There is a scene where the central character and his sexually-repressed wife are in the sack ("Her." "Him", "Her", "Him." )...the instructions on how to program my VCR were more stimulating. Give me a break.

Maybe by today's overly PC standards this book could be considered mildly racist and bigoted, but I fail to see where. Catholics do take it on the chin, however.

This was almost a good novel. John Cheever does this type of thing much better.

By Love Possessed chronicles an eventful weekend in the life of Arthur Winner, leading attorney and citizen in the small town of Brocton. No grasping uncouth Snopes, this Winner serve as living proof that virtue is not necessarily its own reward. When lesser lawyers offer a quid pro quo, he deigns to accept only with silence.

The novel's narrative frame begins and ends with Amor Vincit Onmia, frozen forever and eternally ambiguous. The intriguing characters surrounding Winner in this modern Man of Lawe's Tale range from pillar of legal acumen with something to hide to an unfaithful wife converting to Catholicism to a precise drunk who becomes a victim of petty theft. In the end, one wonders if the most important character in By Love Possessed is not the raccoon that freezes in Winner's headlights and is run over with only a thump to mark its passing.

The high point of By love Possessed is a masterly courtroom scene that strikes at the heart of what it is to be a parent. The novel is full of murder and suicide (intentional and unintentional). Events between the sexes range from a first date to a distasteful allegation of rape. In the end, when an untimely death reveals legal matters best left in darkness, Cozzens concludes that self-interest conquers all, at least in the world of small-town privilege.

By Love Possessed moves through so many beginnings and endings that the novel seems somehow complete by its end, although all loose ends are left hanging. Read this book; it certainly does cure nostalgia for the 1950s.

Cozzens' novel covers 49 hours in the life of Arthur Winner Jr., a small-town Pennsylvania lawyer who has prided himself for living his life according to a strict regimen of reason and yet finds all those around him seemingly throwing their lives away to emotion. Rape, suicide, jealousy, and greed mark the behaviour of his friends and relatives, much to his consternation. Not until the end, when a deep secret is revealed, does Arthur Winner realise that an emotional reaction is sometimes the only recourse to an unreasonable situation; indeed, it may be a neccessary reaction.

Because of its style and conservative stance, I've always been surprised that By Love Possessed was such a huge bestseller when originally published; perhaps its title and small-town setting confused readers that it was another Peyton Place (which, ironically, it replaced at #1). But it IS an incredible book, very influential (just read anything by Scott Turow), and a must read for those who want to understand the mindset of the middle-class American male in the mid-20th century. Personally, I find Cozzens' prose fascinating--the more a book makes me reach for the dictionary the better. And as a gay man, I take less offense at Cozzens' occasional prejudices than I do with those politically correct readers who only blindly see bigotry and not a man truly trying to understand the world around him.

Although there are many differences between the Orthodox and the Catholics which I in no way dismiss as superficial, I still find the Jerusalem Bible's notes helpful. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, my former home, has published through Concordia Publishing a helpful study Bible which an Orthodox could read with profit, although there will be obvious differences in parts (i.e., Romans and James). I recommend these titles since they are more scholarly than the OSB in most respects. Nonetheless, everything they say cannot be endorsed as Orthodox and, depending on the subject in question, caution must me used.

It is filled with iconograpgy throughout and the end of the book has special sections in regards to Orthodox views, prayers, and doctrines. It is done in an easy fomat to spark one for further study and research.

This study Bible should be in any serious Bible students libarary regardless of religion. The views of the East have been often neglected by the West and the East has a rich tradition the West can learn and enjoy.

He constantly makes blanket statements about all theology (not just Christianity) making such accusations as all priests and clerics throughout all of history, no matter what religion they were from, all knowingly and willingly deceived the people (paraphrase).

Other things that really cut against my grain were the fact that a good 75% of the quotes that he used or references to (so called) facts were undocumented. There was rarely a citation to where he got some major piece of information, but then he would readily cite newspaper clippings for trivial information. And in these quotes, there is great use of emphasizing certain words and phrases. Was this emphasis that HE added? We don't know because he never declares, "emphases added". And this IS a big deal because emphases can change the whole meaning of a sentence (i.e. 'Take HIM the ball' .. or .. 'Take him the BALL').

Another instance of loosing credibility that a casual theist/atheist may not really appreciate or even notice was his frequent use of pulling numerous texts from scripture out of context in order to give support to a claim.

I have no problem reading and understanding objective biblical criticism, but this was hardly objective. Anyone that would actually quote from Wheless in a debate would mostly likely find himself laughed at by any knowledgeable person... on EITHER side of the table.

this is the most random and unorganized book i've read...
it's not as bad and random as dreamweaver 4 visual quickstart guide but.. it's getting there...
if i wanted to learn html, i would have gotten a html book. it tries too hard. i'm wondering how much these kids will retain the material they've read in this book. sometimes less is more.
after having read this and photoshop 6 bible, the BIBLE series has lost all of my credibility.

well, i'll just say, INSIDE DREAMWEAVER 4 by NEW RIDERS is 123123123 times better... organized well in a efficiently readable format, sticks to the point, and furthermore, a pleasure to read.
a more in depth look at DW in my opinion.

tag) which I skipped straight over but which a beginner would find useful (although there's plenty of other books that cover this material). For the more advanced user there's some great info on how to make your own Dreamweaver extensions, cross-browser compatibility issues, and incorporating the Beatnik plug-in into your pages to make interesting sound effects.

The accompanying CD-ROM is full of useful Dreamweaver extensions (although you could have downloaded these from various websites), as well as trial versions of Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash. Also included is the complete text of the book in PDF format.

I am also pleased with the quality of the book itself. From the attractive cover to the helpful illustrations and easy-to-read print, the smallest details of presentation have been carefully attended to.

Thanks for a book that's both useful AND enjoyable!

Caro

True, the examples on the CD are below par, but I'm not convinced you can fault the author for THIS, either; moreover, I've been using these Behaviors for over a month now, thanks to his web site, so personally, the CD wasn't of much use to me ... Blame the software specialists at IDG Books for the poor quality, NOT Lowery.

The book itself is VERY well-organized, and includes much information NOT even hinted at on Macromedia's online help (now THAT is surprising to me ... but let this be a testimonial for how well Lowery nows his stuff !!) ...

This book CERTAINLY lives up to it's title: this is DEFINITELY the book the web designer/content specialist should have at his/her desk, if not bedside !!

FYI: This book also passes my most-frequently failed test among computer books -- the quality/usefulness of the index in back of the book. Again, this book gets FIVE STARS.

Compare this book to Rick Darnell's 'Using Macromedia' book, and THAT'S where I get nasty. Lowery's book is merely a few dollars more, has MUCH more information (quality AND quantity), and Lowery has a web site for NEW information.

... honestly, the few times I have had a question about DreamWeaver, either his site, his book, or LOWERY HIMSELF has come to my aid.

And to the reviewers who only grade this book with only one or two stars: I CHALLENGE you to contact Lowery PERSONALLY, and tell him yourself (you cowards), and I would be surprised if Lowery doesn't "do something" about that ...

I guess my only question is, does it seem to anyone else besides me that Lowery is taking this book publishing gig a bit too seriously ??

Anyway, thanks for ALL your hard work !! DreamWeaver is a GREAT tool, and you have given us an even greater book !!

I particularly enjoy military history and war flicks, and this book is very strong in that category. While I disagree with Mr. Roquemore as to a few movies, I found, over and over, that he had picked up on fine points that I thought no one -- except me -- would ever care about.

I was totally unconscious of any political slant to the book. The political issues raised by the reviewers here came as a complete surprise -- from out of left field, one is tempted to say. But it is fair to say that if Oliver Stone is your idea of the Good Housekeeping Historical Seal of Approval, you probably won't like the book. Or history. The rest of us should look forward to the read.

I very much want to see the book updated and expanded. Please, Mr. Rouquemore, . . . More. Doug Jordan

That being said, Roquemore knows a good yarn when he sees it. For example, his review of Billy Wyler's "The Westerner" (three stars out of five) begins: "One of the finest westerns ever-and a hatful of hokum as historical biography." So Roquemore does acknowledge cases where history properly is sacrificed to drama.

One more point: Roquemore includes enough (lucid) historical background with each movie that the book is a great and informative read on its own.

My trips to the video store begin with a list from "History Goes to the Movies."

In this novel, Antonelli leaves Portland, Oregon, and travels to San Francisco to defend Jamaal Washington. Washington is a young black man accused of gunning down United States Senator Jeremy Fullerton during a robbery. Fullerton was a ruthless and ambitious politician who had many enemies. Antonelli is certain that Fullerton's death was no robbery; he is convinced that a political enemy assassinated the Senator. Antonelli is determined to free the likeable Jamaal, a soft-spoken pre-med student who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Buffa writes this book as if he were doing a painting-by-numbers. He uses plot devices that we have seen too many times before. Many authors have written more compellingly about political charlatans who pretend to be altruistic, but who are really self-serving and corrupt.

Antonelli's character is strangely lifeless, as is his love interest, Marissa. Neither the courtroom scenes nor the twist at the end can save "The Legacy" from being a run-of-the-mill legal thriller that is not up to Buffa's usually high standards.

Surprisingly, without any obvious let alone remote connection to the accused, elderly local lawyer Albert Craven brings in Portland, Oregon attorney Joseph Antonelli to defend Jamaal. After hearing Jamaal's story on why he was there and how he ended up with the Senator's wallet, Joseph thinks the youngster is an easy fall guy taking the rap for a devious soul. Joseph quickly learns that Fullerton had presidential aspirations and built a cadre of cronies and supporters in the Bay area. A former KGB agent Andrei Bogdonovitch informs Joseph he has damaging information on the senator linking him to his former Soviet employer, but the informant is killed with an office bomb. The trial looks hopeless for the defense unless Joseph can pull off a last second Perry Mason-like miracle.

LEGACY starts off as an incredible legal thriller, but loses steam when it jumps the tracks into a conspiracy tale. The story line is at its best when Joseph investigates the senator and during the trial. The personal side of Joseph that frequents the plot slows down the story line while leaving the attorney not behaving as expected. Though the eyes of the world will pass JUDGMENT that Joseph is a strong egg, the exciting tale seems just off kilter.

Harriet Klausner