error Books

It seems like many protestants have trouble believing that any Catholic doctrines can possibly be true. Many protestants (and I am one) have rejected the clear, historic view of the book of Revelation and have gone chasing after Jack Van Impe and Hal Lindsey foolishness. This book can bring both Catholics and Protestants back to reality after all of the confusion caused by the "Left Behind" nonsense.

This is a long book, and as detailed as it gets, into the problem of the end times. No matter what your take on that subject, this book will answer many of your questions. Certainly it gives a thorough background into the way the early Christians interpreted the end times.

The gist of Currie's argument centers around what happened in 70 AD, which is frequently overlooked by other interpretations.

Jesus, in the Olivet discourse, very clearly promised that "this generation" (Matt 24) would not pass away before they had seen many signs and events. C S Lewis called the Olivet discourse, "'certainly the most embarrassing verse in the bible'" (p148).

Unless you take Jesus at his word. Then, as Currie painstakingly explains, those words are full filled when the Romans, in 70 AD, burned the temple to the grounds. This was exactly the way that Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius interpreted his words.

The history and background of biblical interpretation are worth the price of the book.

It is necessary to take a leap of faith to in order to fully accept Christian doctrine.

There has always been within Christendom that group which does (take a leap of fatih) and that group (Apologists) that do not. This is NOT a Catholic v Protestant division.

This book is written from the Apologist point of view. I give it a three star rating for the research but do accept its conclusions. However it does contain some valid criticisms.

Evangelicals fall into error when their faith becomes presumption.

Regarding end times eschatology - no time table should calculated (and the instruction not to do this appears in Scripture) - that is the error -the mistake that many Evangelicals make.

It is not an error to believe by faith in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

For decades Christian Apologists taught that the prophesized rebirth of Israel was intended as a spiritual metaphor nothing more.

Well we all know what happened in 1948.

Any book that dispels the absolute foolishness of the "Rapture Theory" has to have some merits. I do not follow theories. I seek the truth that only the Spirit of God can reveal and confirm. You should read the book "Whose Right It Is" by Dr. Kelley Varner for a greater spiritual insight into these matters. He takes head on every argument the tribbers have. The prophecies of Daniel that are incorrectly used to support the "Rapture Theory" are clearly expounded on in his book. All of the writings of Paul that have been abused by those who preach the rapture are dealt with by Dr. Varner to reveal their true spiritual implications and the context in which they were given.

True spiritual growth is beyond the intellect. Those who truly seek to worship Jesus in spirit and truth will be led to the truth of the Word. The truth concerning God's purpose in the earth is repeated throughout the word. Just read Psalms 37. Search on the words "righteous", "righteousness", "wicked", "wickedness" and similar words in the book of Proverbs and you will see that God's purpose is to remove all wickedness and leave behind his righteousness. So I hope to God I am left behind. Isaiah 45:18 states "...God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited..." By preaching a physical "taking away" we are actually speaking against the very purposes of God. Jesus spoke in his model prayer to the disciples, "in earth as it is in heaven". Not to mention "the meek shall inherit the earth."

Once again, I highly recommend "Whose Right It Is" by Dr. Kelley Varner.

Absolutely fantastic - best book on end times I've read, and I've read a lot.

Debbie Ford puts everything right out there. After reading this book you will become more self aware of your our flaw and self sabotage. It will help many step outside of themself and become a better person. I highly recommend this book for self improvement. Not only will you understand yourself better but everyone who is in your life or enters your life along your path.

I personally have a had a life wrought with anger and personal mistakes and I have hurt others and myself. That is the reason I chose to purchase this book. Much of the interior is redundant, but the big work is the ending on forgiveness. For me, powerful and extremely helpful. Once you learn the lesson here, you can live better. I have not read anything before on self-forgiveness written with such frankness and effectiveness.

Debbie Ford brings together the theories of many of the current explanations on human behavior. I believe she does so brilliantly, most notably for me she brings together Hendrix's work on Imago theory as well as John Bradshaw's ideas of shame. We all are greatly impacted by our formative years as a child. We as human beings are built with a darkside that does help us to function, and function in mostly healthy ways most of the time. Unfortunately, shame from an early age, and the coping mechanisms we use to deal with early rooted shame hinder us the most as well.

I think my favorite part of her books is how she describes the masks or in other words the way we cope for example if we are the seductress, the charmer, the people pleaser, the bully, to name just a few. These specific masks come from very specfic wounds. I like that she gives no-nonsense advice in helping ourselves to heal our own wounds. She clearly spells out we must deal with our own wounding to stop our destructive and often addictive personal habits before we can really grow and develop into our most wonderful selves.

Her writing is clear, concise, and easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone that ever wonders why we do what we do, if that is for yourself, or even someone that you have a personal relationship. She gives simple advice while it may be difficult to take, will certainly help you grow into the person that is free from the past wounds.

I absolutely loved this cd. Even though I've read quite a few self-help books before, this one really impressed me. Highly recommend to anybody on their soul-searching journey. The information is absolutely invaluable!

This book has changed the way I see myself and the greater world,after reading "Why Good People Do Bad Things" I can clearly see now the mask I wear and all the ways I self-sabotage . This book will blow your mind and will clearly show you on a deep level how to Heal The Split of our wounded egos. I feel so blessed to finally understand why we do what we do as human-beings and all the ways we can Learn,Grow,Love and Heal from it all and your book clearly shows us that, So Thank You Debbie for once again delivering this incrediable book I feel everybody that is a human-being needs to read and own this book.

"For a book about discerning truth in an age of error, it didn't leave much room for the reader to exercise discernment about truth because the writers were too concerned about making their own points about their own preferences. This book was mainly about the author's opinions about plexiglass preaching, music types and styles, Rick Warren, Wild at Heart, Revolve Bible Magazine, altar calls, consumerism or politics. The title was so short of delivering its intended purpose. It was nothing more than a call to study your Bible, pray every day and tell others about Jesus which I would hope was the reality of someone who is looking to "discern truth." This book was a complete waste of time."

Unlike many articles written to counter political or religious differences, the ones I have read in this book are balanced, Christlike and were written in an attitude of caution and warning. I appreciate the candor that does not cross over into angry dogma, even willing to see the good side of some of the trends they caution against. Any discerning Christian should appreciate the desire of the authors to carefully analyze the thoughts and practices around us in light of Scripture. Too often we find ourselves going through the motions of typical church procedures, or following the trends of popular Christian books and leaders without stopping to think about whether our doing so is Scriptural. These authors remind us that "Sola Scriptura" or Only Scripture should be our guide, while tradition, trends and other guidelines should be carefully thought through. Like the Bereans who Paul commended, let us "search the Scriptures daily to determine whether these things are true."

Introduction:

How are we to distinguish gold from "fool's gold"? This is a question that perplexed many in the 1800's with the "gold rush" that swept the many hopefuls that left all behind in search for fortune. In Fool's Gold?, John MacArthur, along with other staff members from Grace Community Church, tackle a wide variety of trends in the evangelical world that seem to offer hope and answers, when in fact they might be a bit misleading. All that glitters is not gold.

Book Structure:

There are four parts to the book. In the first part, MacArthur unabashedly calls for discernment rooted in Scripture, offering three points from 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22. Having established a foundation for biblical discernment, he then presents the negative results of "watered-down" preaching which seems to pervade the contemporary Christian community today. In the second part, four different popular books are addressed and critiqued from a biblical standpoint-in a way modeling for the reader what it looks like to employ biblical discernment: 1. Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life; 2. N.T. Wright's What Saint Paul Really Said; 3. John Eldredge's Wild at Heart; and 4. The Resolve New Testament Bible-zine for girls. The third part deals with very provocative issues such as contemporary Christian music, "altar calls" and invitations to "receive Christ into your heart," the Christian's approach to politics, and the consumeristic mind-set that many adopt within the church. And the finally, the book concludes with a doctrinal and practical framework to implement as one seeks to discern which hills are worth dying on and to live a life much like the Bereans, who Luke tells us in Acts 17 were of "noble character" because they "received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (v.11, emphasis added).

Notable Quotes:

* "If the current current hunger for ecumenical compromise, pragmatic sanctification, and numerical success continues to gain a foothold within evangelicalism, it will result in an unmitigated spiritual disaster....The church will never manifest its power in society until we regain a passionate love for truth and corollary hatred for error" (pp.14,15).
* "...worship is a transcendent experience. Worship should take us above the mundane and simplistic. So the only way true worship can occur is if we first come to grips with the depth of spiritual truth. Our people can only rise high in worship in the same proportion to which we have taken them deep into the profound truths of the Word. There is no way they can have lofty thoughts of God unless we have plunged them into the depths of God's self-revelation" (p.38).
* "So let the man who searches for true masculinity look no further than the pages of Scripture, for there he will find the truth about himself from the mouth of his Creator. Let his ears not be tickled by the whims of men, but let his mind be trained by the Word of God. And before any man looks for his battle to fight, his beauty to rescue, and his adventure to live, let him first look to his God to glorify" (p.95).
* "Our only sure defense against false doctrine is to be discerning, to distrust our own emotions, to hold our own senses suspect, to examine all things, to test every truth-claim with the yardstick of Scripture, and to handle the Word of God with great care" (p.199).

Conclusion:

I heartily endorse this book to any Christian who seeks honor God and show discernment in what he reads and what he meditates on. I wish the authors would have tackled a few more popular books like Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now and some of the emerging church books that seem to popping up everywhere. Overall, I think the authors did a great job in laying a foundation in the Word for discernment and then demonstrating what that looks like in some books (many of which I have read have benefited from). There a few minor criticisms I have of the book, but they in no way undermine the overall flow that makes this a great read as we can expect from John MacArthur.

If we lose the ability to discern, then we lose the ability to distinguish truth from error; when this occurs, our gospel becomes vulnerable to the onslaught of false speculations and lofty ideas that present themselves against the Truth. We then become confused and apathetic to the essentials of our faith, thinking it only a matter of preference.

May we all be known for our discernment as we test everything and hold on to the good (1 Thess. 4:21) and in so doing, God will receive the glory!

Considering the sad state of modern evangelicalism books like these should be published more and more to combat the consumer mentality among modern-day evangelicals. The book deals with various issues with the problems of contemporary evangelicalism.

One of the key essays in the book is Nathan Busenitz's thoughtful critique of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven program. Though he does not bash Warren, he gives a careful critique of why Warren's program is unbiblical in many ways (especially Warren's use of Scripture and weak theological foundations). Those enamored with this movement should read this chapter. You'll realize just how off Warren is on many issues.

Another good essay is Phil Johnson's critique of the New Perspective on Paul. He ably provides evidence why the NPP is anti-orthodox and anti-Protestant. That it undermines sola fide and should not be accepted by orthodox evangelical Christians. I really liked how he treated Wright's understanding of justification, the law, righteousness, and imputation. Those Reformed people who embrace the NPP are nothing more than a bunch of theonomic cattle farmers who obviously need to loosen their collars a bit.

I also liked Johnson's other essay on Christians and politics. This essay is based on Matthew 5:16. Johnson rightly argues that this verse should not be used by Christians to implement some socio-political program on earth (as those theonomic corn farmers like to advocate, I can't stand those guys), but about individual Christians making a positive impact in their society by being salt and light to the world by bearing good fruit.

Other good essays include Daniel Gillespie's critique of John Eldridge's "Wild at Heart" (yes, you must stop reading his stuff because it is harmful to your masculinity and spirituality) and Rick Holland's essay on the teenage girl directed "The Revolve New Testament" (ech...how low will Christian publishing companies go just to be "cool" and "mainstream").

Other well written essays include Carey Hardy's essay on the legitimacy of modern-day alter calls, Kurt Gebhards' criticism of Western consumerism (oh yeah, did you know that excessive materialism is condemned in Scripture? Oh, who would have known!), and Dan Dumas' touching yet instructive essay on doctrinal discernment (I agree with Dumas that Christians cannot believe what THEY WANT TO BELIEVE...sheesh).

MacArthur's essay on worship songs is okay. As long as worship songs are not heretical and/or hyped up by modern instruments, I believe that it is okay (yes, it is okay to use Matt Redman's songs during Sunday service).

Overall, I highly recommend this book to all Christians - clergy or lay - who want a better understanding of the problems of modern evangelicalism. Many of you will be surprised to know that what your church promotes may be non or anti-biblical. It will be up to you, after reading this book, to stay in your stubborn disobedience to God or to truly seek God and obey his truth.

The book of essays from a variety of writers, encourages the reader to have a miner's discrimination and fortitude applied to discerning -- truth and error. This book urges a return to the authority of Scripture which is much needed. Sound teaching is in short supply and this book was a refreshing find.

Detecting a spiritual counterfeit requires discipline. Titus 1:9 "holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Each chapter addresses a different subject on trends or false teaching. Part Two: Practicing discernment in your local bookstore was one of the most helpful sections of the book. An evaluation of four popular best-sellers books are biblically discerned by the writers with Scripture. The concluding chapter of the book gives practical and biblical instruction on applying discernment by the sufficiency of Scripture. God's Word is an anchor in our faith, and it provides instruction on how to evaluate and test - every spiritual message we receive and discern between trends, traditions and truth. 2 Tim 3:16,17

"Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive!"
-- Sir Walter Scott

Stove must have practiced a lot, because he was really good at it! I'll cite one case in point.

In Essay 1, Stove sets up a straw man he calls "Darwinism's Dilemma": first, quoting Huxley, that: "... [human] life was a continual free-fight.", Stove, as if assuming this to be an accurate representation of Darwin's "Struggle for Existence," concludes: "If Darwin's theory of evolution were true, there would be in every species a constant and ruthless competition to survive: a competition in which only a few in any generation can be winners. But it is perfectly obvious that human life is not like that, however it may be with other species." It does sound something like a dilemma, doesn't it? He then describes three unsatisfactory approaches to this "dilemma".

But wait! Stove, hoping you're still mulling over "hard man", "cave man", etc., mentions in passing that: "Fighting between conspecifics, even fighting for food, is not at all a necessary element in competition as Darwin conceives it, whether it be humans, flies, ...." Now that is absolutely correct! In Origins, Chapter 3, Darwin says "I use the term Struggle for Existence in a large and metaphorical sense, including dependence of one being on another, and including (which is more important) not only the life of the individual, but success in leaving progeny." In Chapter 4, he says "In social animals, it [natural selection] will adapt the structure of each individual for the benefit of the community." Further, in "Descent of Man", Darwin explains in detail how survival and selection are different for social organisms in general and unique for man. In short, there's not a free-fight to be found.

So now we have what Huxley thought Darwin meant, what Stove thought Huxley meant, and what Darwin actually said. If there had been any dilemma, it was Huxley's or Stove's, not Darwin's or Darwinism's.

For his rhetorical criticisms to have bite, David Stove focuses on a particular vision of Darwin's own thought and, later in the book, on the less circumspect pronouncements of Richard Dawkins. In both cases, Stove denies that he has constructed `straw men'. He wants his criticisms to strike at the core of Darwinian thought, both in its historical form and in the guise of current `Neo-Darwinism'. While his targets may not be made entirely of straw, they certainly do not seem central - it seems entirely likely that a proponent could reject Stove's characterisation and still feel a `mainstream' Darwinian.

In the early essays, Stove makes central to Darwin's thought the claim by the Reverend T.R.Malthus that populations tend to increase to the limits of their food supply. This idea is said to have been to key to Darwin proposing an explanatory theory - suddenly the change in species evident in the fossil record could be explained in terms of natural variation and Malthus' principle. Stove then delights in showing that populations are not constrained solely by food supply; he cites Malthus's own revisions to the theory, adding first the `biological' opposition of famine, war, and pestilence, and finally `moral restraint'; and, with rhetorical relish, he states the obvious in that humans do not, as a matter of fact, reproduce as frequently as well they might - and `hunger' is not the only restraint here. Stove's writing has wit, but it is also repetitive and verges on the condescending.

Stove also feels that `genunine' Darwinian thought is committed to a continuous and literal battle between conspecifics. If blood is not being spilt, then, for Stove, this is evidence that what is `predicted' by Darwinism is false. With this characterisation of Darwinism in mind, Stove then labours the point that we, along with other animals and plants, are not constantly tearing at each others throats. Many pages of faintly humorous examples follow.

In these essays, Stove has shown that Darwinian thinking, at least when deployed in the ways Stove cites, is a poor explanation of the everyday behaviour of humans, and for that matter most organisms. But Darwin's theory is one that hopes to explain the evolution of the species, not everyday behaviour. The fact that its explanatory limits stop well short of everyday behaviour is a point well made, but not that interesting a point - certainly it is not surprising, even by the lights of the theory itself.

When it comes to tackling Richard Dawkins, Stove aims his criticism at the imprudent extension of Darwinian explanation to human motivation. His strategy here is analogous to that mentioned above. In `The Selfish Gene' Dawkins makes himself a ripe target for such criticism, and the blows surely fall. Stove pillories Dawkins' use of anthropomorphic language in discussions of genes, along with Dawkins' disingenuous promises to translate such ideas back into the `respectable' language of science; Stove also gives a plausible psychological explanation as to why such interpretations of Neo-Darwinism are popular, drawing analogies with other `puppet theories' of human motivation or `demonologies', positing a perverse inclination to, evidence be damned, regard humans as `fundamentally' selfish, and acknowledging the startling effect the discovery of genes has had on the human psyche in general. As an addendum, the theory of memes is summarily dispatched, although with less rigorous argument that might be expected - Dawkins' own reservations, contained in a paragraph of The Extended Phenotype, are, ironically, more damning than Stove's invective.

Stove's discussion of `inclusive fitness' theory is more telling. He highlights the explanatory limitations of such a theory by demonstrating that many events it would predict do not in fact occur, often real life presenting the very opposite actuality.

Ultimately, the book reads as a warning not to take Darwinian theory as explanatory beyond certain boundaries. For fossils, and some of the baffling adaptations seen in insects, plants, and animals, the theory offers an explanation where no alternative exists. As some kind of guide as to how a human life is in fact lead or, worse still, how it should be lead, Darwinian thinking tells us precisely nothing. In sum, this is Stove's point and, unfortunately, obvious though it be, it seems like it is one that needs making. Perhaps thanks to its repetitiveness, lack of argumentitve rigour, and its sarcastic tone, the book is an entertaining read - although to actually extract arguments which one can use in one's own discussion is a much more onerous task.

"[Stove] is particularly good at exposing the `amazingly arrogant habit of Darwinians' of `blaming the fact, instead of blaming their theory' when they encounter contrary biological facts. Doctrinaire Darwinists have an answer for everything, always a bad sign in science, since it means that mere facts can never prove them wrong." - from Roger Kimball's Introduction

It is not at all the case that Stove objects to Darwinism on religious grounds, in fact he believes that present life has by some means evolved from earlier forms; however he is quite certain that "Darwin's explanation of evolution, even though it is . . . still the best one available, is not true." Stove would object, and strongly so, to having his essays cast as being sympathetic to `creationism' or, so far as I can tell, `intelligent design', as he defines himself as a man "of no religion." His knowledge and scholarship of Darwinian theory is self-evidently vast; he suggests that he has "wasted" his time reading hundreds of Darwinism's books and `Darwinian Fairytales' makes it quite evident that he has indeed studied every prominent Darwinian "from 1859 to the present hour."

I had just begun reading Richard Dawkins' `The Blind Watchmaker' when I noticed that David Stove's `Darwinian Fairytales' had been reprinted. While reading them both it quickly seemed imperative that I read Dawkins' `The Selfish Gene' before proceeding with either TBW or DF. So that is what I did. Reading the three books in close conjunction was quite a fascinating experience, and, as I have indicated elsewhere (my review of TSG), Dawkins didn't fare to well.

Stove, the late Australian philosopher of science, effectively skewers Dawkins (especially TSG, but, to a lesser extent, TBW as well), Stove nails E.O. Wilson too, in fact he takes a troupe of Darwinian champions to the woodshed -- T.H. Huxley, R.D. Alexander, R. Trivers, R.A. Fisher, among many others. A skeptic in Hume's mold, Stove has acerbically critiqued various iconic founts of Western thought, some more effectively than others, so Darwinians need not feel singled out (but of course they probably will). This book was his last, completed not long before his death in 1994.

Although he presents a few other criticisms, Stove relentlessly targets (1) Darwinism's ideological death-struggle with "altruism" -- that it must deny is actually altruism, and (2) Darwinism's non-falsifiable teleological doctrine: the immutable Lordship of "the selfish gene" -- a doggedly fideistic article of simple faith. Darwinism's teachings on altruism are easily sacked, both by clear logic and by mere empirical evidence; its supposedly anti-teleological teleology of itself qualifies Darwinism as being a religion.

If there is something to be faulted in Stove's book (a collection of 11 essays), it is the repetitiveness (not surprising as this is usually a problem in works of argumentation, witness especially Dawkins, for example). Long after Stove has illustrated the teleological confusions and defeated the "altruism" defamations demanded by Dawkins, Wilson, and the like, he is still throwing the badly bloodied doctrines to the ground. Because of this, and because each of the essays can more or less stand on its own, I recommend reading the first essay (Darwin's Dilemma), the second and the last (eleventh) before heading into the others. If the essay (#4) treating the influence of Malthus' population dynamics on Darwin's thought becomes dry or uninteresting, then skip it, perhaps moving to essays #9 (A New Religion) or 10 (Paley's Revenge, or Purpose Regained).

The Publisher's Weekly review at the top of the Amazon site says it pretty well. Stove exists in a world inhabited by few others, at once disparaging of religion, organized or otherwise, and evolution, at least evolution of the Darwinian stripe.
The strengths of the book: Humorous writing style. Always good to see cult-like beliefs belittled, it's one of the best part of the Simpsons (for example) and most satire.
Very well versed in the history of evolution, the philosophical component in particular. Quite adept at pointing out inconsistencies.
The weaknesses: For me, the biggest weakness was probably his major premise- that the presence of altruism, particularly in humans, derails Darwin. I know Darwin himself said that it would, but it seems more likely to me that the presence of altruism and of things like a less than maximum birthrate, etc. implies that a species is no longer evolving in a major way, but not that evolution happens nowhere, case closed. The common argument that most altruism is only altruism in appearance also explains a lot, and as someone who believes in total depravity I'm actually sympathetic to this defense. I find a lot of problems with Darwinian evolution, but I don't think this is one of them and this is where the fulcrum of the book's logic lies. A shame, I'd like to have seen his wit and intellect put to a broader use, but even his (I believe failed) attempt to expose the Evolutionary theory is instructive. Some of his lesser points make better cases for examining the issue, and his research in pointing out where Darwinism, right or wrong, has led us as a society is arresting. Unlike most evolution/design books that divide pretty well where you think would, this one probably will not completely please anyone. Were the author still alive I doubt he'd care what we thought, anyway. It makes one ponder and question, though, and for a debate that tends to cause calcification of thought I'd have to put that as a good thing.

In summation, the book is well written- hilarious as it says on the book jacket is a bit strong, yet it has a good wry and dry wit about it, and you learn quite a bit. The author's passion for David Hume comes through continually, and there can't be many sorrier picks out there in the favorite philosopher category, but for whatever reason he latched on to him. So if you don't mind wading through a little pessimism I think you will find the book to be a quite stimulating read.

Dawkins' "memes" and "selfish genes" have been critically scrutinized in a brilliant and amusing way ("intelligent" genes smarter and more manipulative than humans?). Stove writes: "I try to think of what, or anyone, could say to Dawkins, to help restrain him from going over the edge into ABSOLUTE MADNESS". This is by far the biggest reason I love this book that delivers a blow to so called neo-Darwinians (for eample: leader of sociobiological school Wilson and Dawkins' mentor Hamilton)who try to animalize us and at the same time are often contradicting themselves. It is not the Watchmaker who is blind, rather many sociobiologists suffer for dangerous scientific myopia, arrogance and need for constant "preaching" of the same religion-like bunkum in different books and publications, over and over without the end. David Stove points, that these whom he criticizes are all scientists, whereas he is the merest layman in biology. But "inclusive fitness theory" is not a hard one even for layman to understand and find and plenty obvious punctures. While punching holes in foundations of so called "theory of kin selection" (sometimes in a repetitive manner; book could be more compact) and dwelling on altruism's complex ontology he is far from entering the war "evolutionists vs. creationists". You will not find doxology in his work. He just does not see how neo-Darwinian concept of evolutions can possibly be fully explained and applied to humans (and for some other creatures as well). Theory of evolution still struggles with inconsistencies, and this is author's message. Very important book.

I bought the book because I know the website. The book looks great, I really like the drawings. Very clever, very useful and makes a good present, too.

Do you say "offen" and like to make fun of the people who say "of-ten" instead???? Then this handy calendar is for you! Have fun proving your vocabulary superiority, and maybe even learn something along the way. My journalist husband comes home with a new nugget of knowledge for me every day :) Highly recommended!

I felt the book was so good that I ordered it for all 3 of my adult children. Public schools do not seem to have the time to teach correct English anymore.

Were these "common errors" used in the English Language directed to
6th graders? I can't imagine anyone over the age of 17 needing these
explanations and examples. They are simple to the point of being insulting.

This book provides help with common language usage questions. As an engineer working for the federal government, writing is a large part of my job. I keep this book next to my computer, and rely on it frequently. The "word in question" and the "correct/incorrect" (or incorrect/correct) format is easy and quick to use; and in many cases the accompanying explanations are the best I've seen.

Frank Corso is a journalist who has shunned the limelight since a big fiasco involving fictional newspaper stories. He's back in the public eye when he discovers that a man on death row shouldn't really be there - the major (and only) witness in the case has recanted her story.

There was a lot to like about this book. First and foremost was the team of Corso and photojournalist Meg Dougherty. They were fleshed-out, intriguing characters that I enjoyed reading about. The icing on the cake was the constantly-moving plot line, which had a nice series of twists and turns. I saw the last one coming, but was able to forgive it because I was having such a good time. I found it very interesting that the man on death row they were trying to save was really rather repulsive and didn't deserve to have all these people fighting for his freedom!

I read this book in one sitting - I didn't want to do anything else until I reached the conclusion. And I put the book down with a feeling of satisfaction, which should be a recommendation because I'm usually pretty hard to please. I will be looking for further Frank Corso novels.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Ford and his Leo Waterman books but this was a great change of pace.

Ford's new hero is Frank Corso - he's hard to get a read on, he's a loner (with friends), he's difficult (but is smooth when he interviews), he's trustworthy and, most importantly, he loves to put his nose into other people's business, especially when he smells a good story.

Ford introduces a variety of characters to fill out Corso's world and I think it works very well. The pacing of the book is excellent and I oftentimes found myself having to force myself to put it down so I could go on with the rest of my day. This book is darker and more serious than the Waterman books, mostly because there isn't the comic relief supplied by the homeless crowd from the neighborhood bar, the Zoo.

For those fans of Leo Waterman, he makes a cameo appearance at the beginning.

During a recent visit to a mystery bookstore, in search of a good new mystery writer, I stumbled on G. M. Ford. I am surprised that I had not heard of Mr. Ford. I liked the back cover brief and took a chance. Wonderful is all I can say.
Like Mr. Connelly, Mr. Ford writes in a crisp, no nonsense style. His characters are believable and come to life on the page. He weaves the mundane into the story to give it life. No gratuitous violence or sex. Character development and interaction was terrific. Story thesis was very interesting and developed in a perfect time line. The twists were just about right so that in the end you felt satisfied, but still eager to get to the next novel and see what mischief Frank Corso will be involved in. And what about Meg Dougherty's tattoos? Too be continued I'm sure. Although 356 pages, I read it in only 2 days because of the high quality of writing.
Highly recommend if you like the murder mystery genre. A wonderful complement to the Connelly thrillers. I'd like to see Corso meet Bosch in a bar. Now that would be a story.

This is an excellent example of the great stuff that awaits readers of any genre by non-mainstream authors. Mr. Ford, author of the Leo Waterman series, branches out to new and uncharted territory.

Ironically, a book by the same title, 'Fury,' was just released by Robert Tannenbaum (Ford's is a 2002 release) and it must be the 244th Butch Karp novel. OK, I'm joking but I swear I was reading Butch Karp stuff in High School. Hey, they didn't have seat belts in high school so that was quite awhile ago.

Anyhow, Ford breaks away in the tradition of Lehane and Parker and Crais, and kudos to him for not staying with a sure thing.

I think Frank Corso is a great character. Ford is extremely descriptive to the point that you feel the fog and hear the crunching of Corso's shoes as he walks down an alley littered with human detritus.

He gets involved with Meg Dougherty, more on that later, when a favor owed to his employer is called in after a star witness to the trial and eventual sentencing of the despicable Walter Leroy Himes . . . recants.

Himes purportedly murdered a number of Seattle's young women and is sentenced to die in 6 days. So, old plot with some interesting twists.

Dougherty was drugged by a jilted lover and has been tatooed over most of her body. So the two, the Stephen Segal-like Corso and the attractive "Illustrated-man"-like Dougherty plunge into a chasm where they are ridiculed by the police and the public for 'not letting Himes take the Kervorkian Cocktail whether he's guilty or not.'

Good magnetic read. Lot's of twists. Good series.5 stars. Larry Scantlebury

Frank Corso is a journalist who tells it like it is, and his honesty has repeatedly landed him in trouble. After becoming a successful author with a bestselling book to his credit, Corso decides to give up journalism and live a reclusive and peaceful life on his houseboat. However, when a key witness decides to recant her testimony in a death penalty case, she insists on telling her story to Corso. He is back in the game.

Along with Meg Dougherty, a gifted photographer and a decent investigator in her own right, Corso reviews the case of Walter Leroy Himes. Himes is about to be executed for murdering women across Seattle and leaving their bodies in dumpsters. Although Himes claims that he never killed anyone, most of the victims' family members, the police, and a large segment of the public want Himes executed. Although Himes is a thoroughly nasty individual, Corso believes him to be innocent of these particular crimes, and he decides to explore and analyze the evidence himself. Reopening the case will make a good newspaper story, and it will also give Corso an opportunity to avert a possible miscarriage of justice.

Corso is a terrific character. Sharp-tongued, intelligent, brusque, and tough as nails, he is defensive when anyone tries to penetrate the shell that he has built around himself. Dougherty has also had her share of hard knocks in life, and she is a good match for Corso. "Fury" is fast-paced and Ford's writing is often colorful and amusing.

The only flaw in "Fury" is the hackneyed plot. How many times have we read about murder cases being reopened because the wrong man may be on death row? There are dozens of books out there with this same plot, and it has been done once too often. In addition, some of the story's twists and turns are a bit too contrived.

However, Frank Corso redeems "Fury" with his strength, integrity, and compassion. He is one cool dude, and his character is one of the best protagonists in any detective thriller around. If you can overlook the warmed-over plot, you will get a big kick out of this perceptive, straight-talking, and world-weary journalist.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3KM752ROZBYJH 1001 Pitfalls in Spanish is a pretty good book once a student has learned the basics. It is most valuable to a student that is learning Spanish on her own and who doesn't have a Spanish instructor to correct her mistakes.

Here are some other Amazon products that I either use when teaching my own private students or tools that I recommend that they use while studying Spanish at home.

1. The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice w/CD-ROM (Ultimate Review & Reference) No Spanish Instructor should be without this book. As an instructor, I use this book to get ideas on subjects that I wish to teach. This book also has many exercise that students can perform at home.

2. Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set) When my students ask that I recommend a self-study audio course to use at home, I always recommend this one. I like it because it has Spanish speakers from many different Latin American countries, and in some cases you will hear speakers from the same country but from different cities or regions from the same country which gives them distinct accents. I like this method because it helps the student become accustomed to hearing different accents. They also cover casual or conversational Spanish in this course which is what most my students seem to be interested in learning.

3. Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase) This phrase book is an excellent buy. It has lots of phrases that will help your students quickly begin learning lots of new phrases. Your students will also like the fact that it is a bargain. It was written a long time ago so it does need some updating.

4 Vox Modern Spanish and English Dictionary
No teacher's teaching-Spanish tool box would be complete without a Spanish-English dictionary. This one is my favorite. No matter which dictionary I choose for my students, there are always words missing, mainly because many times we'll use different vocabulary words depending on the Spanish speaking country that one is from. But let's just say
compared to other Spanish-English dictionaries, it is less common that I will not be able to find a Spanish word listed in this dictionary.

5. Speaking Spanish Like a Native When my students want a book that is fun to read and that will teach them Spanish at the same time, I recommend "Speaking Spanish Like a Native." But this book places a strong emphasis on the Spanish that is spoken in Mexico over other parts of the Spanish speaking world.

(Note: I have recently edited this review because I discovered that the book does discuss a particular pitfall that I thought it overlooked.)

For the most part, this is a handy book both for beginners and for intermediates. Advanced students are likely to know most of the material, but there might still be a few helpful tips. I'm an intermediate learner and I find the section on prepositions and the occasional lists of idiomatic phrases particularly helpful.

Of course, the book does cover the more common pitfalls you can expect to run into (and more), such as "por" vs. "para", "ser" vs. "estar", preterite vs. imperfect, how the subjunctive is and isn't used, etc. You can also learn a lot about grammar in general from this book, although it probably wouldn't be a good idea to use this book as your primary source to learn grammar.

If you're a beginner, it'll probably contain everything you need and more, as long as you don't rely on it as your primary source of information. But if you're past the beginner's stage, you might find a few gotchas that just aren't covered here. But what IS in there is still pretty darn good, and that's what really matters.

I used this book many years ago and it really helped me avoid a lot of mistakes I was making. It is amazing that you meet many native speakers who have been so ingrained into speaking English that they make some of the mistakes highlighted in the book. As a person who minored in both English and Spanish in college, I guess I now have better grammatical habits than most.

Highly recommended!

For anyone learning Spanish, this book should be a mandatory learning aid. Novices, intermediates, and even advanced-level students will find this book useful in a variety of ways. The intention of this book is not to be a stand-alone guide to the language, or even just to the grammar. The intention here is to serve as a companion and reference book, to call to when you need help. Whether Spanish is your Major or just a hobby, this book will save you time by giving you the straight and comprehensive answers you need.

The way the book achieves all this is by focusing on the "pitfalls". Between the covers you will find a wealth of information. I say "wealth" because it's all the common questions that most people are BOUND to have either when learning the language initially, or to forget later on and need a refresher. In an effort to streamline their products and to simplify for the purpose of attracting those people who have been frustrated by piles of grammar and memorization, many Spanish courses and Spanish-learning products simplify and omit some of the details. But this book will be your best friend, perfectly complimenting whatever it is that you're using to learn Spanish.

It does this very well, by breaking up the common pitfalls into sections and addressing them by demonstrating clearly just what you can and cannot say in Spanish, why, and the specific nuances therein. It's almost like having a very articulate linguist friend on call 24-7 to answer, explain, and elaborate on all those "hey wait a minute" questions that you have. Aren't adjectives supposed to come AFTER the noun? Then why is it "mejor amigo" and not "amigo mejor"? Or why is it "nuevo año" instead of "año nuevo"? Someone isn't telling you something! All those "rules of thumb" that Spanish teachers and Spanish courses tell you are really lies in that they tend to be oversimplifications and generalizations that, while they work MOST of the time, will fail you eventually and you wont understand why. That's when it's great to have a book like this that will spell it out for you with clarity, in plain English, and yet not leave anything out.

Having only had this book for a few hours, I'm already impressed by the level of depth and the amount of topics covered. Most of the common screwups and confusions are in here, included some of the more typical mistakes that are more typically over-looked by language-learning courses or which your Spanish-speaking friends might not be able to explain to you. No longer will you have to settle for answers like "that's just the way it is" or feel like you "just have to let it sink in". This is especially true with the trends of products and professionals to rely more on "intuitive" learning techniques that, while useful, are not comprehensive. Sometimes you just need something EXPLAINED to you. Fully. That's exactly what you get here, for just about any common hurdle or mistake. You'll also be able to avoid many of these common pitfalls by making yourself aware of them early on.

All-in-all, this is a much more useful tool and learning aid than any review could properly illustrate. Think back to some of the first questions you had about Spanish that were the hardest to get satisfactory answers for, go into a B&N, and flip through the book and look for them. You'll probably find them, spelled out in clear and crisp explanations. Then you'll know just how valuable a book like this can be!

I am using this book now after developing what I would consider a very solid foundation using a number of other learning-Spanish resources. This is definitely not a beginners book. This is a book for a person that is already on an intermediate level and is now looking to reach an advanced level.

The best thing about this book is that it not only gives you examples of what NOT to say. It also gives you examples of of the correct what to say the Spanish phrase. That way you can be conscious of what to avoid doing. You will also find that the mistakes in this book are truly the mistakes that Americans make when learning Spanish. When reading this book I felt as if the author had Americans and other English speakers in mind when writing this book. I can attest to the fact that in the past I made several of the mistakes that the author tells the student to be aware of. But as I mentioned, this book is of little value to the absolute beginner learning Spanish. If you are an absolute beginner, then I encourage you to first use the 6 or 7 'mandatory" tools that I used in order to learn Spanish before purchasing this book.

I have used quite a few tools to learn Spanish. But there are only a handful that I would consider mandatory for learning how to speak Spanish with as little effort and time as possible and while making the learning process fun and something to look forward on a daily basis. I have listed them here:

1. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions
2. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses
3. Learning Spanish Like Crazy CD course
4. 501 Spanish Verbs
5. A good Spanish dictionary
6. 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words and/or 770 Basic Phrases

After building a solid foundation with the above resources, then you'll be able to appreciate 1001 Pitfalls in Spanish and make full use of it.

Parenti's book is invaluable not because he reiterates history that most seasoned readers of history haven't unearthed themselves, but because he succintly summarizes how history has been manipulated and distorted to forcefit capitalist exploitative practices throughout the centuries. The truthiness of this assertion is best exemplified by the Western Church's oppressive landholding monopolies in the post-Roman world, followed closely by royal feudal, colonial imperialist and finally sham-democractic corporatism. Parenti's book is a must read for anyone tired of the trite, homogenized, mythologized and agendized histories of this country, which validates the apparent good by neutralizing the unpleasant bad.
Any serious student who doesn't swallow the goverment lies about the Kennedy assassination will appreciate his total debunking of Posner's "Case Closed" and even his analysis of the Taylor death refutes the trumpeted non-assassination claims of the many who didn't read the coroner's report, though I did find his speculations a bit tendentious. Still, the central thesis of his book is that the man in the street hears or reads what the power structure wants him to and not the truth that may tarnish cherished myths.

Parenti writes about certain events in history that need more attention and to uncover some truths. He deals with the rise of christianity in europe and how unbarbaric it was in many aspects and the resentment of peasants to the church hierarchy. He deals wiht issues like politics and certain agendas influence history. Overall, history as mystery does make you question how history is taught and how to question the facts.

Well written and highly readable, this book is nothing more than a superb attack on the prevailing orthodoxy that passes for history today. Parenti pulls no punches and is not afraid to be politically incorrect. His savage attack on the conservative historians, their biases and their sacred cows will raise the eyebrows and the blood pressure of those who want their past prepackaged like junk food, made to look good, taste good and slowly poison the society it misrepresents. It will terrify those who believe that are ancestors were greater and wiser than we are. This is a book that should be read by every intellectual, regardless of bias. It will astound as well as entertain, and for those of a conservative bent, it will probably appall. The best sections deal with the excesses of the Church as a destructive and distorting agent in history, Viva La Revolution!

Parenti examined a number of accepted historical "truths" and biases to be found in current historical works. He examined the reasons for Christianity's rapid spread, the history of anti-Semitism and the clashes between labor and capital in terms of more recent factual evidence versus what is commonly explained in textbooks and the mass media. He then followed the controversial case of the death of President Taylor whom Parenti claimed was against the spread of slavery into the terrorities. The book shines when it exposes the way conjecture and flimsy evidence becomes concrete facts ready to deliver to bored students, thus fulfilling state mandated (and politically influenced) curricula.

Students and thinkers looking for more than interesting historical tidbits to spout at parties will appreciate this book about the creation of history. Those who control the past control the future, said Orwell. Parenti opened my eyes about those who control the past.

He was particularly critical of Daniel Boorstin, a well respected historian of the twentieth century. Parenti seems to be asking whether the mainstream will allow alternative histories to reach wide audiences.

Parenti's book helps evaluate the current state of the "Historical Industry" (my term). His book is a reminder to remain wary of those issuing the official history. History is a human process, his book cries, not a mystery divined by Ivory Tower mystics spread by edicts written in stone!

We must be aware of those writing and distributing history and ensure their methods and sources are verifiable. Parenti ends the book with a call for more economic analysis of the class based struggles throughout history. The book promotes genuine thought and is highly recommended.

This is an absolutely sensational book that deserves to be read by a larger audience than it will probably get. Parenti touches on traditionally taboo subjects and sheds a whole lotta light on them. His section on the religious inquisition is outstanding along with his analysis of how powerful mainstream intellectuals have white-washed the death of Zachary Taylor. If you have time to read only one history book all year, make this the one.

This book does an excellent job of starting from the basics and then building on them at a comfortable pace until the reader has been taken to the more advanced and useful points of error analysis. This book is clearly written, with appropriate and helpful examples throughout. The practice problems at the end of the chapters are relevant and straightforward, further aiding the learning process. The author not only understands the subject of error analysis inside and out, he also knows the right way to teach it. Though the book approaches error analysis from a physics point of view, I found it very applicable to all of my scientific coursework, including biochemistry and (especially) analytical chemistry.

This book is perfect for somebody who was never properly introduced to formal probability and statistics. The language is easy to understand and each chapter not only explains the "what," but makes sure you understand the "why" as well. Also introduces you to more complicated aspects of the subject--binomial & poisson distributions, chi-squared analysis, etc.

This book is boring and basically is just another statistics book. if you have some sick twwisted interest in estimating error, buy this book otherwise find something more interesting. if you have to use this for a class, Im sorry, i feel your pain.

This book is written for the introductory physics student, but it helped me get a good understanding of experimental error in my chemistry lab. The author presents error analysis using simple scenerios and without going too deep into calculus and statistics.

Even if you have achieved a high level of mathematical sophistication, this book is a great read. I find myself gaining great new insights to basic principles due to Taylor's logical developments. This is simply the best available introductory text on error analysis.

The authors meticulously tie down and skewer a particular type of Latin American Idiot, a "progressive leftist" who thinks that the "free market" is "inhuman," etc. etc.

But it's easy to see lots and lots of North American Idiots in this portrait, as well as handfuls of European Idiots. Noam Chomsky and Medea Benjamin fit right in, both wallowing in economic illiteracy.

This book can be very profitably read by anyone in the world! The main point the authors come back to over and over again is the silly idea that wealth is "stolen," and not created. That is, if a foreman in Detroit makes 50 times as much as an Indian peasant in the Andes, well, that lousy American stole it from the peasant. Or he "exploited" him.

We've all heard this nonsense many times before, mostly from people who are very comfortably off (Chomsky, for example, is a millionaire). But the simple fact is that the foreman in Detroit PRODUCES fifty times as much as that peasant in the Andes. Of course, the foreman is surrounded by competent workers and managers, and huge capital investment in machinery etc. BUT at the end of the day, you have to produce wealth in order to have it.

Think about that. The United States is, according to the Idiots, the supreme exploiter in the world today. Yet the booming American economy, some $12 trillion strong, is two-thirds based on services! How can services possibly exploit starving peasants in the Andes?

The new democratic government in Mexico is a pretty surprising example of the Idiots finally in retreat. With NAFTA in place, and foreign investment encouraged, the Mexican economy has managed to teach the threshold of a trillion dollars, with a per capita GDP of $10,000. That's doing marginally better than Thailand, and of course infinitely better than Cuba.

A book that refers, in the title, to people whose point of view is different from the authors as ¨idiots¨........ that is vulgar, obnoxious, and offensive. I wouldn't bother reading or purchasing it.

In order to stop the idiocy from spreading, that's why. Great book; make sure to read it's sequel, EL REGRESO DEL IDIOTA (The Idiot Returns). It's a gem!

This book is what it is; it's not offering solutions but critizing those who are offering, as the authors believe, the completely wrong solutions. I think the book is well written and argued. I would have liked to see the authors address the Washington Consensus more, maybe address the fact that the inward autarky policies sometimes failed bc they were designed and implemented poorly. I was lost in the religion-socialism chapter, I acutally skipped it after a couple pages. Overall I think it's a solid read for those interested in Latin American politics and economics. It's nice to read the other point of view since the "idiots'" and their opinions are well known and easily accessible. It helps to understand this book if you have a background latin american economic history bc the authors refer to periods and people that some people might not recognize.

This book is a corporatist manipulation.
Neoliberal economic policies are enriching the top fifth of the world's population, while the majority of the world suffers from the cuts in social investment, the privatization of various industries, the destruction of unions and so forth. In many Latin American countries, union organizers are regularly murdered, as in Colombia. Moreover, extractive industries like timber, mining and hydroelectric are carrying out a holocaust of indigenous cultures. Paradigm Wars: Indigenous Peoples' Resistance to Globalization

Those dreaded leftists like Noam Chomsky bother to remind us of the history of colonialism, and the economic neocolonialism that is destroying local economies throughout the region. His books like Turning the Tide: The US & Latin America are simply compilations of horrors documented by various human rights groups, church groups, labor organizations and so forth. If caring about human rights and imposed deprivation makes one an "idiot," so be it.

For an honest look at how the world's political economy works, I'd recommend the best-selling Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and the award-winning DVD The Corporation which includes a segment on the struggle for water in Bolivia - a struggle that killed over 40 Bolivians, but resulted in the ouster of Bechtel, Inc.

"The capitalist, the soldier, and the governor have lived tranquily, without bother to either their privileges or properties, at the cost of an illiterate and enslaved people, a people with neither a patrimony nor a future, a people condemned to work without rest and to die of hunger because they spend all their energies producing incalculable wealth while they cannot count on satisfying even the most indispensable of their immediate needs. That economic organization, that administrative system which has come to be a mass murderer of the people, a collective suicide for the nation, a shame to honorable and conscious people, cannot endure any longer; and the revolution has come, as do all collective movements, through necessity." -Emiliano Zapata

"The public functionaries are not, as is commonly believed, the guardians of order. Order, which is harmony, doesn't need guardians, precisely because it is order. That which needs guardians is disorder and a disorder which is scandalous, shameful and humiliating to those of us who weren't born to be slaves, a disorder which reigns over the political and social life of humanity. To maintain disorder, that is, to maintain political and social inequality, to maintain privileges of the ruling class and the submission of the ruled, that is why governments, laws, policemen, soldiers, jailers, judges, hangmen, and the whole mob of high and petty functionaries who suck the energies of the humble people are needed. These functionaries don't exist to protect humanity, but to maintain its submission, to keep it enslaved for the benefit of those who have contrived to retain the land and the factories for themselves up to this moment." - Ricardo Flores Magon

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