This series is the classic affordable version of the works of the early Christian writers from the first four centuries; hence the name "Ante" (meaning pre-) Nicene. While the English is starting to show its age and represents in many places a rather literal translation of the Greek and Latin, there is still much valuable commentary and many footnotes in this series. Volume I contains the epistle of Clement, the Letter to Diognetus, the works of Justin Martyr, the writings of Ignatius, and the writings of Irenaeus.

While the works in this volume are now available on the Web, I have found it useful to have the volume in my hands for making notes. There is ample room in the margins for note-taking, and the typeface and printing quality is very readable. There is also a Scripture index and a rather exhaustive topic index at the back of this volume, which I have referred to frequently to read about how the early church fathers viewed various issues.

Overall, I would recommend this series, and this volume in particular, as a "bread-and-butter" staple for Christians and non-Christians alike who want a reasonably-priced collection of the the writings which have influenced Christians for centuries.

This book was the deciding factor in me passing the Arithmetic proficiency test. It's easy to use format and walkthroughs made it incredibly simple to use and to understand.

The complete revision of Chapter 5, Factoring Polynomials greatly enhances the students ability to understand factoring by grouping. It is a far easier process than the trial and error in previous editions. The graphics are also greatly improved, but the visibility of the check yourself exercises, found in the chapters, has been absurdly diminished! -1 star for that error in judgement!

Clowe, West and Kassow gather a collection of 22 essays that address from every conceivable angle the subject of Russian civil society, and civic identity-- aka "obshchestvo" and "obshchestvennost"-- all during the transitional period from imperial rule to the Russian Revolution. The volume looks through the lens of social history, work ethics, civic associations, professions, classes, and many more perspectives to create a definition of civil society (or "middle class" as Clowes, West and Kassow choose to identify it in the title.)

For those of us attempting to make sense of what is occuring in Russia today, it is critical to take a long hard look at its past. And, that is just to start the road to understanding. I recommend this book to the hard-core Russophile or anyone wanting to build a historical literature review of Russia.

An Action packed bond with all the classic parts and many more. A must have for any bond fan!

From the book jacket, "Inspired by _The Last of the Mohicans_ by James Fenimore Cooper," _Last of the Breed_ is part of the "Adventures of Wishbone" series. Wishbone, a perky Jack Russell Terrier, connects modern-day events with books he remembers "reading." In this particular adventure Mr. Leon King, a local real estate developer in Wishbone's home town of Oakdale, wants to build a Tastee Oasis fast-food outlet on the edge of the town park. He gets permission to do so, by nefarious means, from the Oakdale Town Council. The moral of the book, from which Wishbone draws parallels to Cooper's novel, is that the land is important and progress (in the form of fast food outlets) isn't measured by paving over every available inch of landscape. What is especially impressive about Steele's treatment of _Mohicans_ is that he is truthful to the original. He does not gloss over the violence (he includes a throat-slashing and the Massacre at Fort William Henry), nor does he try to change the ending of Cooper's novel. Wishbone even says, "I had forgotten how sad the ending of this story is. Let me just take a moment..." before moving back to the "triumph" over Mr. Leon King. _Last of the Breed_, while certainly not a substitute for Cooper's _Last of the Mohicans_, is certainly a good primer for reading Cooper's novel. Moreover, it treats readers, both children and adults, to a throughly enjoyable ecofriendly story. Well done, Wishbone!

It has been some time since I read this book, but I remember it well, simply because it kept me spellbound. The story is very good, the writing even better. Thom is a superb writer, nuanced and polished which makes reading this book a real pleasure.

Previous reviewers seem to think this book was either spectacular or terrible. It's neither. This is a decent book of edited letters. Let me explain its main strengths and weaknesses as I see them. Strengths: (1) Interesting story of brother vs. brother. You always hear of the Civil War as the brothers war--I know I've heard of several high-profile examples of relatives on opposite sides. But these letters acually illuminate an example among common soldiers. They (the Campbell brothers) were Scottish immigrants who settled in North and South. They actually fought against each other at Secesionville in South Carolina. I found their personal story both interesting and (at times) moving. (2) footnotes. There are many useful and insightful footnotes throughout the book. I suppose folks find these types of informative footnotes either helpful or distracting. I myself liked the fact that people, places and things mentioned in the letters were identified. Weaknesses: (1) Lack of battle content. Other than letters on First Manassas (which is good) and some on action in South Carolina, there is little written in detail about fighting. (2) Language of the letters. These brothers obviously weren't very educated. Their spelling is terrible and writing is choppy. The editor has left it as is. I can understand why--keeping alive the flavor of the letters--but it doesn't make them easier to read. I can see folks being put off by this. In sum, this is not a Civil War classic--not even close. But it certainly isn't the worst Civil War book out there, as another reviewer stated. I found it generally good. Again, I would liked to have seen more military content, and of course even more on the brother vs. brother theme, but overall I enjoyed it. Because of this, I rounded my 3 1/2 stars up to 4.

As the elected historian for the 79th New York National Regiment, I highly recommend this book. Real historical works are not embellished to please the common masses, like some folks obviously want. No one can read Dyer's Compendium and think it is an exciting book, and the Official Records are not for those who are just used to junk books and who are looking for a good "bed-time" story. Terry Johnston's book takes the letters of the two Campbell brothers regardless of their content, and he presents them as is. He gives us an insight to the everyday wants and the lives of the two men. The letter that James sends his brother Alexander through the lines after their regiments met at Secessionville, South Carolina, speaks volumes about how soldiers felt about duty in the Civil War. Mr. Johnston's footnotes are well-researched and highly informative. The layout flows and is well done, but what do you expect from a university press, which are notorious for their very high standards. The 79th New York has suffered a lot of insults with the recent printing of a very atrocious book, but Mr. Johnston's book honors the men of the 79th and he tells the truth about the soldiers using their own words. I did not find the book to be dull or boring, but to be interesting and full of insight. This book will last as a reference work long after the mass market books have faded into oblivion. If you are a real historian and know good books you'll like this work.

A well-edited collection of the letters of two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the Civil War and very nearly met in combat on one of the battlefields. This book has received much good press in the Civil War publishing community with good reason: concise, informative, and dramatic, it's everything you would want in a book of this nature.

Seeking to reprise his earlier success with The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper went on to write several other tales built around his heroic character Natty Bumppo (called "Hawkeye" in Mohicans and "Pathfinder" in the book of THAT name). In this one our hero is known as "Deerslayer" for his facility on the hunt and is shown as the younger incarnation of that paragon of frontier virtue we got to know in the earlier books. In this one, too, we see how he got his most famous appellation: "Hawkeye". But, this time out, our hero comes across as woefully tiresome (perhaps it's because we see too much of him in this book, where he's almost a side character in Mohicans). Yet some of Cooper's writing skills seem sharper here (he no longer avers that Natty is the taciturn type, for instance, while having the fellow forever running off at the mouth). But, while there are some good moments & excitement, this tale really doesn't go all that far...and its rife with cliches already overworked from the earlier books. The worst part is the verbose, simple-minded self-righteousness of our hero, himself, taken to the point of absolute unbelievability. He spurns the love of a beautiful young woman (though he obviously admires her) for the forester's life (as though he couldn't really have both), yet we're expected to believe he's a full-blooded young American male. And he's insufferably "moral", a veritable goody two-shoes of the woodlands. At the same time, the Indians huff & puff a lot on the shore of the lake where Deerslayer finds himself in this tale (in alliance with a settler, his two daughters, a boorish fellow woodsman, and Deerslayer's own erstwhile but loyal Indian companion Chingachgook -- "The Big Sarpent," as Natty translates his name). But the native Americans seem ultimately unable to overwhelm the less numerous settlers who have taken refuge from them in the middle of Lake Glimmerglass (inside a frontier house built of logs and set in the lake bed on stilts). There is much racing around the lake as Deerslayer and the others strive to keep the few canoes in the vicinity from falling into the hands of the tribe of marauding Hurons who have stopped in the nearby woods on their way back up to Canada (fleeing the American colonists and the British at the outbreak of English-French hostilities -- since these Hurons are allied with the French). And there are lots of dramatic encounters, with some deaths, but the Indians seem to take it all with relative equanimity, while trying to find a way to get at the whites who are precariously ensconced out on the lake. (It seems to take them the better part of two days, for instance, to figure out they can build rafts to make up for their lack of canoes -- and why couldn't they just build their own canoes, in any case -- and how is it they don't have any along with them since it's obvious they'll have to cross a number of waterways to successfully make it back to the homeland in Canada?) The settler and the boorish woodsman, for their part, do their stupid best to attack the Indians unnecessarily, getting captured then ransomed in the process, while Deerslayer and Chingachgook contrive to get the loyal Indian's betrothed free from the Hurons (it seems she has been kidnapped by them -- the reason Deerslayer and Chingachgook are in the vicinity in the first place). In the meantime the simple-minded younger daughter of the settler (Cooper seems to like this motif since he used a strong daughter and a simpler sister in Mohicans, as well) wanders in and out of the Indian's encampment without sustaining any hurt on the grounds that the noble red men recognize the "special" nature of this poor afflicted young woman (Cooper used this motif in Mohicans, too). In the end there's lots of sturm und drang but not much of a tale -- at least not one which rings true or touches the right chords for the modern reader. Cooper tried to give us more of Hawkeye in keeping with what he thought his readers wanted but, in this case, more is definately too much. --- Stuart W. Mirsk

Had "Deerslayer" been James Fenimore Cooper's first "Leatherstocking" tale -- who knows? Maybe it would have been his last! But his mythic hero, Nathaniel Bumppo (a.k.a. Natty, Deerslayer, The Long Carrabine, Hawkeye, et. al.)had such a mid-19th Century following that Cooper was practically guaranteed an eager, receptive audience for his tales.

I won't say straight out that "Deerslayer" is a terrible book. If nothing else, Donald Pease's introductory essay informs us of several plot complexities that are intertwined with Cooper's personal life, such as the re-invention of Natty Bumppo to buttress and justiry Cooper's real-life legal property claims. But, if "Deerslayer" is not a terrible book, it is for hundreds of pages something less than scintillating. Why? I think it comes down to this. Patient readers can endure quite a lot of moralizing, or wide swaths of verbosity. But put the two together and it's hard to endure.

The story takes place on Cooper's real-life ancestral home, Lake Otsego in mid-upstate New York (my friends tell me the pronunciation is "Otsaga" with a short "a") where we first encounter a youthful Natty Bumppo and his unlikely fellow traveler, Harry "Hurry" March, an indestructible, Paul Bunyonesque figure whose credo can be summarized as "might makes right." Natty (given the sobriquet, Deerslayer, by his adopted Delaware tribe) has arrived at the lake to join his companion, Chingachgook, (the "Serpant"), in his quest to liberate his future bride, Wah-ta-Wah, who was kidnapped by a band of Huron Indians. Harry March has come to the lake to capture the heart of Judith Hutter, who along with her father, Thomas, and simple-minded sister, Hetty, live on the lake, occupying either a floating ark or a fortress-like structure built upon the lake.

Eventually, the Hutters are surrounded by dozens of fierce Huron warriors, who are on the warpath during the opening days of the mid-18th Century French & Indian Wars. Seemingly, it was all there for Cooper to capitalize on: just a handful of isolated white settlers, whose only protection from scalp-seeking, torture-minded skulking Hurons is a crank sailing craft or a lake home on stilts. But Cooper rejects his own dramatic setting to stage a morality play, and a heavy-handed one at that.

A word about the Hutter sisters. Diametrically opposed siblings are at least as old as the Bible, and Cooper employed them in several novels, including "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Spy" (far superior works than "Deerslayer".) Hetty is Cooper's example of purity and innocence, but we can leave her to the Hurons, who display an admirable level of respect and reverence for the frail-minded girl. I suspect she would have fared much better in the hands of so-called savages than in the typical 18th Century colonial settlement. It is her vain, beautiful and high-tempered older sister, Judith, whose character is of more interest, and requires in my opinion a little rehabilitation.

It is never made explicit by Cooper (no doubt it would have scandalized his audience) but I think it's fair to say that Judith Hutter -- much to her regret later on -- granted her last favors to at least one colonial British officer (maybe several.) And, if this is a mis-reading of the text, she most certainly did "something" to set the colonial tongues a wagging. Whatever her "failings", they would not be recognized as such by modern day readers (perhaps her vanity and self-centeredness would go unnoticed as well.) There was, however, little tolerance for a Judith Hutter in the 18th Century, and Cooper would have never permitted Natty Bumppo -- young, virginal and selfless -- to fall in love with this high-spirited young woman. (Besides, it would not have chronologically tied in with his future exploits.)

But I'm not entirely convinced. Judith Hutter possesses several admirable traits, not the least of which is intelligence, bravery and a certain loving devotion to her frail sister. She also recognizes Natty Bumppo's virtues, as well as her own faults, and is more than willing to embrace the former and cast off the latter. Her love for Natty is obvious for hundreds of pages, but somehow he doesn't quite get it! In the end, the girl must swallow her pride and make explicit what even modern day women would find nearly unthinkable -- she makes an outright marriage proposal. Alas, Natty Bumppo is simply "too good" for her.

To use a modern day expression, Cooper is over the top with the virtuous Natty Bumppo. At some point, self-abnegation is just another form of narcissism -- only more complex than the garden variety of narcissism possessed by Judith Hutter (and other mere mortals.) In his introductory essay, Donald Pease points out that the rejection of Judith Hutter balances the brutal rejection Natty Bumppo receives at the hands of Mabel Dunham in an earlier Leatherstocking tale, "The Pathfinder". Maybe. But consider this. To honor his parole from the Hurons, Natty Bumppo chooses torture over Judith Hutter. And, ultimately, he chooses a famous rifle over her -- a gift she lovingly gives to him in recognition of how much he would appreciate such a weapon. It comes down to this: torture and guns over Judith Hutter! Hmmm.... I'll leave that one for modern day psychologists.

I've given "Deerslayer" three stars because Cooper is, after all, one of our nation's early literary masters, and "Deerslayer" is not without its moments. There's a wonderful give-and-take scene between Natty Bumppo and the Huron Chief, Rivenoak, as they negotiate the release of Thomas Hutter and Harry March. (My advice to modern day corporations: don't bother with negotiation consultants -- save your money and read Chapter 14.) And for those who still believe in the right of every American to bear arms, take it from the author who created our nation's first true literary sharpshooter. There's a haunting, prescient admonishment about leaving loaded guns lying about the house (pages 219-220.)

Cooper's final Leatherstocking Tale, The Deerslayer, depicts young Natty Bumppo on his first warpath with lifelong friend-to-be, Chingachgook. The story centers around a lake used as the chronologically subsequent setting for Cooper's first Leatherstocking Tale, The Pioneers. Tom Hutter lives on the lake with his daughters and it is here that Deerslayer (Bumppo) intends to meet Chingachgook to rescue Chingachgook's betrothed from a band of roving Iroquois. A desperate battle for control of the lake and it's immediate environs ensues and consumes the remainder of the story.

Throughout this ultimate Leatherstocking Tale, Cooper provides Natty much to postulate upon. Seemingly desiring a comprehensive finality to the philosophy of Bumppo, Cooper has Natty "speechify" in The Deerslayer more so than in any other book, though the character could hardly be considered laconic in any. Though the reason for this is obvious and expected (it is, after all, Cooper's last book of the series), it still detracts a tad from the pace of the story as Natty picks some highly inappropriate moments within the plot to elaborate his position. And, thus, somewhat incongruently, Cooper is forced to award accumulated wisdom to Bummpo at the beginning of his career rather than have him achieve it through chronological accrual.

All things considered, however, The Deerslayer is not remarkably less fun than any other Leatherstalking Tale and deserves a similar rating. Thus, I award The Deerslayer 4+ stars and the entire Leatherstocking Tales series, one of the better examples of historical fiction of the romantic style, the ultimate rating of 5. It was well worth my time.

First of all, let me say this: I'm a big James Dean fan, I love the guy. The bio had given a lot of info, especially about his childhood. However it may have gone too far with Jimmys sexuality. Some parts kind of lead me to believe that the auther himself was gay and made a statement with this biography. Although the biography had told a lot about Jimmy, there was also a lot more details that needed to be added. And with Deans relationship with Pier Angeli, I thought needed a lot more detail. Nevertheless though, the book is a supurb one.

Of course James Dean as subject matter is about as fascinating as icons get...but this can be done interestingly, or in a empty, methodic, matter-of-fact way. Fortunately Alexander chose to eloquently string together Jimmy's whole life in such poetic form. You can't help but watch-as if on the silver screen-a birth to death biography highlight reel, in your mind. Other reviews' complaints about the sexual prominence pervading the work seem to suggest the readers were uncomfortable with bi-or homo-sexuality to begin with; thus causing a jaded un-objective viewpoint. Yes, some of the sexual references are superfluous, but never pornographic as other reviewers imply. I have read 8 JamesDean bios and found this to be the easiest and most comfortable read of all. It reads like a novel, not a history book, which I for one like. If all you want are the core statistics of ultimate highs and lows in his life, you could find that through some basic database. This is still my favorite bio on Jimmy. And if you have the consciousness to digest sexual references with maturity(rather than with the disgust and fear of a hateful homophobic) none of the mentions of homosexuality should shock Any reader more than those of heterosexuality. The book IS about his Whole Life-Not just sex. Learn who Dean was, Love him for his ravenous exploration life, and his refusal to compromise himself for anyone. Enjoy!

Honestly, the book isn't as bad as the others have said about it. I'll admit at times the book was getting too graphic in some of the descriptions of Dean's sexual life, but I wouldn't consider Alexander's portrayal of Dean's enigmatic lifestyle as being tastelessly done. Since Dean's death and his past encounters with the various people mentioned in the book remain a mystery, you should judge for yourself whether or not the book is factual. Overall, it was a really fast read and I recommend this book if you want to read up more on the tragedy of James Dean.