Gateway Books

There are very few books on Kwan Yin out there, and this is an interesting new addition. Quite beautifully illustrated (it would make a lovely gift) it is really filled with practical meditations and tips on how to incorporate Kwan Yin into your own spiritual life - which makes it quite different from other books in English on the Bodhisattva.
On the whole, probably well worth buying.

From the moment I picked up this book I was saturated with the energy of Kuan Yin. Yes, even before I opened it, it spoke to my heart. It doesn't hold a lot of intellectual rehashing of ancient ideas, it holds actual technique to connect with the Bodhisattva Herself and experience her love, light and compassion within. You can think about it all you want, but the journey of Kuan Yin is to be experienced through the heart and this book is a valuable guide for you travels. Thank you so much Daniela Schenker for this valuable gift you have given.

Lovely book. A really nice introduction to Kuan Yin for those who are interested. Bought it for a friend who has really enjoyed it. Makes a nice gift for the spiritual one in your life.

While I was expecting a bit more substance, I thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations. As I am a visual person, the images of Kuan Yin's many manifestations were of great assistence in understanding the compassion this goddess is renowned for. I am still in the process of reading what I suspect to be the perfect compliment to the above book. Expounding on Kuan Yin's spirtual teachings, The Living Word of Kuan Yin: The Teachings & Prophecies of The Goddess of Compassion & Mercy is an authentic channeling: chocked full of important spiritual maxims and meditation techniques. Kuan Yin: Accessing the Divine Feminine may be for many their introduction to the amazingly merciful and compassionate world of Kuan Yin.

I wasn't expecting much -- I never do from books on Kuan Yin -- but occasionally some do surprise me. Sandy Boucher's, for instance, or Teoh Eng Soon's. The present book, however, seems yet another Buddhish New Age trifle -- short on substance, careless with detail, and full of three-line meditations. But hey, for many this book may be just the ticket.

I will say the illustrations are very good, and for that alone I give the book 3 stars.

Mostly just photos of the air wing, if you were ship's company prepare to be snubbed. In fact if you served aboard her and took some photos yourself save your money and drag out the photo album and cruise books.

Velinden's team has produced another excellent photo expose', this time featuring the air wing of the (now) retired U.S.S. Forrestal. Excellent photo's of the aircraft and deck crew are the feature of this book.

Although this book is a little bit dated, since both the Forrestal and the F-14s are now history to the US Navy, Mr Verlinden does a suberb job describing in a few pages the workings of USS Forrestal's flying deck. The photographs are very clear and sharp and the captions accompanying them reveal the author's penetrating look to military hardware. The sequence of catapult take offs and arresting hook landings are described in a vivd way and the photos show the various people working long shifts. Although there are photos of Hornets, Prowlers, Vikings and Hawkeyes, the Tomcats are the kings of the book.

Any book that leaves out the ragged engineers crawling through the bilges and maintaining the fresh water and cool air for the pilots and crew isn't complete.

LARRY TRIBE! GRIT SANDERS!! RED FYVIE!!! ERVIN FULST!!!!
DUKE, CHIEF MEDVED, CHIEF PARAYNO, write to me. rbixby@earthlink.net

This book provides you the details about the activity on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal from the hangar under the deck, the preparation before the launching of the aircraft, during and after the landing , concerned equipment and vehicles. If you're the modeler and seeking for the reference book to build your naval diorama, this book is the best since it consists of over 60 color photos which you can also use as the painting guide.

This review is for the book `The Shattered Mask', which is Book III of the seven book `Sembia: Gateway to the Realms' series. This review is intended as a critique of the writing and flow of the book, not to reveal "spoolers". Please note: I am assuming that people have read The Halls of Stormweather and Shadow's Witness, Books I and II of the series, prior to reading this review. If you haven't, you may wish to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my overall recommendation of this book, which will not contain any information about previous books in this series.

This book focuses on Shamur Uskevren, the matriarch of the Uskevren household, written by Richard Lee Byers. This story takes place a little more than a year after the events of the short story `Song of Chaos'. The Uskevren household, as well as the city of Selgaunt, has had time to recover from the attach by creatures from the Abyss chronicled within the pages of `Shadow's Witness' a year prior. Shamur has begun to regret he treatment of Thamalon when she is used as a tool to bring down the house of Uskevren by an old rival. How will the future vision she had while dealing with the magic opera play out, and how will the revelation of her past effect everyone.

Shamur Uskevren had an colorful past prior to taker her nieces place as bride to Thamalon. The reader is brought along with the rest of the family in discovering this past and an amazing revelation.

Overall, the book is well written and well paced. The author is able to draw the reader into the action of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the short story `Song of Chaos', as well as readers of the Forgotten Realms and other shared fantasy settings. I would also recommend this book to readers of general Fantasy, looking for a new view on fantasy story telling. I would recommend reading The Halls of Stormweather prior to reading this book. Although the `Sembia: Gateway to the Realms' series is not linear, they occur in conjunction with one another, I would recommend reading the prior books of the series first. Each book will make references the events of the prior books, so the reader will have a more encompassing experience and a greater understanding of the time line throughout the series.

A Note to Readers new to Forgotten Realms: Like many shared settings, especially those stemming from gaming or other media types, the Forgotten Realms books are written with the assumption that the reader has some familiarity with the Forgotten Realms gaming setting. This frees up the author to focus on his or her story, instead of having to explain the world in which the story takes place; the calendar, geography, common races/species, magical properties, etc. This is very important when the book length is normally confined to 300 - 350 pages. As a reader reads more books in the Forgotten Realms setting, they will become more familiar with the world of Faerun and its inhabitants, making the experience more pleasant. The `Sembia: Gateway to the Realms' series is an excellent place for a reader to begin their journey into the Forgotten Realms, since the stories take place in a fairly localized area and contains mostly creatures common to fantasy literature in general.

I must confess that when I saw who the author of this novel was, I was a bit skeptic about it. Byers' work, in my opinion, ranged from mediocre to bad (Year of the Rogue Dragons trilogy). Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by this novel.

The novel is simply a set of good elements, without an obvious weak spot. Characters are numerous, good, consistent and interesting. Byers gives the villains more space than he usually does, and that really bolsters the dynamic of the novel. I must mention one of the villains, Bileworm, who was given simply brilliant characterization. The intricate relationship between Shamur and her husband is given much space and consideration by the author, and the end result is very good. Other Uskreven family members play a greater role in this book, than they did in "Shadow's Witness" by Paul S. Kemp, and I think this book should've maybe been published as the first one (not counting the "Halls of Stormweather" anthology).
The plot is strong, fast-paced and free of any logical errors. The atmosphere and the setting are maybe a bit off the pace, but they surely aren't bad, simply disregarded, I would say. The book also features a couple of great sword-fights, something where Byers' fencing expertise comes to the fore.

As I said earlier, this is really a novel without a weak spot. I really can't find anything in this novel that particularly stung my eyes. Nevertheless, I'm giving it four stars, just because it failed to bring something extra, some little touch that differentiates a good book from a great one.

I know this original edition of the novel maybe hard to come by, but there is a reprint that should be published in a couple of months. Make sure you don't miss this great installment in the "Sembia: Gateway to the Realms" series.

I must confess that when I saw who the author of this novel was, I was a bit skeptic about it. Byers' work, in my opinion, ranged from mediocre to bad (Year of the Rogue Dragons trilogy). Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by this novel.

The novel is simply a set of good elements, without an obvious weak spot. Characters are numerous, good, consistent and interesting. Byers gives the villains more space than he usually does, and that really bolsters the dynamic of the novel. I must mention one of the villains, Bileworm, who was given simply brilliant characterization. The intricate relationship between Shamur and her husband is given much space and consideration by the author, and the end result is very good. Other Uskreven family members play a greater role in this book, than they did in "Shadow's Witness" by Paul S. Kemp, and I think this book should've maybe been published as the first one (not counting the "Halls of Stormweather" anthology).
The plot is strong, fast-paced and free of any logical errors. The atmosphere and the setting are maybe a bit off the pace, but they surely aren't bad, simply disregarded, I would say. The book also features a couple of great sword-fights, something where Byers' fencing expertise comes to the fore.

As I said earlier, this is really a novel without a weak spot. I really can't find anything in this novel that particularly stung my eyes. Nevertheless, I'm giving it four stars, just because it failed to bring something extra, some little touch that differentiates a good book from a great one.

I know this original edition of the novel maybe hard to come by, but there is a reprint that should be published in a couple of months. Make sure you don't miss this great installment in the "Sembia: Gateway to the Realms" series.

This book has all you need for a really fine time. The heroine is feisty and has a big, interesting secret. There's intrigue, monsters, swords and sorcery galore, masterful use of language and characters you can really take to heart.

If you've read other SEMBIA series stories and books, you'll find old friends and if you have not, you'll make some mew ones. Though this book is part of a series, its story is complete.

Buy this one. You'll have a rousing good read!

After reading and really enjoying the last two books in the series, I was somewhat nervously regarding the release of this book as it centres around a rather awkward secret and marital problems ( I personally like to avoid these sorts of problems in books and see the characters simply focus on beating the bad guys, winning the girl etc etc).

However the book is well written with the author exploring the past and present of the Uskervan matriach, a character who has been sidelined and treated a bit coldy in most of the previous stories. Richard Lee Byers however does a good job of exploring the character and adds plenty of exciting action to boot. To top it all off the book ends with a happy ending, something which always leaves me with satisfied feelings at the end of a book.

All in all this book is pretty good by the standard of most Realms novels and despite some credibility gaps as to what the characters do, is really pleasing (along with the other stories in the series) for the way in which it threads all the characters and stories together in a way that we grow attached to them and feel as if the family is really changing through the tests it has thrown at it (kinda like a soap opera I guess).

With the standard of the first 3 books in the Sembia series so high, I can barely wait for the next addition to the series "Black Wolf" to be released in December.

This is a groundbreaking book that everyone who even thinks of having a baby should read. More and more, society needs to realize the importance of the baby's time spent in utero, and this book beautifully illustrates that experience. Each chapter is concise and leaves the mind to ponder the many insites it touches on. The content is loving and heartfelt as the baby expresses what it feels and knows about life, past lives, and the spirit realm, just before he is ready to enter this world. This book is so wonderfully written, I was moved to tears at several instances. Although the idea of channeling a baby's messages, while in the mothers body, is not a very mainstream idea, the content is so down to earth and real, you can't help to suspend your disbelief( if you have any) and succomb to the unconditonally loving messages that are addressed.

MY FREIND DREAMWEAVER TOLD ME TO LOOK IN "YOUR MOM'S BOX" FOR THIS BOOK.I FOUND IT THERE AND WAS SO GLAD I FOUND IT.HER BOX WAS HUGE FILLED WITH ALL TYPES OF STUFF . I WAS READING TO A FEW OF MY FRIENDS ON THE CB AND THEY ALL LOVE IT.NOT TO SPOIL ANYTHING BUT DEC. 28th WAS THE BEST DAY OF THE BOOK. I HEARD THAT DON GERONIMO WROTE A SIMILAR BOOK "DIARY OF RUDY: A FLAT DOG TALKS TO A FAT MAN" IT'S THE LIFE STORY OF A LITTLE DOG NAMED RUDY THAT WAS RAN OVER BY A FAT MAN IN A SUV.

My friend Connor told me about this book after he read it on his father's boat. I read it and I must say this is a classic. I read it to my whole family, even my little dog Chester.

Put it in the back of your minivan and back up into a lake.

This audiocassette book is NOT abridged! To prove this, go to the publisher's website (Blackstone audiobooks).

Some people, like myself, cannot, for whatever reason, read (paper) books, and there is, so far as I know, no other audio version of a Locke text available in the world. (There is a Knowledge Products two-tape set, and it is excellent, but it's ABOUT Locke; it is not the text on tape.) So I'm grateful to Blackstone for producing this. And, actually, I found it to be of very good quality.

First, this is an unabridged version -- although it is wrongly listed as abridged. Second, this reading is clear, articulate and easy to follow. I have read the 2nd treatise many times before listening to this audio edition. The reader does a great job, staying faithful to the tone and cadence of this work. Ignore the review that gives this product a one-star. I hestitated when I saw it, but decided to buy this product anyway. I'm glad I did, as that review was terribly unjust.

Locke writes in very long and convoluted sentences, with all the powdered-wig pomp appropriate to intellectual discourses of the time, 1690. Each of these sentences would required considerable rehearsal to deliver them in a way that pointed up their sense rather than obscuring it. But, Lois Betterton reads as though she's perpetually surprised at the course of Locke's sentences, as well as their sequence. I don't know where one would find someone competent to give a reading of this book, and maybe it isn't Betterton's fault. But, Blackstone should know better. They ought to commission a truly professional reading (by Betterton or another) and send that, with a note of apology, to anyone who purchased this audio book.

John Locke (1632-1704) wrote "Second Treatise of Government" in 1690, it was the main political philosophical source that our "Founding Fathers" went to in writing the "Declaration of Independence" and in forming our government. I think you should know something of Locke to understand what influenced his thinking. His father was a small landowner, attorney, Puritan and his political sympathies were with the Cromwell Parliament. Like Hobbes, Locke attended Oxford Univ. and did not think much about the curriculum or his professors. Most of his education came from reading books in the Univ. library. Renee Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton's writings greatly influenced Locke. Like Hobbes, he took a tutoring job teaching the son of the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, and traveled Europe. His friendship with the Earl was beneficial in obtaining government appointments. During the political unrest in England, (1679-83) he fled to Holland because his liberal notions put him at odds with the government.

Locke writes the "Second Treatise of Government" to justify the Revolt of 1688 and the ascension of William of Orange to the English throne. The book argues against two lines of absolutist ideas. The first is Sir Robert Filmer's "patriarchal theory of divine right of kings; secondly, Hobbes argument for the sovereign's absolute power in his book "Leviathan." Locke argues that government emanates from the people. Locke's treatise rests like other political writings on its interpretation of human nature. He sees our nature opposite the way Hobbes did, decent and not as selfish or competitive. Man is more inclined to join society through reason and not fear. Man prefers stability to change.

His very important contribution to "law of nature" theory was his bias toward individualism. In state of nature, before government, men were free independent, equal enjoying inalienable rights "chief among them being life, liberty, and property." Where have you read that before? Property rights receive much attention in this treatise. Locke argues that government based on consent of man can still preserve freedom independence and equality.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influenced our founding fathers in their struggle against tyranny. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must read Locke's "Second Treatise of Government"

This one is a collection of short stories, each centered around a member of the Uskevren Family. The short about Erevis Cale is the start of two trilogies about this fellow.

This review is for the book 'The Halls of Stormweather', which is Book I of the seven book 'Sembia: Gateway to the Realms' series. This review is intended as a critique of the writing and flow of the book, not to reveal plot or "spoolers".

This book is an anthology of seven stories written by seven different authors, edited by Philip Athans. This is intended as an introduction to the city of Selgaunt in the land of Sembia, using the Uskevren family as our guides. Each story focuses on a single member of the Uskevren household, and each is about 50 pages in length.

Story 1: The Burning Chalice by Ed Greenwood (3 stars) - This story focuses on the patriarch of the family, Thamalon Uskevren, written by the creator of the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting. This story uses flashbacks to provide the reader with how Thamalon became head of the family, and to provide knowledge of the politics of Sembia. Due to there being a lot of information packed into its 50 pages, the plot breaks can sometimes seem sudden and it may take the reader a little bit to regain which time period the new scene takes place. Overall the story is well written and well organized.

Story 2: Song of Chaos by Richard Lee Byers (3 stars) - This story focuses on the matriarch of the family, Shamur Uskevren. This story uses flashbacks as well to provide the readers with the background of Shamur, but in a very different way than the first story. Due to the mechanism used to initiate the flashbacks, the breaks are fluid and don't leave the reader guessing. There are some places where the reader will wish for more information, but within the framework of the 50 pages, the flow of the story and information provided is well done. Richard Lee Byers also writes The Shattered Mask, Book III of the series.

Story 3: Night School by Clayton Emery (2 stars) - This story focuses on the heir of the family, Thamalon Uskevren II. The story, although liner, doesn't flow well. It may be because Thamalon Uskevren II is a very interesting character. The reader is left with a better feeling and image of the support characters than the focus character, including the dogs. It took a long time to get through this story, but since it is short it is worth just getting through for the background information.

Story 4: The Price by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (3.5 stars) - This story focuses on the daughter of the family, Thazienne Uskevren. This story delves into the darker side of Sembia. The story is well written, and like all well written stories, the ending, although abrupt, is not out of place. Voronica Whitney-Robinson also writes Sands of the Soul, Book VI of the series.

Story 5: Thirty Days by Dave Gross (3.5 stars) - This story focuses on the second son of the family, Talbot Uskevren. This story has the disadvantage of having the character portrait at the beginning reveal the outcome of the story. Hence, readers are not able to follow Talbot in his journey of discovery. Even with this disadvantage, the story is told very well and fits nicely into the already established setting of Sembia and the Uskevren family. Dave Gross also writes Black Wolf & Lord of Stormweather, Book IV & Book VII of the series.

Story 6: Resurrection by Paul S. Kemp (4.5 stars) - This story focuses on the head butler to the household, Erevis Cale. This story is a `consequences to your actions' story. The character of Erevis Cale, and his friends and enemies, come alive on the page. For readers of other Forgotten Realms books at first it seems easy to draw a comparison to one of the Forgotten Realms' most loved characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. However, you will quickly learn that Erevis Cale can definitely stand on his own. If a reader is looking for a single reason to read this book, here it is. Paul S. Kemp also writes Shadow's Witness, Book II of the series.

Story 7: Skin Deep by Lisa Smedman (4 stars) - This story focuses on one of the maids to the household, Larajin. This story slowly and creatively gives the reader a glimpse in the lineage of this `fish out of water' character. The story is well written and organized, and leaves the reader looking forward to learning more about Larajin. Lisa Smedman also writes Heirs of Prophecy, Book V of the series.

Overall, this book is well written and provides the reader with enough information about Sembia and the Uskevren household to look forward to the rest of the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms series. If available, I would have rated this book 3.5 stars. The nice thing about this anthology is that, like for myself, it may introduce readers to other authors they may not have otherwise read. I would recommend this book to not only readers of the Forgotten Realms and other shared fantasy settings, but also to general Fantasy readers looking for a new view on fantasy story telling.

A Note to Readers new to Forgotten Realms: Like many shared settings, especially those stemming from gaming or other media types, the Forgotten Realms books are written with the assumption that the reader has some familiarity with the Forgotten Realms gaming setting. This frees up the author to focus on his or her story, instead of having to explain the world in which the story takes place; the calendar, geography, common races/species, magical properties, etc. This is very important when the book length is normally confined to 300 - 350 pages. As a reader reads more books in the Forgotten Realms setting, they will become more familiar with the world of Faerun and its inhabitants, making the experience more pleasant. The `Sembia: Gateway to the Realms' series is an excellent place for a reader to begin their journey into the Forgotten Realms, since the stories take place in a fairly localized area and contains mostly creatures common to fantasy literature in general.

This book is not your typical fantasy novel. It is the first book of the excellent Sembia series consisting of seven stories, each about different characters in a noble household. I don't normally like short stories, but in this case it worked surprisingly well. There is a consistency among the stories, giving the novel a more structured feel, and most of the stories with a couple of exceptions are four to five star tales.

1. THE PATRIARCH - "The Burning Chalice" by Ed Greenwood
By far the worst story in the book. It thows way too many names at you way too quickly, and all of the characters in the book seem flat and poorly drawn. Feels like impromptu trash. **

2. THE MATRIARCH - "Song of Chaos" by Richard Lee Byers
Fairly interesting but very strange. This story does an excellent job of telling a character's past in the present, and displays an interesting relationship between Uskevren matriarch Shamur and her daughter Thazienne. ****

3. THE HEIR - "Night School" by Clayton Emery
A decent but not great story. The main character is an annoying fop who succeeded in making my head hurt with his annoying lines such as "jolly good!" and such. The plot itself was rather weak, but despite these flaws I found it mildy entertaining. ***

4. THE DAUGHTER - "The Price" by Voronica Whitney-Robinson
One of my favorite stories about one of my favorite characters, this one gets a 4 star only because of its rather slow beginning. I liked the author's writing style and find Tazi very interesting. ****

5. THE SECOND SON - "Thirty Days" by Dave Gross
An outstanding tale about the second son of the Uskevren family who gets a not-so-mysterious disease from some creature on a hunting trip gone haywire. The disease is "not-so-mysterious" thanks to the picture preceeding it showing the main character as a werewolf, but that wasn't the author's fault. Other than the picture, a great read. *****

6. THE BUTLER - "Resurrection" by Paul S. Kemp
The absolute best story and character in the book, Resurrection is the tale about the amazingly interesting and multi-dimensional butler, Erevis Cale. Wonderful action, characterization, and an excellent plot are all packed neatly into this short little story. This tale alone is worth the price of the book. Truly outstanding! *****

7. THE MAID - "Skin Deep" by Lisa Smedman
This and Greenwood's story are certainly the worst in the novel, though this one is not nearly as awful. A rather uninteresting character and dull plot war with the above average imagination of this writer to produce a 3 star tale that was brimming with potential but not quite up to the level of the other 5 stories. ***

Overall, this is a great novel, and if you are looking for a good fantasy/Forgotten Realms series, this is a great place to start.

1. The Patriarch: The Burning Chalice, by Ed Greenwood. Much more cohesion and much less cliché than in your average Greenwood story. Deals more with the history of the Uskreven, than with Thamalon's character. Nothing special, but does the job. ***
2. The Matriarch: Song of Chaos by Richard Lee Byers. A good story by Byers. Highly magical, with a detailed insight in Shamur's background, and her relation with her daughter, Thazienne. A short story written in a way it should be. ****
3. The Heir: Night School by Clayton Emery. A good description of an interesting character, Thamalon Uskreven the Second, or "Deuce". This story is all about that. Otherwise, some nice humor and a weak plot. ****
4. The Daughter: The Price by Voronica Whitney Robinson. Uninteresting and sort of forced. The story, to be honest, does describe the main character in detail, but that doesn't make her (the main character) any less annoying.**
5. The Second Son: Thirty Days by Dave Gross. A very good story by Gross. Rich, detailed writing, well conceived plot and interesting characters. ****
6. The Butler: Resurrection by Paul S. Kemp. The jewel story of the book. I won't berate much about this one. Just read it and meet Mr. Erevis Cale. *****
7. The Maid: Skin Deep by Lisa Smedman. A story that really had potential. A good plot and fairly interesting characters, marred with a great bit of naivety. ***

I must add that all of the stories deal with backgrounds and histories of their respective main characters, which is a good thing in my opinion. Don't expect grand plots and twists, but seven stories about seven more or less interesting characters. Check it out.

A review currently listed for this book pertains to "this Yale edition" and says it leaves out "about half" of what Newman published. However, Amazon indicates that the publisher is "Gateway Editions." The copy that Amazon shipped to me (which matches the picture of the book) indicates "Regnery Publishing" as the publisher. Moreover, it appears to leave out nothing.

Having verified, from the Table of Contents on line, that all of the parts were present, I purchased this edition in hopes that it might contain some comments or analysis that would add to the understanding that I received from reading the Notre Dame Press edition (Martin J. Svaglic author), with its excellent notes and commentaries. (Otherwise, why would reviewers recommend it?) My anticipation was rewarded by an interesting seven-page introduction.

However, the endnotes by Svaglic are of such great value in understanding the Newman's references to then-present and past events and authors and even in translating some of his Latin that I greatly prefer that edition. For that reason, in comparison, I witheld one star.

Newman's work is not only an eloquent, erudite, and careful defense of the virtue of knowledge and the value of a liberal education; it is also a brilliantly reasoned and felt argument for the prevention of hubris on the part of any particular branch of knowledge.

Newman's sound warnings against the overreaching of scientific fields and the triumph of smug materialism and positivism are still urgent, of course. Newman is also careful to point out that the liberal arts and even theology may attempt to establish a single, inadequate framework for the discovery of truth.

Newman's complex epistemology does not fall prey to the heresy that truth is not one, but reminds us that in our present state, truth present various aspects and that the tyranny of any particular branch of knowledge is the victory of ignorance.

A strong case can be made that Englishman John Henry (Cardinal) Newman reinvented the religious univeristy in the 19th century and that most such universities, regardless of their denomination, functioned quite well until the computer age. Now, with all universities being forced to rethink their own identity and mission, the values which Newman enuntiated for them over 100 years ago will return to guide their reinvention in our own day. Or, they can return, if they are given the chance. Yale University is to be commended for putting Newman's ideas on the university back on the table in such a splendid format. Every aspect of this work deserves praise, from the editor's introduction and special footnotes, to the analytical essays which merit a careful reading in their own right. I did a complete review of this excellent work in "National Catholic Register" 9-15 Feb. 1997, p. 6. I recommend this book highly for this who need to understand and apply Newman's vision of the university.

Unfortunately, this Yale edition leaves out about half of what Newman himself published in 1873 as the definitive edition of THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSITY. Published here are only the nine "Dublin Discourses" from Part I on "University Teaching" and but four of the ten chapters of Part II, "University Subjects Discussed in Occasional Lectures and Essays." For the hundred-page displacement of Newman's essays, the editor substitutes five interpretive essays supposedly inquiring into the relevance of Newman's book for today's higher education debates. These interpretive essays have major inconsistencies and repetitions among themselves and are of mixed quality, with inaccuracies and serious misunderstandings of some of Newman's central ideas. As accurate forays of the Newmanian mind into the twentieth- and twenty-first century university, only the engaging and intellectually challenging essays by George Marsden and George Landow succeed. (COMPLETE paperback editions of Newman's IDEA are available from Loyola University Press, 1987, and University of Notre Dame Press, 1982).

The hardest thing in life is to "let go and let God." An all too familiar saying, but so very true. When it comes to God's will-especially in love and romance, it's very easy to become anxious and get in our own way or get ahead of God (can the church say amen?) As a result, heart break, pain and confusion ensue. But, no worries. Aisha Ford writes four distinctively different stories that true romance readers will enjoy and appreciate. It's time to take a get-a-way and take your mind off things. Missouri Gateway's is a great traveling companion. It's a nice change of pace for romance readers and readers of all genres alike. Ford is a talented, creative writer and she does not disappoint. You'll love it!

Reviewed by Sherna' for The GOOD GIRL Book Club www.goodgirlbookclubonline.com

Four inspirational novels comprised into one powerful book: "Stacy's Wedding", "The Wife Degree", "Pride and Pumpernickel" and "Whole in One".

The characters portrayed are positive and most times humorous. Along with the romance story line, most importantly, these novels focus on the importance of God in our relationships. I definitely recommend this book!

Aisha Ford's "Missouri Gateways" is a collection of four romantic stories about the residents of Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri.

In the first of the stories of the anthology "Stacy's Wedding", wedding planner Stacy is an ultimate professional and in high demand. During the course of overseeing one impending wedding disaster, she loses her keys. The keys are returned to her my Max, longstanding bachelor who is attending the wedding of a friend's child. Though they don't connect at the wedding due to Stacy's skittishness about relationships, Max follows up on his interest and they are soon building a solid friendship. Drama is introduced into the story in a number of ways. Firstly is the presence of Vivian, a woman who attends church with Max and has had her eyes on him for some time. A second, more distracting, story line involves both Stacy and Max's involvement in an online reading discussion group. Their interaction in the group is not as positive as their budding romance. I found the detailed conversations of the book club an unwelcome diversion. The story was written in 1999, but could have well been written in 1959. The characters have chemistry but often respond to each other as you would expect young teens in love to react. It's very quaint. This was my least favorite of the stories in this collection.

The second story "The Wife Degree" focuses on Stacy's little sister Madison, who we were introduced to in the first story. In this story, Maddy comes face-to-face with her neighbor and childhood nemesis. She was teased merciless by Jordan and upon seeing him again is reminded of his unkind words. Jordan, on the other hand, regrets teasing Maddy who has become a beautiful and mature Christian woman. Jordan and Maddy are both secretly attracted to each other. As Jordan agrees to teach Maddy to cook, supposedly to impress a secret crush, they have to decide if they can get over their past and move forward with each other. This was a cute story of two adults navigating rocky pasts. This was a nice, heartwarming tale.

In "Pride and Pumpernickel" we move from Kansas City (the site of the first two stories) to St. Louis, where Dana (Max's little sister) is working tirelessly as the general manager for a series of "Mom and Pop" bakeries. As competition from a larger, popular bakery threatens the success of the business, the owners bring in New York City gourmet chef Ethan to revamp their menu. Dana loves the tradition of the bakery and doesn't think a major overhaul is in order. Though they disagree on the future direction of the bakery, they both agree that there is a definitive attraction for each other.

The final tale of the anthology "Whole in One" is the story Anthony (Dana's brother) and Evette, a golf instructor. When Anthony decides to take golf lessons to improve his game, he doesn't anticipate developing feelings for his golf teacher and fellow church member Evette. Having been unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé several months ago, Evette is gun shy of relationships. Her relationship with God has also suffered. As Anthony tries to get her to attend church more regularly, Evette begins to wonder if she's only an evangelistic project or if Anthony truly has feelings for her. Their growing friendship is greatly challenged when her old fiancé Justin returns to the picture after failing to make it as a golf pro. As old feelings resurface, Evette has to decide whether to go back to the old or explore her feelings for Anthony. This was perhaps my favorite of the all the stories in the anthology.

All of these stories emphasis the relationship both the men and women have with God and how that impacts their budding romances. There is a nice continuity from story to story with continual updates on the lives of characters introduced in earlier sections. These stories have a 19th century feel to them in many ways, with many of the characters having a certain wide-eyed innocence about them. Other than the rough start of the first story, I found each additional story more satisfying.

In my opinion, Ms. Ford's "Flippin' the Script" is a much more enjoyable, modern day romance story. Having read "Flippin" as my first introduction to her work, I can now see how her writing has grown. I'd recommend reading it.

MISSOURI GATEWAYS by Aisha Ford possesses four romantic stories with faith-based messages. Visualize the boy meets girl theme with the inspirational tones of allowing God to lead our journey when it comes to relationships; giving all pain, confusion and love to Him to do what He will.

Aisha Ford is a true romance writer who accentuates the need to let go and let God direct our path in every area of our life. The stories are refreshing and Ford is an author I recommend for romance enthusiasts.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Complete review can be found on our website...

From Etiquette during one's funeral to Fun Games to play when you are dead, including Bio-exorcism, there seems to be everything necessary for the "Afterlife".

Sometimes you get the really creepy feeling the author has been there, done that. The tone varies from dark black humor to light dry humor to very serious, which again is very funny.

Anyway I had a good time reading the book and can only recommend it.

If you loved the movie Beetlejuice, you'll love this book. (I wonder if this is the book they used in the movie!)

I don't see anything about heaven OR hell. This book reads like stereo instructions. Listen to this: "Geographical and temporal perimeters. Functional perimeters vary from manifestation to manifestation. Oh, this is gonna take some time, honey.

forget it!!! Even if you are, I'm not so sure! As an lay thanatologist, I thought that this would be a fun diversion from what people consider the "morbid" study of death. Wrong! This book is not a humourous take on death, rather a boring and tedious exploration of the afterlife, Shirley Maclaine-I've-been-here-before-where's-my-new-body kind of way. I don't even think that people who believe in reincarnation or an afterlife will find this interesting. I am an avid reader, one who is referred to as a devourer of books. I will even read beauty product labels in the bathroom if nothing else is handy. Given the choice between this book and a shampoo bottle, I'd re-read my Suave bottle in a heartbeat. This is the first book that I have put down with no intention of picking it back up in QUITE some time. I would really like my money back on this one, and this is a rare thing for me. Many bad books are atleast entertaining. Not this one. The title makes it sound like a lot of fun, but the fun ends there. There is a lot of far better death humour out there. Don't settle for this. ...

Before all the hoop-lah about some of the most extreme "Idiot's Guide"s became popular (which are probably copyrighted, although I won't pay tribute to that aspect here) this book came about. Yes, it was most likely spawned by its use in the movie Beetlejuice (due to the fact that the movie was made in 1988 and the book is copyrighted 1992), but that's entirely besides the point. This book explores all the necessities that are needed for beyond the grave. From practical jokes to perform at your own funeral to time passing hobbies. Keep in mind the companion to this, "The Original Handbook for the Recently Deceased: Tech Manual-Field Operator's Edition", is "The Original Handbook for the Recently Deceased: Workbook, Manual, Practicum". This is a great idea for the "hands-on" aspect of being dead. I have nothing but the best of praise for these works and hope that after my funeral, I'll have the social graces of the dead.

Additionally, please note that this book is in no way a serious attempt at understanding the afterlife. If you want that, try the experience yourself and quit your complaining.

This exploration of the world's most transcendent story of love is rewritten in its entirety within the first chapters. The reader lives the Egyptian tale of the twins Isis and Osiris through a dramatic romanticization of the renowned myth. The author shows how, via detailed exercises, this myth relates to the modern design of marriage and provides the reader with the search for oneself throughout.

I know alot of the myth in the book isn't proven to be true as of now, with all my reading. But it is a very nice story. It is just kind of all over the place, and seperated with exersizes, like a school book or something. I thought the myth was wonderful, it gave such detail and all of Osirus and Isis, and the other Gods and Goddess involved. The book includes some information about Horus, Seth, Nephthys, Ra, Geb, and some others. It's a pretty nice book. I dont care for the exersizes, I just wanted to read and learn more about the myth, some of it in here is exagerated, but other than that it's nice.

This book is for those interested in an esoteric interruptaiton of Egyptian mythology. The first section of the book includes a varitety of myths which has have been re-interrupted, while the remaing part of the book are lessons for personal transformation. There is a lot of information contained in the book, but the exercises at the end of each section did not interest me that much.

Jean Houston succeeds in bringing a very ancient mythological story all the way to the present time. She really lives what she teaches, and she guides us to do so as well. Our lives can benefit a lot from the richness of ancient wisdom!