This book really spoke to issues concerning family relationships. It gave me insight on how to fulfill my passion in life. My husband and I read it and are planning to use it for our family bible study. It is a must read.

After reading Passion for your Purpose, I began to hear God speak clearly to my heart. One of the first questions I began to ask myself is "What do I want to be when I grow up". The book ignited a fire under my feet. After going back and reminising on the thing(s) that excite me and bring true enjoyment to my life, without a shadow of a doubt, I was able to figure out before finishing the book what my God given purpose is. I made a committment that day that I would not leave this earth without having fulfilled God's will for my life. God created me uniquely to fulfill a purpose that would not only benefit me but it would also benefit others!!!!!

This book really inspired me to find out what my purpose is in my life. It helped remind me that God knows what it is and to seek him FIRST. Thank you writing this wonderful book.

Guerrilla warfare is seldom spoken in Civil War circles or written about. Probably one of the more popular characters in this topic from that period is Bill Anderson. Authors Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich have assembled quite a bit of useful information in regards to Anderson's ambitions, motivations, movements and operations throughout Kansas and Missouri. This dangerous, callous and revengeful individual is brought forth to show how rough and chaotic war can be, especially for a divided state such as Missouri. Anderson leads his small band of raiders throughout these states living like desperate pirates to plunder towns and more importantly hunt down enemies to the extreme.

Anderson's life is never short of violence as he is the ultimate and sadistic leader of a dangerous group of bandits that have borderline allegiances to the Confederate cause. Portraying to be Union Cavalry, Anderson and his band of murderers steal, burn, kill and ravage towns of Union sympathizers. Union Militia throughout the state of Missouri is quickly and badly organized to hunt down Anderson and his company that seems to constantly grow larger in membership. Anderson raids towns such as Fayette and Centralia leaving deadly results by killing many former Union soldiers, burning depots and various other buildings while looting stores. Anderson and his gang are always drinking and whiskey seems to elevate their need for murder and money that never ends.
Is he ever stopped?

Like many, I couldn't resist this book and wished for more though there is quite a bit of useful information for a short book of roughly 144 pages. It was descriptively well-written, concise, maps and pictures were included which gave the book a great rhythmic flow as far as content. 5 STARS!!

This is a very interesting and well written book about the atrocities that Bill Anderson and his bushwhackers committed, within the background of the Civil War. The authors have done a tremendous amount of research and it pays off.

The only problem I has with it is that at 150 pages, it was a bit too short. Then again, the subtitle does say Short and Savage life.

Well recommended for Civil War or military history buffs.

I found this book to be an easy to read history of not only Anderson but the circumstances that helped create him. The authors have done an excellent job turning up new information and sifting old information to write a helpful new view of Anderson. The book is well footnoted and contains several never before printed photos including a photo of Anderson's wife, Bush Smith and one of the cord he used to keep track of his kills. This book is a must for anyone interested in the Civil War on the Kansas-Missouri border.

Essence and existence. Aquinas develops Aristotelian metaphysics, the "transcendental" science of being (note that the term 'transcendental' as used by Thomas is quite different than the same term as used by Kant). Thomas' thought is among the densest of all philosophers', and is, for the modern student, perhaps more difficult to grasp than is the work of Kant. A reader unfamiliar with philosophy should not initiate his study with Thomas. For the student [at least] somewhat grounded in existentialist reasoning, this compilation serves as a concise introduction to Thomist metaphysics/ natural theology/ first philosophy. Translated and compiled by professor of philosophy, James F. Anderson, this volume is especially valuable in that Thomas Aquinas' work is so capacious and intimidating that one doesn't otherwise know how to approach it.
Thomas [and Averroes] reintroduced Aristotle to Western thought and Thomist scholasticism has illuminated the path from the 13th century to the 20th, he was perhaps the greatest intellect of the Middle Ages. Anderson's edition may be the best means of introducing oneself to St. Thomas Aquinas.

This book harvests Aquinas's finest, clearest and most relevant metaphysical texts--particularly those that better elucidate his original philosophical synthesis--with a focus on three problems: the subject of metaphysics, the analogicity of being, and the most universal determinations of this notion: the "transcendentals."

Do not expect a comprehensive exposition of Aquinas's metaphysical thought, for this was clearly not the intent of the late James F. Anderson. In fact, the book does not introduce us to certain basic metaphysical notions such as substance, accident, prime matter and substantial form. For this reason, some knowledge of classical metaphysics is highly desirable, while not absolutely necessary, to benefit more fully from this outstanding compilation.

The selection is of tremendous educational value, especially if we consider that some of the incorporated texts are difficult to find in translation. Excellent for teachers and students alike.

In brief (in just 116 pages), this book reveals some of Aquinas's greatest contributions to classical, perennial "first philosophy." The result is a well-organized, fluent introduction to Aquinas's own thoughts in Aquinas's own words.

First, I will simply reiterate what the previous reviewer stated: "The author introduces the reader to the metaphysics of St. Thomas by compiling sources from disparate primary texts." Apparently, no single primary source for Thomas' metaphysics exists. The author has done us a tremendous service in bringing Aquinas' metaphysical teachings together in one volume.

This book also represents a great introduction to metaphysics in general, at least for a person who is trying to teach himself philosophy, such as myself.

I have found other compilations of Thomas' writings to be difficult to understand because they assume an understanding of the transcendentals: being, one, true, good and beautiful and their relationships to each other; and other philosophical terms such as act, potency, form and matter, substance and essence, etc.

In around 100 pages the author is able to convey the central concepts of Thomas' metaphysics very clearly, thus opening the way for further study in Thomas' writings.

I am very grateful to have discovered this book. I am sure you will be too.

Thomas Aquinas was an extraordinarily systematic thinker and writer. Because of this, one of the best ways to comprehend "Summa Contra Gentiles" is through consideration of its structure. At the highest level, it consists of 4 books, with the third book in two parts, on account of its length.

The titles of the five volumes are as follows:

Summa Contra Gentiles: God

Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation

Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence, Part I

Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence, Part II*

Summa Contra Gentiles: Salvation

Each volume is formally divided into about 100 short chapters. A typical chapter gets its title from some proposition that is to be affirmed, or in some cases refuted. Each paragraph is an argument in support (or denial) of that proposition. The chapters are themselves ordered so that the later chapters build on what the arguments in the earlier chapters have established, and it is this arrangement of chapters that constitutes the real structure of "Summa Contra Gentiles".

Although in his later "Summa Theologica", Thomas formalized the higher-level structure of his writing, he did not do so here, which somewhat complicates any presentation of this structure - the book titles are so high level that they give little feel of the work, and the chapter titles so numerous that the reader is easily overwhelmed by a list of them.

In order to give the reader some sense of the overall work, I've prepared an outline of the work that (hopefully) is short enough to be readily comprehensible and long enough to give the reader an understanding of what topics are covered and in what order. This outline is presented below:

1.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: God

1.1 Intention of the Work (1 - 2)

1.2 Truths of Reason and Revelation (3 - 9)

1.3 That God Exists (10 - 13)

1.4 That God is Eternal (14 - 20)

1.5 God's Essence (21 - 28)

1.6 That God is Known (29 - 36)

1.7 That God is Good, One and Infinite (37 - 44)

1.8 God's Intellect and Knowledge (44 - 71)

1.9 God's Will (72 - 96)

1.10 God's Life and Beatitude (97 - 102)

2.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation

2.1 Purpose of the Work (1 - 5)

2.2 That God is the Creator of All Things (6)

2.3 God's Power Over His Creation (7 - 29)

2.4 For and Against the Eternity of the World (30 - 38)

2.5 The Distinction of Things (39 - 45)

2.6 Intellectual Substances (46 - 55)

2.7 The Intellect, the Soul and the Body (57 - 78)

2.8 Immortality of Man's Soul (79 - 82)

2.9 Origin of Man's Soul (83 - 89)

2.10 On Non-human (Angelic) Intellects (90 - 101)

3.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence (Parts I and II)

3.1 Prologue (1)

3.2 Good, Evil, and God as the End of All Things (2 - 25)

3.3 Human Felicity (26 - 63)

3.4 How God's Providence Works (64 - 94)

3.5 Prayer and Miracles, Magic and Demons (95 - 110)

3.6 Rational Creatures and Divine Law (111 - 130)

3.7 Voluntary Poverty and Continence (131 - 138)

3.9 Rewards and Punishments (139 - 147)

3.10 Sin, Grace, and Predestination (148 - 163)

4.0 Salvation

4.1 Forward (1)

4.2 The Trinity (2 - 16)

4.3 The Incarnation (27 - 55)

4.4 The Sacraments (56 - 78)

4.5 The Resurrection (79 - 97)

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* in searching for Part II of "Providence" in Amazon's book catalog, be sure to search by the full title, or the search results may just return part I.

The first volume of "Summa Contra Gentiles", "God", concerns the existence and nature of God. Although that volume requires the reader to know a certain number of technical philosophical terms, it does not otherwise require of him a great deal of contextual knowledge to appreciate.

This volume, the second volume in the work, "Creation", is more demanding. When the reader reaches the chapters concerning the intellect, the reader may well feel in reading it that he has come in on the middle of a long and complex argument. The reason that he may feel this way is because that is what he has done.

The center of the controversy is Aristotle's analysis of the intellect. His exposition on that point was not successful if we measure success by the ability of intelligent careful readers to come to a shared understanding of what he thought. Thomas's part in these controversies are the heart of this, the second volume of "Summa Contra Gentiles".

While the best thing that the reader could do to prepare himself to read this book would be to be well-read in Aristotle in general (and his "De Anima" in particular), that may not be possible for all readers. Therefore, as an aid to readers, this review will present the key terms in the controversy and what they meant (at least what they meant to Thomas)*:

Sensible - objects of sense - things that can be seen, heard, felt, tasted or smelled. Individual houses would be sensible. Contrast with "intelligible".

Intelligible - objects of reason - things that can be understood, but not sensed. The concept of "house" would be intelligible. Contrast with "sensible".

Phantasm - a sensation, whether the immediate result of the sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste of a sensible object, or a recollection of one of those sensations, or an imagined sensation. Contrast with "knowledge".

Knowledge - a correctly understood intelligible object; remembered sensations are not themselves knowledge. Contrast with "phantasm".

Memory - the repository where phantasms can be kept for later recall. Images of houses could be kept here so as to enable later recognition of them. Contrast with "possible intellect".

Possible intellect - the repository where knowledge is kept. Knowledge of what "house" means would be kept here. Contrast with "memory".

Cognitive power - sometimes used to refer to the intellect, sometimes more narrowly to the power that responds to phantasms - for example the ability to see a house, recall the image from memory, and recognize that house. Contrast with "agent intellect".

Agent intellect - the power that deals with knowledge - both in creating new knowledge from phantasms and from previously existing knowledge. Contrast with "cognitive power".

Soul - when classical philosophers debated what "the soul" was, what they were debating was what differentiated living things from non-living things. While Thomas followed Aristotle in the view that the soul was the form of the body (i.e. - what differentiated living things from non-living was not what they were made of, but how they were put together)

Nutritive soul - that most general power of the soul by which life is present in anything: its operations being reproduction and the use of nutriment. All living things have a nutritive soul.

Sensitive soul - that power of the soul through which a living thing is aware of its environment, as through touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight. The difference between animals and plants is that animals have a sensitive soul while plants do not.

Intellectual soul - that power of the soul that gives the ability to reason. According to Thomas, the intellectual soul differs from the nutritive and sensitive soul in that it is not just a form, but a substance as well, and so can exist without the body. Much of "Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation" is devoted to establishing this doctrine against competing doctrines of Plato, Alexander, Avicenna, and Averroes, among others.

Separate substances - intellectual beings without bodies, such as angels.

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* In my review of "Summa Contra Gentiles: God", I included definitions for more basic Aristotelian terms than these, such as form, matter, substance, etc. Readers unfamiliar with these more basic terms might want to read that review.

Bourke's translation of this key text of Aquinas is accurate and hightly readable. A valuable resource.

Do you love to teach but hate the grading process? That's where I was when I picked up this book. Very practically written, "Effective Grading" shows you how to choose the proper grading model for a class, how to motivate students through properly communicating your grading system, and how to structure your assignments to increase student learning. All this while drastically reducing the amount of time you need to spend on grading papers. Within a week of reading this book, I've made some drastic changes in my courses which will benefit both my students and myself.

I admit I was skeptical when I started this book--so many pedagogically oriented texts seem to sacrifice content and standards for "feel-good" solutions to education. However, I have found this book to offer excellent suggestions for every aspect of structuring classes to teach and evaluate what you most want your students to learn. In my college English classes, I've used variations of Primary Trait Analyses and Gateway Criteria and they have made a big difference in the levels of thinking and writing in my own students. Giving students specific guidelines allows them to focus on what's important about the assignment, set their priorities appropriately, and makes things much easier for me when the time comes for grading. I highly recommend this book.

This book has enlighted me to many phrases in the bible. I can find things much faster than just thumbing through. It is a great addition to my library.

Each Monday evening at Bible Study if we are not sure where to look when the Bible refers to diffferent books in the Bible this A to Z book has really helped out due to some confusing issues that are discussed in the Revelations Book. It would be a great gift and a great guide that each Bible Study should have at least one of. Thanks to a dear lady named Hannah who brought it! It has saved alot of time and you know an hour of Bible worship goes quickly!

My wife and I were looking for a Thomas Moran book with LOTS of reproductions of his pictures. This book appeared to be what we were looking for. I had Amazon find a copy for me and I gave it to my wife as a birthday present. It was perfect. Lots of reproductions. Lots of good information. Well-organized.

This book is the next best thing to seeing a Moran in a Museum. I'm a landscape artist and love his work. The book took me out West where Moran painted and made me feel the experience. A fantastic experience!

This book had a tremendous impact on my personal and political ideology. It had so much impact that I named my first child Sankara! "Thomas Sankara Speaks" is a must read for all aspiring revolutionaries. Brother Sankara, exemplifies the importance of Pan-Africanism as a solution for all people of African descent. He also emphasizes the importance of international solidarity of all oppressed people. "He who loves his own people also loves other people." Thomas Sankara is one of many heroes that suffered from imperialism's bullets. Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. Patrice Lumumba, Augusto Sandino, Amilcar Cabral, Maurice Bishop and now Thomas Sankara speak from the grave, "Don't Shoot...You Can Not Kill Ideas!"

Study, Understand, Expose The Enemy!
Adeymi Joashan

Thomas Sankara was a giant among men, One only needs to read this book to see where Burkina Faso (indeed Africa) could have been today, if only he had been allowed to live. We learn about the man's vision for all aspects of life; children, women, economy, governance and the like. A must read for all Africans and friends of Africa. Mukhtar Dan'Iyan

Paul Thomas Anderson shows us, yet again, how he can bring together many different characters, involved us in their different circling stories, and not let us lose touch with any one of them.

The shooting script is brilliantly written -- Anderson has developed a wonderful way of describing things and writing dialogue, which can, at times, sound shockingly realistic.

It's a delight for fans of the film, like myself, to read scenes that were deleted from the film, most notably, Stanley Spector meeting the mysterious character "Worm". After reading this part, you understand how it fits into this film.

This is a really well-crafted work of a story, which complements Paul Thomas Anderson's creative talent, and showcases everyday problems like regret, love, fear, and loneliness and shows how touching they can really be.

The pictures at the end of the book are very colorful and gorgeous to look at it, because the capture the feeling of the movie so well.

But, I'm a little dissappointed with the interview with Anderson, which comes after the screenplay. It's interesting to hear him talk about the inspiration for the story and characters. But, it doesn't feel very satisfying, because it feels severely edited, leaving you wanting to know more.

But, that's okay. The screenplay explains it all, giving you a wonderful, heartfelt story about real people struggling with the problems and unusual circumstances in their lives.

If you enjoyed the movie, this book will only make you love it more.

"Magnolia" is a film that should go down in history. And for the mere reason of Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson's brilliant screenwriting is seen the best through his characters. By this talent the piece truly is an ensemble film, for no character outshines the next. Linda Partridge and Claudia Gator, my personal favorite characters, go through the gamut of emotions throughout the script, while likewise staying true to their original motives and feelings.

Basically, the thing that makes Anderson's characters real is that they ARE real. They are normal people whose lives have, along the lines, come apart at every possible seam. No people live absolutely perfect, happy lives, and this is what Anderson gets across. Many of the characters in the script on first look seem invincible, strong, glorified, and beautiful. It does not take long for the reader to see, though, that the most perfect people have the weakest constitutions and strength.

The film is superb. The actors and actresses Anderson used were the ones that could get the job done, not just the big names (okay, despite Tom Cruise and maybe Julianne Moore) that would pull in the crowds. Anderson's direction is also brilliant, for you see that he and his script pulled every ounce of his characters out of his cast.

Anderson is somewhat like the Mel Brooks of the modern, dramatic realm of film. He writes his scripts, does the directing, and he uses the actors and actresses that he knows will deliver. Many of the castmates in Magnolia also appeared in Boogie Nights, and some even in the earlier Anderson film, Hard Eight. He...in truth...is brilliant, and this script is his best one yet I think. My fingers are crossed for him at the Academy Awards this March for his Screenplay nomination, but I'm only upset that no more than three people (Anderson, Aimee Mann, & Cruise) were recognized by the Academy for their amazing performances in the film (especially Melora Walters).

And the bottom line...Anderson is pure brilliance and is one of the next great film makers of our time, and I cannot wait to continue following his career.

Admitted, I've not seen the movie. I loved Boogie Nights, which I thought was worlds beyond just "a flick about porno". It was deep, and intriguing, and dark. And this book is no different. These characters are not perfect, nor do they pretend to be. They are real, their emotions are real, and its so unabashadly beautiful how they can do what they feel when they feel it. Some of the writing (especially Frank TJ Mackey's monologues) are downright hilarious.

At first I thought that so many characters would make the story incoherant, harder to conceptualize exactly what was going on. The beauty of scripts, in my opinion, is the fact that you can visualize the film in your head, see the characters doing these things, ESPECIALLY if you haven't seen the movie, which I'm dying to do. Paul Thomas Anderson can't make a bad movie, or a bad script. The three stories intertwine and revolve around one long day in the San Fernando Valley; from the old, disheartened Quiz Kid, the young and new Quiz Kid, from the dying man and his frazzled bride, to the lonely cop with low ambitions. They all circle around one another beautifully, from scene to scene telling you the ultimate story about love, life, and what it means to actually BE there for someone. It doesn't have to be perfect, or beautiful, or meaningful, you can only do the best you can. At moments the script even pokes fun at itself, saying in one situation "this is the part in the movie where you help me out" which I thought was cool and funny and cute at the same time (and the FROGS! The FROGS!...) Don't doubt PT Anderson, his next will probably blow this one away.

But he'll have a hell of a time trying.