All of the Ozstory books are great, but this one is the greatest of all, in my opinion. It has things by Shanover, Baum, Thompson, all the Oz greats. There are new stories and old ones. Comic book types and traditional story formats. This is truly a fun book that every Oz collector needs! I recommend it very enthusiastically!

This was a wonderful book. It has short stories, even cartoons, about Oz and its characters. All of these are written by famous Oz authors, such as Baum (of course), Denslow (who illustrated the original "Wizard of Oz"), Thompson, and many others. For anyone who loves Oz, or any other good read, this book is for you. P.S. I have to say, some of the stories in here seemed like they were written by Baum himself, though in fact, only 2 out of the 16 were actually written by him. If you decide to buy this book (which I recommend) read "THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ" by Walt Spouse. It's a funny comic strip about the book, The Emerald City of Oz.

Oz-story #6 is the annual anthology of stories, comics and verse generated by L. Frank Baum's legendary "Land of Oz" books. This wonderful, large format collection features contributions by L. Frank Baum, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Harlan Ellison, Philip Jose Farmer, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Glenn Ingersoll, Eric Shanower and others. Oz-story #6 is profusely and charmingly illustrated by the work of John R. Neil, Eric Shanower, Anna-Maria Cool, Marge, and others. There are comic panels by Walt Spouse, Steve Lieber, Tommy Kovac, Steven Weisman, W.W. Denslow and others. The center piece is perhaps L. Frank Baum's "Annabel", his least known children's novel which was originally published in 1906 and presents a rags-to-riches story of a young boy who finally wins the girl! With its flawless and pains-taking production values, Oz-story #6 is a "must" for all Oz enthusiasts of all ages.

This book has art and stories from some of my most favorte children's book creators--people like Madeleine L'Engle, Eric Carle, Paul Zelinsky, Chris Van Allsburg. All of them show how Oz entered their imagination and influenced them. You can really see how passionate about it they are--plus they donated their work (to support Reading Is Fundamental). It's a great gift for anyone who likes Oz.

PALI BUDDHISM: This work is co-edited by an American professor of philosophy and religion and by a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who received academic training in the history of religions in the United States. The three sections of the book are: PHILOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS, INSIDER'S UNDERSTANDINGS, and PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS. The focus in on early Indian Theravada Buddhism in the Pali tradition.

The FOREWORD is by Ninian Smart. The INTRODUCTION by Hoffman and Deegalle offers a historical overview of the significance of Pali Buddhist Studies and its historical background. It also provies a discussion of comparative philosophy as it relates to Pali Buddhism, and explains the rationale for this particular volume.

CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE: George D. Bond, Andrew Olendzki, Subramania Gopalan, Christopher Key Chapple, Deegalle Mahinda, Padmasiri DeSilva, A.D.P. Kalansuriya, Gunapala Dharmasiri, Arthur L. Herman, Ramakrishna Puligandla, Shanta Ratnayaka, Ninian Smart, and Frank J. Hoffman.

The work contains an Index and section divider plates from Sri Lanka courtesy of the American Institute of Indian Studies, Varanasi.

This book is suitable as a supplementary text in survey courses on Philosophies and Religions of India and for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses as well.

This is the first translation of the complete Panarion ('Medicine Chest', also known as 'Adversus Haereses') of St. Epiphanius of Salamis. The work is a set of descriptions of 80 heresies, starting with the philosophers and the Jews and brought down to his own times. The lengthy descriptions, sometimes based on personal experience, other times on works now lost, are of inestimable value to anyone who wishes to know more detail on the heresies of antiquity.

We all owe Mr. Williams quite a debt for making this long and difficult work available. It is pleasing to see that the work has now gone into its second impression (1997), which suggests that it is selling well for such a scholarly work. The book is well-made physically and printed on acid-free paper.

This is volume 1 of 2, containing just over a third of the whole work, heresies 1-46 of 80. It deals with:

Barbarism, Scythianism, Hellenism, Judaism, Stoicism, Platonists, Pythagoreans, Epicureans, Samaritans, Essenes, Sebuaeans, Gorothenes, Dositheans, Sadduccees, Scribes, Pharisees, Hemerobaptists, Nasaraeans, Ossaeans, Herodians, Simonians, Menander, Satornilus, Basilides, Nicolaitans, Gnostics(Borborites), Carpocratians, Cerinthians, Nazoraeans, Ebionites, Valentinians, Secundians, Ptolemaeans, Marcosians, Colorbasians, Heracleonites, Ophites, Cainites, Sethians, Archontics, Cerdonians, Marcionites, Lucianists, Apelleans, Severians and finally Tatianists (no. 46).

The footnotes are helpful, and indicate sources or parallels not only with the fathers but also the coptic gnostic texts in the Nag Hammadi Library. The editors of that collection are to be commended for their vision in making so essential a work available.

Niggles? For some reason the 'H'-word has proved a stumbling block. 'Heresy' (haeresis) is rendered mainly as 'sect', rather than heresy. It is unclear who benefits from this, other than persons of heretical views and thin skins! However mostly the text avoids the biases of the US religious studies establishment, and is much easier for the rest of us to read in consequence. It would have been helpful to have running headers that indicated the section in question, and not just the work. In some cases the translation has an unaccustomed force. What Greek word is rendered by the frequently encountered epithet, 'scum', I wondered. No doubt it is in a footnote somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I'd have liked some discussion of the manuscripts and transmission of the text. Finally the *price* -- OUCH!

But these are all minor points. The book is a triumph, and a required addition to the shelves of everyone obliged to paddle in the puddles of these ancient cult-makers. The book has been often quoted, and misquoted. Now we can read the whole thing for ourselves.

[Note: Physical details are the same as for book 1, which is reviewed elsewhere. Niggles and comments are mostly the same.]

This is volume 2 of a 2 volume set. It is around twice the size of vol. 1, and contains 'book 2 and book 3', i.e. heresies 47-80 plus De Fide.

Heretics dealt with are: Encratites, Montanists, Quintillianists, Quartodecimans, Alogoi, Adamians, Sampsaeans, Theodotians, Melchizedekians, Bardesanists, Noetians, Valesians, Cathari (Novatianists / Donatists), Angelics, Apostolics, Sabellians, Origenists, Origen Adamantius, Paul of Samosata, Manichaeans, Hieracites, the schism of Meletius, Arians, Audians, Photinians, Marcellians, semi-Arians, Pneumatomachi, Aerius, Anomoeans, Dimoerites (aka Apolinarians), Antidicomarians, Collyridians, Massalians. The work ends with a statement of the Christian faith (De fide) which also contains some interesting descriptions of contemporary paganism.

This is the only complete version in a modern language. The Latin text in the Patrologia Graeca is said to be of an indifferent standard. (Amidon's selection apparently consists of the description of the heresy in each case, for all the heresies, plus narrative, but omitting Epiphanius' refutation).

As the work gets closer to Epiphanius' own time, his information is increasingly valuable as based on observation or contemporary report.

If only it didn't cost so much!

I've read many books on Will Rogers-I find him fascinating on several levels. My initial interest was in his skill as a roper-I continue to be amazed at his talent in catches and especially trick roping. See his 1922 film "The Roping Fool" for an incredible display of his abilities. But Roger's role as a social commentator overshadowed his vaudeville career. Some have called him the first media pundit. This volume documents in great detail Rogers early years, and in a most satisfying way puts him in context. Letters, newspaper clippings, and other documents trace the experiences that led him into show business, and extensive footnotes lay out the social, economic and political world in which he lived. I can't wait for volume two!

Bubble chamber tracks were always a mystery to me ... until I discovered "The Particle Explosion". This book is wonderful because ... The edited & colorized bubble chamber photographs engender a new, visceral, level of understanding of elementary particles. With so many books and articles on theoretical and abstract aspects of quantum mechaniscs, this book reveals the, oft neglected, world of experimental particle physicists and their immense accomplishments. It is a wonderful example of expository writing, where complex mechanisms are clearly described without resorting to diagrams.

The reason I got into physics in the first place was the combined allure of subatomic strangeness and huge machines at the edge of technology and cleverness. This book distills those attractions in beautiful descriptions and stunning photography. If I ever needed reaffirmation in my choice to become a particle physicist, this book would surely do the trick.