The "Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament" is a shorter version of that excellent "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature" or simply "BDAG." This shorter version is quite excellent if you just need New Testament definition of the Greek word. In review:
1. The defintions are short, simple and concentrates on the meaning of the NT words itself. This book excludes the words from Apostolic Fathers and other early Christian literatures.

2. The book includes "English words derived from Greek terms." This element helps readers to gain more insight to the word and remember the words better.
3. The typeset is better than its first edition. Fonts are clear and crisp, therefore they are easy on your eyes.
4. The book is small, light, and portable. This is great! If you cannot carry that big and heavy BDAG.

In sum, if you cannot afford 3rd edition of BDAG and intimadated by its huge size, then this shorter lexicon is just right for you! Even though I own 3rd ed of BDAG, I use this shorter lexicon for portability when I am out. Recommended heartily.

This book makes you work for each little bit of understanding. The method of giving many, many different examples of usage for each Greek word really broadens your understanding of each word, but is time-consuming.

This lexicon is excellent for word studies beyond the Strong's level and will drive you nuts if you don't know your case forms yet (I know from experience).

But all in all, this is a resource no Biblical scholar or wannabe scholar should be without. I'd recommend getting Strong's Concordance, Vine's Expository Dictionary, a Greek New Testament and this book to go along with a New American Standard Bible for the novice in Greek.

Your understanding of the New Testament and of Greek will grow by leaps and bounds with diligent study of these very basic resources - even if you don't intend to study Koine Greek professionally.

This is the standard Greek lexicon for New Testament studies. I find that it takes longer to use than Louw and Nida, but gives a more mature understanding. It gives many more examples, and also points out grammatical features of the words, which can be extremely helpful. This lexicon does not attempt to give you a full dictionary definition; instead, it tries to give you the data to allow you to develop your own. For a comparison of the standard lexicons for New Testament Greek, see "http://www.mindspring.com/~jwrobie/littleGreek.html"

The third edition of this famous Greek-English Lexicon does not disappoint. It is a significant improvement in at least three respects. First, specific Greek words have been given general definitions even where the word covers a wide semantic domain. This was not the case in previous editions where the reader was left with the meaning of a word only in its particular occurrence. Now readers can draw some conclusion about the basic meaning of any given Greek word. The approach suggests a regression in the approach to biblical words spearheaded by James Barr in his "Semantics of Biblical Language" and a return to the approach of older lexicographers to the effect that words have meanings. Second, the range of Greek authors has been expanded and now includes more noncanonical (especially apocryphal) Greek writings of special interest for the study of early Christian origins. Third, the type set and publication of this edition is dramatically improved, making it as sheer pleasure to handle and read. The second edition suffered from typeset that was too small, and lacked bold catchy print for the words themselves. Readers who own the second edition will want to upgrade for this reason alone.

There are two drawbacks. The first is price. This is an expensive volume, but perhaps that is to be expected. The second is that I noticed several examples of errata. No doubt these will be removed with each new printing.

Bauer is no Shelby Foote and this book no elegant synthesis of art and history. It remains a serviceable addition to the history buff's library, however, with its detailed accounts of the politics and battles of this little known conflict. Through Bauer we can appreciate men such as the unsung Commodore David Conner, the brash Commodore Robert Stockton, the easy-going, slovenly Zachary Taylor, the brilliant Winfield Scott. Civil War buffs will want this volume to appreciate how this conflict shaped the tactics and personalities of the next great confrontation in American history.

Bauer has done a great job here. It might be a little spare on the personalities, but for those who know nothing about this war, and there are multitudes, this is a good start.

The only thing I disagree with is Bauer's notion that the United States had nothing to fear from foriegn expansion into the near empty land which was claimed by Mexico. Republican Government had few friends in 1846 and we should put ourselves in the shoes of Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, and James K. Polk when we think of this era. They believed, and probably correctly, that the worst threat to the survival of the U.S. was to continue to try and exist with such a huge open territory on our borders. All that would be needed would be a foreign power with a thirst for empire on our borders and we might cease to exist. Men who thought this way were not imperialists, they were filled with fear for the survival of their decendants. Mexico was not governing much less defending the territories necessary for American survival and something needed to be done about it and fast. I don't recall any of the great Americans of this era ever using the term "manifest destiny." (Bauer doesn't say that either. Revisionists use this newspaper term.) More like manifest survival. This opinion shouldn't of mine shouldn't keep readers from enjoying this book, though. Wonderful job Dr. Bauer!

This is the best of the Mexican War books I have read. The only critical comment I would have is that the actors sometimes get confused as Bauer tries to put their experience in this war in a context with the War Between the States. His careful scholarship, though, shows how closely PBS came with its mini-series and where they failed. Few books, I think, give such insight into the role of fashion in historical research, which, by itself, is valuable to us amateurs. It is the last book on this subject of which I am aware which has not taken political correctness into account and so his critical attitude towards the Mexican government and that country's ruling classes might provide food for thought for some.