This book has meant a lot to me personally in the way the author gets right to the point: humility and hope. He brings to the old Bible stories a recognizable level of human struggling.

But I did take issue with two things. In an illustration, Mr. Patterson blithely mentions the 500 billion years of earth's history in a way that seems to dismiss Genesis chapters 1-11. He also speaks of Job as if the story occurred after Psalms and Proverbs were written, saying that Job's friends were only quoting Scripture and that Job could have read in his Bible the same views.

The points he was making were excellent, but getting the details correct does matter and did make me a bit suspicious of the rest of the book, so I needed to mention those two things, and that's why I only gave the book 4 stars.

Overall, I'm very thankful to Mr. Patterson for helping to renew my hope, and especially for the many philosophical references and the story about Einstein that really spoke to my circumstances. I really did need the message of this book.

I can't imagine any station in live that wouldn't be enhanced by reading and applying the paridigm shifts Ben Patterson leads us through in WAITING. Those who are barren couples, widows, and single mothers, people with chronic illness; or, like me, simply looking for career fullfillment & hoping to meet and marry a Godly spouse...the list goes on. WAITING speaks to us all, with an honest, sober clarity I've not seen in related works. It presents the scriptures on Job and Abraham in a fresh light, with provoking applications that touch our own daily struggles with tender care, yet leave us humbled. We are encouraged to turn our gaze to the magnitude of God and away from our own desires. If you wonder what is taking the Good Lord so long to attend to you, or if you know anyone who has been hurting for too long, this book will minister. (Other suggested titles: TURN IT TO GOLD, GOD CALLING, GOD IS ENOUGH, SAFER THAN A KNOWN WAY, SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY, PASSION AND PURITY)

I have read this book at least five times and been involved in at least two study groups with this book. We shared this in my Sunday school class where many of us had lived through situations where we simply did not understand why God allowed the things he did. For one, it was the death of her two year old brother and the bitterness of her father. For me, it was the cancer and painful death of one of the best men I have ever known along with the death of my best friend's baby and her subsequent suicide. About a year after the study, a couple in our group lost their only child at age 15. We gathered around them to grieve, but with a difference. We had learned something about how to wait on God. This couple now has a beautiful adopted son. I understand, in part because of this book, that we don't need to understand the why if we know the who.

This is a wonderful biography written by Kay Winters about the United States 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. The vocabulary is kid-friendly, especially for children in grades kindergarten through second. In addition, the oil paintings on pastel can really enhance the reader's interest. Most importantly, the emphasis of how Abe Lincoln enjoyed reading, and used it to his advantage is a great encouragement for young readers!

ABE LINCOLN: THE BOY WHO LOVED BOOKS is a delightful biography and a welcome addition to the body of children's books about our 16th President! With colorful, lyrical language, author Kay Winters tells the story of young Abe's boyhood from an important perspective, emphasizing at every turn his love of books, his passion for reading, and his eagerness to learn. Winters' narrative, beautifully supported by Nancy Carpenter's appealing illustrations, describes Abe as a "bookish boy" who practiced writing his letters in the dust, who loved spelling bees and spinning yarns, who carried a book in his back pocket even as he plowed, stopping at the end of each row to read a page. And at the end of the story, we find President Abraham Lincoln sitting by the fire in the White House...reading a book. As the book jacket says:
He loved books.
They changed his life.
He changed the world.
What I value most about this biography is that it gives young readers the opportunity to identify with a hero who is "bookish" and makes the connection between a love of reading and the empowerment of one person to change the world.

If you want to know more about what Licoln's character was like, this is perfect. It gives a genuine feel for who he really was, it does not gloss him up and make him look like god, nor does it tear him apart. The author simply states the man for who he is, good and bad. It's an easy read and a great read.

Although more books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than anyone else in history except Jesus of Nazareth and William Shakespeare, few of them have looked with any intensity or insight at Lincoln's religion. Lots of people mention it, but few have really studied it. Trueblood gives a superb viewing of Lincoln's spirituality, revealing what books Lincoln read while growing up (including Aesop's Fables, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and Weems' Life of Washington among others), what his spiritual heritage was, and how his own theology developed over the years, being intensified and refined while in the president's office during the Civil War years. If you can find a copy of this out of print classic (only 150 pages long), by all means read it. It's excellent reading.

This historical fiction book was very good. I learned a lot- it supplemented the basic understanding I had of U.S. and world history. It was filled with golden nuggets of trivia, for example , statistics on WWI and WWII casualties. It revealed the thread of continuity from WWI to WWII, and gave a broad picture of how Nazism took over. All this plus the personal story of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Abe Stein, whose son Jacob becomes the main character in the latter half of the book. Jake,s teen-age years and experiences are honestly portrayed, including some brushes with the same Anti-Semitism his father and grandfather had encountered.

I read "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Book One of the Quartet, Pass in Review", because I liked the author's style in his medical mystery books. I hoped his historical fiction would bring me the same pleasure. I wasn't disappointed. I came away with several thoughts. Although this was a historical fiction, I had an incredible feeling of what Jewish families went through at that time in history. I was able to imagine the fear they experienced, and the excitement of starting a new life in America. I felt a need to know more. I can't wait to read more of the books in this series. This author has proved that no matter what the subject, he keeps you rivoted to the book till the end, and wanting to read his next book as soon as possible.

I was kind of disappointed after reading this book...First of all I dont know why this book was connected with the South Bronx...the stuff in the book could've happened an any urban community/ghetto...and his writing style made it hard for me to get into a reading groove. it was a pretty quick read, 1 or 2 sittings, but I found myself getting bored so many times. Sometimes Rodriguez spent so much time describing the area that you never really get a chance to connect with the character. The best stories, I think, were Shortstop and the Lotto...Overall its a good read if you aren't easily distracted

The sordid lives of children growing up too fast in a wasteland.
There is no regeneration or hope of escape available to these kids hardened by the necessity of defending themselves in the ghetto. No parents guide and comfort these children as they introduce each other to sex without love, violence and drugs. In these short stories of growing up in the South Bronx Rodriguez pinpoints the casualties of the worst ghettos. And he does it with a style and voice that transport the reader into these children's lives. After this sojourn the reader will emerge shocked, angry and with a new sympathy for the so-called "at-risk" youth of urban life.

Merrit wrote spooky fantasy for Argosy Magazine in the 1920-1930s. Fans argue endlessly about which is his best. These stories are pretty good. (Shadow is a sort of sequel to Burn Witch Burn.) The evil old witch makes lifelike dolls that come to life and kill people. She is brought down by a rational doctor and a superstitious Mafia boss. Made into a movie with Lionel Barrymore as the witch (really!). Strong stuff for the time it was written.

A.Merritt is definatly an underpreciated writer. If you are a fan of horror novels do yourself a favor and read this book. the story is set in the 1940's but the story holds up very well. I give it my highest recomendation to horror fans!

Professor Abraham's account of how the idea of cannon became increasingly limited to an epistemic norm is superb. However, I couldn't help wondering if the tacit suggestion wasn't that, since the early Christians didn't employ canon as an epistemic norm, we should all just stop thinking about epistemic norms when it comes to Christianity. To recover the fullness of the canonical tradition and expose the ways that the notion changed through history is one thing....but what is the underlying point? Do we really avoid epistemic pitfalls by merely changing the subject from "norms" to "canon?" I guess the answer really rests on whether the questions raised most prominantly in the Enlightenment have a kind of independant legitimacy, or whether we can ignore them by identifying them as historical artifacts. Abraham doesn't really spell out an epistemic proposal in his book, which leaves us all to speculate about whether one is even possible given the problems he so carefully uncovers. The book is best seen as an historical archeology of the idea of canon rather than as a constructive solution to the profound problems it documents. One can't help thirsting for more!

Abraham is an Oxford-trained evangelical Methodist who teaches philosophy and theology at SMU.

After describing that "canon" in the patristic era was larger than Scripture alone and included other items like the rule of faith, the Creeds, the Fathers, iconography, the episcopacy, and so on, he describes what an incredibly huge mistake to think of canon(s) in epistemic terms. Whatever else canons were, they weren't designed to answer philosophical questions re: "what can we know and how can we know it?"

However, as Abraham goes on to argue, that's exactly what the question of canonicity become in Western theology of whatever stripe -- liberal, feminist, conservative, fundamentalist, whatever.

Abraham makes the somewhat startling claim that it was the Reformation that is responsible for the large-scale confusion AND obsession in the West with epistemology. He argues (to my mind plausibly) that the history of modern philosophy, especially our infatuation with the "what can I know and how can I know it? questions, began with Luther and Calvin fracturing St Thomas' synthesis (which had its own problems) and the inability of Catholics and Protestants to solve truth questions based on the current terms of the discussion. Descartes' quest for certitude only makes sense in the carnage left over from the religious wars of the 16th & 17th century.

There's more than a bit of irony when Christians in the West both Catholic and Protestant devised various criteria to define what is true (versus the positions of their opponents) then suddenly find the criteria they devised used against themselves, or turned in directions they hadn't anticipated (the law of unintended consequences).

That philosophical and theological quest for certainty took on a life of its own after the Protestant Reformation. Abraham is quite a good story-teller. After describing the nature of "canons" in the patristic era, he recites the break between East and West, the theological and philosophical synthesis of St Thomas, goes through the Reformers Calvin and Luther, on to Descartes and Locke, to the Princeton theologians Hodge, Alexander, and Warfield, to John Henry Newman, Karl Barth, and finally down to the present day with the current feminist rewrite of the very notion of "authority."

C.S. Lewis once said any book worth reading once was worth reading twice. (Some books aren't worth reading once!)

I'm in my second reading, despite its non-Lenten nature.

This book has been most helpful in reviewing real life classroom and educational issues and seeing how others address the situation. I do not always agree with the steps taken, but it is enlightening. Especially helpful for student teachers.

"Case Studies" is the best book I have read regarding music education since, "What They Didn't Teach You In Choral Methods". While, I believe, Mr's. Abrahams and Head were targeting the Student Teaching and First-Year crowd, everyone can benefit from reading the book. I have known teachers with 10 years experience who have benefitted from using the book to analyze and re-iterate their teaching styles and choices.

This wonderful book includes case studies which end in choices you, the teacher, must make. Get a journal and begin! Whether you're an experienced teacher or new to the profession, you'll be glad you took the time to seriously consider such topics as Copyright infringement, your personal music ed philosophy, stereotypes, faculty relationships, auditions, learning styles, technology integration, grading policies, defending your program choices, and other interesting dilemmas.

Do not overlook this book! Many of us did not receive this kind of guidance in undergrad or even in our master's work. It never hurts to go back to basics and re-learn what you think you already know about yourself. You might be surprised!

Chariots of Fire was a mind expanding piece of writing. The style of the book flowed so that the book was easily read, yet the impact of the story is understood upon reflection. The struggle of the Jews touches the soul. This book is a Must Read for all people who are interested in Religous History

This is the true story of two young men in their prime. It is complex but wonderfully woven, as life can sometimes be. One man seeks to please God; clearly the center of his life. The other man is Jewish in the Britain of the 1920's. He's understandably militant in the face of heartless bigots and rampant discrimination. This young man's drive to win stems from his subconscious yearning to be accepted. Elegantly written, befitting the time, you will find yourself brought back to that romantic era of the '20's.

Come Retribution is opaque, at times difficult but a wonderfully fresh look at the official role of the CONfederate government in the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. Unlike most works on the Civil War, it is not a re-comilation but a new look at an old subject using new evidence. And the evidence is damning -- the authors, all modern day intelligence experts, argue convincingly that the death of President Lincoln was a runaway operation that was designed to kidnap the president and/or blow up the War department. The authors ability to uncover fresh evidence at so late a date is an indication that modern research and analytical techniques used by the intelligence community have a strong and valuable role in historical reseacrh as well. This book is an absolute must read for anyone interested in the assasination of Lincoln, the Confederate Secret Service or historical detective work. MichShul@aol.com

While not as readable as a novel or even a narrative history, this book is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the subject of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. While everybody and his brother has been accused of killing John F. Kennedy, few have questioned the "lone gunman" theory that John Wilkes Booth was a madman who acted on his own. Some years back there was an inept attempt to blame a conspiracy involving Union secretary of war Edwin Stanton, but no one seems to have thought to explore the obvious possibility of Confederate involvement--at least not since Stanton himself gave up trying to pin it on Jeff Davis shortly after the event. Now this book presents a sizable body of circumstantial evidence to show that, at the very least, the assassination was a last-minute perversion of a Confederate plot to capture Lincoln and thus bargain for its independence, or at least for its soldiers in Federal prisoner of war camps. The book is well written, and the thesis it presents is convincing. No one who has not read this book really understands the end of the American Civil War