this book was pretty good. it covers a lot of ground, and many of the finest philosophers of the past couple hundred years give some decent arguments contra the existence of God.
but the price of the book may be a bit much. i say that because there has been such a great resurgence in theistic arguments within the philosophy of religion over the past few years; hence this book is almost outdated. but philosophers of religion, no matter how far they have brought the argument, always return to the classical arguments, and herein you will find those classics articulated with rational vigor. in sum, its a fine addition to the philosophy of religion library.

_Critiques of God_ is a hard-hitting, comprehensive anthology of essays by leading atheist philosophers. My only complaint is that Prometheus Books should have updated this book to reflect recent developments in the philosophy of religion since the book's original publication in 1976 (e.g., the kalam cosmological argument, the fine-tuning argument, the evidential argument from evil, etc.).

This was required reading in one of my sem classes. There was trepidation before beginning if I could find any logical loopholes in their reasoning against any belief in God.

To my surprise, I found many such loopholes. There cases are certainly intelligent and persuasive, but there are surely intelligent and persuasive responses and counterarguments to theirs. The faith doesn't have to roll over and play dead in the face of such critique.

Permit me to examine two of this collection: "God and Evil" by H.J. McCloskey and "Divine Omnipotence and Human Freedom" by Antony Flew.

Both use traditional arguments against God. Flew uses the classic Hibbert argument that either God can do away with evil or he will not; therefore, he cannot be all-powerful or all-good because evil continues; thus, God doesn't exist.

McCloskey claims there is a 'prima facie' case that evil and God are incompatible, and the theist solutions are unacceptable. However, he can be refuted at his very beginning point: i.e. that God and evil, if real, are incompatible. Historic Christianity and we Lutherans specifically, deny that God is the author of evil, from our Confessions: "The source and cause of evil is not God's foreknowledge (since God neither creates nor works evil, nor does he help it along and promote it, but rather the wicked and perverse will of the devil and of men." Secondly, McCloskey forces an "implied time limit" upon God, declaring that just because God hasn't destroyed evil "yet," He is incapable. This is an arrogant, self-assumption.

Flew falsely makes a huge mistake in assuming that all Christians follow Calvin's mistake of double predestination, which we Lutherans do not. He believes this to be a vital component of a freewill defense. For those who believe God predestines those who will be saved, but those who reject God's salvation damn themselves to separation from God. Likewise with McCloskey's presumptive error, Flew limits God's timetable to one of his own choosing.

Given eternity, how can ones living as we do in the 20th-21st centuries assume God "must" have to act before now? They also assume perfect worlds, which the Christian Bible refutes as not reality after the Fall into sin.

Both these arguments fail to deal with the Scriptural teaching of maintaining the tension between God's soverignty and man's personal responsibility with solving this antinomy.

God has overcome evil and sin on Good Friday, and will reveal this and eliminate evil once and for all on Judment Day.

Yes, Nostalgia about sums up the essential element of the Toby Peters
mystery series, and this entry continues the tradition. Author Kaminsky
is an authority on the golden age of Hollywood, and his Peters series
abounds with name-dropping references to every conceiveable
food, drink, movie, gossip, auto, appliance, etc. that can be mentioned
in a story. If you ever wondered what brands of chewing gum, soft drink, auto, etc. were used by people in the '40s, the author supplies
the brand name. And, interestingly, most found are those that no longer
exist, so some readers will find their memories touched by old associations long forgotten.
Detective Peters himself drives a Crosley automobile, long-disappeared,
and you will rarely see such a thing even at old-auto shows. They just
weren't saved and haven't been restored; they were too small and too
inexpensive. But small and economical, so they are another example
of a product ahead of its time.
But the nostalgia is a very nice backdrop to a pleasant set of mysteries,
and the reader gets a nice intro to the detective's mind-set when
introduced to his cat, which is named after Dashiell Hammett. When you
think of Hammett, you are on your way to a nice entertainment.
This time, Peters gets called by Cary Grant, and they set off on an adventure where they chase and neutralize some Nazi spys, but only
after Peters gets his usual quota of blows to the head and punches to
the body, as well as a few forays into brambles and brush. All typical
for this detective, but we end up sympathizing with him and all his aches
and pains.
After all, Cary Grant trusts and likes him, so how can we do any less?
This story contains a trip down memory lane and a satisfactory mystery.
Recommended for all mystery lovers.

On New Year's Day 1944, Hollywood down-and-out private eye Toby Peters catches a case that again embroils him in a rough-and-tumble series of events alongside one of the silver screen's greatest stars. Cary Grant, already a legend in the making with some of his best work still before him, hires Peters to deliver a package to a clandestine meeting for him. The package contains, Grant says, five thousand dollars in cash. The movie star won't tell Peters what's in the package that he's supposed to pick up. Later, at the meeting, Peters is bushwhacked. When he regains consciousness, the money is gone, the package is missing, and the man he was supposed to meet dies after leaving a cryptic whispered message behind. Stumbling through the park, Peters finds a police officer and reports the murder, only when they return to the tree where he left the corpse, the dead man is gone. Cary Grant keeps Peters on his payroll, and the Hollywood private eye decides to stay because things are not adding up anywhere. Peters has drawn the unwelcome attention of the Los Angeles Police Department, including his brother Phil, and two agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With his usual cadre of friends, including Gunther the small person, Jeremy the poet, and Shelly the dentist, Peters struggles to find the truth in the morass of half-truths and outright lies as the body count increases.

Stuart Kaminsky is an award-winning mystery novelist with four series currently underway. TO CATCH A SPY is the twenty-second novel in the long-running Toby Peters series set in 1940s Hollywood. The titles include A BULLET FOR A STAR (with Errol Flynn), NEVER CROSS A VAMPIRE (with Bela Lugosi), MURDER ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (with Judy Garland), HE DONE HER WRONG (with Mae West), THE DEVIL MET A LADY (with Bette Davis), and THE MAN WHO SHOT LEWIS VANCE (with John Wayne). Kaminsky's other series include Russian police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, Chicago police detective Abe Lieberman, and Florida process server Lewis Fonesca.

The Toby Peters novels are quick and simple, each a guilty pleasure to read. TO CATCH A SPY, as in all of the series novels, offers a noirish story with plenty of Hollywood background that knowledgeable film aficionados of the 1940s era will love. One of the best aspects of this series is the cast of support characters. Mrs. Plaut is represented in rare form and Cary Grant plays quite nicely off her. Sheldon Minick, the dentist, is apparently going through some changes that are hinted at even more by the foreshadowing of the next Toby Peters book at the end of this story. One of the more interesting characters in the book is George Hall (one of several Peters turns up during the course of the novel) a voice actor for radio. Kaminsky, a former film historian and college professor, is certainly knowledgeable about this period of time and the various forms entertainment took. Cary Grant comes across much as he does in his movies, but there isn't much added depth.

The ending seemed a little rushed, and the prologue that basically takes a scene out of the final few moments of the books seems too forced. The device got the reader's attention as to why Cary Grant and Toby Peters are running for their lives, but made the ending collapse rather suddenly. Still, the novel is well worth reading.

Stuart Kaminsky's Toby Peters novels are not Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels. They aren't intended to be. The Peters novels are meant to be evocative of the 1940s time period and of Hollywood. Fans of Donald Westlake, Raymond Chandler, and Max Allan Collins' Nate Heller novels will probably enjoy this series a lot, and mystery readers looking for something solid and dependable will want to pick this book up if they've never tried Toby Peters or Stuart Kaminsky.

For Stuart Kaminsky this is a very light, even frivolous mystery. Cary Grant's presence in a serious case seems to add froth. But it is immensely readable. Just try to put this spy tale down without finding out where the spies are, how Gunther's research is going, or if Mrs. Plaut will ever make sense! Even Jeremy's poetry becomes more beguiling.

Most of the time he's working out of Hollywood--and managing to stay very busy! This time, Toby Peters, ace private detective, has his hands full again. But it's a special "order"! General Douglas MacArthur (a real "American Caesar") contacts him for help. It seems that the general is contemplating running for political office once he's out of uniform. Alas, however, one of his assistants has run away with the campaign funds, but some critical (and very sensitive) papers, as well. Along the way, Peters is joined by Dashiell Hammett (until he gets kidnapped) and this period piece detective story is off and running. While it lacks the suspense and poignancy of Kaminsky's Inspector Rostnikov series, this is fun reading! No, it's not P.D. James, but a good mystery, nonetheless! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

Most of the time he's working out of Hollywood--and managing to stay very busy! This time, Toby Peters, ace private detective in Stuart M. Kaminsky's "Buried Caesars," has his hands full again. But it's a special "order"! General Douglas MacArthur (a real "American Caesar") contacts him for help. It seems that the general is contemplating running for political office once he's out of uniform. Alas, however, one of his assistants has run away with the campaign funds, but some critical (and very sensitive) papers, as well. Along the way, Peters is joined by Dashiell Hammett (until he gets kidnapped) and this period piece detective story is off and running. While it lacks the suspense and poignancy of Kaminsky's Inspector Rostnikov series, this is fun reading! No, it's not P.D. James, but a good mystery, nonetheless! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

"Color and Fire" is based on the collection of the exhibition at the Los Angeles in 2000. This book collected the wonderful picture of the unique clay objects that created after 1950. It introduces the development of the American ceramic from 1950 to 2000. Every one who involving in the ceramic should have the book on hand for reference. It is a good book for People who want to know the history of the modern American Ceramic.

Debate of the existance of God, the purpose of life, science, philosophy and mysticism are all covered in this testament to athiest ideals. Comparable to to book 'Critiques of God'. Very controversial, post modern ideas are presented without, in my opinion, proper investigation. However, you wouldn't read this book to enhance your thinking, or to find backup for the God/Science debate. More of a 'think about life' book.

A few years ago I wanted to start doing more in my bike riding than just going to & from work & the store so was pleasantly suprised to find this dandy little book on the shelf where I work.

This book covers over 30 routes in 6 counties, & has plenty of maps.

You want mountanous routes? you got it!

You want hilly, flat, or a combo? you got it!

There are city routes & country routes (with some of these now part of the suburbs themselves after all these years.

Each route has a regular map & a topographical map, & turn by turn directions as well.

A calorie counter for each ride, a listing of the distance each step of the way, & how long it takes to ride at various speeds is also included

The only flaws in the book are not its fault.

It is 8 years old, so comparing the routes to a current Thomas Brothers Map is a must just to be sure there are no changes to the routes & terrain that you need to be aware of.

All sorts of resource info, some of which may have outdated addresses & phone numbers, is also included in the front & back of the book.

All in all, well worth the price of admission.

Let's face it, Los Angeles gets more negative press than any other city in America. Much of this is because it's such an easy target-from police brutality, to earthquakes, to disgustingly ostentatious wealth, to smog, to gang violence, to sprawl, to racial tension, to the film industry-so much of how outsiders define LA is easy to use as fodder for contempt. And when you have a city that covers over 1,000 square miles and includes about 85 incorporated cities, one is left with a megalopolis that's hard to get one's mind around, much less defend.

That said, Boston-raised writer and translator Theroux does his best to find the good in LA. After ten years living in the Middle East, he moved to Long Beach in 1985 and set himself up as a translator. In twelve breezy chapters that mix the history of LA's different areas with his own excursions and recent history, Theroux makes the case for LA as a multicultural melting pot that remains as the overwhelming symbol for the American good life in the Third World.

It's far from a comprehensive history or in-depth analysis (Mike Davis' City of Quartz will serve one better), but it does do a nice job of taking the reader through some of the neighborhoods with the aim of trying to explain how they are different and why. There are no big lessons to be learned, but Theroux's crisp prose and storytelling are a treat, and his open-minded approach to the city make for a nice change.

Casting Peter Lorre as the cynical voice of Hollywood was a brilliant stroke in Epstein's part. Unfortunately, the execution fails, as his depiction of Lorre, and for that matter ALL THE CHARACTERS, leave much to be desired.
I agree with a few reviews already written about this book: Epstein tries WAY TO HARD to get his message across, and in the process falls flat. For me this book was heavy and dull, up until they get to the cult-like town of Pandaemonium, where it does pick up the pace and becomes quite the page turner. And I did feel much sympathy for poor Peter Lorre, when he turns from being a Japanesse sleuth to a Cassandra, preaching of destructions to come.
The POV switch was as much an annoyance as (I'm sorry to say this) the Epstein twins. And the "it smells like almonds" jokes were not funny to begin with. The fact that this joke pops up quite frequently throughout the whole book is enough to make you cringe.
One last rant: every single character in this book is selfish and despicable. I hated each and every one of them. Now there's nothing wrong with hating characters. The Maltese Falcon is a prime example of characters you LOVE to hate.
But no, these characters you just simply hate.
Epstein did good when he penned King of the Jews. What happened here is a mystery.

The idea of Peter Lorre as narrator of this book promises to be a funny one. But I think those of a certain age, who have the hysterical voice of Rocky Rococo indelibly ringing in our ears, will be disappointed. I was. The author doesn't really capture that Peter Lorre. His coyness about his drug abuse and sexual hi-jinks lacked an expected leering quality. His cringings were ordinary rather than epic. I won't say the portrayal is a failure as he has a certain presence. But for someone so colorful in our memory he is rather flat on the page. Most of the alleged humor in the book is similarly drab.

This is a pretty good book nonetheless. The events leading to those set in the dessert provide many a memorable occasion for compulsive reading. The intricate episode when, as he is being interrogated by Goebbels the imperious Von Beckmann, flashes back to his travels into the Jewish villages of Europe revealing his true origins to us, is masterfully done.

But the culmination of the book, the grim antics on location in Death Valley are outlandish and unbelievable. The cult atmosphere as described is jarringly anachronistic; more reminiscent of Charlie Manson than Hitler. Yet we are explicitly directed by the author to take these as analogous to the Nazi madness of the era.

I wrote this to try and understand what to make of this book. My expectations for it were disappointed at every turn. Yet it held my interest right up to the final chapters. But these desert episodes seem totally misguided; And worse, predictable. Yet I admired much of the writing. I guess those who read of my still unresolved dilemma regarding this book may take it as a warning.

A really human portrait of mixing the personal and the political in the name of artistic endeavors, I found this book to be a wonderful read about Hollywood in its heyday. In the same way the author was unafraid to take on the Holocaust and protray it in the language of human survival for King of the Jews, Epstein is also unafraid to be both funny and frightening in this novel.

Kaminsky's Toby Peters is a classic hard boiled detective and lives up to the title in this book. It has all the elements of a good L.A. noir story and is handled well. The extra(s) are the inclusion of many historically famous personalities (Raymond Chandler, Judy Garland, Louis B. Mayer, etc.)

That being said this book suffers from the same thing all books written about pre-war L.A. by people who weren't really there. The descriptions and directions tend to sound like someone reading off of a 1940's California map along with pictures from an old Life magazine.

Its fast-paced, short, and to the point. Its worth the time, however you won't remember much of it after you're done.

The dust jacket on the hardcover is apropos. It has a picture of a bleeding Munchkin with a dagger through his heart lying on the Yellow Brick Road.

It's November 1, 1940. The Wizard of OZ premiered last year. FDR is running for a 3rd term. Who is killing former Munchkins? Is Judy Garland in danger? Tobias Leo Pevsner, (a/k/a Toby Peters) P.I. is on the case for MGM. (MGM wants to control publicity spin and avoid official police "blue tape.)

The book, written by a Northwestern University film professor, is a take-off on the "hard-boiled" detective sagas of an earlier age. In a hilarious plot twist, Toby stumbles on some guy he's never heard of who claims to be a writer of detective stories. The guy's name? "Chandler, Raymond Chandler" who tells our hero he has written a couple of books: "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely" - neither of which our hero has ever heard of either. Nonetheless, Mr. Chandler becomes his sometime partner on the case. If you like things Oz, I recommend this book and also the movie "Under the Rainbow" - a spoof of the making of the Wizard of Oz, with Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher trying to manage the mischievous Munchkins.

This book is one of the first mystery novels that I've ever picked up, started, and felt compelled to keep reading until I finished it. Stuart Kaminsky blends the familiar elements of a murder mystery with a good dose of humor and eroticism (don't worry, it's not obscene). The whole book is tied together with the completely unpredictable, sick, yet hilarious conclusion. I'm not a person who reads a lot of mystery novels (or a lot of books in general), but Stuart Kaminsky is the most fun author I have ever read. Murder on the Yellow Brick Road was the first Kaminsky book I read, and it led me to buy 2 more of his books (Dancing in the Dark and The Devil Met a Lady), both of which are similarly fun but not quite as good from a mystery reader standpoint. If you're just looking for a good mystery novel that is also very fun, go ahead and pick up a copy of Murder on the Yellow Brick Road. Oh, and don't let your kids read it.

Those looking for a a followup to Blatty's The Exorcist (a truly great novel, and one of the rare bestsellers actually worthy of the acclaim it received) will be disappointed with this rather limp Hollywood satire. It's overwritten and the humor is strained. If you want humerous horror, try William Browning Spencer's Resume With Monsters.

Blatty pokes fun at Hollywood and the Exorcist hype in this well executed humorous novel. Those who only read The Exorcist may not know that Blatty started out as a humor writer, and this book shows he still has it. It may be out of print, but I recommend you do whatever you can to get ahold of this one.