Reinhold Bernhardt's classic text, Christianity Without Absolutes, is an essential guide to the role of Christianity in religious pluralism. He astutely identifies the advantages and the limits of true dialogue and the benefits of ecumenicalism when approached properly. His thesis inherently critiques the approaches of John Hick and others which "empty" the content of faith in response to other religious traditions. All who are interested in this important topic will benefit by this book.

This technical publication is aimed at specialist biologists and chemists in the field of platinum cancer chemotherapy. At a price of 225 dollars (US) and the technical knowledge needed to understand the book, it is not recommended for readers who are just interested in increasing their general knowlegde of cancer and chemotherapy.

Each chapter of the book covers a specific area of platinum chemotherapy and each chapter is written by the WORLD EXPERT in that field.

The first chapters deal with the discovery and use of cisplatin, the first platinum drug. The next chapters deal with its DNA binding and toxic side effects.

The remaining chapters deal with reviewing the research that has followed over the last 30 years and describes in detail new complexes that are undergoing clinical trails, their DNA binding and their cytotoxicity and toxicity.

This is an excellent book that is perfect for scientists who are entering or are currently conducting research into platinum complexes as chemotherapeutic agents. Definitely worth the money.

This is the most comprehensive compilation on combinatorial optiomization I have seen so far.
Usually, Papadimitriou's book is a good place for this material - but in many cases, looking for proofs and theorems - I had to use several books:
(*) Combinatorial Optimization Algorithms and Complexity by Papadimitriou and Steiglitz.
(*) Integer and Combinatorial Optimization by Nemhauser and Wolsey
(*) Theory of linear and integer programming by Schrijver
(*) Combinatorial Optimization by Cook, Cunningham, Pulleyblank and Schrijver
(*)Combinatorial Algorithms by Kreher and Stinson

This book, on the other hand, contains so much information and so many proved theorems - it's the richest resuorce in this topic, in my humble opinion.

Using it as a graduate level textbook for an *introduction* to combinatorial optimization is kind of hard - as although it's richness, some topics are described without enough detail or examples (like the topics on network flow and bipartite graphs) - yet the authors probably assumed some previous knowledge in those topics.

I prefer using this book as a reference rather than and intoduction.

The heavy mathematical notations in this book might scare some readers, but no-fear! You quickly get used to it, and appreciate the greatness in the notations, as they make the theorems more short and to the point. On the other hand - getting back to this book for a quick review on some subject might force you to flip pages for a fwe minutes, just to remember the notation again.

The authors intended this book to be a graduaet level textbook or an up-to-date reference work for current research. I believe they accomplished both targets!

This is by far the best book for anyone who wishes to examine the creation texts in the Old Testament and many of the things scholars have said about them. It is an anthology of scholarly writings, from old Hermann Gunkel (1895) to 1983, when the book was published. The other authors are Bernhard W. Anderson, Gerhard von Rad, Walter Eichrodt, Dennis J. McCarthy, S.J., Claus Westermann, H. H. Schmid, Hans-Jurgen Hermisson, and George M. Landes.

As is well known, the interpretation of creation has long been affected by scientific publications, the most spectacular being Darwin's "Origin of Species" in 1859. However, in the world of ancient scholarship, there were also major developments. One was the translation of the old Babylonian creation story, the Enuma Elish (found in 1853), published in 1876. A second was the Canaanite literature found at Ras Shamra in 1929, containing the Baal epic. There is other literature as well.

The parallels of the Enuma Elish with the first creation story in Genesis (1:1-2:4a) became too evident to ignore, and Gunkel's groundbreaking work (1895) provides many references. Here we are introduced to "Chaoskampf," the mythological divine battle with chaos, the result of which is the world we live in.

In his excellent article on the Chaoskampf divine battle imagery in ancient Hebrew poetry, Dennis McCarthy, S. J. (1967, rev. 1983), argues that they relates to the establishment of social and political order, rather than creation, despite the creation imagery. McCarthy accepts a common view that creation refers to a vast, long ago, cosmic event.

Is this common view of creation in the Bible correct? I don't think so. One must decide what a creation text is, not just our own conception (Butterfield's Whig conception of history), but in history. Creation texts certainly include stories (there are four major creation stories in the OT, Gen. 1:1-2:4a; 2:4b-24; Prov. 8:22-31, and finally, the Chaoskampf type, found in scattered passages such as Pss, 74:12-17, 89:9-14; Isa. 51:9-10). But, there are also many texts containing creation images, themes, doctrines, and words. This vastly increases the number of creation texts, most of which are NOT in creation stories. Anderson himself considers many of the texts McCarthy dealt with as belonging to the Mosaic Covenant tradition's conception of the 'creation of a people', mentioned below.

As John L. McKenzie, S.J., has long argued, it would appear that the dominant presentation of creation is not an event, but as a continuing process. The great historian of Church doctrines, Jaroslav Pelikan has also pointed out that creation as a continuing process has a long history in the Bible and the Christian churches, noting especially Ps. 104.

One of the most influential interpretations was that of the great Gerhard von Rad (1936), who, looking at Yahweh as Creator and Redeemer, decided that the latter was primary and first. This idea infected scholarship for decades, including such excellent works as philosopher Donald W. Evans' "The Logic of Self-Involvment" a wonderful source for texts.

There are a number of arguments against von Rad on this. As McKenzie pointed out many years ago, there are no strata in Hebrew literature without creation elements. Indeed, the cultures of the ancient Middle East, from which the ancient Hebrews came, were full of creation theologies. H. H. Schmid (1973) forcefully argues in an article included in the volume, creation theology is the "broad horizon" of all biblical theology. Hans-Jurgen Hermisson (1978) shows that theology in the Wisdom literature is creation theology.

My own argument is simply that redemption presupposes creation: you can't save something that hasn't been created.

Anderson's Introduction to the anthology is not terribly well written, but it finally puts some order into much diverse material. For this alone the book would deserve a top rating. Anderson divides the material under five headings, corresponding to different traditions (these are not all the same as JEDP). I shall indicate the traditon, along with some texts, in brackets:

1. Creation of a People (Mosaic Covenant tradition, i.e. Dt. 32:6b)

2. Creation and Order (Royal or Davidic Covenant tradition, i.e. Ps. 89:9-14)

3. Creation and Creaturely Dependence (Wisdom Tradition, i.e. Ps. 104)

4. Creation and Origination (Priestly tradition, i.e. Gen. 1:1-2:4a)

5. Creation and New Creation (Prophetic Traditon, chiefly Second Isaiah, i.e Isa. 42:5-9, Ps. 51:10-12)

These traditions are not mutually exclusive, and indeed, Second Isaiah unites them, in effect, making redemption as a mode of creation. Neither do these divisions cover every creation text, but they do make the whole subject much more intelligible.

As for modern controversies, it can be seen that the ancient authors were not interested in either prehistory or in a modern concept like evolution. The first creation story is quite evidently a counterstatement to the Babylonian "Enuma Elish" and similar stories, for example. The texts primarily addressed the concerns of their times. As human beings, we can also find meaning in these texts, but there is no point in creating oppositions where there are none.

In my own opinion, the notion of creation as an event is religiously irrelevant, as it has nothing to do with our lives. Continuing creation, however, can be given many dimensions in our personal lives, in mystical contemplation, in social and political affairs, in in struggles for liberation, and in ecology.

Anderson's anthology provides a great opportunity to gain a more comprehensive view of the great variety of creation themes in the Old Testament. The limitation to the OT is not as severe as it might seem, as the New Testament added mainly a Christological dimension to the majaor themes. Highly recommended.

With a clarity of presentation and personal anecdotes, Bernhard Suess masterfully presents techniques and information quite useful to both amateur and skilled photographers. There was a wealth of information presented in this book which significantly improved both my compositional and printing skills. Amidst a plethora of books available on the subject, I feel that Suess makes an exceptional effort to make the topic as accessible as possible. There is a minimum of technical jargon that is not explained, which should appeal to the neophyte, and there are several tricks and techniques that would appeal to the more experienced photographer. I highly recommend this book.

Leaders in higher education should stand up and applaud the efforts of these authors. This is an accurate appraisal of the IT landscape in higher education. Few have ever touched upon this 800 pound gorilla of a subject. These authors have challenged the misperceptions held by many about the real costs of technology. It's about time.

Endlich wird auch einmal die Gottesfrage untersucht im Werk von Thomas Bernhard!

Bernhard Hillila's hilarious new book draws on lectures given at FinnFest USA '94 and '96. His lifelong Finnishness and attention to language, not to mention a penchant for puns and the good sense to laugh at himself, put him squarely in the tradition of Finnish-American humor, a tradition unknown only to those poor souls without Finnish relatives or friends. In the first section of the book, Hillila argues that "Finns are Fun Folks," supporting this radical notion with ample anecdotal evidence. In the second section, "Finnish is a Fun Language," Hillila recounts countless pronunciation bloopers caused when Americans try to speak a language that uses more vowels than consonants, or when Finnish speakers try their hand at talking "'merican." The third section, "Finglish is Even More Fun," shows how English has entered the Finnish language, not always through the front door. The book is well-written, informative and full of "funnies" for Finns and non-Finns alike.

Bernhard Hillila is currently professor emeritus of education at Valparaiso University. He has served as a pastor of bilinguial Suomi Synod congregations and was president of Suomi College and Theological Seminary in Hancock, Michigan. He has written numerous volumes of poetry and is author of the Penfield Press title, "The Sauna Is". Hillila was appointed Finnish performer of the year 1997 by the Finlandia Foundation.

This is an excellent book for students who are in, or who plan to enter AP US History. It's also excellent for History lovers.

Bernard Haring is one of the greatest theologians of the 20th/21st Century. He is also a man of inspiration who is inspiring. His life reads like a great novel. Yet, how he uses the often frightening situations and extraordinary obstacles in his path, as opportunities to live his life according to Gospel values, is astounding. He truly lets the Holy Spirit be his guide. The love that eminates from this man, even through the black and white page, is life enhancing. I recommend this autobiography in the highest possible way.