Certainly an excellent Analysis about modern (80ties) Teencomedies and Teenhorrorfilms But if you are rather looking for a fullcolor Book with many pictures - more the lexica-type where you can look up single films - you won't be perfectly happy with it.

German: Sicherlich eine excellente Analyse der Achtzigerjahre Teeni-Komödien und Teenislasherfilme. Stehen Sie jedoch eher auf farbig bebilderte Nachschlagewerke, wo man mal rasch was zu einem einzelen Film nachlesen kann, ist dies leider nicht das richtige Buch

An amazing analysis of the modern grossout film - written looking back at the the films of the late 70's and early 80's (Carrie, Animal House, etc). For a Film Professor, Paul actually appears to appreciate some of the films - at least, he doesn't lump them all together to condemn them. This is surprising. He examines them critically using Rabelais. I especially appreciated his analysis of HEAVEN HELP US - a fantastic movie that has long gone unnoticed. Many film critics talk about the collapse between "high" and "low" culture, but Paul actually takes this collapse seriously and engages critically with films that most of the elite wouldn't give a second thought. Bravo for that.

One can also appreciate how prescient Paul's book is - he anticipates both the revival of the grossout comedy (American Pie, There's Something About Mary) and the return of the horror/slasher film (Scream, I Know What You did Last Summer) written at a time when most film critics were considering these genres dead.

Only one thing - I would have loved for Paul to analyze my favorite early 80's sex comedy - THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN - perhaps, because it is not available on video, he wasn't able to find it, but LAV would've fit well with his analysis.

This is a pretty good book, for the price. It has useful language themes (travel situations, practical things) and many good sample dialogs to model your language use on. The layout is visually appealing. Its coverage of grammar is a bit skimpy. Yes, it's very simple, but they may have gone too far. There is no grammar index so it's hard to locate various grammatical explanations. The past verb tenses are not explained in the book, which I think is a deficiency. There are a few typos, too.

There are a variety of basic german books and book/tape combinations available for the person who wants to learn a bit of the language primarily for travel purposes, i.e., shopping, eating out, making hotel reservations, etc. This seems to me to be one of the best of that genre. I'm not quite sure why, but it seemed to work better for me than any of the others of this ilk. The text is nicely done with amusing illustrations; and, more importantly, the exercises and tapes seem to go a long way to achieiving their desired end of teaching and implanting a bit of German. For the person who wants more than a smattering of German, may I recommend the other Barron's course, Mastering German (the old Foreign Service Insititute course) and the Berlitz, Think and Talk German, both of which are superb, but rather more demanding and pricey than any "tourist" course.

MacDonald writes of the battle between the producers of the Pastorals and the tradition embodied in the Acts of Paul (written between 150 and 190). MacDonald's unique contribution is seeing an oral tradition behind the Acts of Paul, and using folkloristics to prove it. His first chapter is devoted to showing how the Acts of Paul fits the laws of oral storytelling. I think he places too much trust in the ability of these rather vague laws to distinguish between oral and written, and he doesn't defend his assumption that oral stories are necessarily old. It should be noted that MacDonald also chooses to discuss only the three most promising episodes from the Acts of Paul, which is fair enough, but which also preserves the possibility that Tertullian is at least partially right in saying that the presbyter who wrote them made them up.

In his second chapter, MacDonald is on firmer ground. He discusses the sympathetic treatment of women and the contemptuous treatment of men in the Acts of Paul. He also points to strong evidence that the stories originated in Asia Minor. Finally, he identifies the themes of opposition to the Roman empire, city, and household in the Acts of Paul, and connects them with the rough treatment Christians received at the hands of society in second-century Asia Minor.

MacDonald then turns to the Pastoral epistles and their relationship to the Acts of Paul. He identifies the Pastorals as products of Asia Minor, written between 100 and 140. These polemical epistles were directed in part at the oral stories which would become the Acts of Paul, according to MacDonald, and were meant to silence the "old wives' tales" that glorified virginity, feminine autonomy, and rejection of the claims of society. The question of relationship is also raised by several similarities of detail between the Pastorals and the Acts of Paul. Many scholars have concluded that this is because the author of the Acts of Paul knew and used the Pastorals, while a weaker argument has been made that the author of the Pastorals used an earlier version of the Acts of Paul. MacDonald disagrees with both, and posits that the authors knew the same oral legends. His strongest argument here is the lack of polemic or even response to the charges of the Pastorals in the Acts of Paul. In chapter four, MacDonald discusses the victory of the Pastorals over the Montanists, who held to the apocalyptic radicalism, rejection of social norms, and role of women in prophecy, all themes from the Acts of Paul. (MacDonald believes that the traditional view that the Acts of Paul represent Gnostic beliefs is no longer tenable, not least because of the stories' emphasis on the resurrection of the flesh.) The Pastorals were not fighting a doctrinal heresy, but sought to affirmed hierarchical church leadership and conformity with society against the ways of the Montanist radicals. MacDonald identifies the presbyter who wrote the Acts of Paul with a priest caught in the Montanist turmoil of Asia Minor in the second century.

MacDonald's final chapter considers the lesser "victory of the legends." He describes the popularity of Thecla and the Acts of Paul in later centuries. He closes his book with a discussion of the consequences of the battle's outcome for the Christian church.

Given the intensity of the battle as described by MacDonald, and the close geographical proximity of the battling authors, I am left wondering why the Acts of Paul appeared as such a naïve recording of oral tradition. MacDonald insists that the defrocked presbyter did not use the Pastorals at all, and this certainly seems to be the case. If these Pastorals spoke to the heart of the controversy, and even had a role in deposing the author of the Acts of Paul, how could he have been ignorant of them? If the controversy prompted him to record the Acts of Paul, why are the Acts so free of controversy? The battle doesn't seem to be properly joined.

Dennis Ronald MacDonald's book is one of the earliest (1983) reviving an interest in Thecla of Iconium, an ascetic woman whose story inspired many women and some men to remain celebate and serve God. Another early book in this revival which mentions Thecla (2 pages) is Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza's _In Memory of Her_ (1983). Fiorenza's book piqued the interest of feminist theologians. In Fall 2000, Oxford University Press publishes _The Cult of Saint Thecla : A Tradition of Women's Piety in Late Antiquity_.

Early Christianity's diverse communities developed and treasured different stories about Jesus and the Apostles, including Paul. MacDonald examines certain traditions of Paul, particularly in light of the patriarchal tradition which apparently "won" the battle for Paul and a tradition which he believes originated with women, the Acts of Paul and Thecla.

MacDonald especially examines the two Pauline traditions that made the biblical canon, the deutero-Pauline (Colossians, Ephesians, and II Thessalonians) and pastoral epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus), in relation to the Acts of Paul, which was in some early Armenian and Syrian canons. The Acts were written down by an orthodox Christian in Asia Minor between 160-190 and circulated in several languages, including Greek, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Armenian.

_The Legend_ is a "readable academic book." It illuminates some of the gender politics involved in the post-Pauline church and how they fit into the over all context of the Roman concept of the family structure and the role of women. Though the more woman-positive traditions about Paul revealed in the Acts of Thecla did not make the canon, both women and men followed in her tradition for centuries afterward. To this day, Thecla is the patron saint of Tarragona, Spain; Italy, Turkey, and Syria claim she is buried in their countries; Maalula, Syria has a convent established in her name; and that's just a beginning of a list-- not to mention that some advocate that she should be the patron saint of the Internet!

Facaros and Pauls have provided a fun and entertaining guide but they often forget to include essential information to make the book practical. For example, we are told that above Orta San Giulio there are several fetching towns and attractions but we are not told how far they are or how to get there. Is a car required? Any public transportation? Is the sanctuary a pleasant 2 mile walk or a challenging 7 mile hike? Perhaps if you are making a return visit such details are not necessary, but for the first time visitor they are essential. Also, anyone planning to visit this area will most likely include both Mantua and Verona on their visit, but only Mantua is covered here. (Yes, Verona is not technically included in the 'Lombard Plain,' but can you imagine a guide to LA that didn't include Disneyland because technically it's in Anaheim, not LA?) You'll need another guide for Verona. If the authors issue a revised edition including Verona plus more detailed info, this will be an excellent guide. Mr Pauls, can we hope for this?

I bought 4 books for our trip to the lake region and this was by far the most useful. Granted it does not include specific information about hours and costs for museums and sites, but we found that most of that information in the other books was out of date anyway. Use it with another guide if you need that. This book gives detailed background information on each area with history and culture, which gives you a great head start on your appreciation of the places you visit. We also found that it included some out-of-the-way places not in the other guides and really appreciated the personal opinons. Restaurants we tried on their recommendation were excellent, compared to the mixed results when we picked on our own. No guide is perfect, but this one comes very close, and the coming 5th edition may be even closer!

I bought this book for a recent business trip to Qatar, and was dissapointed to find quite a number of things that were very out of date. The phone system has been updated since publishing, and now all numbers are 7 instead of 6 digits. you can fix most by adding a 4 at the beginning of most listed numbers, or a 5 for cell phones. Also, some crucial info, like the address to the US Embassy, was wrong. The Embassy moved several years ago. I found most of the societal and historical info to be very handy in preparing for the trip, however, so it was worth it for that.

I have spent time in all three countries and can say that this book will be invaluable for first time vistors and seasoned traveller alike.

Bahrain with its charming city of Manama, is a Gulf delight, with so many things to see and do. Qatar and espcially Doha is a gem, and Kuwait is exotic, enchanting and modern all at the same time.

There are some great places to eat in all of these places and at good prices (has anyone had a bad meal in the Gulf?) and gives sound advice for people touring the area on a wide range of subjects.

If you are planning to go to Bahrain I would recommend the Mishal Gardens for a Shisha (apple or mixed fruit hubbly bubbly) and the Diplomat Hotel for its great floor show, amongst many things. Also, don't forget to visit the siouk (old shopping markets and shops including gold and real pearls).

Great book! Great destinations!

regards,

martyn_jones@iniciativas.com

Admittedly, this is not meant to be a replacement for books such as Europe on a Shoestring, but i found it just a little lacking in information that would be useful for planning a trip. Perhaps a good source for complete beginners who know nothing about Europe, but if people wish to travel Europe, perhaps they would be better off with a more in depth guide

This book is excellent. I lived in Europe and travelled with my parents so I am aware of traveling needs. However, I've never planned it before or gone solo. This book covers every part of your planning and gives you the basics on what to see in each country depending on how much time you have. If my trip is a as much fun as reading this book was then I'm going to have an experience of a lifetime. This is for anyone who is not sure where to go but knows that they want to go to Europe.

I have been reading these books since I was 6 (I'm 12 now!) and the stories aren't grabbing me as much as they used to. The chapters are short and choppy, and the artwork isn't very good, either. What happened? I'm about to call it quits on buying the series, but I think I'll give this one a chance.

...
Anna,Pam and Lulu are the Pony Pals.When they plan to go on a trail ride with Acorn,Snowhite and Lightning Anna invites the Jr Pony Pals to come too.So Mimi rides her pony Tongo the shetland and Rosalie[who dosn't own a pony but loves them]rides Daisy the quiet palamino school pony.But there is a storm and the ponies runaway!To top it all off Mimi and Roasalie are gone!Did they go after Acorn[they love him]?Anna must find them and her pony.Read this book and find out what happens!

This book is riveting and provided fascinating new information about Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Moore Dunbar. At the same time, it scratches the surface in too many places, relying on feminist cliches instead of substantive analysis. This is clearly a dissertation that was published with out the skilled editing that allows the author to reach new conclusions. Too many times, I feel that a window had been opened for me to get a glimpse into lives, then swung shut before insights had been fully explored.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a magnificent poet who is not known as well as he should be today. Alice Moore is a fascinating woman who deserves to be remembered in her own right. Together they would have seemed to be the perfect couple, living charmed lives. Sadly, their relationship was far from perfect. This book enables us to understand the forces that made these two talented people what they were, that drew them together, and that pulled them apart. Too often, African-American history deals only with slavery in the past and urban poverty in the present. This book shows the "ebony elite" that is too little known, in both its proudest and most difficult aspects. It is a fascinating story of individuals and of the culture that impacted their lives in many unfortunate ways. A compelling story, well-written.

When rating Shakespeare, I am comparing it to other Shakespeare. Otherwise, the consistent "5 Stars" wouldn't tell you much. So if you want to have this book rated as compared to the general selection of books in the world, it probably deserves five stars, certainly four. But as Shakespeare goes, in spite of being one of his best-known plays, it truly isn't one of the best.

Certainly, there are the bones of a fine plot here, but the play is very short and thus doesn't really give us the smooth development of plot and character that we usually see in Shakespeare. Nor, given how entirely unappealing the main character is, is it properly a tragedy when he dies; granted, one can consider it tragic that good King Duncan is killed, and Banquo as well, to say nothing of McDuff's family. But can a play in which the unequivocal "good guys" categorically win (and several of them even survive) be properly called a tragedy?

There are certain similarities between the plot (or at least, the theme) of this play and that of the novel "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky. If you liked that book, you may enjoy this play. If you like this play, you will probably enjoy that book (it is a much more in-depth character portrait). Granted, the issue of Kingship never comes into play in Dostoyevsky's work, but the concept of the effect a murder has on the murderer is there, and actually handled rather better.

Of course, being Shakespeare, there is much beautiful language to be found here, and as Shakepearean plays go, the language isn't too difficult for the modern reader; there are only a few places where the footnotes are absolutely essential to an understanding of what's been said. But truly, it is hard to really like this work, and while it can be interesting, it would have been better if it weren't so rushed.

a tragic story of death and betrail. A great play to watch, read, and perform. Read this play!

God is not what we think he is. This is one of the strongermessages that emerge from this interesting and hopeful book. It's alltoo easy these days, at the first mention of the Cap G word, to leap to Christian conclusions - or a wider religous view - where none are required.

The most valuable thing about this story of a living example of spiritual acceptance and success is that it is real, and still exists as a community. The book was written in 1975, ten years or so after Findhorn was established in the far north east of Scotland, on the Moray Firth. Its ordinariness and indeed the ordinariness of its various members is in part what makes it something to hope for in all our lives.

The book acts also as a harbinger of things to come and contains elements that are, when read today, really quite alarming.

But the strongest element of all is the hope that we can, and should, find the strength to work out just what the hell we are doing on this planet.

If you're starting a philosophical or spiritual journey or at the very least want to know about others who have made one already, read this book. If, on the other hand, you're looking for affirmation that Jesus saves and that Noah lived; don't.

I first read The magic of Findhorn about 20years ago. For me the book tells of courage and faith. Courage to live a lifestyle out of the "norm". Faith to understand that the Creator will provide; will allow "Cabbages to grow out of the sand,where vegtables have never grown".