I really don't think we can put Hugh Nibley into a book, much less a box. But this book comes in third, after "Approaching Zion," and "Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present."

This book covers the Joseph Smith ground, and deals with the long and noble tradition of telling tales about Joseph Smith. It is really an omnibus reprint of several other books.

"No Ma'am, That's Not History." This is Nibley's famous response to Fawn Brodie's "No Man Knows My History." This book, or booklet, can be read in one setting, but it is a sound and full refutation of Brodie's rather overrated book. I have read it, and, no, it is not a slam-dunk. Aside from its original purpose of outlining Brodie's absurdities, it also demonstrates Nibley's methodology in responding to the critics: he has the primary sources in order, and uses a scathing and well-honed logic to lustrate his points. This mini-book is a great gateway for Nibley novices.

"A Note on F. M. Brodie." This article rounds out Nibley's discussion on Brodie, and serves as a coda and outro to the previous section.

"Censoring the Joseph Smith Story." This is one of the funniest history you will ever read. Nibley runs among the footnotes of Anti-Mormon literature, and illustrates how the stories of Joseph Smith have been embellishes and exaggerated over time, as one anti-Mormon critic mindlessly quotes another, without ever reading the primary documents. It is a good illustration of not only the perils of plagiarism, but of the childhood game of "Telephone."

"The Myth Makers." This book is the transcript of the celebrated court case of "Joseph Smith v. The World." We Nibley's Shakespearian background shines through in this acidic and stinging satire. It reads as a play, or a Socratic dialogue, where every one of Smith's critics since Dogberry takes the stand against Joseph Smith. The key, and the very subtle point to this book, is that Joseph Smith never takes the stand.

"Sounding Brass." This book deals specifically about the tall tales surrounding Brigham Young, and his plural wives. It deals with the later anti-Mormon literature, especially about the book "Wife No. 19." The crown jewel of this book is Part 3: How To Write An anti-Mormon Book (A Handbook for Beginners). Nibley lists the 35 rules essential for any and every anti-Mormon book. I think Rule 17: "In Place of Evidence, Use Rhetoric!" (p. 495ff) should be memorized by every undergrad everywhere, since we fall prey to rhetoric so easily. One I understood this rule, my mind was reborn into a whole new and better organ. There is a difference between rhetoric and evidence. Rhetoric is just a series of arguments, rationales, ratiocinations, and philosophies without any evidence, data, facts, or proof. Confusing evidence and rhetoric is confusing a cookie with a cookie sheet. Your jaw will thank you for choosing the right one. This one paragraph alone justifies the books existence, and makes it worth our hard-earned dollar.

This book is a great gift for anyone curious about anti-Mormon literature, or if you yourself are curious about an intelligent response, or weather there is any intelligence at all in this ever popular genre of books.

In this thorough book, Nibley reveals the real stories behind criticism of the LDS (Mormon) Church. Once you understand where some of these tales originated, the weak foundations of the most frequently-heard attacks on the Church become crystal clear, and sometimes sadly laughable. Nibley's dry humor is delightful and his enthusiasm is contagious. This book is a MUST-read if you are interested in the LDS Church. It is particularly important if you've been misled by the critics. Read this book and check Nibley's historical sources before you believe what you read elsewhere.

Wonderful old time adventure. No porn just fun to read. A fabulous story for a Disney movie.

Of all the adventures in all the books and all the movies I've happily devoured, this one, by little-known author, is gonna stick right along side the likes of Treasure Island, Jewel of the Nile, and especially, The African Queen. I say this tongue-in-cheek of course, because of the classic, tongue-in-cheek style of these timeless adventures. Though I have never heard of this author, I simply wonder, "Why not?" "Is there something missing?" I asked myself. Pages turned and burned through my eager fingertips; each succeeding chapter thrusting me further into the exciting plot - just as surely as the Gulf tides buried missing Mayan gold further into the muddy bottom of the unpredictable sea. Simple characters emerged quickly and developed just about as fast into cunningly intelligent, or conversely stupid, but driven-to-death inspired seafarers from the Old School. But the skipper, "Captain Frank," or just plain "Captain," or "Skipper," as he was called in the beginning of the story, develops backwards, slowly at first, so that suddenly everyone is just calling him plain-old-ordinary-everyday "Frank." He must retrieve his natural authority if they are to survive! But plain and ordinary is about as descriptive of his crew as calling the Mona Lisa, "a nice picture of a pretty girl." The rest of the crew, Bob, Joe, and Blackie are indeed colorful - as in Technicolor, as the author projects this modern masterpiece like a classic black-and-white movie script. And the total irony of the plot comes, not from a darling parallel to the "African Queen," but from something so simple it screams for recognition from day one of this dangerous voyage. Allow me to introduce them: You've met the captain, Frank. Then, on the converse, our semi-villain, there's Bob Thompson (Bob), who came to Galveston from Detroit with his unfaithful wife, Betty. He is an alcoholic (a bad one, too!) with an explosive temper and psychotic tendencies. Sober, one of the best crewmen on the coast. Then, Blackie, the Cajun engineer whose improvisational mind keeps the engines running effortlessly smooth and efficient. And, not-to-be-last-in-anything, Joe Glenn - Our hero! Enter, Joe, from the houseboat of a wealthy beautiful woman. They pick him up from his point of sexual exploitation, a favor extended to none but Joe. This crew of four set sale aboard the "Miss Julia" for shrimp close to Mexico's waters, encountering instead, the remains of a ghost ship, The Titan - badly shot-up and all, save for one, dead aboard. From here, the action never stops, slowing down only for the author to pigment his expert's picture of life along the border in general and along the fishing coast and waterfronts precisely. The reader learns much about the lifestyles of the local peasants, both American AND Mexican (of the-not-rich-and never-famous), and of buried treasure in the author's back yard -Tex-Mexico! Mr. Reynolds writes, too and true of the opulent gringos, who pay the big bucks to go sport fishing from the Mexican side, making port in tiny fishing villages where the locals can't imagine that kind of carefree wealth, tossed around so very freely. But locals do know the value of gold, though rarely let on about it. Their ancestors had most certainly passed this info down from mother-to-daughter. (All the men were slaughtered.) This fact is not lost on our fearless foursome as bizarre coincidences pile into stranger and more dangerous happenings. Having already exaggerated the shot-up condition of the ghost ship, Titan, to the U.S. Coastguard, our crew omits entirely the fact that they had already found a goodly amount of treasure in the form of gold bars hidden cleverly under tons of rotting shrimp. A bloody scrap with scrawled characters clenched in a deathgrip by a dead man revves the story up and starts the high-velocity action pendulum swinging in the reader's favor. And so, by hook and crook, our brave, but constantly terrified "Crewe" (Did I say that Blackie's Cajun?) finally discover the object of their search! Ingenuity reigns. But time races towards reality and an actual method of recovery, modified-for-fiction, plays out. With a psychotic, short-fused, and armed crew member, an ambush by local natives, heavily-gunned-out and combative Mexican Patrol Boats, and gobs of mounting obstacles, not the last of which includes Nature's pending furies, it seems ALL will be lost. The Spectre of Death hangs heavy over the entire scene and reaps fertile with every short swing of his scythe. The author twists and turns his tale as if he, too, were an ancient mariner speaking to captive audience hanging dead on every spoken word. (i.e. ...SEA-MONSTERS!). He spins his wares and weaves his words, creating a brilliant tapestry of adventure. His imagery of the salty Gulf paints no less than masterful -- The reader feels not so much an omnipotent observer, but a participant in the swashbuckling drama of life extended "grateful" from each unturned page. Unlike Robert Louis Stephenson, et al, Joseph Reynolds has an ending prepared for this story that will blow you out of the water! Unlike "The African Queen," the hero(s) of this first-person-related story are not dependent on performances by the best actors in Hollywood history. And, just like Joseph Reynolds, apparently, the story is more ironic than an O.Henry masterpiece. It is a used-up plot made fresh; where stereotyped characters have no place, and adventure breaches the walls of bedtime novels, grappling-"hooked" into your own imagination. Though I have never heard of this author, Joseph Reynolds, I must simply ask myself, "Why not?"

To the Eagles Nest is a stunningly original story that ripples with imagination and intrigue. This is a masterful book divided into disparate parts, alternately a cooler than cool "Matt Helm" or "Tony Rome" story mixed with a scrupulous examination of modern day Germany. The book succeeds on both levels. To the Eagles Nest reads in a wonderfully cinematic way. Each action scene mounts on the previous one. The author, Joe DiMona was noted for wry observations and beautifully drawn characters. In the Eagles Nest he hits the mark time and time again. The self-absorbed American movie stars in Germany to make a movie about Hitler. The disenfranchised German military hero. The Justice Department agent drawn into an ancient conflict that leads him around the world. And, the reborn Eagles, modern Germany's stealthy new threat. All bold and fascinating characters caught up in an apocalyptic plot. A tense and thrilling book from start to finish

"To the Eagles' Nest" is a complex and compelling thriller by the late Joe DiMona, a superbly gifted author who anticpated the rise of worldwide anti-semitism, hate groups and the ascension of a Clinton-like body politic in this 1980 'tour de force'. Propelled by a manic energy and written in a cinematic style, the book is a searing look at Communisms last days, an elegy for Hollywood's lost glamour and a dire warning about telegenic "new" world leaders.

A group of American superstars are in Germany to do a film, the "Secret Life of Adolf Hitler". They are kidnapped by a terrorist organization who make, a series of increasingly bizzare demands. It is left to American Jutice department agent George Williams (a recurring character in DiMona's books) to battle the intercine forces in Germany to save the Americans. Williams unknowingly steps into the middle of ancient hatreds and desperate cold war gambits, on a search that takes him around the world trying to rescue the actors. DiMona takes obvious pleasure in the actors, imbuing them with great elegance and "star power". He couples his "movie stars" with trenchant politcal observations, and one of the most striking examinations of the culture of the "agent provacateur", those who create chaos and then get themselves elected as the party to end the chaos.

It is a stirring book, populated with Nazis, Communists and con men, all close to the bone, and starkly real. The book is an amalgamation of Elie Weisel and Dominick Dunne. A fittingly large scale and multi-leveled book from one of the finest American authors the latter half of this century.

I highly recommend Gary Grappo's Top Ten Career Strategies for the Year 2000 and Beyond. This book describes the importance of meeting technological change head-on, and offers helpful advice on how to accomplish this. The chapter on discovering the future growth industries was especially helpful; the glossary of future growth companies provided a concrete insight on potential cutting-edge employers for the upcoming century. Mr. Grappo's book offers fresh new insight on career networking, in ways other books on career advancement commonly ignore. These networking strategies outline a means of shaping a well-rounded professionalist, one who could perform in any arena of the job market. In addition to providing the reader with helpful suggestions on career networking, Mr. Grappo also offers his readers helpful advice on personal "selling skills." The book provides simple, easy-to-follow steps that will help to distinguish any individual from their competition, and help advance them in the career path of their choice. This book is an essential tool for the individual looking to advance and improve their career in the upcoming century.

Grappo lists the 10 Ten Career Strategies that will help all us face the changes that affect all of our careers starting now and into the next century. He does this by offering tests that will allow the reader to rate themselves as to how the reader reacts to change. Then Grappo offers solutions for the fears and frustrations all of us have toward change. These solutions are what makes this book so unique because Grappo offers the reader tools to be ahead of the game of finding the right job. Finding the right job means the opportunity to making more money, and, more importantly the chance to live a happier and more productive life.

This is NOT a modernized King James Version of the Christian Old Testament - its the Hebrew Bible paraphrased. However, its is a great resource for Christains and Jews alike and very readible!

This version of the Old Testament is the most readable ever. It is a slightly modernized King James version, so all the quotes and slogans are instantly recognizable. It is also edited with most lists and social customs relegated to the appendix, emphasizing core moral principles. Leviticus in this book is a clear-cut unambiguous position-statement. You can be in no doubt what Judeao-Christianity is all about after reading it. Should be on every bookshelf that contains a Bible.

Everything you always wanted to know about the tourism industry in one convenient source! This book is written with the serious reader in mind, but it's easy reading style will appeal to any curious mind. It covers everything from operating issues to fun facts that will help you be a more informed consumer. Once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down.

This book contains the most current and comprehensive coverage tourism industry on the market today. I enjoyed reading this book due to the excellent writing style of the authors. It is very well organized so finding topics of interest was no problem. It lists many citations to other sources and is well researched. The author's educational credentials and other accomplishments are listed (and are very impressive.) Cook and Yale have done extensive research and publishing in tourism. I find this work very credible and user-friendly. I know that I won't leave home without it!

This was another of those synchronist events that happens in the form of the written word. Actually, I got ahold of these videos through my local library at a time when I was searching for questions instead of answers. This book is a tour de force of the mythological evolution of the human species. Campbell addresses what the elemantary ideas of myth are and how they present themselves uniformly throughout all cultures, historical and present, of the world equally. The thesis--there is only one mythology that is inflected in various folk manifestations, comes across beautifully. Campbell will challenge you to rethink about religion and mythology and what it means to you as a human being. This one is a must read.

Read this if you can't afford the tapes of this excellent PBS series (though it gets a little dry in some spots)! It is a (now deceased) esteemed archeologists's comparisons of myth with the actual excavations that he and other archeologists have made. He can validate or repudiate claims made by some religions that their version is the best, only, or earliest version, and can also show how some myths evolved from actual real events or places. Once you are done reading this, go ahead and read the older work The Women's Encylopedia of Myths and Secrets (written by Barbara G. Walker), another heavily referenced work, which looks into the literature of the ancients, right on through to the Middle Ages, highly exposing information that has been supressed by later religions, politicians, and peoples.

I am seriously addicted to these Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology books. They lead you by milepost on such wonderful tours. You'll want to grab your camera, rock hammer and pocket protector, and hit the road with this one.

There are a lot of excellent maps in this spiral-bound book. The Great Basin offers many surprises to those who leave the Interstate. Enjoy.

I have a confession to make. When I live in a place that has ice and snow on the ground for twenty-something days; the temperature hovers around the cold mark (anything below 50 degrees Fahrenheit;)and my home heating bills are larger than my mortage payment, I frequently contract cabin fever. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, looking at maps, howling at the moon (when available), chasing parked cars, and reading travel books. I know, I know, it's only the beginning of winter and readers are typically not standing in line to get tickets for their summer vacations. However, to my surprise I find that a number of libraries have very popular travel programs that start in January. Could it be that others are afflicted with this seemingly incurable malaise? Thus, you can imagine my delight in finding a copy of this wonderful travel book. My wife and I traveled U.S. Highway 50, christened "The Loneliest Road in America" by Time magazine, across Nevada a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, while we had a number of obligatory travel books of this region, this one was not available. I can't believe how much we missed! Since it was published by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, it is a specialized travel book. But don't let that fool you. While it is chock full of information on the geology, flora, and fauna of the region it is so much more. In addition to being highly readable it has 70 color photos, 170 black & white photos and an abundance of illustrations, maps, and sketches. The book takes the traveler along this historic Lincoln Highway from Carson City to Baker and introduces you to a unique Nevada adventure complete with national forests, deserts, and a National Park, Great Basin, that many travelers don't even know exists. About the only thing you will miss is the diesel fume spewing monsters pulling full grown homes and bumper-to-bumper traffic at every milepost. During our visit to Great Basin National Park we encountered perhaps a dozen cars. The book has a helpful road log keyed to highway markers. The trip will take you from ghost towns to Pony Express stations and so many side trips into areas of pristine beauty that you will be hard pressed to believe you are in Nevada, which is, after all just a lot of desert, right? You might even visit a lake that produces some of the best trout fishing in the State and stop for a picnic lunch under aspens that will take your breath away. How about stopping in Fallon and visiting the Naval Air Station and Strike and Air Warfare Center, the Navy's Top Gun training center. Riding the "Ghost Train" from Ely is a trip you won't forget. We discovered the works of Nevada poet Kirk Robertson in a small bookshop in Eureka, which has a beaufifully restored historic courthouse. Kind of a special two for one deal. If you are looking for the fastest way to traverse Nevada complete with four lanes of pavement, interchanges, and fast food stops, Highway 50 is not for you. On the other hand, if you have just a touch of adventure in your soul and don't mind beautiful scenery, historic ambiance, and lots of space, this is worth your time. I would not make this the only travel guide to take on such a trip but I would not leave home without it. Take heart fellow sufferers, spring and summer is coming and this book will remind you why the wait is worth it.

Is there anyone who has traveled in Thibet in our days and
reached that famous place in Amdo and has seen the tree
with the letters on the leaves?

I got this book because I was researching central Asia, and then didn't read it for a couple of years. When I finally did, I couldn't put it down. This is a true account by two French priests who travelled by camel and horse, first to Mongolia and then to Tibet in the 1840s. What they saw and did is fabulously interesting, but the joy of this book is that it's wonderfully written. Huc, who actually wrote it, is a kind of 19th Century Paul Theroux, but without the sour attitude. This book is a great read

This book has opened my world to new and unbounded possibilities. There is hope for the dawning of a new and wonderfull age on Earth and this author explains how it can happen. If you fancy yourself as one of the 144,000 then I advise you to read it.

One man's journey into understanding who HE IS and who I AM. Also explanation of the El Dorado Treasure and hints toward global renaissance. Fascinating.