A simple little book, that seems like fun. What really sold me is that my daughter started 'reading' the book to us, after having it read to her a few times. Plus, she has so much fun reading this book. After deciding this was the perfect book, and that we should get a copy for ourselves as well as some extras for gifts, I was surprised to find it out of print. For a two or three year old, this strikes me as a classic book that should never go out of print!

I bought this book for my son when he was 4 months old. It is a book that is great for all ages. The illustrations are wonderful.

My daughter (2 years) loves this book. She can recite the book from cover to cover and delights in finding new words to describe the lively animals. She never gets enough of the surprise at the end and always wants to read the book again so that she can look at herself in the mirror. An excellent choice to start youngsters on their reading journey.

This is a riveting breathtakingly honest look behind the scenes of today's Catholic priesthood in America. It's not about the headline sexual abuse scandals. It's about abuse that seldom makes the headlines -- abuse inflicted by the systemically dysfunctional climate within which priests must conduct their lives. The picture is not a pretty one -- honest expression stifled, initiatives thwarted, and normal human friendships crippled or tabooed. It shows the disabling effect on priests of being subject to heavy-handed authority, unyielding dogma, unrealistic law, and a code of celibacy that is a prescription for aching loneliness. All too often alcohol and other addictions fill the vacuum. But this is not an angry book. Dinter doesn't whine or rant. And that is the book's power. It objectively states facts, events and names. Dinter clearly loved his ministry and pursued it with energy and commitment. But the tension between this pursuit of his calling, and the human toll exacted as the price of membership in the priestly caste, became intolerable. So he resigned, not from his ideals, but from the dysfunctional system within which he was forced to try and live out these ideals. Dinter's quiet eloquence gives us a rare glimpse into the abuse inflicted on good priests by the disabling role expectations of an outmoded caste system.

This revealing book sheds light on the seminary training and life in the priesthood which finally ended for the author after a 39-year journey. The writing in this book flows well as the author begins with his life as a child, his seminary years, pastoral work in several parishes, campus chaplaincy, doctoral work, and a sabbatical at the Vatican. He tells about bad priests he encountered along the way and the many good priests who remain devoted to the flocks that they serve.

I wondered how he could continue as a seminarian in such a repressive and then permissive atmosphere. A sign should have been placed over the seminary door: "Beware all ye who enter here!"

He was a glutton for punishment from his domineering, powerful prelates as a priest, and I wondered why he stayed in the priesthood. After a lengthy description about all the good work he and others had accomplished while he was a chaplain at Columbia University, I expected that he would at least receive high marks from the bishop. Instead, he was called on the carpet and told that he no longer had a job!

He then went to study for a year in Rome after spending a summer in England. He describes the Vatican disparagingly as "a men's club on the Tiber." He was uncomfortable in the atmosphere of suspicion and distrust that prevailed there. When a group of priests had dinner with a visiting bishop from America, it was a command performance where the bishop embarrassed and humiliated the priests instead of being an enjoyable occasion of friendship and congeniality.

Upon returning to the U.S., he was not given an assignment and was treated with disdain when he pleaded with the chancery office to place him somewhere. When he received no placement, he took matters into his own hands and asked a fellow priest if he could stay at his rectory. After he moved there, he substituted as a fill-in priest in that area and also taught at colleges. He soon made many friends among the laity who supported him when he fell in love with a widow in the parish, left the priesthood, and married there. They are still members of that parish.

Dr. Dinter's experiences with his bishops left me with bad feelings toward them. The career men fawning on their superiors so that they will receive promotions are a despicable lot who have lost sight of the church as the Body of Christ. For them it has become a corporate ladder, and they care not for the lowly priests under their dominion after they reach the top.

I believe the author's writing is an honest, brave portrayal of his priesthood. One prevailing theme is the unnecessary mandated celibacy for priests, which he compares with a disability. The book explains why so many priests become sexually abusive to children and adolescents.

Dr. Dinter paints priests as extremely lonely men who cannot openly dissent about any Catholic teaching for fear of being ostracized by their superiors and/or being sent off to remote parishes in the hinterland. Banishment is the club held over the heads of priests and is an effective silencer for any dissenter. The priests cannot even openly discuss controversial issues in the church privately when they meet with each other which I found disturbing. Facing their future with fear and the silence it promotes smacks too much of "big brother" watching every move the priests make and everything they say. Priests should not have to function in this repressive atmosphere of suspicion and distrust.

I was so glad that this book ended on a positive note for the author because his many years of dedicated work in the priesthood went unappreciated by the hierarchy under which he served.

Paul Dinter gives the Catholic laity a rare view into the process of priestly formation. The Other Side of the Altar confirmed some of my ideas of this process, but revealed many other aspects of the continuous formation of Catholic clergy.

Mr. Dinter's use of his own story, his personal experiences, makes the book credible and interesting. The layers of possible dysfunctional behavior -- that of the individual priest, the collective group of priests and the entire Roman Catholic hierarchy -- are intertwined and bring understanding to many of the problems currently associated with the Catholic clergy.

The author clearly defines a curious view of human sexuality that is mainstream to past and present Catholic doctrine. How important this issue is to letting the Catholic Church move forward and into the new millennium is a matter for all readers to decide. Paul Dinter's ideas on this issue certainly broadened my perspective in this area.

Paul Dinter spares no punches and names some prominent people that touched his priestly formation. A great read for all readers and a must read for all Catholics.

Bill Mason and son Paul really get down to basics in canoe and paddling technique in this revised soft-cover paddling manual. This book is geared to those who want to learn everything there is about flat-water and white-water travelling. It's the most definitive guidebook on the market.

I own both "Path of the Paddle" and "Song of the Paddle". These are the best books I have seen on canoeing, written by one of the best canoeists ever. They cover all facets of the canoe and how to use them properly. The "step-by-step" photos and the diagrams help teach proper techniques and the text is both informative and entertaining without becoming confusing or boring. Bill Mason and his son Paul have done a splendid piece of work and these books are a cherished addition to my personal library.

Best canoeing book on the market. Not only is it a great how to guide on canoe handling, it is an excellent read for those long winter nights for the canoe enthusiast. The book imparts Bill Mason's love of the canoe. Written by a true legend in canoeing and wilderness film making.

If you're not going to upgrade to Win '98, then you need this book. It will get you through ever facet of using Win '95. And if you can't find the answer in the book, as in a strange situation I encountered, the author's e-mail address is included so he can help you out. McFedries has written many other excellent books which are also worth a look.

I almost think Paul McFedries can outsmart Bill Gates at his own program, Windows 95. I'm a beginner but I was able to go into the registry editor and remove the Microsoft Internet icon from my desktop! [something Bill Gates wanted it hard to do] When it comes to Win95, McFredries is a know-it-all but he sure doesn't talk like it. He speaks clear English! I got my money's worth at list price but you can save $18 with Amazon.com. That's progress for you.

Helped me configure Windows 95 the way it should be done. It dug me out of a hole numerous times!! IT's like everything you always wanted to know about "***" but were afraid to ask!! I recommend this book to everyone who uses Windows 95!! YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THIS BOOK!!!!!

it is a very good book about windows 95 big effort from the author it talked not only about windows 95 as o/s but it covers many aspects like networking,tcp/ip,internet. it is a good ref.

When I first got comfortable with Windows 95 and wanted to dig a little deeper, I tried Peter Norton's book. It's almost as thick as this book and nearly half the price. But I found Norton's text to be muddled and confusing. He gets into alot of theory which I care little about.

This book, however, starts out with 95 installation and rolls right along with all sorts of great how-to info and all manner of little details that may not be essential to know but which I enjoy reading about. I don't often find myself getting worked up over a computer book, but I actually found myself getting excited over some snippet of information that I hadn't known before.

I remember reading something by Paul Hawken in which he stated that a teacher of his once told him to find the book that would save him from reading ten others. In the Windows 95 world, this is that book.

(If you have Windows 98 or are thinking of upgrading, McFedries now has out a 98 edition. I kind of wish that I had bought that one instead, for although I don't plan on upgrading anytime soon, the new book appears to be almost verbatim what is in this book. I think it would be just as useful for someone using 95, except that when and if you decided to upgrade to 98 you'd be knowledgeable about the differences.)

This book is worth every penny I paid! It has provided invaluable assistance on numerous occasions. You won't find a better Windows 95 book anywhere! I highly recommend it!!

The Once and Future Moon by Paul D. Spudis combines clear, straightforward writing with solid science to give us a comprehensive picture of the geological and human history of the moon, as well as well-reasoned speculation about what the Moon might hold for future human exploration and colonization. This book has become an essential reference for me in my writing of a science fiction novel about a Moon colony. The latest ideas about what human explorers and colonists can expect to accomplish in astronomy and lunar science and what lunar resources they can exploit for survival and profit are all clearly presented. The book also presents the best arguments I have heard for the continued human exploration of space, and why NASA's current bureaucracy isn't up to the job

Dr Paul Spudis is one of the preeminent lunar geologists today and in his book he makes an eloquent argument for the importance of continuing manned exploration of the moon which ended with the return of Apollo 17 in December 1972.

The book is divided into two parts. The first gives a description of the bulk characteristics of the moon. He then goes into a fairly detailed description of what exploration of the moon has revealed in terms of lunar geology. The geological part of the book is written on the level of the "educated layman" so some might find it difficult by a glossary is provided that helps considerably. Spudis is not afraid to challenge the "commonly accepted wisdom". For example, he expresses a healthy skepticism about parts of the now largely accepted "big whack theory" that says a Mars-sized primordial object impacted the fledgling earth in a glancing blow that ejected a large amount of material into space which went into orbit around the earth and later coalesced inot the Moon and also greatly speeded up the earth's rotation about its axis. Spudis says the theory is so broad that it is used to explain away inconvenient data of which he provides examples.

The last part of the book consists of ideas on how the Moon could be explored and colonized in the future on an economically viable basis. For example the lunar regolith (soil) consists of a lot of oxygen which could be extracted. Similarly, the Clementine and Lunar Prospector spacecraft have possibly found water in the permanently shaded regions of craters near the lunar north and south poles which could be exploited in order to "live off the land".

Finally, Spudis makes an eloquent plea for the continuation of manned exploration of space pointing out that it is not enough to use robot spacecraft, but only man himself, on the spot, can really understand and analyze what is being seen firsthand, as well as having the ability to overcome unforeseen problems and malfunctions. Since the Moon is much closer to the Earth than Mars is and is much cheaper and easier to reach, the Moon is the logical choice as the next destination for continued exploration of the Solar System.

An excellent introduction to the moon, the geology, the detective/sceintific work in finding the dates for events on the moon. The suprises turned up by appolo (like the uneven gravity field that put appollo 11 off course on landing and almost destroyed it). And the moons great potential for teaching us about the solar system and our own planet.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a easy read and a well paced novel. I also thought that this could very easily be turned into either a movie or made for T.V. movie. I would recommend this book to all readers.

THIS BOOK WAS A PAGE TURNER. THE PLOT WAS EXCELLENT. THE BOOK IS FAST PACED YET GOES IN DEPTH AS FAR AS WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE THINKING. YOU REALLY GET INTO THE PLOT BECAUSE OF THIS. I HOPE THE AUTHOR IS NOT A "ONE-BOOK WONDER". I WOULD DEFINTELY LOVE TO READ MORE BY HIM.

This is by far the best novel of this genre that I have ever read. The storyline had me captivated from the very first chapter and it was difficult to put it down. The plot is fictional, yet it is realistic enough that it is easy to believe that it could happen (or maybe it already is)!

It is difficult to find a first writing from an author that is as well done as this. I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

The essay on Charles Gardiner (Chicago Black Hawks), by Dave Bidini, is a literary masterpiece worthy of the books 5-star rating all by itself. This is a very inspirational piece. Two of the other essays are very good (Canadiens and Bruins), and three are just OK (Wings, Leafs and Rangers). Also worthy of the 5-star rating are the wonderful illustrations by Sean Thompson(?) that front each essay. These color illustrations too, are almost alone worth the price of the book, but the artist, Thompson? (can't be sure) is given no real credit. If you're the guy, Mr. Thompson, congratulations, this is great work!

This was a great book! I first bought it for my 5 year old daughter who became interested with the original 6 teams but in the end we both found it different than most hockey books. It told stories about these beyond thrilling players and it made me look at them with a different perspective and proved things that for me, were just random suggestions, but now are real facts. For example, the book proved that The Rocket, the best player of all time even though I never saw him play, really is the high temper man who never gives up and always sticks to what he honestly believes is true and honest.

Before the Mighty Ducks of Disney and the Molson Center of Montreal and the Fleet Center of Boston there were the Gardens of New York and Boston and the Forum of Montreal. There were the "local" teams that so well reflected their respective cities and peoples. Teams and players became part of the fixtures of the city. Trades were catastrophic events. I remember the trade of Eddie Giacomin from the Rangers to the Red Wings. The chants of "EDDIE" were no more. What were the feelings of the Beantown fans when Espo was traded to the hated Rangers? Society and sport have changed and it is difficult to become attached to anything or anyone emotionally now. National marketing blitzes have rendered "local" teams a thing of the past.

Paul Quarrington has complied six stories (he penned the Bruins piece) centered on the Original Six era of the National Hockey League. These six stories take the reader back to the days when fans trully identified with their team. Two gems standout in this collection. The first is the Red Wings piece whose author recalls the days and nights spent with her grand father listening to Wings-Maple Leafs games. Each rooting for their own team. This is a wonderful piece on how these two people related to each other and the sport they so dearly loved.

The second gem is the New York Rangers' story. The Ranger fan has always been a different breed, withstanding decades of misses and near hits at achieving the Cup. This story embodies the real Ranger fan and the depth of the emotional attachment to the team. All Ranger fans will identify with this story.

For those hockey fans looking for something from the past "The Original Six" will bring them respite from the corporate sports world of today

The book, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, written by the evangelical, conservative biblical scholar, F. F. Bruce, is a summary study of the life of Paul. Bruce writes from a conspicuous learned background, yet his voice is elegant, discernible, and vivid. A book like this is the yearning of every student of biblical studies, particularly those with moderate to conservative beliefs and not always in agreement with the liberal, school of history approach taken by other books of this genre. Bruce is concise, comprehensive, and enjoyable. The book is a collection of writings by Bruce, some from as early as 1969, while much Bruce apparently wrote new when publishing the book in 1977. He ties them together very well, with only a minimum of repetition. One exception is the often repetitious analysis of Paul's Roman citizenship and it significance. Some chapters at first disappointed me with the shallow treatment of a topic, but I was usually relieved when finding a more fully developed examination of the same topic in a later chapter.Bruce relies heavily on the book of Acts, whose historical value, in characteristic conservative fashion, he generally accepts unquestionably.

One objection I have to Bruce is that he does not allow for a Hellenized Paul. Bruce argues firmly the Paul was a "Hebrew born of Hebrews." On page 43, and 127, Bruce argues that Paul's Judaism was free from Hellenistic influence, from which Paul had been sheltered since childhood. Several other studies have shown that Judaism, and particularly Pharisaism, was significantly influenced by Hellenism during the second temple period, despite their attempts to resist it. The Greek language and traditions were hybridized with local cultural environments. The effect of this influence can be seen in the vocabulary, concepts, metaphors, and cultic acts from the Greeks which appear in much of the New Testament. How could a person such as Paul, who was born in a Greek-speaking city, educated in and communicated in Greek, pretend to be uninfluenced by Hellenism? Similarly, Bruce often refers to Christ as Jesus of Nazareth; on page 56, he says that Jesus "emerged from obscurity of his home in Nazareth." On page 47, he calls him "A visitor from Galilee." I sense that his emphasis is that Nazareth, and all of Galilee, was thought of as the rural backwoods of Palestine, a view that has come under recent challenge. If Bruce sees Paul without Hellenistic influence, he surely does not allow for a Hellenized Christ. But new excavations at Sepphoris and Tiberius portray a different picture of first century Galilee, one that is far more cosmopolitan and Hellenized. Bruce puts great emphasis on Paul's Pharisaism and the importance of the Pharisee in first century Palestine. The power and influence of the Pharisees on Judaism during the time of Paul is not as clear as Bruce infers. Josephus, himself a Pharisee and predisposed to bias, tells us little of them from the start of Herod's rule until the revolt in 66 C.E. Pharisaic practice and beliefs of were, until recently, based on view that Pharisaism dominated pre-70 C.E. Judaism, and that post-70 C.E. rabbinic literature accuracy reflected the earlier practices.

I feel Bruce does not emphasize as much as he should the conflict between Paul and James the Righteous, brother of Jesus. I do not feel the antagonism between Paul's "Gentile Mission" and James' "the Jerusalem Church" is adequately covered. Acts may not tell the whole story about these relations; more from Pseudoclementines on this subject would have been welcomed. Overall, I feel this book is admirable. It is a good treatment of Paul's life and work. I especially like the early chapters on the historical background of the world in which Paul lived. I found Bruce's occasional criticism of Bultmann's views throughout the book interesting, and wished Bultmann was alive to rebut them. I enjoyed the subtle humor, it made the book more readable.

This is the only book written exclusively about Paul that I have read and the only one that I think I will for quite some time. When I began my search for a good biography of the life of the apostle Paul I spent many hours sifting through editorial reviews all claiming strong accolades for each book I ran across. I eventually bought this one if nothing else than lack of desire to find "the one." Ironically, I think I did.

Bruce's portrayal of Paul is full and complete, covering the span of his life as well as the history, culture and geography of its setting. Each chapter is neatly categorized under numbered main ideas while still expounding a full thesis throughout. The design, as well as the content, of the book is superb.

I was concerned that I would not be able to find a book on Paul that combined both literary criticism and scholarship with a moderate to conservative outlook on Christianity in general. My concerns vanished after the first few chapters and I began to see the scope of Bruce's writing. Perhaps the most gripping aspect of the book is Bruce's ability to present Paul as a real person instead of merely an iconoclastic image of a legend. By combining both scholarship and straightforward hermenuetics the apostle springs to life as a threefold person, for Paul was a man of heart, mind and action and no element is neglected at the expense of the other. The reader is allowed to glimpse at Paul's personality as an audaucious and perhaps blunt individual who nevertheless is steadfast in his determination to complete the mission given to him by the risen Christ. Paul's heart is clearly seen in his interaction with is fledgling congregations while his mind is picked at for the tremendous ideas and thought he developed that affected the rest of christendom.

In short, I was more than satisfied enough with this book that I have found no need for another for a while. I would recommend this book to conservative evangelicals looking for an adequate description of Paul's life, thought and activity.

If ever there was a complete work of the apostle Paul, this is it. And it is written by no less an expert than one of the 20th century's foremost Christian scholars, F.F. Bruce. Now that it's in paperback, every Christian ought to examine it for himself. The problem is, we're such a light-hearted fictional society (yes, I'm talking about us Christians) that many might never touch this book with a 10-foot pole. There's not enough plot to it, I can hear someone say. (Are you kidding? Who could have lived any fuller a life than Paul? He was the MAN!) In addition, another possible complaint could be that it's not written in an easy-flowing biographical style. True, but at the same time, this is not an impossible book for the average layperson to understand. That's why the publisher has made it available in paperback.

Let me say, if you consider yourself a person who loves the Word of God, a book like this will only enhance your study. It takes us from the beginning of Saul/Paul's life and opposition to the Way all the way to his imprisonments and death, with an emphasis on the apostle's theology. In effect, Bruce gives us the complete context to help us understand the situations that caused Paul to write the way he did. You will want to have your Bible nearby when you read it. Another valuable tool in this book is its index. This book could be used when carefully studying Acts or one of Paul's epistles. The background information the book provides what is probably more valuable than a set of NT commentaries. While the book can be either read or just utilized as a resource, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the best single work on Paul that I have ever seen.

Those of you who want a good Pauline theology textbook from a generally Reformed and Baptistic perspective should look here. However, even though Schreiner is Reformed and Baptistic in his general understanding of major Pauline themes, his soteriological understanding of Paul is Anabaptistic. Many people in the traditional Reformed and Baptist circles would disagree with some of Schreiner's conclusions regarding justification, sanctification, and the Final Judgment. Schreiner's main thesis, however, is that Paul's "center" was not justification by faith alone (traditional Protestantism) or the mystical union in Christ (some modern theologians), but God's glory revealed through the redemptive work of Christ. He described Paul's theology as a house with many parts instead of concentric circles (of course, God being the foundation of "the house"). The chapters and themes are neatly set out and there is a logical flow throughout the book. One will not find confusion and irraticism in Schreiner's book. Some of the discussions in Schreiner's book are excellent (especially on Romans 9 and the future salvation of Israel). However, there needs to be a word of caution to those who are thinking of purchasing this book. Schreiner departs from the traditional Protestant view of salvation. In many places throughout the book he states that good works are necessary for obtaining salvation (not merely as evidential proof of salvation). On p. 286, he states that women will be saved eternally if they live according to their gender; on p. 328, he states that children who obey their parents will receive the eschatological reward of eternal life; on p. 437, he states that slaves will receive eternal life if they obey their masters; and on p. 438, he states that those who live generously will "reap" eternal life. There are many more similar sayings throughout the book and this should raise alarm bells for traditional evangelical Protestants. Also, another criticism is that Schreiner's view of the Jew-Gentile dichotomy is influenced by the New Perspective. Instead of the Jew-Gentile dichotomy being about works-grace dichotomy it is primarily about the exclusivism-inclusivism dichotomy according to Schreiner. Many traditionalists will probably not accept Schreiner's interpretations quite easily. Schreiner's view of Paul's soteriology should not be considered traditional Protestant, but Anabaptistic. Regardless of the criticisms, this book is very scholarly and is a good overview of Paul's theology

Schreiner has given us an outstanding study on the theology and mission of the Apostle Paul in this easy-to-read yet thorough volume. While not exhaustive, Schreiner does wrestle with the most important issues. He simply avoids the wearisome type of New Testament scholarship that spends more time on extrabiblical sources than on the inspired text itself.

Schreiner's stance is decidedly conservative and Reformed, yet not to the point of Scripture twisting or skewing exegesis. There is a real freshness to this book, in that it avoids flattening Paul's theology into an emphasis on only one theme (such as justification, union with Christ, or reconciliation), but rather emphasizes all of these themes in relation to the central motif of God's glory as revealed in Christ. The glory of God in Christ is the sun in Paul's theological solar system and the planets of justification, union with Christ, reconciliation, et cetera all orbit around this one glorious center.

While Schreiner's exegesis is fresh, it is not a departure from historic Protestantism. Schreiner does NOT teach justification by works. But he does understand the already/not yet nature of God's salvific work. There are dimensions of salvation that are yet to be realized by God's people and the Scriptures represent perseverance in faith and obedience as a necessary corollary to final deliverance. But even our perseverance in faith and obedience are the direct result of God's effectual work within us, so all is of grace.

Another unique feature in Schreiner's work is his emphasis on Paul's suffering as a crucial means of fulfilling his mission. In fact, Schreiner does a wonderful job of weaving Paul's theology into the missionary context in which it was originally framed. This adds a personal dimension to the book and will help students avoid the danger of abstracting Paul's theology from real life.

This is an excellent book that I heartily recommend. The Christian church should thank the Lord for such gifted scholars as Thomas Schreiner and both scholars and pastors should take advantage of this labor of love.

Schreiner has given us another excellent work-- this time a full Pauline theology. Though not as exhaustive as some theologies (e.g., J. Dunn's), Schreiner's is still highly recommended for the following reasons.

First, Schreiner avoids centering Pauline theology on just one reductionistic theme-- like justification, or life "in Christ", etc. Rather, Schreiner argues convincingly that the broad, multifacted nature of Paul's theology is best expressed as the glory of God in Christ. The pursuit of God's glory in Christ undergirds Paul's missionary zeal, the nature of human salvation, and everything else in the Pauline corpus. But this is not a simple theme-- it is broad and varied, and leaves room for considerable variation of focus in the Pauline epistles. Schreiner expresses dependence on John Piper for his focus.

Second, Schreiner offers a unique and informative chapter on the role of suffering in Paul's missionary work. This is an important theme that is often overlooked, but is necessary for a proper understanding of Paul's thought.

Third, this book is very clearly written. In fact, it is one of the clearest theology books I have read.

Overall, this book is highy recommended to anyone who is interested in Paul's theology.