Earth was astounding to the 11 year old boy who first read this book. This was a book that couldn't be put down and mostly read under the blankets late at night with flashlight.

I have reread the book 10 times throughout my life. I lived in Israel for a year and when times were tough or I was lonely for home. I went to the school library and would start reading the familiar pages of this book.

I look forward to my kids discovering the book and Tolkein's world on their own.

I have read each and every one of J.R.R. Tolkiens LOTR trilogy including 'The Hobbit' at least 6 times and I am still not tired of them. They are classics! Some people say there's too much detail. I disagree but I like detail and I think it's the mark of a great author but I understand that some people just want to read the book and not have to listen to the author describe the bark on a tree for three pages (I'm exaggerating, he doesn't go into THAT much detail). These books are great, no language, nothing inappropriate at all. If you are looking for a good book to read on a rainy day I recommend LOTR. P.S If you want to see too much detail read 'Last of the Mohicans'.

I had never read the Rings trilogy. I liked The Hobbit when I read it years ago. I've never been a big fan of high fantasy (elves, dwarves, wizards), but this is the best. The world Tolkien creates is deep and amazing, and although the songs and poems get a bit tedious (especially when they're written in imaginary languages), I really got into the adventure of the characters. I read this right when I got back from Alaska and imagined the landscape to be much like that in Denali National Park.

I bought The Hobbit for my 11-yo son at a school book fair. He plowed through it in no time and loved it so I decided to buy him the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a Christmas present. He can't get enough of these books. He read the first book and absolutely loved it. He's almost done with the second book. He (and I) would definitely recommend any of the Lord of the Rings series. If you like the fantasy type of books then these are a must-have for your collection.

How does Jim Dale do it? How does he read the books and make us hear each of the characters almost as they say it in in the movies and as we think of them as we read the books? Impossible to say; however, he does it. We listen to the Harry Potter tapes each time we drive up and back to our weekend house (yes, we've read the books numberous times). Any Harry Potter fan must have these tapes and listen to a master reading them and giving HP fans another great experience.

I love the escape the Harry Potter series allows this middle-aged professional. Rarely one gets to re-capture the magic of childhood and still be enthralled by wonderfully entertaining characters exhalting the values we all want in our lives - friendship, integrity, sacrifice, success, teamwork. I just love the reader, Jim Dale's, ability to give each character their own individuality and with such precision over time. It's a LOT of characters to develop and remember. He is truly an artist. A series where each book grows in it's depth and character development and have been some of my all time audiobooks. Treat yourself to the series and share them with any one needing to remember the magic of childhood.

Harry Potter 1- 7 Audio Collection

Jim Dale brings the many characters in Harry Potter to life in an amazingly believable way. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and movies, but the audio collection is for me the most enjoyable way to enjoy the series.

I think Jim Dale puts so much life into these books. I love listening to them at anytime. I even have my husband listening to them now also. The set is great to have and well worth the cost

I wanted something to keep my kids busy on the long ride to my sister's house. I got the first Harry Potter and was hooked and had to buy all seven. We have listened to them once through and are starting over again. Anytime we get in the car I hear "Harry Potter mom" and I don't have to listen to them fight. It is so much better then letting them watch movies on trips, they have to use their imaginations and I finally got my oldest son to admit the books are so much better than the movies. Even though the movies were great. My kids were 7 and 9 to start and this kept them busy for a six hour trip; five minutes trips to the grocery store; ride home from the babysitters; etc. Not to mention my dad who never even wants to watch the movies because it is kids stuff is so totally hooked. I will be giving my extra book one and two to my nieces for Christmas.

If you are looking for a solid book, theologically, then look no further. Ryle is an excellent theologian and practical as well. He wants his readers to understand the work of Christ and salvation in the life of a believer. It is great for Bible studies or personal growth.

I would recommend this work to any true believer "working out their own salvation in fear and trembling". It is sound, very comforting and at times very sharp. It is worth every penny and it pays for itself after the first page. Buy it now!!!

The author believes man is Justified byu Faith alone, but believes a Christian Faith is identified by its fruits. This is good, though I do think at times it may seem he believes otherwise. The book sometimes explains something in a thousand words that some may explain in two hundred. It is interesting read considering the book was written some hundred twenty years ago. He complains about easy conversersion without counting the cost of departing from your oldways (sins). That giving life to Christ is not a simple prayer but athoughtful process where you stand before God. He expresses the difference between having more Christians and having less Christians but more devoted. He also disdusses the visible and invisible Church. Those who are members of a local body of Christ but have not truly repented for sins and seek Jesus as God, Savior, and Lord. I found the exposition very interesting at times. A few times I wish he get to the point.

Excellent treatise on holiness and the Christian life. I would highly recommend it.

This book is very detailed and covers the subject very well. It is not written in the easy to read style of modern books and demands concentration. Ryle backs up his thoughts with plenty of references to scripture. His thoughts would be in line with the Puritans. The book is both challenging and encouraging.