with a little bit of editing and etc. this could have been an excellent sequel..

Very cool book. Pretty cool story line, most of the drawings are very cool. Others, it looked like they didn't know what else to put in and still be able to put in all the dialogue. Seemed that they were trying too hard to make her outfit look like the crow in the movie (minus the trench coat). Definately worth seeing to see a chick kicking butt!

veGAMan infErior

i bought this for a road trip. i like it and the art is great. one thing got me though. the chick who comes back as the crow, why did she come back? she wasnt even going to keep her baby, she didndt love it. but it was good

The study of ecclesiastical history and the writings of the Saints are a necessity for a proper appreciation of Scripture and its interpretation. Philip Schaff's Church History is one of the few complete ecclesiastical history collections available. There are more modern and reliable translations of the ancient Greek and Latin texts (Ancient Christian Writers and Fathers of the Church Series), which abstain from sectarianism; unfortunately, the publishers have not yet gathered these works into a single collection. Despite the shortcomings of this edition, Philip Schaff's Church History is notable, if only for its presentation of the Reformed perspective on the development of ecclesiastic doctrine.

Schaff was guided by a number of principles in his History. He was convinced, for example, that other church histories conformed to a "dry, lifeless style" that failed to probe the "main thing in history, the ideas which rule it and reveal themselves in the process." Most church histories -he believed- failed to foster a sense organic development, leaving students unable to understand their movement's place in the overall history of the church.

Following philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, who posited that cycles of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis raise what is preserved to a higher level, Schaff maintained: "spiritual growth is likewise a process of annihilation, preservation, and exaltation." An example of this process in Christian thought and practice was -according to Schaff- the emergence of the Protestant Reformation out of the medieval Catholic Church. "The practical piety and morality of Roman Catholicism," said Schaff, "is characteristically legal, punctilious, un-free and anxious; but distinguished also for great sacrifices, the virtue of obedience, and full consecration to the Church." The Protestant Reformation brought a needed corrective through a faith that "is evangelically free, cheerful and joyous in the possession of justification by grace."

In effect Schaff presents Protestantism as the heir of catholicity at the expense of the Roman See (his description of "the Papists" is outrageous), liberating doctrine from the "constraints" of ecclesial authority. Yet he conveniently minimizes the shortcomings of Protestantism, namely its fractious nature and the replacement of Apostolic Tradition with the tradition of subjective interpretation of Scripture. Fortunately he recognized the need for union, envisioning the emergence of a synthetic "evangelical-catholic" Christianity in the future.

Schaff utilizes heavy editorializing to present the writings of the Church Fathers as representing his viewpoint; this unfairly forces the reader to accept his overbearing perspective at the expense of the Church Fathers. If you are approaching this work from a non-Protestant background, you might find it necessary to skip the introductions and the footnotes. Despite the sectarian presentation of Church history, I recommend this work, as it makes the works of the Apostolic Fathers accessible at a reasonable price.

In this series an indescribable wealth of primary sources will be found, which consists of apologetic, theological, philosophical, exegetic, ethical, dogmatic, and historical writings. Many documents and decrees, early church liturgies and hymns, along with an abundance of letters and tracts from the most illustrious and prolific authors of our Christian past are preserved here as well in a complete and clear turn of the century English prose translation. Moreover, this 38 volume set includes the principle writers of the Church from St Clement of Rome, a contemporary of St Paul, to St John Damascene, the last of the Eastern fathers who wrote during the 8th century AD. In the West, Pope Gregory the Great's works are the last included in this series, since the end of his pontificate essentially marks the West's shift from the world of late antiquity into the dawn of the Dark Ages. Arguably, some works by Latin authors like St Benedict, Isidore of Seville, Prudentius, Sidonius, and Rufinus of Aquiliea should have joined the ranks with other Western fathers, since the editors saw it necessary to place in the works of John Damascene, who wrote well over a century later than Isidore, the latest of the authors listed above. However, the editors judgement to place St Gregory the Great as the last of the Western fathers may be vindicated, although to leave authors like Prudentius, Rufinus, Sidonius, and Benedict out, who all wrote and thrived before Gregory's birth, may be open for scrutiny. Also, these works are all translated and edited by Protestant scholars and divines, so the footnotes, prefaces, and profiles of these Church Fathers and their works tend to be shrouded with Protestant leanings. Although, Catholics--and anyone for that matter--will nevertheless find this series to be the most complete and reliable source of early Christian writings. The Catholic University of America currently has many of the Church Fathers writings available, which are definitely worth checking out as well.

...This is an excellent resource, no two ways about it. I find myself using it all the time, looking up things I find quoted in books, tracts, etc. I found it very convienent to be able to get the whole set at once, and I might add, for a very good price ....

Just a caveat: this is not, and does not advertize itself as a complete compendium of the writings of the authors represented in this set. For instance, Origen, Jerome and Athanasius are given particularly brief treatments, as are most of the writers presented in volumes 25-38.

... This is a great resource, but some 120 years after initial publication, the body of manuscripts and scholarship used in translation has been improved upon. This cannot be looked upon as an intrisic weakness in this series, but rather an effect of aging which falls on all older works which rely on a body of historical writings which are under constant study.

Regarding the introduction essays, I don't have a huge problem with them. Not all of them are openly polemical. This was compiled by Protestants, so one should not be surprised to find pro-Protestant essays therein. One cannot possibly confuse these with the writings of the Fathers themselves, and can be easily skipped.

However, I did pick up a fair amount of attempted "damage control" in the footnotes, i.e. the footnote on Irenaeus' Against Heresies 3:3:2. Other examples could be cited.

In any case, I am not citing these things to "unpromote" the work, but simply discussing the points .... I am aware that there are newer translations of these writings available, but are only available piecework and for much more money.

This is indeed a great place to start, but people wanting more complete writings and/or more current scholarship might want to consider the Ancient Christian Writers series.

I have never heard of the Madoc legend before reading this book and now am eager to find out more about the legend. (I read this book because I enjoyed Follow the River so much.)
The three star rating is because of the large shifts in time between chapters which makes it difficult to follow the ancestral lineage of some of the characters. I wish more had been told of Man On a Horse and his bride Snow Hair. How is chief Four Bears related to them? ect....
I think a series of books may have done the story more justice.
The begining and the end are incredible. Don't be discouraged half way through the book. Stay with it until the end. You will not be disappointed.

If you enjoy historical fiction, ANY book by James Alexander Thom must be included in your library.
Children of First Man is well researched, highly plausible and holds your attention from page one to the finish.
This account of the Mandan tribe is extremely thought provoking

This is the BEST book I have ever read.
I read it when it first came out and again recently.
Outstanding, Mr. Thom draws you into the era.
A great story told by a great story teller.
I read a lot of historical fiction and this was by far the greatest!
Children of First Man and Runestone by Don Coldsmith are the two best books on the subject of early white man in North America.
Mr. Thoms latest book Sign-Talker is also a must read.

The author's attempts to draw parallels between the career of Admiral Gordon and the fictional Horatio Hornblower generally are stretches. I thought he needed to reread the Hornblower books before making some of the comments he did. His list of similarities in their careers in the forward would be more effective if they were accurate for Hornblower. However, the dates for different ranks are wrong. He also equates Gordon's enlistment at 11 with Hornblower's joining at 17 as both being "mere boys in 1793." Hornblower was actually old for a new midshipman.

However, we should be grateful that this dubious premise sold the book, because Perrett has provided us with a very solid biography of a typical naval officer of this period. Gordon is not in the first rank of Napoleonic naval officers, but the variety of his experiences and actions shows the type of man who made the British navy great. With the skill of the true historian, Perrett has dug out details of long forgotten actions and campaigns. His style is readable, and he has an eye for the sort of detail that adds zest to a biography.

The life of Admiral Gordon is very interesting and the book is a pleasure to read. The comparisons between Gordon and Hornblower are not overdone, and even readers who are not Hornblower afficionados (like myself) will enjoy the book.

As a lifelong Hornblower/C.S.Forester fan, I read this book with some trepidation, but Perrett seems to be a fan as well. He proposes a new theory: that Forester created the character of Horatio Hornblower using the model of a real Royal Navy captain in the Napoleonic Wars : James Gordon (who eventually became an admiral). Perrett hangs most of the premise for his theory upon an apparent inconsistency in C.S. Forester's otherwise thorough nonfiction writing style. In Forester's NAVAL WAR OF 1812 (nonfiction),he barely mentions Captain Gordon's name, even though Gordon had had a brilliant and successful career. Perrett notes that Forester gives other brilliant naval officers full career write-ups, even including information on their families. This(in addition to a few other similarities in Hornblower's/Gordon's respective careers) has made Perrett feel that Forester was "hiding" Gordon, so to speak, so that future casual readers would not see the similarities between the real hero and the fictional one. This reader does not feel that there is quite enough evidence to support that theory, but the book is fascinating reading in its own right, and anyone who enjoys naval history will enjoy it. Gordon comes off as a brave, smart, and kind (but fair)captain, like Hornblower. But because we know so much about Hornblower's every thought,feeling, and motive (due to Forester's superb skills), Hornblower seems more real to me even than does Captain Gordon! Perrett, who has written at least 14 other books on military history, has however done a fine job himself, and Gordon's exploits are brought very much to life indeed. A very good read!

The other review suggests that this is the tape to buy for people who don't want the extra sound effects.
I bought ten of these Bibles, (for benevalence)
in part because I didn't want extra sound effects.
When my order came,
I popped in the Acts tape,
and when it got to the part where the Holy Spirit
gives instructions to separate Paul and Barnabas
for the work whereunto they are sent,
Alexander Scourby's voice is cut off,
and they splice in some guy in an echo/reverb room

to "do" the voice of the Holy Spirit.
INCREDIBLY TACKY, not to mention,
this seems to me to be
a totally inappropriate means of representing the Holy Spirit.

The King James version rings with poetic and classic style befitting a narrator like Alexander Scourby. His voice is a perfect match. If you wish to hear the beauty and majesty of the Bible read clearly and dramatically without artificial sound effects added, this is the one for you.

My father personally knows some of the people that were caught in the middle of this investigation. Wrongdoing was going on, however; the way reporters painted the picture of how some people had to live their lives due to this investigation were untrue. There were no bodyguards for Barbara or A. Cowen. No black roses or death threats sent to their offices. The mystery man throughout the whole event? It's no mystery to me, I know. Trust me, prosecutors couldn't find any evidence towards this man because there was no evidence. Reporters found a way to make this spectacle look entertaining, and that's all it was...entertainment.

This was a very interesting book discussing the fall of the former Governor of Oklahoma for illegal actions taken while in office. The book gives a great introduction to some of the problems with our judicial system but shows that this system ultimately works in the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Oklahoma politics, federal prosecution, or law.

For my purposes this book was only mildly informational. A collector, who is looking for rare or scarce pieces may find this book more educational. By the author's own admission, their audience aim is not for the casual collector or the eager investor. As most of the pieces pictured are listed as rare or scarce I don't think the subjects will be useful for my collecting purposes.

What I found the most interesting about the book was the detailed descriptions of each of the pieces and the wonderful clear pictures accompanying them. The author would not only describe the piece, he would tell you who made the piece and how his conclusion was reached based on other pieces, which have been positively identified. Similar pieces were compared in many instances and subtle differences in designs were noted to educate the reader on how to identify reproductions from the original.

The quality of the photographs is excellent. Large and clear photos give the reader a very precise view of the item. The descriptions leave no doubt as to what the item is. The references to reproductions of an item is extremely helpful. This is a long awaited book for any milk glass collector.

This is a very good book for gay/lesbian people who want to see some positive messages on the subject of religion, which is definitely needed. With all the hatred that masquerades as "God's word" when it comes to homosexuality (even though Jesus himself *never* mentions sexuality or gender identity *at all*, it's about time people started putting loving book which shows gay/lesbian people they don't have to abandon religion. My only complaint is that the authors don't ever mention or include bisexual or transgendered people at all. They just quickly say something to the effect of "we'd like to, but that's beyond the scope of our book." I'd say someone should write another book addressing this, since bi and trans people get the same harassment from so-called "religious" people, but except for that, this is a very good book. I'd recommend it to any gay/lesbian people I know who don't want to give up on religion, since it shows you *can* be gay *and* a Christian.

The subtitle of Alexander and Preston's book is "Claiming God's Grace for Lesbians and Gays." Nevertheless, this is not a book for homosexuals. This is a book that raises important theological and liturgical questions for all of God's people. Reduced to their simplest forms the question are: "DOES the Church tell the truth about those who are different?" and if not, "CAN the Church tell the truth about those who are different?"

Cutting through the psycho-babble and well-intentioned but destructive, liberal, social thinking, Alexander and Preston quickly get to the heart of the matter: (1) some denominations baptize infants and young children, boldly declaring that what matters is not our decision for Jesus, but his decision for us; (2) a growing body of scientific evidence argues for a significant genetic component to homosexuality, but (3) despite the commitment that denominations make in infant baptisms and a growing body of scientific evidence for sexual predispositions, most congregations effectively excommunicate homosexuals. The point is simple: every time the Church chases away an homosexual, we sin.

In the face of our religious hypocracy and failure to keep the promises of infant baptism, Alexander and Preston calmly remind us, "We Were Baptized, Too." This thought-provoking argument demands to be read and discussed within the "straight" Church. Can we tell the truth about those who share our faith, but whose ways of loving are different from our own?

Even a casual student of American history can recite many of the salient points of the career of Abraham Lincoln as president. This book takes the reader far beneath the superficial surface information. While McClure was an eyewitness to many of the events described, he maintains an objective viewpoint. I enthusiastically recommend this book to any reader who desires a "fly on the wall' perspective of Lincolns presidency.

I have listened to Alexander Scourby read the bible more than once completely through. Mr. Scourby's voice is very impressive. He has spent a lot of time to get the best intonation and effect. It is very impressive. He made me pick up the bible to read it with him more than once just due to his vocal qualities. It is easy to listen to.