This kind of review will probably make me very unpopular, at least with readers who wholeheartedly support Arthur's book.

This is something that's bothered me about other "Christian" Novels before. Too many of them seem to contain unnecessary graphic description of sin. Child abuse. Lust. Nightclub. Incest. Prostitution. Rape. Why can't those words just be used without picturing it too? Some would say we need to be brutally realistic in portraying sin, saying it is Victorian prudishness not to do so; but don't we need to be queasy about sin? To respond to it in real life is one thing, but to fill our literature with it is another, isn't it? Too many Christians don't even know how to be shocked/feel shame with sin anymore. Jesus was accepting and compassionate, but He's the One that told us to be "wise concerning that which is good and simple concerning evil". I wonder if some of our "Christian" fiction simply Bait Christians into: 1) Making us Callous to Sin, and 2) Drawing us away from things worthy of filling the mind with (Phil. 4:8)".

This novel was recommended me for its teaching--denunciation of legalism prevalent in the church--which I agree 100% with, and I wanted to give a rating of EXCELLENT, but I gave only 1 star, hoping readers would want to read one reason for the rating.

I first read Wisdom Hunter back in 1993 and it blew me away. I've read it multiple times since then and it is no exageration to say that its powerful message has not diminished.

Randall Arthur took a difficult subject, legalism, and somehow spun it into a fantastic read. Follow the journey of a southern fundamentalist pastor, Jason Faircloth, who, due to a life-shattering tragedy, is forced to re-examine his entire worldview. He comes to the point where he has to decide what in his life is truely important and of God, and what is self-created and able to be shed. This search for wisdom and his grand daughter (his lone surviving family member) takes him across the world. And it takes you right along with it on a soul searching trip.

Wisdom Hunter vividly comes alive with real characters, conflict, emotion, and a contemporary, relevant message. I'm not sure that it is possible to read a book like this and not have your walk faith challenged to its very core. For we all are guilty, at least to a point, of mistaking our personal opinions or our church's unique teachings for being the will and truth of God. Wisdom Hunter's message is one of freedom and, ultimately, of grace. It is a rare novel that can combine solid Biblical principle so seemlessly into a story that truly moves. A true Christian fiction classic in every way.

Every pastor, elder, and deacon should read this book (if they can handle it). And every person who feels like they are being forced into a church mold rather than a biblical mold should read this book. And those who are living in the freedom of the true Christian life should read this book as an encouragement and for ideas to help others escape the clutches of the unbiblical packaging of God and His Church.

God does not fit into our neat LITTLE finite packages in which we require God to dwell. Biblical life does not fit into our legalistic, narrow-minded, self-proclaimed conservative interpretations of scripture. God and the Bible are not servants of our corrupt cultural norms.

This and more is the subject of this story. There isn't much I can say about this book except you've just got to read it for yourself. It is rare that I pick up a story book and read it. But this particular one is one of two cases in which I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I am a reader who takes my time, reads slowly and tries to absorb everything in one reading. This 315-page text was read by me in 2 nights. In the first half of the book, I read much about myself and the changes that are now taking place in my life. I believe God put this book in front of me to encourage me to continue in the same direction and to give me ideas and new thought patterns. There was a freedom handed to me through the reading of this book that every believer needs to experience---BECAUSE IT'S BIBLICAL AND NECESSARY.

Let me just say this about the story line: The first half of the book emphasizes the issues and consequences of the legalistic and culturalized, "God in a convenient package" church (which, by the way, is a different package for each culture and each denomination; so who's right?). Within this first half is a thread which concerns a man's search for a granddaughter and a woman he fell in love with at first sight. The second half of the book swaps the emphasis. The emphasis becomes the search and then changes to the man's new life after a long unsuccessful search. The thread is the issue of the messed-up church. But when this thread pops up in the second half, it's beautiful. Sometimes, it's just a single sentence, so you have to watch for it. But they are sometimes statements that are packed with wisdom. The suspense that builds in the second half of the book is well done. You figure out what's going to happen, but you don't know how it will happen, and the anticipation, at least for me, was overwhelming. It was truly exciting to read, and it has become a springboard to send me far beyond the convenient, unbiblical practices of today's culture-serving, self-glory serving church. Let me qualify one thing: when I say culture serving, I do not mean that the book teaches that believers should abandon culture. Rather, the book teaches that those moral standards that we demand of other believers, that are based on our culture, but won't work in another culture, are not biblical but legalistic. In fact, the church that comes to be front and center in this story is a multicultural church, on the one hand leaving everyone to their individual cultures, but on the other hand making sure that the cultural standards don't get read into the scripture as law.

Go for it! Read it! I dare you to let it challenge you.

A.W. Pink's excellent work on the sovereignty of God is one of the best twentieth-century treatments of the subject. It is a carefully reasoned, Scripture-saturated, heart-probing, man-abasing, God-exalting book. It is theology with a view to doxology. This exposition will lead you to exaltation!

Pink begins by defining God's sovereignty. Then he applies this understanding of God's sovereignty to creation, administration (providence), salvation, reprobation, operation, the human will, human responsibility, and prayer. He ends by looking at what our attitude towards God's sovereignty should be, answering objections, and emphasizing the value of the doctrine. There are four appendices dealing with the will of God, the fall of Adam, the meaning of "world" in John 3:16, and the meaning of I John 2:2.

This book is a supralapsarian Calvinistic look at the doctrine of God's sovereignty. I do not agree with Pink in every point, but I commend this book. I know for a fact that God has used this for the conversion of sinners. And regardless of whether you will accept all of Pink's interpretation of Scripture, you cannot help but walk away from this book with a higher view of God than you had before. I count this as one of the most important books I have read. Read this book. Study this book. And adore the God of this book. Be satisfied with sovereignty!

This little book has helped many to come to accept that God is absolutely sovereign over His creation. But this will only happen if one is willing to really consider this issue. And the way to consider it is to look up the Scripture references Pink cites in this book. And Pink references many, many such verses.

In fact, this book was one of the sources I used in developing the chapter on "The Sovereignty of God" in my book "Scripture Workbook: For Personal Bible Study and Teaching the Bible." My book also has two additional chapters addressing other aspects of Calvinism.

But be forewarned, studying this subject can be very distressing. I know of people who have gone through much emotional struggle when reading books like Pink's. It is simply hard to accept that God is in control of our destinies, not us. But that is why it is absolutely essential to consider carefully what the Bible teaches on this subject.

So yes, get Pink's book and look up the Scripture verses he cites. And for even more verses to consider see my "Scripture Workbook."

A.W. Pink does an excellent job of portraying God's sovereignty from a Biblical perspective. This book is packed with Scripture, and will impact any serious Christian reader with a view of God that demands his/her whole-hearted reverence, adoration, love, and worship. Realizing the sovereignty of our God will accomplish peace in the hearts of His people like nothing else can bring. Knowing that God is sovereign will allow the Christian to truly walk by faith - Biblical faith in a God who loves him and sovereignly works all things according to His good pleasure. A sovereign God is truly the only kind of God who could ever carry through on a promise to work out everything for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose. It is this doctrine that will give God's children faith and motivation to pray - after all, there is no point in praying to God if He can't do whatever He wishes. Pink does a marvelous job of expositing both the Scriptures that teach this wonderful faith, as well as those Scriptures which seem to contradict. I very much recommend this book to anyone seeking to know God more accurately and intimately

I bought this book without being very familiar with Ming's cooking OR his show. I had read a few reviews of his restaurant and how great it was, and thought that I could find out what the hoopla was about by reading the cookbook. I have to agree with the other reviewers that this IS a good book, with interesting recipes that are very creative and enticing. In addition, its a REALLY well illustrated and laid out book; the graphics and fonts are crisp, with numerous pictures of tempting entrees. However, I found the recipes to be hard to approach. Perhaps this is due to my ignorance of his style and his TV show. Even so, I only found a few recipes that I would personally spend the time to make. They were somewhat complicated, with many ingredients I would have to specifically buy for that one recipe (i.e. I probably wouldn't use them in other recipes.) I still recommend this book, but with the proverbial grain of salt. If you can, check out this list of recipes first, and decide if you'll ACTUALLY make any of them. Otherwise it will just wind up being an (albeit nicely done) coffee-table book.

We bought Ming's book because we like the way he uses Asian ingredients in elegant recipes. So far, we haven't been disappointed -- it's easy to re-create the flavor and presentation that he is so good at. You need a little more prep and sous time, but it is well worthwhile. We love his brined pork loin... the brine is a quick prep with a lot of wonderful ingredients, best left overnight.... after that, the pork takes less than an hour to cook, and is the juiciest and most flavorful way we have ever had this prepared. The same is true of his braised dishes, which we've done for guests to rave reviews (again, lots of time prepping but once it's "cooking" you can relax!). The nice thing is that he uses ingredients that are familiar to us -- meat and potatoes are one of his favorite combinations! -- but his preparations of them are new, different, tasty, and elegant.

Every so often, you find a chef who has a genuine passions for food, and a passion to be innovative with his/her approach. Ming Tsai is one of those rare chefs that can make complicated dishes easy to grasp and prepare, as well as show his passion for exotic and innovative dishes.

Chinese food is without a doubt my favorite, but even better so when it is something new. Much as I love Dim Sum, sometimes you get sick of the same old thing. Tsai's dishes combine traditional Asian influences with American style, such as spicy southwest or popular dishes like fried chicken and pork tenderloin. The recipes are easy to follow, give accurate details of how much of what ingredient is needed, and Tsai's insights and stories are interesting and fun to read. Best of all, when I prepared the dishes in his book, I didn't mess up once. Not once did I overcook the fish, burn the rice, or broke an aoli, which for me is an accomplishment.

Having seen Ming Tsai many times on the Food Network, I have a great deal of respect for the man and his style of cooking. As an aspiring chef myself, I can appreciate the importants of being innovative and different with cooking approaches. Not all of his dishes are for people watching their wasteline, but when the dishes work, they are excellent. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try something new in their kitchen.

We originally bought the 1996 version of this book before our first trip to Las Vegas. We used it as a bible of sorts. We found its reviews to be on target. The authors are not afraid to give advice on where not to go and what not to see. It rates hotels, casinos, restaurants, shows and about anything else you could want rated. It also provides the basics of gambling and even gives tips for planning your trip. We have since made Las Vegas our adult vacation spot, a place we go without the kids once a year. We always bring the book and read it ahead of time. We decided to get the latest 1999 edition prior to the trip we are taking in about a month. The book has only minor changes since 1996 and does not have much of anything on any new hotels which opened after New York/New York. The shows information is pretty much identical to the 1996 edition, save a few new shows. My suggestion is to buy the book if you do not have a fairly recent edition. It will more than pay for itself with excellent advice. It also helped us save about a hundred dollars by giving suggestions on booking the trip. If you have a 1996 edition or newer, you really don't need it unless you have worn your other copy out.

Like the rest of the "Unofficial Guide" line, this book tells you how to visit, rather than just what to visit. That is, in addition to fairly encyclopedic information about transportation, hotels, restaurants and attractions, it provides a good deal of useful information about how to get the most out of your vacation.

For example, rather than just providing a guide to hotels, it prefaces the detailed listing with a section discussing the pros and cons of different accomodations. Motel or hotel? Small casino or megacasino? Downtown, the Strip or further out? Similar help is available for picking what games to play and where to gamble, what shows to see (and where to sit), and so on.

This guide provides the sort of "I wish I'd known that" information you gather on your first trip to use on your next trip. This lets you avoid many of the common mistakes your first time out. Obviously a lot of this is subjective, and you won't agree with their assessments every time, but overall their evaluations are fair, and their tips are exteremely useful.

The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas, 2000, is the only book you'll want to read when planning your trip. It goes into great detail about all the hotels and casinos, what their rooms are like, what the hotels offer, what the casinos offer, and lots more. It tells you how to obtain "comps" and how to play the games, with easy to understand rules and diagrams. With their 100+ pages of Dining and Restaurant information, you know where to find the best food and the best prices. The Hotel Information Chart in the back is extremely helpful because you can compare hotels without having to flip through a lot of pages. Chapter 5 talks about shopping and the sights around Nevada, in case you plan on doing more than gambling. The Unofficial Guide gives you the pros and cons of each show so you can decide wether or not it's worth 100.00 a person, to see Siegfried & Roy at the Mirage. There is also a little section that tells you where you have the best odds of winning at each game, and at which casino. Another great thing about this book are the maps of The Strip and of Downtown. It lets you know how far you are from point "A" to point "B", because hotel properties are deceiving in their size. A walk from your room at the Venetian, to Caesars Palace may take 20 minutes or so. All 544 pages are packed full of helpful and accurate information. The Unofficial Guide made planning our trip extremely easy. I highly recommend this book, and only this book, to anyone planning on going to Las Vegas!

Mordred was born destined to kill his own father, the great King Arthur. Merlin prophesied that fact; it was his fate. Mordred wanted more than anything to beat that fate and to have his father accept him as his son, but was that possible? Could Mordred change his life and be the son of King Arthur?
I really enjoyed this book. The reader fights along with Mordred, throughout the whole book, to try and save his life, as well as his father's. It is a very emotional ride as Mordred fights with his inner demons and tries to change his destiny. It's hard not to feel bad for Mordred through his struggles. The book is well- written, but may not be suitable for younger readers. If you like stories of medieval times, you will like this book. What happens with Mordred and his great father? You have to read to find out!

One of the most enigmatic and mysterious characters of Arthurian legend is Arthur's illegitimate son, Mordred. Unfortunately, he is also one of the least explored. In a market flooded with preachy, badly-written Arthuriana, "I Am Mordred" shines like a rare, dark gem.

The book opens with King Arthur sadly setting dozens of newborn babies adrift on the ocean. Several years later, we see a young boy living peacefully with a fisherman and his wife. Their happy lives are interrupted when a woman named Nyneve rides in to bring Mordred back to his biological family, the royal family of Lothian. However, they are not pleased to see him.

He soon finds out why: he is the product of incest between King Arthur and his half-sister Morgause, and is destined to kill his father someday. Shocked by this, Mordred goes to Camelot and soon begins craving his father's love and acceptance. He is also terrified of the prophecy that he will kill Arthur, and does everything he can to fight it. But can he fight his destiny, or only fulfil it?

This is probably the best book I've read by Nancy Springer, a dark, beautiful, suspenseful and very sad novel. It's very rare to find an inspired Arthurian novel with any new material, but she pulls it off by creating a new Mordred -- this is not the monster who wants to kill Arthur for no reason, but a confused young man who only wants to be loved by his father, while knowing he is doomed to destroy him.

One of the primary themes is whether a person is "born bad"; Mordred has, in his lifetime, done nothing wrong. Yet he is treated as a pariah by the people around him. His loneliness is broken only by Arthur and by Mordred's dog, Gull. While traditional Arthurian legends seem to be based around the idea of Mordred being evil because of his incestuous conception, Springer simply breaks those ideas apart. Nobody is simply born to be evil. Destiny and fate are some of the items that are also explored: Mordred seeks a way to avoid fulfilling the prophecy, but risks fulfilling it through avoidance.

Mordred is an incredibly appealing character. He's merely a shy, introspective teenager who has been shunned by his relatives and by others in Camelot. His desperation is present on almost every page, as is his isolation, but Springer makes it sympathetic. Nobody will want to say "just shut up and quit whining"; rather, they'll be hoping that Mordred can somehow beat the prophecy, while knowing that he's all but certain to fail. Arthur is a good supporting character, surprisingly complex. Springer portrays him as an essentially good man who committed a terrible crime in an effort to save himself and his kingdom, and who regrets it. He wants to love Mordred as Mordred wants to be loved, but is as afraid of the prophecy as Mordred is.

Springer's writing is descriptive and evocative; it's a little flowery, but not too flowery. She has an excellent sense of buildup and suspense, that grows as the book progresses. The first and last chapters are written in third-person style, which may seem like a jolt when most of the book is written from Mordred's perspective; however, it becomes clear why this is necessary.

I would not advise this book for younger children. There's no objectionable content in it, but a great deal of focus on incest and the social stigmas attached to children born of it. The overall storyline is rather dark and occasionally violent, and Mordred's perpetual struggle against fate is a very psychologically intense storyline that may upset smaller children. Mature 9-12 kids and all teens ought to be able to handle this, and all the subtle undertones and nuances.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful and original Arthurian book published in recent years. "I Am Mordred" is an amazing addition to anyone's library, whether they are a fan of Camelot or not.

This is the one of the well-written and enjoyable books about Arthurian lore. It is about Sir Mordred of Lothian, son of the Very King Arthur and his step-sister Morgause. Even before Mordred was born, the wizard Merlin prophesied that Arthur would have an evil and unnatural son. He predicted that one day the king would be killed in battle by him. As Mordred grows up, he must live with the fact that he must one day carry out his fate. I really liked this book. Each character is thoroughly believable and realistic. Unlike nearly every other book about him, "I Am Mordred" takes a close look at not the treacherous villian, but the human side of him in this unforgettable tale from Camelot.

I had a very smart and very good teacher in grade school. We had to read a certain amount of books each year, and some we HAD to read as a class so we could discuss them. The Iceberg Hermit was one of them, and I have to say that it was one of my favorites of the must-read stories we had to pick from, right up there with Bridge to Terabithia, Tuck Everlasting, Mrs. Mike and Where the Red Fern Grows.

I had lost my copy years ago, but thought of it again recently. So I was pleasantly surprised that it was still in print. I remember how my imagination soared, trying to picture the main character stranded in the middle of nowhere. I was transported to another place and time, and 20 years after reading the book, I can still remember it vividly. If you are looking for some good reading material for your children, this will NOT disappoint.

This book was read to me in grade school.Even to this day,20 years later I still think of this story of survival and the importance of companionship.This book will truely leave you so inspired you will be left with a feeling of wanting to be a better person.

One of the best books I have read in the past year has to be "The Ice burg Hermit, by Arthur Roth. It is a marvelous book about a man who finds a way to survive in the cold. One of the major reasons I enjoyed this book so much is that it is full of action . The ice berg hermit is trying to survive in the cold depths of the seas. Another reason I enjoy this book and found this book to be so wonderful but suspenseful. He fights polar bears and you never know when a polar bear comes to kill Allen. Of course my favorite reason for having this book is, that it is full of action. The best action part in the book is when he tries to swing to the iceberg to save his life and almost dies. As for as I am concerned Author Roth hit the nail on the head of this book

No book can be the end-all be-all in shell programming. But this one comes close. I used it to learn the basic understanding of Unix. Then keep it as a reference. I even buy new copies of it as it is revised. The on line man pages used to give examples that worked; however there are not enough or not at all on some commands. This book has also contains the why and concepts of Unix. It is better than those beginning to learn Unix books and rivals the pure reference manuals. Some people go to sleep in classes and others have comprehension problems with a bunch of words. This book has simple workable examples that help you get on with your work. For the speed you need and at a price you can afford, Unix shell Programming is what you are looking for.

I bought this book when it was originally published back in 1990. I started with little programming experience, and no shell programming experience. It brought me up to speed quickly. I no longer write many shell scripts; however, I still use it as a desk reference when I do. For any UNIX system administrator, this book (or one just like it) is essential.

BTW, I have been looking for a better book all these years and haven't found one. It's not that I think this book is perfect, rather there just aren't many good books on this subject.

I am a perl and C programmer, and I am very familiar with the shells outlined in this book. So the material was not particularly "new" for me. I can see how it would be difficult to understand for a user who was new to shell programming.

If the intended audience is the intermediate unix user who knows something of programming, this book gets a full 5 star, my seal-of-approval rating. Terrific.

One thing it is lacking is a brief mention of perl or of awk. In many cases, it is simpler to write:

date | awk '{ print $2 }'

instead of:

date | cut -d' ' -f2

or, at least from the standpoint of understandability and readability. but the book doesnt claim to be a manual for awk, and oreilly has an excellent book on the subject.

I continually recommend this book to people, and where ever I go, I find this book on the bookshelves of successful people.

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. It presents a very watered-down version of the King Arthur legend. I am no medieval scholar, and it is possible that it is historically accurate and well-researched; this is not my gripe. It's just that so many of the elements of the story are missing, like the love between Guinevere (Gwenhwyvar in this book) and Lancelot (Llenlleawg). The prophecy about Arthur meeting his death at the hands of his son is mentioned once, but he never has a son - Lawhead does not incorporate Arthur's inadvertent incest with his sister into his story, hence there is no product of the union. It seemed to me that the search for the Grail was added almost as an afterthought, with a few foreshadowed lines thrown in here and there in Merlin, the book before this one.

Mostly, this book was about a seemingly endless series of battles, where all sorts of miracles happen like Arthur's army of 900 men defeating a barbarian army of 10,000 without a single casualty. Aside from the major players Arthur, Merlin, Charis, and the evil Morgian, none of the characters were very well-developed. They spoke the same, reacted the same, and had very few distinguishing characteristics. The women were all impossibly beautiful but (aside from Charis) never had much to say. The device of having the three sections of the book told from three different viewpoints didn't do much for me; I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it had just been written in the third person.

One redeeming quality of Lawhead's writing is his descriptive ability. Every once in a while he describes a landscape so clearly that I could see it in my mind's eye.

If you are looking for a quasi-historical account of the battles that King Arthur fought, the politics of the Roman empire at the time, and the rise of Christianity in Britain, then this book may be for you. If you are looking for a retelling of the legend in all of its magic and with all of its darkness, go read Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" instead.

Lawhead is an excellent storyteller, and Arthur is no exception. I really enjoyed the little bit of 'magic', and the legendary/mythical element ie Atlantis, the Faery Folk, Merlin, Hill people etc. Combine this with the real historical and geographical references, and it becomes an absorbing read. Like other reviewers have wondered, what happened at the end? ie. I assume Arthur makes a comeback in the next book, but it doesn't appear to have been resolved in Aneirin's lifetime, as he becomes an old man with the mystery still unresolved. And then it ends. Guess I'll just have to get Pendragon and hope I get some answers.

This book takes a different approach to the legend of King Arthur. Most notable is the absence of Lancelot. Saying this however, the book is still an interesting and enjoyable read. Lawhead weaves some of the legend into his tale of Arthur, with the sword in the stone as well as the Round Table. I particularly enjoyed the way he divided the book into three parts, each narrated by a different individual. In this way, the different stages of Arthur's life are better portrayed. The main reason that I didn't give this book 5 stars is the fact that this is more a work of fantasy than an attempt to place the Arthurian legend in British history. This is just my opinion, however and should not prevent anyone interested in Arthur from picking up this book. Most enjoyable!

I hate to admit it, but if this novel had not been included in the Modern Library's Top 100, I probably would have never picked it up. I have never been a fan of socially conscious literature, and I anticipated a novel in the style of William Dean Howells - full of cardboard characters, most of whom would be down trodden and hopeless, or rich and ruthless, and enough moral pronouncements to make me feel guilty for at least a day or two. Thankfully, I let the Modern Library editors convince me that the book was worth reading.

The novel is set during the dawning of the twentieth century and concerns itself with the impact of mechanical innovation on the bucolic life styles of a midwestern town. As the novel opens, the gulf between prominent families and their aristocratic lives are contrasted with those in society whose main purpose it is to support this luxurious and frivolous existence. The aristocracy is personified by the Amberson family, wealthy and prominent, and particularly by George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled grandson of the family's founder. He is unable to understand that a great revolution is taking place around him, that the lifestyle he has always known is soon to become anachronistic as those people with talent, luck and a little capital will soon surpass him in wealth and prestige. Although he has the talent to join this new mechanical age, he prefers to be and to remain a gentleman and to believe that "being things" is far superior to "doing things."

As the midwestern town grows and expands and becomes more and more industrial, and even as the Amberson family compound becomes surrounded by apartment buildings and factories, George is unable to accept the fact that he and his family are becoming irrelevant. As the town quickly turns into a dirty and depressing city and the Amberson fortune begins to crumble, he still dresses for dinner, still drives a horse and cart, and still holds to his standards "as a gentleman." Tarkington weaves in subplots involving the love story of George's widowed mother and the Henry Ford-like Eugene Morgan as well as George's own romantic involvement with Morgan's daughter. These stories add a subtle ironic twist to the narrative as well as allowing the author to delve deeper into the consciouness of his spoiled (but sympathetic) antagonist.

Although there is some of Howells influence in this book, Tarkington does not succumb to the artistic sterility of his mentor. This author is able to tell an interesting story and to develop characters that are not only realistic, but invoke an emotional response from the reader. And although the ending seems to me a little contrived and more in keeping with some of the "realist" writers of the early twentieth century, Tarkington's novel is, in the end, successful and offers an enjoyable reading experience.

This epic story is about the ducal Ambersons -- a rich family in the midwest ( probably Indiana ). George, the grandson of the rich and famous Major Amberson and his mother are the primary characters.

George's mother worships him. There is not a thing she will not do for him. Her love for George, ultimately spells her own disaster. George, on the other hand, is very spoiled, superior, snobbish and self-centered.

As the story unfolds, the reader watches the Amberson estate slowly fall. The unsuspecting Ambersons, do not realize this until it is too late. George, who has refused to learn a trade ( that is for common folks ) must learn to survive through his own earnings near the end of the tale. However he has been ruined through his own actions and winds up nearly friendless.

A good book describing the rise and fall of families -- who are the center of attention one day and then forgotten in the next generation. The message of the book is that life is like sand hand in one's hands. For a while you have it but it slowly slips through one's fingers.

"Magnificent" is the word to describe this book. Epic in scope, it follows the rise and fall of the Ambersons as the spoiled and arrogant George Minafer grows up. I enjoyed the somewhat melodramatic story and found many parallels between these times and the world of today. The plot is emotional and powerful, and it is easy to see why Orson Welles would have wanted so much to make it a film.

What makes the book especially interesting, however, is Booth Tarkington's ability to understand and describe the changes going through America at the time. The setting is more than just a "character;" it dictates the circumstances of its inhabitants. It provides the foundation for the way of life they must live. This is not only a tale of George and his family falling from great heights, but also a record of how a small town grew into a city, how automobiles changed the landscape in which we live, how people were forced to adapt to this unsympathetic setting between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He writes mainly from George's point of view, so there is a romantic, nostalgic vision of how things once were, but Tarkington is not fooled into believing that technological and social change has not made some things better, just as he isn't fooled into thinking they haven't made some things worse. What the Ambersons saw as tragedy and loss, others saw as opportunity. I percieved no moral lesson or message; this book is about the tragedy and loss of a proud clan unable to comprehend that in an industrial age, life was no longer static.

(There is also a good lesson in here on the risks of not diversifying your investments!)

I found this book almost impossible to put down. It was exciting and well written. However, it is historical fiction, and is based on the history of the nation of Israel. When you take a moment to consider how tragic this history is (the Jewish people have been repeatedly and systematically brutalized throughout the ages), you'll realize that this book is very serious indeed. I found myself feeling very unsettled, and even having nightmares. My advice: buy it, but read it prayerfully.

I am Jewish, yet I am not very religious. Lately I have been feeling the need to become closer to my religion... keep in mind, I am only 15. I am only half way through "Israel, My Beloved" and I have a greater understanding and sympathy for my heritage. While it is known that we are "the chosen people", sometimes I wonder if we are "the chosen people" to be persecuted all throughout time. I don't think many people understand what we, as a religion, have had to go through. I think this book was written incredibly well, and it portrays the history of Judaism in an awesome way. I wish more people would be open-minded and learn about different religions, rather than persecuting them. I already have a list of people I will be recommending this outstanding book to. Everyone should read "Israel, My Beloved"- it is truely a one of a kind book. A must read!

I saw Kay Arthur on tv doing a series on the covenant and really enjoyed the way she explained things. She mentioned that she wrote a book called Israel, My Beloved, so I was curious.

I'm glad I brought the book.

The story covers a time span from Jeremiah the prophet to the not too distant future. It deals with marriage, faithfulness and infidility, slavery, idolatry, suffering, hope.

At times it was quite hard to read - I never knew the history of Jewish people (outside of the bible and excluding World War II). It was if nothing else, a brilliant look into the history of a nation.

But it was more than that. Kay Arthur has a wonderful way with words, taking quite complex and difficult subject matters (for example the rape of women at the hands of an invading force), and doesn't make it sordid or weak. I really enjoyed reading this book and felt a little sad when I finished the last page.

This is a wonderful book. You won't regret buying it!