The Busines of May Next is easily the best book I have ever read on James Madison's intellectual journey from his dismay over the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation to his draft of the Virginia Plan, which was the underlying foundation of our Constitution.

The title is taken from a letter Madison wrote in which he discussed the "business" of the upcoming Constitutional Convention (in May of 1789), of which Madison--along with Alexander Hamiltion--was the prime mover.

Miller's book expertly and eloquently explores the influences on Madison's thinking, from his reading of David Hume's essays on the ideal conditions for a republic, to his correspondence with Washington, Jefferson and many others in which he fleshed out his ideas of how to turn the weak, ineffectual Articles into a government that had both power and staying power.

As Miller points out, Madison's genius was his understanding of human behavior, and his awareness that any government must be shaped in ways that take advantage of the "better angels of our nature," but also (more important) minimize, or at least accommodate, the darker side of our nature.

By fashioning a government with limited and shared powers; by holding frequent elections in which the leaders are held accountable; by ensuring that the people possess certain rights that no government can threaten (on pain of being altered or abolished), Madison was the first among equals in the creation of a truly representative government that has lasted more than 200 years and shows no signs of dying out.

Miller himself is one of the few (William Manchester is another) historians whose thorough research is matched by his delightful writing style. I have two copies of the book--a hardcopy for reading and a paperback for underlining.

This is a very good discussion of Madison's role in the development of the Consitution. Very readabl

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What's nifty about this book is how it contains many "long" poems that never get slack. As a result, in addition to appreciating the narratives, there are many great lines or brief excerpts that make you pause and appreciate them on their own; for instance, "there's a certain/ S and M bureaucratic attitude/ going around." Or, "It was as if he was in the/ dead center of sanity and/ the moderns and ancients/ were playing with mirrors." Or, "I have had nothing to say/ since Italy." (Granted, I love Italy but still!)

Also, while tempting to consider this "wise guy" poetry (and it is), there is an (often subtle) undercurrent of lyricism (e.g. the lines "It touches every facet/ of our lives in a way/ punch cards never could" or "The color of the day expands and springs through the checkerboard/ Where a truck twists in the wind") that is just one of the many ways this book offers a long-lasting, enjoyable resonance through multi-dimensionality.

The John Knox Press INTERPETATION COMMENTARY series provides thoughtful but highly readable insights into the various books of the Bible. I haven't picked up a volume yet which disappointed me. But Carol Bechtel's commentary on ESTHER really goes the extra mile. It's chock full of fresh perspectives well stated. (Although she borrows many of these insights from the recently published commentaries of Adele Berlin and Jon Levenson, she is quick to credit her sources. And she is very selective about what she restates.)

The commentary is directed primarily to Christians, and to Protestants specifically. She raises an interesting point that Christians who "get their Scripture" solely from the lessons that are read aloud as part of Sunday services, are only exposed to a reading from Esther once every three years: Esther 7:1-6,9-10; 9:20-22. This clearly is not the best way to experience a book of the Bible that is a cleverly constructed "novella" with exciting characters, court intrigues, and dizzying plot reversals. She encourages Christians to imitate Jews by reading the book repeatedly, aloud, and in its entirety. As Bechtel points out, "It is a book, after all, about the struggle to be faithful in the midst of an increasingly unfaithful culture. It is a story of courage, faith, and deliverance. It is the story of men and women working together with a God who is not always obvious, but who is always gracious."

To use this commentary most effectively, you need to have a copy of the New Revised Standard Version Bible (preferrably with the Apocrypal/Deuterocanonical books) since the biblical text is not printed in the commentary. You do not need any knowledge of Hebrew (or Greek), however. Where an understanding of the Hebrew is essential, Bechtel provides clear explanations. One example, her explanation of how the Hebrew words for "enslavement" and "destruction" are homophones, serves as a very plausible explanation of why the King could have been so easily duped into signing a death warrant for the Jewish people.

Although Bechtel presents the shorter, Hebrew version of Esther as the "best text," she does examine the Additions to Esther (those passages that are found only in the Greek and Latin versions of the text) in a brief Appendix.

Dr. Mays has brilliantly tackled an extremely complex subject about an often mismanaged system in a complete, easily understood work that should be read by anybody even remotely concerned with health care. Lessons learned from the painstaking research Mays completed during his tenure at University of North Carolina, offers solutions that if applied by comminities will save taxpayers millions of dollars and offer low income patients better, more humane and more efficient medical care. Dr. Mays' groundbreaking research shows how so many public health care systems provide overlapping services that carelessly waste money and ultimatly do not serve the people who so desperately need care. Read this book, and you will both be horrified at how medical services are sometimes provided and understand how the future of health care could be so much brighter.

Informative, however it lacked several vocabulary items and court documents I was in need of. Also spent too much time on how to set up your office when my office had already been established. Overall though, a good reference.

This handbook is outstanding, and we use it as a reference for our specialty certification examinations. It should be in every legal secretary's library. Carol Ann Wilson, Founder, Legal Secretaries International Inc.

I thought the book was very helpful and had a lot of useful information. In fact, I sat at home on a Friday night with my highlighter marking information I could put to use on Monday! The Quick-Reference Guide to Facts and Figures is my favorite part.