I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Catherine Booth. I had known she was a vital part of the team, but I didn't realize the extent of her influence on her husband. This is a book I'm keeping in my library. It's well worth the space

At a time when extremists of both the left and the right continue to polarize the Catholic Church in the USA for what, in many cases, are no more than their own self-serving ends, it is imperative that moderate and unity-minded Catholics take up the hard work outlined by the esteemed Cardinal Bernadin in bringing church-splitting extremists to the table of dialogue. As Paul wrote in his letters, "Is Christ divided? Can one say, am I of Apollos and another, I am of Paul?" Bernadin had the intelligence, foresight, and grace to see that the Common Ground Iniative would be a way for moderate peacemakers in the Church to bring our feuding brothers and sisters together in a calmer, more productive manner. His words still ring prophetic. Come, let us reason together, that we may all be one. At the very least, the Common Ground Initiative offers real hope and stability against the polarizing impulses of special-interest Catholics whose myopic North American/USA point-of-view fails to include the mission of the worldwide church. We owe it to Cardinal Bernadin and his legacy to equip ourselves for the work of healing and reconciliation in any way we can.

Dr. May provides a coherent introduction into the ethical issues surrounding sexuality as taught by the Catholic Church - both from the standpoint of Natural Law and John Paul II's personalistic philosophy. Faithful to the teaching of the Magisterium, May critiques revisionist views such as "consequentialism" and "proportionlism" that have curiously only arisen since Pope Paul VI's issuing of Humanae Vitae. May supplements his argument with copius citations of Church documents. Highly recommended for a Cathechist or anyone interested in what the Church truly teaches on sexual issues, May has a knack for relating difficult philosophical issues to the layperson without prior training.

I've long been of a mind that the most interesting question in regard to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is the one they never asked us in class : was it
right to kill him? As always in Shakespeare, it's possible to read the play in several ways, but the final verdict seems to be that the assassins were
not justified, not least because in replacing one tyranny they unleashed a worse. This message--the wisdom of erring on the side of
stability--would have been particularly resonant in Shakespeare's own day, when religious conflicts, foreign invasion, and wars of dynastic
succession were still recent memories and/or active concerns. Brutus, then, though in some ways a tragic hero, is ultimately too passive a character
to really command our loyalty and affection. And if Caesar and Marc Anthony don't fare much better, we are left to conclude that things would
have been better had the established order, even an imperfect order, been allowed to endure.

Spring ahead just a few decades from Shakespeare's time though, and the moral of the story becomes problematic. By the middle of the 17th
Century, we are entered upon the Age of Revolutions in the English-Speaking World, and intellectual justification must be found for the series of
events that would see Protestants and Parliaments and Colonists overthrow and even execute their kings. Little wonder then that Joseph Addison's
terrific, but largely forgotten, play Cato was such a favorite of the 18th Century and particularly of the Founding Fathers.

It too tells the story of a tragic hero's resistance to Caesar, but has none of the ambiguity of Shakespeare. Marcus Porcius Cato--variously styled
Cato of Utica or Cato the Younger--was a Stoic, renowned for his incorruptibility and his intractable devotion to republican principals, the very
principals that Caesar trampled upon when he set himself up as a dictator. Having long opposed Caesar's ambitions, and having alienated many by
his inflexibility, Cato was essentially exiled from Rome, along with Pompey. After Pompey's defeat at Pharsalus, Cato went to Africa where he
was allied with Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio. After Caesar defeated Scipio at Thapsus, Cato killed himself, rather than submit to the
man he abhorred.

Where Shakespeare gave us a Brutus who was too ambivalent about his own actions and too much affected by events for us to take him to heart as
a hero, Joseph Addison rendered his Cato as an achingly noble and uncompromising character, one who may not appeal to modern tastes (of
course, we're all moderate in all things now, and a fanaticism, even for freedom, is distasteful in polite society), but who was seized upon as a
paragon of unyielding republican virtue by men like George Washington. In fact, when we consider the nobility of Washington's own action (for
example during the Newburgh conspiracy) and the emphasis he placed on preserving his own honor, it seems fair to speculate that the republic we
have inherited was handed down to us in some measure by Cato and Addison.

The play is filled with quotable lines, like :

A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity in bondage.

In one passage we hear the foreshadowing of Nathan Hale :

What a pity is it
That we can die but once to save our country!

When Cato determines to kill himself he says :

Justice gives way to force: the conquered world
Is Caesar's: Cato has no business in it.

And Lucius, a Senate colleague pronounces upon Cato's death :

From hence, let fierce contending nations know
What dire effects from civil discord flow.
'Tis this that shakes our country with alarms,
And gives up Rome a prey to Roman arms,
Produces fraud, and cruelty, and strife,
And robs the guilty world of Cato's life.

Sure, it's old-fashioned, both in sentiment and language; how many statesmen still believe in honor at all, let alone in dying to preserve their own.
But it's immensely enjoyable and worth knowing if for no other reason than to understand one of the cultural influences that shaped Washington.
If we wish to comprehend how he, unlike so many other men in similar position, was able to resist the temptations of power and to instead remain
the guarantor of the republic, perhaps it is necessary for us to know Cato.

GRADE : A+

All the post-riot stories about South Central have been filtered through a screen of what might be termed, "black political correctness." Facts, ideas, and research don't coincide with the so-called "official story" of the "causes" of the riots. What ever happened to the real story? Were commentators and journalists afraid to be tagged, "racially insensitive?" Did they collaborate in this "official story" with the civil rights establishment? Did they want to avoid the fall out from the explosive truth or capitalize on the political deception? What truth? The truth about the vicious character of the blacks, hispanics, and whites that looted and burned South Central Los Angeles. Who am I to say these things? I lived there. I was there when the smoke was so thick and heavy, it hung only a few feet above the ground. The heroes and heroines of the black conservative movement, however, were not deceived. Even before the Fairmont Conference when black conservatism became a forceful movment, these lions and lionesses had shaken off the deceiving and terrifying grip of the civil rights establishment. Long before the black community began to find courage to join together and move against their false prophets, the new black vanguard had individually crossed over the Jordan river. Who are these heroes and heroines? Phyllis Berry-Myers, Joseph Broadus, Ezola Foster, Alan Keyes, Glenn Loury, Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Lee Walker, Walter Williams, Robert Woodson, Anne Wortham, and Elizabeth Wright among others. These are many of the same people who have now come together to voice their insight and vision in their own words within the drama of "Black and Right: The Bold New Voice of Black Conservatives in America" (Praeger Trade, 1997)! In "Challenging the Civil Rights Establishment: Profiles of a New Black Vanguard" (Praeger Trade, 1993) Joseph G. Conti and Brad Stetson (assisted by Stan Faryna) thoughtfully describe the thought, experience, and contribution of many of these lions and lionesses. Wrote Conti and Stetson of the black conservative message: "It is a message of self-reliance, in the context of a dignified community, trusting its own ability to exercise freedom with responsbility and thereby provide for itself the moral and social resources that breed and sustain independence."

Zarzinsky takes the ledgend of Champ and puts it into words that will make a believer out of anyone. If you are interested in the possibility of a large aquatic animal living in lake Champlain, this book is a must! It has details and credibility and has more bits of trivia then you thought possible. In quote " READ IT!".

Champagne & Silver Buckles: The Viceregal Court At Dublin Castle 1700-1922 by lecturer and social historian Joseph Robins is a serious and fascinating study spanning two centuries of social and ceremonial life at the Irish court. Thoroughly researched and drawn from a wealth of primary sources ranging from diaries and newspapers to genealogical and domestic records, Champagne & Silver Buckles is a fascinating, informative, very highly recommended glimpse into the upper-crust side of Irish history and a welcome, invaluable contribution to Irish History supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.

This is a zany tale of sand castles and seduction set in a fictitious New England fishing village in the 1970s. I really liked how all of the characters got tangled up in each other's lives. Two 12 year old boys, one rich and one poor, become friends through a plot to make some extra cash by producing and selling a pinup calendar. They go into business with a loser named Fergy, and nothing turns out quite like you'd expect it to. Very well written and moves you fast to the end.

I read many books - most of which bore me - but this book is certainly not one of them. Chasing the Sun was a true breath of fresh air. The writer, who was unknown to me, has a smooth, conversational style but also manages to convey true emotion and meaning in his prose. This book emphasizes the importance of living what is in one's heart. It is about ignoring convention and living the unlikely. In the book, the protagonist goes forth in life in pursuit of his dream - becoming a pilot for an airline. The book details the commitment required of an individual to become an airline pilot but more than that - it details what the protagonist learns along the way - that life can and should be a wonderful experience for each individual but that it is up to each individual to make it happen. I found this book really easy to read but it also was very thought provoking.

Chief Joseph And The Nez Perces is a beautiful photographic history documenting the epic journey of the Nez Perces made in flight from the army from June to October of 1877. The role of the respected Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph is explored with care and precision throughout the time of the Nez Perces' flight. The authors have presented only photographs of the areas travelled and frequented by the Nez Perces without reminders of modernity, so the land is presented as closely as possible to the landscape known by the Nez Perces of 1877. Tracing the route of the Nez Perces with a color coded map of the area helps explain their tortuous crossing and recrossing of the mountainous area through the main passes. The brief book is divided into three main sections: prologue, flight , and epilogue, with a helpful bibliography of related works. There is no doubt that the star feature of this history is the stellar color photographs, including a beautiful golden sweep of vista of the Bear Paw Battlefield, in Nez Perce National Historical Park, south of Chinook, Montana, and many more. There is also no doubt of the tragic heart of the tale, for Chief Joseph himself, though he worked tirelessly to reinstate his people in their homeland after the surrender, was never allowed to return to the Nez Perce Reservation in the Northwest. This blatant violation of the terms of surrender is blamed upon the army's high command, Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip H. Sheridan, who"ignored the surrender terms as if they had never existed (page ix)." Chief Joseph And The Nez Perces is a beautiful and moving picture account of a sorrowful bloody history.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer