I JUST READ THE SYNOPSIS OF ROLAND BISHOP'S NEW BOOK CODENAME FIREANT, NOT YET PUBLISHED AND FOUND THE EXCERPTS TO BE EQUAL TO OR EVEN BETTER THAN HIS FIRST BOOK OPERATION ARABIAN KNIGHTS WHICH I READ IN ITS ENTIRETY IN TWO DAYS. IT APPEALED TO MY INTERESTS AND I LITERALLY COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I WOULD GIVE HIS FIRST BOOK FIVE STARS AND EXPECT THE CODENAME FIRE ANT TO BE EVEN MORE ENTHRALLING. DR. P.T. MESSICK DDS

The author, Mr. Bishop, weaves a facinating and captivating story of intrigue, suspense and terrorism. He displays a vast knowledge of his subjects; Iraq, intelligence, patriotism and nuclear holocaust. The story line keeps you riveted and focused in the action and drama. Compelling and filled with suspense. Highly Recommended.

With so much unsettling events going on currently in the Mideast, this gripping novel about international terrorism is timely, authentic and filled with convincing characters. The author makes the readers feel the suspence of this covert military operation. This book was so well written, I look forward to reading Bishop's next novel. I highly recommend the book to readers who enjoy Tom Clancy type novels.

The author has tightly focused his attention on the SLEEP aspects of the Wake. While this makes for a rather monochromatic presentation bordering the banal, the clarity and sheer thrust of the presentation are indisputable. (At bottom, one really doesn't like to admit there's so much IN the Wake that such restrained scholarship is required.)

[from the text, pp.4-7]: "Suppose we charged ourselves with the task of providing in chronological order a detailed account of everything that occurred to us NOT last night...but in the first half-hour of last night's sleep. The 'hole affair' [535.20], (and a 'hole', unlike a 'whole', has no content), will likely summon up a sustained 'blank memory' [515.33]: 'You wouldn't should as youd remesner, I hypnot' [360.23-24]. What would become equally obscure, even questionable, is the stability of identity...No one remembers the experience of sleep at all as a sequence of events linked chronologically in time by cause and effect."

Joyce remarked to his friend William Bird:

"'About my new work - do you know, Bird, I confess I can't understand some of my critics, like Pound or Miss Weaver, for instance. They say it's OBSCURE. They compare it, of course, with ULYSSES. But the action of ULYSSES was chiefly in the daytime, and the action of my new work takes place chiefly at night. It's natural things should not be so clear at night, isn't it now?'"

This guy's read "Finnegans Wake" a thousand times, so it seems, and his knowledge of Joyce and environs is wide. I'd recommend "Joyce's Book of the Dark" for you Wakeans out there who need to dig deeper into the book of the delpth.

The ultimate treatment of Joyce's confusing classic, Bishop's comprehensive analysis goes beyond typical literary interpretations. Focusing of such diverse influences as Vico's "New Science" and The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Bishop shows the compexity of Joyce, as well as his almost total command of the English language, and language in general. If you've ever wondered about Vico's historical thesis, and want to understand how Vico permeates Joyce, this is the book to read. In the end, you'll come away with a better appreciation of Joyce's text, and a feeling of amazement at Vico's poorly understood, but far-sighted view of mankind.

Professional historians might slight Jim Bishop's work -- "The Day Christ Died;" "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" -- as "popularizations." So they are. Not much new in either of these: just good writing and empathy. There is a role for these qualities, one would think, even in the footnoted world of the professional.

"FDR's Last Year" lacks footnotes too. Its biblography is barely up to undergraduate term paper standards. It is, without doubt, beautifully written. So far, so good. But, it is more than just a facile rehash of research done by others. It is a moving account of a great human and historical tragedy -- the physical and mental deterioration of the god-like FDR at what should have been his moment of historic triumph.

By the spring of '44, when the book opens, President Roosevelt was already on borrowed time. There was a world of difference between the buoyant and vigorous champion of 1933 (or, even, 1943) and the increasingly depressed, distracted, and enervated Chief Executive of the late war years. Bishop does not dance around any of this -- but he does not succomb, either, to the harsher portraiture that has been drawn of a senile and naive FDR about to be taken to the cleaners by the Russians.

Some of what the tired president did during his waning months defies rational analysis. What was the purpose of his quixotic meetings with three middle eastern kings on his way back from Yalta? What made him think they would be interested in his hare-brained schemes to "make the desert bloom?" Was his meglomania simply in control here?

Yet, Bishop keeps his focus on the main event: FDR's self-destroying mission to create a postwar world that would not self-destruct into war as had the post-Versailles world. For this, his inspiration was his own political mentor -- Woodrow Wilson. While Churchill and Stalin reveled in their own species of cynicism, the tired and dispirited FDR, well-aware he was dying, held to a vision of a world organization that might offer humanity something better than realpolitik.

Roosevelt sacrificed himself to this vision. Burned himself out in pursuit of it. Churchill was interested only in British imperialism and FDR saw him for what he was -- a hopeless reactionary brought to power by a temporary crisis. Stalin was -- well, Stalin was the one man who had as much blood on his hands as Hitler. Of the "Big Three," only FDR tried to rise above chauvinism toward a broader, more humane future.

This broad view of humanity is exemplified by FDR's contempt for imperialism and his determination not to allow the French back into Indo-China. It is a sobering thought that had he been spared, the Viet Nam War need never have been fought.

Bishop gives a compassionate account of FDR's covert romance with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd. The dying man, and the aging widow, found inestimable comfort in one another's company. It was too late in the day for both of them. The time for happiness was past. But, they clung to one another as the darkness closed about them.

This is a story about a dying god. A self-immolation in pursuit of an ideal. The impossibly handsome and charming FDR, the most politcally astute chief executive in our history, fading away into nascent senility and physical decreptitude. One is reminded of the last scene of "All Quiet In the Western Front," where the soon-to-die soldier played by Lew Ayres reaches out for a beautiful butterfly in No Man's Land in a last attempt to seize beauty out of death.

This is a marvelous book. Parts of it, such as the embalming of FDR's body, are almost too painful to read. Bishop brings an empathy, pathos, and compassion to his subject that is altogether absent from nearly all "professional" works of history. It is a moving and deeply illuminating work.

As a former educator and one who has worked for the State Department in our nation's capitol, I found FDR'S LAST YEAR not only to be enjoyable reading but one of the most profoundly written books of history I have ever come across. It was so detailed and I saw FDR for the first time to be thoroughly human.The fact that I discovered this book to be out of print, surprised and disappointed me, to say the least.

After I finished, I felt that I had not only lived in the White House that last year, but worked closley with the former President. Love him or hate him, FDR'S LAST YEAR is a must read for all those interested in the history and politics of this country.

"THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT"!

This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the Balkans and in the history of Christianity. It holds the key to resolving the current Balkan conflict(s), and avoiding the future ones. State Department should require that all their people understand this book before they attempt to deal with the Balkans. Understanding Mountain Wreath means going beyond the literal meaning of the words, and having somebody with an adequate background to interpret it. Although the book is pretty simple, it is not easily translatable in English language, like other archaic books and scriptures.

This is certanly the best book written by a Montenegrin which gives us so much information about Montenegrin history and Montenegrins. Montenegrins, people from the mountains, with their language, religion and brave hearts were protecting their name, their country MONTENEGRO, from islamic ottoman Turks. Some of the Montenegrins were converted to Islam and this book is writing about them being converted back again to orthodox christianity or being killed if they refused. Very dramatic book which is deep in heart of every MONTENEGRIN.

Note: translation in English in some parts is not very accurate.

P.S. Zivjela NEZAVISNA CRNA GORA!!!

The folks in Earl Gladstone Hunts early life helped shape this East Tennessee leviathan - a giant, a bridge builder, a preacher in the Methodist itinerant ministry - one who occupied the episcopal office for twenty-four years. He is also an educator - college president, and evangelist - President of the Foundation for Evangelism. Throughout his ministry his central theme was telling the message of Jesus Christ, His birth, life and teachings, sacrificial death and resurrection, to an anxious, disoriented world.

In the "Bridge Builder" chapter, Hunt is likened to a bridge with tensile strength allowing traffic in both directions. The biographer relates a number of areas that seemed almost impossible to bridge. Yet with respect for those with whom he worked, he diplomatically built those bridges.

While driving on icy roads, if one overcorrects in any direction, it could bring disaster. Bishop Hunt has steered with a strong, steady hand through many treacherous roads. Racism was addressed all across his tenure but he names the homosexual issue as the one that stimulated the most mail response. Hunger, the Bomb, disintegration of family life, drugs, poverty, housing, struggle for freedom, excesses of affluence, and he even addressed the process of episcopal elections. He considered the most important assignment of his career the task of working with a committee and preparing a statement that would reflect the needs of Wesleyan tradition in the contemporary world.

His experience as a College President, his commitment to evangelism and his visibility within the church was providential for the Foundation for Evangelism. The chairs of evangelism in the seminaries will insure that his contribution will live in the lives of seminarians for decades to come.

Dr. James Logan has done a masterful job of reporting on one of the heros in the faith. Bishop Hunt is not only tall on the outside - he is tall on the inside. Would that there were hundreds more like him!

Tom Jared is tired out from long months in space as the telepath in a first contact party. He picks a world that was only visited once long ago to take a vacation. He sets down on the half of the planet that is not inhabited. He soon discovers that it is inhabited by a very gentle humanoid amphibian species when one jumps in his little rubber raft. They are able to communicate telepathically. Tom soon learns that this creature's name is Kamir and that she is a female. She is very beautiful by human standards. Tom learns that she is considered ugly by her people because she is too skinny. They fall in love almost instantly. Tom and Kamir spent many days being together and traveling from island to island. Kamir thought that she would never find a husband because she was so ugly. She is very happy and so is Tom. All too soon Kamir's brother tracks them down and asks them to return to the village.

I gave this book a 99 out of 100 on my personal ranking scale. The only point I took off was for the ending. This was such a wonderful story, I guess I wanted it to have a happier ending. But if it did, it might not be as great as it is. I really liked the love story themes. They are at many levels really. Tom falls in love first with Kamir, then her people and finally the entire planet. He breaks all the Federation's Rules of Contact in order to save them.

The story is very short being only 76 pages long, but it feels so much longer. I find myself wishing that there was a part two.

James Tiptree Jr. is a pen name for Alice B. Sheldon. She used a male name to get her Science Fiction Published. The appears to be an older story that was finally printed in 1990.

This is THE most extensive book on G/Mcb I have ever read !!
It has good, interesting and informative text and the pictures are fantastic. I found myself going through it twice!! Once for the terrific photos and the second time for the wealth of information. BRAVO!

Yes, this book is out of print and I found it secondhand. Don't hesitate to buy it should you see it. Written in 1968 but especialy timely 30 years on. There are many "Bishop Pikes" in the world today, fiercely clinging to their title of bishop while vehemently denying Christ Jesus at every turn. The case of Bishop Pike is a sad one certainly but not one to be sympathized with. Unger gives a thorough overview of the Bishop's beliefs (or rather, lack thereof) and his rapid decline into the occult. The Word of God regarding the occult is made extremely clear in the closing chapters of this book.

"Eight American Poets," edited by Joel Conarroe, is a fine anthology. The introduction notes that this book was "designed as a companion volume to 'Six American Poets,'" also edited by Conarroe. "Eight" follows the same plan as "Six": rather than anthologize a huge company of poets who are represented by only a few pieces each, each of Conarroe's books focuses on a relatively small group of poets, each of whom is represented by a substantial selection. Conarroe's approach allows the reader to get a fuller feel of each poet in the anthology format.

The poets of "Eight" are Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsburg, and James Merrill. Each poet's work is prefaced by a substantial individual introduction.

There are many masterpieces in this book. Curiously, I found the most compelling poems to be those that focus on nature: Roethke's "The Meadow Mouse," Bishop's "The Fish," Plath's "Mushrooms," and Merrill's "The Octopus." Poems like these combine skillfully used language with keen insight, and reveal these poets to be true heirs of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (two of the featured artists in "Six American Poets").

Overall, I felt that "Eight" was not as strong as its sister volume, "Six." Although there are many poetic masterpieces in "Eight," there is also much material which, in my opinion, hasn't aged well. The so-called "confessional poetry" of some of these writers strikes me as overwrought. Some of the longer poems failed to resonate with me. I was particularly disappointed by Berryman's "Homage to Mistress Bradstreet," especially since I am an admirer of Anne Bradtreet's own work. Admittedly, this criticism may merely reflect my own personal tastes, but I submit it for the reader's consideration.

The fact that so many of these poets either wrote about each other, or pop up in the editor's introductions to each others' work, sometimes gives the book as a whole a creepy, incestuous feel. And the fact that so many of these poets committed suicide, had long-term mental health problems, and/or suffered from addictions further gives the book as a whole a rather morbid feel. On second thought, maybe this group of eight is a bit problematic!

Still, editor Conarroe has assembled an impressive anthology that I would recommend for students and teachers, as well as to a general readership. Although a mixed bag, "Eight American Poets" contains some truly enduring work by an octet whose legacy is secure.

.........the best known and loved poetry of eight well-known twentieth century American poets. Includes well known poems such as Bishop's "The Fish", Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz", Berryman's "Dream Songs", Merrill's "Lost in Translation", Sexton's "Ringing the Bells", and many others.

Like Conarroe's "Six American Poets", the anthology introduces us to each poet with a short biography that is presented before the poet's work. We learn about their lives and come to understand some of the primary forces that have shaped their poetry. I have found that this greatly enriches the experience of reading poetry because I better see the struggles that lead to each individual creation. After each collection, Conarroe offers a list of books and anthologies where each poet has been published so that we, should we wish, can come to know the work of a given poet much better.

This anthology is a wonderful starting place for someone who, like me, desires an introduction to some of the greatest American poetry ever produced. Personally, I feel, after reading this anthology that I have come to truly appreciate the work of Elizabeth Bishop and Theodore Roethke, in particular. I had never known their work well, but suddenly each jumped off the page at me, Bishop for her wonderfully vivid descriptions and Roethke for his intensely moving subjects. Plath and Sexton also really spoke to me, their work so reflecting their lives. Overall, this anthology is superbly worthwhile reading!

Ah, a fine comparison and contrast in studies on the eight best American confessional poets ever. Kudos to the editor on a fine choice of poems, and candid biographies on each poet. Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Allen Ginsberg, John Berryman, Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop and the other guy, here's to you.

This novel helps with the understanding of the events that led up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Unknown to him adn his family it started off as a regular day and ended as one of the most tragic days in the history of the United States.

This book takes the reader through the minds and plans of conspirators and helps with the reasoning behind the assassinaton. For example, taking the president as a hostage to try and get what the Confederate states wanted out of the war.

On the day of the assassination, President Lincoln had received notice from the people who were to accompany him to the play that they would not be coming. As a faithful president, he still attended the play to show his support, not knowing that it would cause his death. This book also helped to show the arguements that Lincoln went through with Mary Todd about pubilc appearences and even going to Ford's Theater that night.

Taking and hour by hour look at Lincoln's life helps to familiarize the reader with Lincoln and his family and his usual daily tasks. It helps show Lincoln as the man that he is instead of just the president.

THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT should be required reading for anyone with an interest in American History. The sheer amount of detail here is invaluable. Historian Jim Bishop has gone to the original newspaper accounts, court documents and government records to get at the indisputable facts. Contradictory reports have been reconciled, confusing motivations and events have been plainly explained, and the result is a book brimming with information but which is still easy enough for us laymen to read.

The format of the material will be familiar to any fan of the television show "24". Like that piece of modern drama, the book is laid out so that each chapter is devoted to a single hour. The result is a slow, detailed progression through the day that pushes up the tension as the fatal hour approaches. The book begins at 7 a.m. on the morning of April 14th, 1865, continues through the actual assassination during the 10 o'clock hour and then concludes with the death of Lincoln at 7:22 a.m. the following morning. Of course, the similarities between this account and the much-hyped television series are purely structural - the story isn't fictitious, and we already know the ending.

Two chapters interrupt this narrative. One that gives a background into the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and another that gives us a brief history of the conspiracy. This book doesn't try to give more than a short summary on those two topics, so readers interested in those subjects should also find other material. This book is primarily concerned with getting across the actual events of the day rather than trying to put every single fact into a historical perspective. It reads like an extremely detailed journal told from an omniscient observer.

One thing I didn't like was Bishop's tendency to write the factual events in an overly dramatic style. We're treated to people's inner thoughts, their facial expressions, occasional over-dramatic language, and other items that couldn't possibly be known to the author. To be fair, Bishop does acknowledge in the introduction that he does take certain liberties of that type in the name, presumably, of dramatic license. The only problem I had with this approach is that the fourteenth of April 1895 is already one of the most gripping and shocking days in American history. There really wasn't any need to make the action more exciting. More often than not, these little pieces of intrusion annoyed me, though this wasn't nearly enough to distract from the hard facts of the event.

Prior to reading THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT, my knowledge of the mechanics behind the assassination was sadly deficient. This book has provided me with a lot of information behind the events of that day as well as firing up my interest in U.S. Civil War history. I hope that future books that I read on this subject are as organized and as lucid as this one.

This is a tremendous book. It tries to faithfully re-create what occured on April 14, 1865. It gives background of the previous couple days. On the day of the assassination, Lincoln holds a cabinet meeting, the contents of which are related in the book. Lincoln's mind seemed to be telling him he was doomed. He had dreams about his death, and accepted the inevitable. JW Booth's planning of the evil acts, which included an brutal attack on Seward and his family as well as an aborted effort against Andrew Johnson, is gone into with fascinating detail. Highly recommended for history, Civil War and Lincoln buffs.