In the spring of 1982, I borrowed this book. I was in the 9th grade, and had to get a book for my English class. I couldn't put the book down. I was so touched by John Baker and his incredible courage and compassion for others. I soon bought the book and found myself reading it for inspiration when I joined the track team. John showed me something I never had realized--that by doing one's best, one can accomplish amazing things. I soon found myself putting much greater efforts in not only track, but also school and life.

In 1992 I became an elementary teacher. I have read aloud this book to my various classes. I have found my students loving the book. Many tell me it is their new favorite book. Together we come up with service ideas of how we can make our year "A Shining Season". This books reaches right into their hearts and stays there. John Baker is the role model that our children and young adults need. If you only buy one book this year, I recommend highly that "A Shining Season" be the one. I can never express enough how thankful I am for this book.

There are many books out there today about our sport and about people in our sport, but none touch the soul as deep as "A Shining Season." I along with many of the other reviewers read this book for the first time when I was younger and in junior high. This book is a MUST to read, runner or nonrunner this book with touch your heart and motivate you to look at your life and want to live yours in such a way that John would smile from heaven and be proud. As a middle school kid I can remember to this day wanting to call information and ask for John Bakers parents phone # so I could thank them for having such a great son. This book touched my life and I hope it will touch yours as well. God bless John.

An outstanding book.

I'm an emotional sap and cry at the drop of a hat, but if any one can read this book and not go through a few tissues they either have incredible emotional control or are extremely cold. I started this book yesterday after I got home, around lunch time. I finished it (250 pages) last night. I don't think I've ever done that before. It reads fast. It is the tragic, yet wonderful, true story of John Baker - one of American's best milers in 1969. He teaches elementary school kids and truly lives a life of purpose; a life well lived.

Buy this book now and read it, but stock up on the tissues. You'll come away wishing you had known him. This is mostly a book about teaching kids and heroic character and doesn't talk much about running.

I first read Baring-Gould's biography back in 1975, and it was my first REAL exposure to The Game -- the treatment of Sherlock Holmes as a living person and the art of speculating about The Master's life from the clues dropped by Watson in the original stories. I'm delighted that this book is still available.

Baring-Gould presents as good a chronology of the Doyle tales as anyone, and he "fills in the blanks" delightfully. (Imagine Holmes fighting a prehistoric bird in hand-to-talon combat on the deck of a freighter! It's true!!)

Baring-Gould obviously had a damn good time writing this extraordinary, and definitive, biography of Sherlock. And if you've already devoured the original 60 stories, dive into this book. Then set it alongside your copies of the Doyle books. It deserves a place there.

Baring-Gould is the greatest chronicler of the Holmesian canon. His annotated version is a must for every enthusiast. Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street is the biography of the man, put together from the many stories. "It was the year in which Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden...."."Unaccountably, the Almanac fails to list perhaps the most memorable event of that same memorable year. It was the birth, in the early hours of the morning of Friday, January 6, of a third and last son to Siger and Violet Holmes, at the farmstead of Mycroft in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, a district famous for its horse-breeding stables and its wind-swept--"wuthering" - heights." You will read about the birth of the man, his family, his brother, etc. You will enter with him into his friendship with Watson (also Watson's youth) and their adventures. Please bring this book back in print. It is a must.

W.S. Baring-Gould's classic biography of Holmes is brilliant from start to finish. Arguably the greatest Sherlockian scholar ever, Baring-Gould assembles the details of Holmes's life from isolated references in the canonical stories and indulges himself in some inferential reasoning as to some of the missing information: he contends, for example, that a certain well-known U.S. consulting detective is actually the child of Holmes and Irene Adler. (Some of his speculations on other matters have been borne out by the discovery of a lost manuscript published by Nicholas Meyer under the title _The Seven Per Cent Solution_.)

Readers of this work will also want to find a copy of Baring-Gould's masterly _The Annotated Sherlock Holmes_ if possible. These kids writing Holmes pastiches today just don't know what the hell they're doing :-).

Do we, Muslims and Christians of the world, really need to build a bridge between Islam and Christianity?

In my opinion, It's not the aftermath of 9/11 that calls for an answer to the question and it shouldn't. However, one needs to bring to mind and heart decades and centuries of mutual understanding and coexistinace between members of the two faiths.

This is why, my wife (Dr. Laila) and I, had to have this great book at times like these for better ones when PEACE governs our hearts and actions.

Blessings and prayers from Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Esam Mudeer
A Saudi writer

This is the 8th copy I have ordered from you! The reason is because I heard the author on Dr.Robt.Schuller's Hour of Power a year ago and he made so much sense in helping me learn about other people and their religious beliefs. Therefore, I wanted to find out for myself. Now I have told others that if they don't find out for themselves we're going to have the bloodiest Holy War out of ignorance - that never would happen if we understood instead of condemning out of predjudice and ignorance. I have spoken to groups about this book and why I have passed out 8 copies of it so the word gets out!!
Here's how ignorance plays out. For example: Are you a Muslim?? Now let me tell you what the Arabic word "Muslim" means in English. "One who submits or surrenders to God." Now tell me whether you're a Muslim or not.

William W. Baker has written a clear and concise text that calls for both Christians and Muslims to better understand the similarities and shared historical origins of each other's great faiths to reach a common ground that will provide for a better working relationship to meet the challenges facing the societies where the practioners of both religions coexist. As a Christian theologian, Baker understands that there are differences between Islam and Christianity, but these differences do not warrant tensions and hostilities between peoples. He provides a brief but poignant presentation of the historical foundation of Islam and its relationship to the other monotheistic faiths, Judaism and Christianity, whose scriptures it has embraced.(p)

Baker's main emphasis and hope throughout the book is for the reader to enhance his understanding of the need for a common ground between Christians and Muslims because of shared origins and beliefs and to use this knowledge to do further investigation on how stereotypes and misperceptions that currently exist between the two pepoles may be overcome. This is certainly a must read for everyone interested in building a society based on trust and respect for the constructive values of each other's religious beliefs.

In today's world, where speaking the truth (i.e. European Jews moved to an Asian Land, set up a country displaced the inhabitants into refugee camps) makes you a target, W. Baker seems to be one of the few men that will speak the truth.
It's a well written book.... does not whitewash the period between 1902 and 1947 (when magically the Jewish population in Britsh Madate Palestine grew from 6% to 23%.. .still not a majority, but enough , with the appropriate arms, to drive out the simple farmers)

"Theft of a Nation" is a book for our time, as we approach the beginning of a new millenium. The focus of this text by a well traveled theologian, William W. Baker, is the Israel - Palestine conflict and the misperceptions and misinterpretations that have come to be accepted as facts surrounding the roots of the turmoil in the Middle East. Baker shows how the holy scriptures have been misused in justifying the terrible crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinians and the complicity by so called "fundamentalist Christians" in giving moral authority to the political entity known as Israel.(p)

Baker outlines a step - by - step solution to the settlement of this conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians in which both peoples must recognize mutual national interests and legitimate security concerns. Although written in 1982, this book is prophetic and serves as a guide to the Oslo Peace Agreement of 1992, which was signed between the leadership of the two peoples. I would highly recommend this book to people interested in seeking objective information about the Israel - Palestine conflict from a Western observer not tied to any special interest groups. It was an eye opener to me and made me question many of the "so called facts" that had been presented to me. The book can serve as a guide to conflict resolution in many troubled regions where religious and ethnic animosity has resulted in needless bloodshed, such as the Balkans, South Asia, Northern Ireland, and southern Africa.

"Theft of a Nation" is a book for our time, as we approach the beginning of a new millenium. The focus of this text by a well traveled theologian, William W. Baker, is the Israel - Palestine conflict and the misperceptions and misinterpretations that have come to be accepted as facts surrounding the roots of the turmoil in the Middle East. Baker shows how the holy scriptures have been misused in justifying the terrible crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinians and the complicity by so called "fundamentalist Christians" in giving moral authority to the political entity known as Israel. Baker outlines a step - by - step solution to the settlement of this conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians in which both peoples must recognize mutual national interests and legitimate security concerns. Although written in 1982, this book is prophetic and serves as a guide to the Oslo Peace Agreement of 1992, which was signed between the leadership of the two peoples. I would highly recommend this book to people interested in seeking objective information about the Israel - Palestine conflict from a Western observer not tied to any special interest groups. It was an eye opener to me and made me question many of the "so called facts" that had been presented to me. The book can serve as a guide to conflict resolution in many troubled regions where religious and ethnic animosity has resulted in needless bloodshed, such as the Balkans, South Asia, Northern Ireland, and southern Africa.

While Gerhardus Mercator was known for his geographical work and knowledge, few knew that he was also a very fine calligrapher. This book is an excellent resource for those interested in increasing their knowledge of calligraphy styles. WHat is particularly interesting about this book is the fact that the leters are very true to Mercator's original letters because he cut his own printing blocks. The swooping letters, very elegant, are organic in form, not harsh or rigid. All the designs, by the way, are copyright free - a nice bonus.

Buy this book now! Even if you never make any of the recipes, the pictures and layout are worth the price.

If you're a novice baker, this isn't the book for you. Some of the recipes are a bit involved. You must, must make the Kranz Cake, even if it does demand an overnight rest of the dough...

Bear in mind this is a British book, so you'll need a set of scales as well as a Fahrenheit/Celsius conversion to make anything from the book (unless this edition is already converted - I got my copy in the UK).

A Canadian by birth, Naismith, a physician and minister with additional degrees in education and psychology, also invented the football helmet and taught sex education. Naismith never made any money from the game he invented. In fact, he refused fees when he spoke about basketball in public, and he once turned down a substantial sum to endorse cigarettes. Amos Alonzo Stagg, a YMCA facility member and a player in the first basketball games, recommended Naismith to start a basketball program at the University of Kansas. He took the job, which he held from 1898 until his death in 1939, though he coached basketball for only nine years. The inventor of the game is the only coach in University of Kansas history with a losing record: 53 wins and 55 losses. An amazing man and a wonderful look at his YMCA invention: basketball

I found this book to be a good source of inspiration. It gives different beautifull options to do capital letters and many choices for each one. I think this book is a must for serious calligraphers who want great ideas for initials.

Interesting

These are the days of Sony Playstation 2 and Harry Potter, activites that do not really ever try to tell a great story that also gives a lesson without being preachy.

The Velveteen Rabbit is heartwrenchingly beautiful. The Rabbit who yearns to be Real and whose love for the boy was unconditional is both imaginative and sad. I cannot read this book without a lump coming to my throat and being transported to simpler days when the love of a toy was the greatest thing in the whole world.

This is a book with an ending that is mixed, that touches on the ambiguity of life and loss. But there is also hope of a new beginning. And I think children can understand that and grow from it.

I cherish this book deeply.

A great book on love! I really loved this book as a kid and still remember when my Gramps used to read it to me when we would visit him in the province. He gifted me the book on my 7th birthday and became a real sentimental favorite. My original book got lost when my family vacationed in Milan when I was 12, too bad. I could recall how depressed I became when I discovered that I left the book in the hotel. I missed that book terribly and eversince I was on the look out for another copy, until 16 years later, my beautiful girlfriend gifted me one on our anniversary when she returned home from Munich. I was so happy as I lifted the copy out of the box and I couldn't help but shed a tear out of happiness! Since then, it remains on my bedside table. It is very enlightening, heart warming and full of love. I really love toys up to now and this book really manifests unconditonal love. I will surely treasure this book and in time gift it to my future kids. It's a real classic , something to be treasured forever!

This book is a simple work of art. Its beauty in itself is virtually indescribable. When I was little, it was my favorite book. In fact, I've had it ever since I was born. It is about a boy who owns a stuffed rabbit, and longs for it to be real. Eventually, because he loved the rabbit so much, his wish was granted. The book is so well written that it brings tears to my eyes almost every time I read it. It is definitely one of my all-time favorites.