"A Connecticut Yankee in Criminal Court", as probably everyone knows by now, is the sophomore effort by writer Peter Heck. It follows his earlier successful Mark Twain mystery "Death on the Mississippi". This book showed a lot of promise from page one, with the introduction of George Washington Cable as a featured character. Heck did not spend a lot of time explaining who Cable was, a decision which pleased me. I knew immediately that Heck had done some homework on New Orleans history and I sat back, eagerly anticipating an interesting and sly mystery full of bold, well-written characters and inside jokes on New Orleans historical figures. What I got was something less than that. The story, a vague and meandering tail involving the poisoning death of a prominent white Orleanian and the black cook falsely accused of his murder, was indeed an entertaining one, but offered nothing new to the now-bursting ranks of the New Orleans mystery subgenre. Writers plotting mysteries set in the Crescent City now offer us one of three choices; murder against a Mardi Gras backdrop, old family intrigue or corrupt politicians. Sometimes, if they are especially clever, they will mix and match these story elements, but for the most part, they are simply not that clever. For me, the mysteries that work best are the ones that use New Orleans as a setting, but accept the fact that Orleanians have to make groceries, pick up the laundry, clean out their rain gutters and fight traffic like the rest of us. Some writers present a New Orleans whose residents do nothing but fling beads from Mardi Gras floats, run for office and go to fais do dos with their old Cajun families who have so many secrets they are fairly flowing from the closets. But I digress. As a favor to Cable, crotchety old Sam Clemens and his secretary, Wentworth Cabot, fresh off a murder investigation on a Mississippi riverboat, decides to find evidence to free the black cook. Along the way he meets Buddy Bolden, considered the father of modern jazz (although no recordings of his work exist), Marcus Keyes, Tom Anderson and "the widow Paris", whom you will recognize if you know anything about New Orleans history. If not, I'll keep the secret. It obviously vexed author Heck to no end that voodooienne Marie Laveau the second died in 1887 and was not available historically for this 1890's romp through the old quarter, because he felt the need to recreate her in the guise of Eulalie Echo, whom the characters spend the rest of the book self-consciously calling "'Lalie". Get it? 'Lalie Echo = Marie Laveau. Jeez. The mystery seems to be going along nicely until... The mystery is solved Perry Mason-style, when 'Lalie Echo calls all of the principle characters together at a voodoo ceremony and tells them that Damballah, the snake-spirit, knows one of them is guilty and will haunt their dreams unless the guilty party confesses. Then the guilty party confesses. Sheesh. Overall this book was fun, but not very challenging. A good read for a rainy day or a long bus trip, but don't make a point of rushing out to get it. Patrick Burnett King of the Soapbox Derby

Mr. Heck has a very good grip on the world of Mark Twain and New Orleans in this book. His discriptions of the wonderful foods on this City made me hungry the entire book. Mr. Heck weaves a very good mystery. He also understands the culture of the time and explains it very well. The author captures Mark Twain's humor in his characters, many times I laughed out loud. Mr. Heck's books are worth the read.

Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) is a bizarre field where researchers purportedly communicate with nonhuman and human spirits using electronic devices, including telephones, tvs, computers, etc... Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The authors present their firsthand exposure to the evidence as well as evidence from other researchers; however, they apparently fail to realize that most readers are going to be scratching their heads incredulously as they turn each page. This is a major weakness of the book and makes it utterly unconvincing. The book would be infinitely better if the authors took the stance of an open, but critical investigative journalist or, at least, an academic where they try to address the justifiable skepticism of the reader. Instead, they give us an account of a strange field without a sensitivity to needs of the typical reader. I wasn't convinced by the book. The contents may very well be true, but the authors don't present their case well. This is too bad because the evidence is so fascinating.

This book is completely documented and able to convince you that there is such a place as a heaven, a beautiful existence after this life. I would recommend it to those who question their current life values here, whether they believe in a God or a higher self it does not matter. It is most revealing and very informative to your soul and is made for your mind to comprehend too. Highly recommend it as a prerequisite to this life journey here.

I would recmmend this book to anyone who lives in Iowa with an interest in wildlife. The book contains interesting facts about fauna in Iowa along with hunting humor of our early settlers.

I would recmmend this book to anyone who lives in Iowa with an interest in wildlife. The book contains interesting facts about fauna in Iowa along with hunting humor of our early settlers.

This first book of Mark Barger Elliott grabbed my full attention when I saw his variety of unique resources for creating sermons.

As an experienced Pastoral Care Chaplain, preaching does not lie within my primary responsibilities. Yet I am always on the look-out to discover new approaches and resources for writing sermons and illustrations on the Web-site of a Journal of Homiletics.

When I first opened my Christmas book from Westminster John Knox Press, my eyes fell upon the middle chapter. It is given the provocative title of "The Four Pages of the Sermon." Only quite recently have we arrived at that simple but profound idea!

There I first saw the names of famous, great, well-anchored teachers of Preachers: men such as, John Broadus, Fred Craddock, Halford Luccock, Thomas Long, David Buttrick and "more recently Paul Scott Wilson. Being unfamiliar with the last name, I began reading the middle chapter under his theme of homiletic process which connects the length of sermon with four days for writing.

The first day's writing for Monday peaked my interest. Wilson and Elliott promoted the checklist of five themes for writing which related to my own underlying motives to create sermons. After reading the two sample sermons by the author, "When God Is Absent" and Wilson's "Calling Off Christmas," they whetted my appetite for starting at the first chapter.

When I entered the first chapter on Narrative Preaching, I was already deeply immersed in the sermons of Fred Craddock. Then I had the opportunity to read another of his fascinating examples of story-telling, "When The Roll Is Called Down Here!"

When I saw Dr. Craddock quoted as saying... "Everyone lives inductively..." I was transported back to his numberless preaching conferences. Then Mark Elliott follows Craddock with his successor at EMORY UNIVERSITY, Thomas Long. He quickly appeals to one of his mentors, Edmund Steimle, who "was in the middle of, and to some degree the cause of, a major shift in American preaching." He proceeds to give us the five steps for any preacher to weave his Narrative sermons. The author notes - "Steimle and Craddock agreed that a sermon should be Low-keyed."

From my lengthy listening, reading and writing of sermons, I was impressed by the scholarly listing of Elliott's resources. He reached back to my early days of introduction to John Broadus' 1944 textbook, "On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons." From there he ventured into the influence of Henry Sloan Coffin, Richard Niebuhr, Harry Emmerson Fosdick and landed with Tony Campolo, Samuel Proctor and William Willimon.

The examples of Campolo's evangelistic sermon and Proctor's Afro-American sermon became highlights due to my lacking knowledge of their heritage.

I found it terribly interesting to peruse the six sermons of out-standing women preachers. From the first Afro-American sermon of Valerie Brown-Troutt, to Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, to Barbara Brown Taylor's final sermon, I was deeply moved! Dr. Brown's shortest sermon, "God's Daring Plan," and Dr. Tisdale's lengthy "The Gospel We Don't Want To Hear OR To Preach" were imaginative and greatly inspired. The reason for such emphasis on Old Teastament texts must be due to the influence of Walter Brueggemann. Those two sermons came across as profoundly thought-provoking. They were all quite consuming to this crusty old connoisseur of great preaching.

I whole-heartedly recommend this little jewel of a handbook on Creative Styles of Preaching. You may be surprised!

In his first book on Creative Styles of Preaching, Mark Barger Elliott grabs my attention with his varied, unique resources for inspired preaching.

As an experienced Pastoral Care Chaplain my main responsibility does not lie in the area of preaching. I am always on the look-out for new approaches and resources for writing new sermons on the Lectionary Texts.

When I opened this book my eyes fell on his middle chapter, it is entitled The Four Pages of the Sermon. There I saw the names of pivotally well-anchored men as, John Broadus, Fred Craddock, Halford Luccock, Thomas Long, David Buttrick, and "more recently Paul Scott Wilson." Not knowing the name of Wilson, I read this chapter first of all... The homiletic process touches on the length of sermon connected with the days of writing.

The writing for getting started on Monday peaked my interest! His checklist did catch-hold of my own underlying motives for writing sermons. I liked Thursday's tough themes where we tend to misplace the good news of God's action in the biblical text. The two model sermons of "When God Is Absent" - the only one written by Pastor Elliot and "Calling Off Christmas" by Paul Scott Wilson are both personal, interesting and well-written.

After being introduced into the heart of Mark Elliott's text, I began reading in-earnest to see how many of his resources I had already read and how they were related to his themes of Creative Styles of Preaching. The first chapter on Narrative Peaching, I was already deeply exposed to Fred Craddock and greatly love his fascinating example of "When the Roll is Called Down Here." I have long admired his creative sermons and his inspired teaching.

When I saw Dr. Craddock quoted as "Everyone lives inductively... I was transported back to his numberless conferences on Styles of Preaching. Then Mark Elliott follows Fred Craddock with his successor at EMORY UNIVERSITY, Thomas Long. He appeals to those stories of Edmund Steimle, who "was in the middle of, and to some degree was the cause of, a major shift in American preaching." Then he proceeds to give us the five steps for any preacher to weave his narrative sermons. He notes that Steimle and Craddock agreeed that a sermon should be "low keyed..."

For my lengthy interest of listening, reading and presently the writing of sermons, I was most impressed by the scholarly list of Elliott's resources. He reached back into my early days of being introduced to John Broadus' 1944 Textbook, "On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons." From there he ventures into the great influence of Henry Sloan Coffin, Richard Niebuhr, Harry Emerson Fosdick, right up to Tony Campolo and William Willimon.

Two samples of Tony Campolo's Evangelistic preaching and Samuel Proctor's Afro-American became highlights for my lack of knowing their inspired styles of delivery.

I found it terribly interesting to peruse the six sermons of these outstanding women preachers. From the first African American sermon of Valerie Brown-Trout, to Leonora Tubbs Tisdale - to Barbara Brown Taylor's final sermon - they were imaginative and inspired greatly from Old Testament texts. That possibly stems from the great influence of Walter Brueggemann's teaching and emphasis of the older inspired texts. Barbara Brown Taylor is my favorite with her compelling, dramatic, shortest example! But the longest sermon by Dr. Tisdale comes-across as profoundly thought provoking! They were all quite consuming for this crusty old connoisseur of great preaching.

I recommend this little handbook of Creative Styles of Preaching wholeheartedly and with promises for some surprises to the other lovers of good preaching.

This book provides a theologian with a nice summary and dialogue of 22 concepts related to religious inquiry. The various authors draw on Tillich, Hegel, Heidegger, Kant any many other scholars to provide a format or review of the term being discussed. This is not a book meant for a lay person or beginning college student. A graduate theological student may find it appealing as an aid for her/his own research. As a college religion instructor, I had hoped this book would be a helpful tool for my students. It is too advanced.

Critical Terms for Religious Studies is a wonderful introduction to religious studies. It uses interesting examples drawn from a wide range of religions to make its points clear. Topics are drawn from both obviously religious terminology, such as belief and God, to seemingly non-religious terms, such as culture and experience. The result is a deeply insightful book that gives the beginning student a lay of the religious studies landscape.

This is a good basic pathology book with good black and white photos. The strength of this book is that all of the features are illustrated with pointers to the significant feature. The drawbacks are that the photomicrographs are not in color and the text is not all encompassing. Some of the newer immunohistochemical staining techniques are not fully explained.

This book fills a special niche in the field of dermatopathology texts. Many excellent texts are available unfortunately the average student or resident cannot afford to buy color illustrated large volume texts. This selection is affordable and well designed to teach dermatopathology to the pathology resident, dermatology resident or interested student. The illustrations are clear and easy to follow with the accompanying arrows. While the range of entities discussed is not encyclopedic the full range of expected entities are present. Overall a good value and useful book for someone just introduced to the field.

It's really difficult to describe Daniel Libeskind's works when he doesn't profess himself to be an architect & yet, claiming that he's not a non-architect either. So, what is he? Anyway, his work is very abstract & cerebral. Daniel is a very eclectic & talented individual, with degrees in music, mathematics, architecture & upon submitting his pieces for competitions, he actually used music sheet! Then, he questioned if the outcome of the competitions was decided by a panel of jury, & was that the rite thing to do. In many instances, readers might feel that we're getting somewhere in understanding his works & subsequently, a curveball would be thrown & we would end up just as confused as when we first started. Suffice to say that he's an urban planner, looking at the overall picture, believes in evolution of designs which would benefit future generations. He argued that his high profile work for the connection between the Berlin Museum & the Jewish Museum might be nicknamed "zigzag" but in actuality, in real life, its presence conveys something otherwise. If readers could look beyond his supposedly desconstructive work, he's in fact a traditionalist & a realist. Daniel is forever arguing with himself & there's nothing more enjoyable to him than engaging in discussions. I wish that there were more pictures of his works but most of them were taken in a hurry, or that they were pictures of models. There were also descriptions of some kinds of his modern art works & sculptures (or machines)? The writings at the end of the book is intensive reading, but there's undeniable of Daniel's depth & it's about time someone of his calibre racks up the architecture world with his avant-garde thinking. Other projects worth reading here are Alexanderplatz, Berlin; The Spiral: Extension to the Victoria & Albert Museum; Jewish Community Centre & Synagogue, Duisburg; & so forth. Not for the faint-hearted but highly recommended.

Fans, just for fans,ONLY for those who had a previous approach to libeskind's work. (results as to much for first-timers) advanced desconstruction followers will feel satisfied of owning this piece. The "plus" comes in the writings, the way they are writen is pure and simple "congruence" something worth to be digested.

Ridley selected some of Darwin's most important passages from his various works- from "Voyage of the Beagle" to his well-known "Origin of Species". Although some of Darwin's original passages are a bit hard to read, Ridley does a great job in summarizing beforehand the aspects of each selection in the introductions to the passages. Ridley also points out some of the truths and misinterpretations made by Darwin without bias.

If you want a compilation of Darwin's important passages in one book, or just a solid introduction to Darwin, his theories and works, this book will be sufficient for everyone.

The Darwin Reader, Second Edition, is well worth the read. I have yet to find a more helpful and interesting compilation of Darwin's works. With the second edition, Ridley expands the book with more information about Darwin's life and gives helpful hints on where to continue research in this field. In my opinion, this book is targeted for the college student with the new preface. A top ten in my library!

I first checked this book out of my school library when I was in kindergarten. My older brother and I checked out at least 6 times in two years, we loved the book that much. I moved away a few laters and have not found the book since 1987. I ahve looked since then and for about 6 years I have been constanlty looking for it and when I finally found it I was so happy. I love it. I have made a few of the things, the hawkman egg breakfast thingy and the salad. I love to cook and I love superheros so I thought this was a great book. TO bad it took me so long to find it, but it was worth the wait.

This DC Superheroes Superhealthy Cookbook is awesome! It is a cookbook which features the DC comic/Justice League of America/Superfriends superheroes which also had their animation series created by Hanna-Barbara with easy to perpare food ideas with there names, such as Supergirl's Heat Vision Chicken, etc. Too bad it's not in print, it was one of the best books ever!

This autobiographical account of the author's life focuses on gender identity issues which appear to have governed most of his life. Anatomically a female, though somewhat androgynous in appearance, the author, named Brenda at birth, always felt as if he were a male trapped in a woman's body. This created many difficult life situations for him as he was growing up. The difficulties compounded themselves when "Brenda" reached puberty, as one may well imagine.

Never feeling that he belonged, yet wanting to be like other people, he struggled alone with these gender identity issues for many years. At one point in his young adult life, he was so depressed over his situation that he voluntarily entered a psychiatric hospital. His autobiographical account is a bird's eye view of the suffering that society can inflict on a human being who means no harm to anyone, and who is only trying to find a way to fit in with that society.

It was not until he realized that he was not alone, that there were others like him, that he began to realize that he could be helped. It was as a mature adult that he made the transition from female to male and became "Mark". Only then did he start feeling a little more comfortable in his own skin. Yet, despite dressing as a male, hormone therapy, and surgical modification, he still had issues, as society would only legally recognize the gender assignement made at birth. This would forever consign him legally to being a female, placing him in a sort of legal limbo.

The book is often poignant in that the author's desire for having a normal life is palpable. He really just wants to be like everyone else and do the things that everyone else does, such as, get a job commensurate with one's education and abilities, fall in love, get married, and have a family. Yet, all this seems to have eluded him, because of the gender identity issues which made it so difficult to attain his desired goals. Even after having become an elected official in the town where he grew up, the taunts of local children still plague him. Society may have come a long way in its understanding of these issues, but it, undoubtedly, has a long way to go.

This book addresses issues that are in the social forefront today, but the author, though clearly intelligent, has a prosaic style of writing that does not fully engage the reader. His is a voice with which to be reckoned, however, due to the dearth of literature on transexualism and its attendant, ancillary social issues.

I found Dear Sir or Madam while looking for appropraite reading for my mother that was both heartfelt and honest, but not grim or especially detailed regarding surgery, etc. This autobiography paints a very accurate portrayal of growing up male, though confined to a female body. This is good reading material for people just beginning their transition, their friends and family, and supporters. In the wake of many other books that leave us feeling pitied, you will be nothing shy of uplifted and celebratory of Mark Rees' journey and conquest.