In Jerusalem there is a short street called Mendele Mocher Sefarim Street. The street is in the heart of Jerusalem's bustling Jewish life. From its rooftops, one can see almost see across to the Temple Mount, the source of inspiration for Jews throughout the ages.

This volume contains within it some a critical analysis of Jewish life in 19th and early 20th century Europe. Focusing on the down-and-outs of Jewery, Mendele portrays a hypocritical society and one that is much to blame for its misery. Fishke the Lame is a heart wrenching tale. Built as a story within a story, in a manner reminisant of Kabalistic thinking, the book lambasts everything from the poor to Jewish learning and practice. Benjamine the Third is light-hearted and humorous, but the underlying themes are the same - the foolish Jews of Europe living in their insular world.

I wonder what Mendele would make of his namesake street?

For one that seemingly saw little value in the traditional life of European Jewery, would he be pleased that all around there are Jews whose commitment to the Law is unshaken by the barrage of criticism launched by the enlightened Jews of his age?

Despite its themes, this is a worthwhile volume for anyone who cares about the Jewish past and what it means for a jewish future.

This work is certainly a "must" for anyone interested in Jewish fiction. "Tales of Mendele, the Book Peddler" is a rich source of information about a Jewish life all too often forgotten and neglected, life amongst the Jewish vagabonds, rascals, the poorest of the poor. Even within the scoundrel of society you may find the deepest human feelings and faith in the values rooted in Jewish tradionts, here represented by the character Fishke the Lame. What a lovely character! The message is clear: because the Jewish community isolated itself from the rest of the world, a stigma was created which contributed to a growing prejudice against that same community. "The Brief Travels of Benjamin the Third" is indeed brief! Althogh some critics rightly draw a parallel with "Quijote and Sancho Panza," no doubts this novel falls short of Cervantes classic. The initial impetus of the work promises a great journey, but soon it dwindles and the reader is left with the impression the writer gave up and went about into other matters. An "unfinished symphony..."

This book comes in four parts 1)Taliessin through Logres (collection of Charles Williams' poems about the Arthurian saga as seen through the eyes of the court poet Taliessin) 2)The Region of the Summer Stars (more of Williams' poems about the Holy Grail) 3)Arthurian Torso, consisting of a) Charles Williams prose work on the history of the Grail/Arthurian legend, entitled The Figure of Arthur, and b)C.S. Lewis's commentary on Williams' poetry, entitled Williams and the Arthuriad. A fine introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler accompanies the Eerdmans edition of this work.

I found Arthurian Torso to be the best part of the book by far. By itself, it deserves a five star rating. Williams traces the fascinating history of the Grail with the legend of King Arthur and the Round Table using a combination of scholarly acumen and lucid tutorial explanations. In other words, it is both accurate and understandable. Lewis, in turn, adds insightful commentary about both the Arthurian saga and Williams' poems on the subject. Lewis's wisdom and lucid prose are as delightful to read on this matter as they are about other subjects he tackled.

Unfortunately, I think the poetry will appeal to very few people. I give it a one star quality (which, when combined with the five star quality of the Arthurian Torso give the book an overall rank of three.) Even C.S. Lewis admits that Williams' biggest fault is his obscurity. (There are times when even such a scholar as Lewis - who not only loved the Arthurian legend, who adored poetry, and who had discussed this poetry at length with Williams himself - found himself puzzled by parts of it, describing parts of it as "cryptic", or saying "I end in doubts" or "There are things in this piece which I do not understand.")

I was unmoved by this poetry. It was like trying to read something in an unfamiliar language - no meaning was conveyed.

So all in all, this book receives a mixed review. If the Arthurian legend interests you, then this work is worth obtaining, simply for the Arthurian Torso section of it. If you get anything out of the poetry, it will be a bonus.

This poetry takes some time to master, but it is well worth the effort. It recounts the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom from the point of view of Taliessin, the court poet. The non-linear lyric pieces are a perfection of the craft; especial standouts are "Taliessin's Song of the Unicorn," and "The Queen's Servant." Perhaps if enough people become familiar with this hard-to-find classic, it will reappear in print! All lovers of Arthuriana: this is a must. Tawny M. Goswitz

I found this book to be clear, true, and too the point. It is a short work and an easy read. I would recommend this especially to those who do not come from a Reformed perspective and yet would like a presentation of the Reformed view of the law. Not meaning that this book is not good for all peoples. It is not the most comprehensive book on the subject of the law I have seen by any means, but it is no weak work, and insightive at that.

Many are preaching an antinomian (against law) theology that is destroying the church today. A. W. Pink shows us in light of Scripture that we as Christians are to live by and teach others as well the 10 Commandments. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:18-19)

I looked for this book for quite a while before I finally got a library copy. I read it all, but was glad I hadn't actually bought it. (Note that I own more than 20 books by Lewis, including Letters and Letters to Children, and have read about 30 of his books; so one could safely say I am a fan.)

The book's idea is very interesting--letters from a man who wrote good letters, written to his lifelong best friend. Since Lewis greatly valued friendship (as I do), I wanted to see what he said. But the introduction was disappointing: Hooper spends pages telling Lewis's brother's faults in detail to the world, and only God knows whether he has done so honestly. It was also disappointing that Hooper chose to "scientifically restore" passages in the letters that talk about the correspondents' youthful indiscretions, passages that Greeves had carefully crossed out. In other words, the book fails to appropriately respect either Lewis's friendship or his loyalty to his brother--tabloid editing even if the restorations are accurate.

But the letters themselves are interesting and tell Lewis's story from a different angle than his other books. I'd say it's worth 3 1/2 stars.

This book is a finely edited collection of letters from C.S. Lewis to one of his closest friends, Arthur Greeves. Besides the usual day to day chat, Lewis lets Arthur in on the three things he thinks should go into a letter: a person's readings, thinkings, and doings. Not only was this correspondence fun to read, but several specimens are as good as anything I've read in the way of sage advice to aspiring writers. Lewis's letters are candid, often whimsical and full of good humor, and entertaining in giving insightful commentary on the books he read. Walter Hooper has done a fine job of editing the correspondence and I strongly recommend obtaining a copy of the book if you can get hold of one.

Anyone with any interest in the Middle East should read this book. A political novel that hasn't lost any of its punch by being a bit dated, it's engrossing in its characters, its plot, and its description of the political conflict in pre-world war II Palestine. Too bad Koestler isn't with us today to explain how things got from where they were in 1940 to where they are now. Also too bad that a jem like this is out of print when so much that's pushed by the massive marketing machines of the few surviving publishing houses constitutes so much donkey dung.

This is a fascinating book which shows brilliant insight to the human soul and nature. It was a real pleasure to read.

The story is quiet a simple one , in it , there is a collector whose friend is an artist , who dies and leaves behind a crystal dog which is stolen and it has a connection with another robbery . In the end the thief turns out to be some- one in the neighbour-hood ,for a simple reason

The Three Investigators come to the aid of a retiree who fears he is being haunted. This M. V. Carey installment of the Alfred Hitchcock series has dogged detective work, ingenious gadgetry, supernatural tension, and entertaining characters. It takes place mostly in a sparsley-populated apartment complex in which all the tenants are suspects, and the boys must eliminate one after another in their search for the guilty party or parties. Burglary, fire, poison, sabotage, and mysticism abound in this exciting book. From the black cat in the opening chapter to the astral speculations in the last, The Mystery of the Invisible Dog will enthrall any young reader. Buy it now!

This book is a very good ECONOMIC history of Colonial America, focusing on the Chesapeake Bay region. The "down-side" is that it reduces all the colorful, interesting, tragic events of that period (pirates, revolution, famine, slavery) down to their impact upon the economy (imports, exports, balance of trade, etc.) and could be very "dry" reading. The book tends to focus on maritime issues, simply because that was the major transportation mode at that time. If you are interested in Colonial America, particularly the Chesapeake Bay region, I recommend reading this book simply to give you an understanding of the economic forces that had so great a role in shaping this region.

This is one of the best books on the eastern seaboard from the earliest of times. Easy to read and terrific research. If you are writing anything about this time and place, this book is a necessity.

This book is very short and to the point and can be read easily in an afternoon by an average reader.

The plot is nothing to brag about but it is basic and holds together well enough. Basically it boils down to this: Following a botched hijack attempt by a common criminal, a plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. Only a handful of people survive and of these people only two teenage boys - one black and one white - are fit enough to travel. So the two boys set off to find help while the rest stay behind and fend for themselves. Both groups have to deal successfully with the mental and physical rigors of survival.

The book seems to be written with a younger readers in mind but it is not childishin its approach; just clean and simple. As such would be an excellent adventure story to spark interest in reading in a young person. Even for an adult reader this little book is a good survival story well worth the dollar or so it would cost to pick up a copy in a second hand bookstore.

This book is about the survival of six people after a plane crash. The crash
was caused by a hijacker, Will Bennett. Will hijacked the plane because he
was going to go on trial for outrunning the police. He did not want to go to
jail so he decided to hijack the plane. His plan however, backfired on him
and the plane crashed in a mountain wilderness.
The six people were, Annie, Desmond, Mr. Lusty, John, Mark, and
Marshal O'Connor. They all realized that they needed to find a way to get
help and survive in the cold and snowy area. They sent Mark and John to
go look for help. The rest stayed, Annie and Desmond looked in the remains
of the plane for food, blankets or anything else that would help them
survive. After days and miles of hiking Mark and John came across an old
cabin. They then checked it out and went back to the crash site to tell the
others they found shelter. Meanwhile, Annie and Desmond found
sandwiches and a box of hard candy, along with some blankets.
The weather was freezing and everyone was getting restless and
weaker. They ran out of food and Mark and John had to go hiking again to
find help. But things at the cabin we bad. The marshal hurt his hip, so he
mostly sat around arguing with people. Desmond was getting worse and
very sick. Annie was still injured but she always tried to find help or food.
Mr. Lusty was the father of the group. He never complained and he tried to
rationalize things.
The mountain area made things difficult for Mark and John. John
had a bad pain in his jaw and Mark had a broken ankle. But they never
gave up. The survival of these six people all depended on them.

The book Weather: How it works and Why it Matters by Arthur Upgren and Jurgen Stock is an interesting and rather diverse text on weather. It covers not only the basics, like humidity, dew point, wind chill and temperature, but also the physics of weather, the lore of weather, and weather on other planets. It examines ice ages and their causes and looks at the effects of extraterrestrial impacts, like the ancient Chicxulub astroid that destroyed the dinosaurs and the modern day Tunguska comet impact in Siberia in 1908.

Although I'd no doubt that the authors were very competent in science (Arthur Upgren is Professor of Astronomy at Wesleyan University and Senior Research Scientist at Yale University and his coauthor Jurgen Stock is an astronomer on the faculty of Hamburg and Case Western Reserve Universities), I wasn't quite sure that either was necessarily qualified as a meteorologist. Actually I found it interesting that two such well trained astronomers would even be interested in writing a book about weather and climate. It was with the final chapters (15-18) of the book that their purpose in doing so became apparent.

The problem of global warming and world wide environmental destruction is an issue with which many scientists, regardless of their pedigree, have become more and more involved. Well known and influential authors such as E.O. Wilson and Richard Leaky have added their voices to a growing chorus of well trained individuals attempting to call our attention and that of our governments to the dangers of continued abuse of nature and the planet. In this instance, it isn't so much the "how it works" part of the title that is the actual point of the book, but the "why it matters" portion that is overwhelmingly so.

The bibliography is well rounded and well worth spending a little time rounding up the entries. It includes titles that cover, in even greater detail, many of the concepts introduced by the present authors. Included are Aherns' Essentials of Meteorology, Alvarez's T. Rex and the Crater of Doom, Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, Imbrie and Imbrie's Ice Ages: Solving the Mystery, Leaky and Lewin's The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Mankind, Stommel and Stommel's Volcano Weather: The Story of the Year without a Summer, 1816, among others. Some of these I have already read and enjoyed, others I will definitely look to include in my reading list.

Although one might find a better and more detailed discussion of the actual complexities of weather and climate, this book covers a broad spectrum of issues having to do with it and brings to the fore the impact that our individual decisions have on our world.

First, I would like to comment on the overall tone of this book that discusses one of those topics that often would invoke some form of repulsion by the average layman - Junger has done a marvelous job at engaging the reader through an otherwise lengthy and descriptive piece of literature.

The author leads the reader through the weather journey from his honest personal experiences to the history of Earth's atmospheric evolution, all but topped with curious facts about other planets and the Universe. I really enjoyed the systematic approach he applies in the discussion of Global Warming, the delicate inter relationship that marries the climate and human activities and preventive measures.

However, one huge drawback of this book that now seems to beg you to buy it is the lack of detailed Geographical analyses of mechanisms of the weather machine and their causes. The author tends to gloss over the details (which may be a good thing for some) but offers many examples to support his statements.

What I find particularly refreshing is the section on weather lore. To cite one example, the old saying that when dew appears rain will not come, actually arises from the lack of cloud cover. Comprehensive and light hearted talk about the weather. Thumbs up.

This book contains three stories. The first is When The World Screamed. In this story the formidable Professor Challenger sets out to prove that the Earth itself is a gigantic creature swimming through space. The second story is The Disintegration Machine, wherein Professor Challenger has to deal with a foreign scientist who has created a machine of mass destruction.

And now for the unfortunate part: the bulk of this book is taken up by the third story, The Land of Mist. In this story, Edward Malone and subsequently Professor Challenger are introduced to Spiritualism. The story is long (about four times as long as the other two combined), and rambling. A.C. Doyle wrote this story as a polemic, and it makes very poor fiction indeed. If you don't need to read this story, then don't.

So, let me sum up by saying that the first two stories warrant 5 stars, and the last warrants one (or zero).

It's not often noted that Conan Doyle was one of the funniest writers ever. Many readers seem to miss the humor, if the largely clueless online reviews of "The Lost World" are any guide. Get that book first; it's Conan Doyle's masterpiece and one of the great books of the 20th century. Then try to get a copy of this one (it's out of print), containing three other stories about Professor Challenger. The title story, written at the end of the author's life, shows him at the height of his powers, right down to the magnificent final sentence.