I read this book about 2 years ago, and am still fascinated by its premise and the well-reasoned approach used to support that premise. Mauck's writing is clear and compelling, and got me thinking about the Book of Acts in a far different way than I ever had before. To the best of my knowledge, there is no other book that treats Acts as a legal document and Mauck's arguments gripped me to read further and revisit the Bible itself in light of this idea.

I am neither a law student nor Bible scholar, just a Christian interested in learning more about my faith. I highly recommend Paul on Trial to anyone who is interested in more fully exploring the early Christian church and Paul's challenges in spreading the Gospel.

I am still reading this book, but want to provide a comment. This book is worth the effort to read,study, and contemplate. I agree with all of the preceding reviews. For me, Mr. Mauck's book is functioning like a good brass or gold polish. It is stripping away the grime and tarnish of twenty centuries as well as my own understanding and appreciation of the Book of Acts, cleaning and polishing it right down to it's original design details and shape. I am now seeing things in Acts and the Gospel Of Luke that either I never was aware of before or have always wondered about but didn't know more. This book is wonderful because in its way, it reveals Christianity as it is, a uniquely radical, powerful phenomenon that is supernaturally guided and fueled, not the pervasive, almost ambient cultural Christianity that we all tend to take for granted, for good or ill.

I found that this is not a book that can be read quickly, it is more like a text book that I could only take in smaller portions in conjunction with going through ACTS in a small group Bible Study. I would like to know who the people are that are slamming this author, I would really like to know their arugments against his theory, because this is very powerful stuff, Canonization of the Bible speaking...not even Chuck Missler or Hal Lindsey thought of this theory before Mr. Mauck.

I simply can't think of a reason why anyone would doubt his theory that Luke wrote what has become to be known as Acts as a defense of Paul and the earliest Jesus/Gospel followers...and he pulls the book of Luke into the same theory, although the title doesn't mention this fact. At a minimum, Acts should have been titled "Acts of the Holy Spirit", more so than "Acts of the Apostles", as many refer to it. But now after reading this book, Acts should be retitled in all new pressings of Protestant Bibles to more reflect this book's arguments.

This will probably be his only book, unless someone un-earths some new letters or documents in an archeology dig in the middle east that were written for the same trial-type cause. This was a job well-done, by someone who gets it that we worship the Jewish faith fulfilled. God Bless.

"In reviewing this new colorful pictorial biography of Pope John Paul II, I felt immensely inadequate to express myself, something which comes strangely to someone who has been in the publishing business for over 40 years. Jo Garcia-Cobb has entwined dates and facts of Pope John Paul II with sensitivity and an insight one rarely sees in recent publications. To say that this new coffee table pictorial is outstanding would be selling it short indeed. As owner of a bookstore, I can tell you that the copies have literally flown off the shelves."

My good friend and I are happy to be a part of a very special
display on Pope John Paul II. The exhibit features 25 six foot tables with over 500 pictures and over 50 books. This book just added to our collection is oustanding. A great and easy read with wonderful pictures. I have been a radio announcer for over 20 years and we always had a top 10...this book would be in our top 5. Congratulations Jo Garcia Cobb...John [ Jack ] Allaire
Holy Name Parish....my mailing address:
24 Duncan Ave. Kirkland Lake, Ont. Canada
Phone & fax..1-705-567-1100

This is probably the best of the Pope picture/biography books. I've never seen Pope John Paul II pictures as good as this. This is a must buy for all you fans of the the Holy Father. I strongly recommend it.

"Sea Stories" is a collection of authentically taut, often terrifying true tales Ishmael wouldn't be ashamed to take aboard the "Pequod." From the very first of its slim 117 pages, "Sea Stories" will hold most readers like a gaff-struck cod...a seabag full of spun yarns gathered while working aboard 18 different commercial fishing vessels...in cruel North Pacific Waters out of Warrenton, over the terrible Columbia River bar. "Sea Stories" may appear to be a quiet little book, but it's a sleeper. If you see it floating around anywhere, snatch it up - then hang on, for it's filled with startling power. -- Paul Pintarich - The Oregonia

If you're looking for a special book for someone who loves the Oregon Coast, look no farther. John Paul Barrett's "Sea Stories" is a pleasure simply to hold in your hands---Vickie Nelson--Oregon Coast Magazin

The stories relate the difficulties commercial fishermen must live with; how those fishermen risk their lives and lose their lives. He sets forth what is to follow in the book's opening paragraph: "Never had I worked harder...or so little. Never had I earned so much...or so little. Never had I felt more alive...nor had I ever come closer to death than while working as a commercial fisherman." I urge you to ...buy one. J.W. Forrester

This book will keep kids intrested for houres! It has pages of hands on activities. The book has tons of very intertaning activities. The book makes learning fun. The book comes with 3d glasses and a Zap Pack that when you snap a butten the pack goes from liquid to solid and heats up. This book is a great learning took that is a great buy for houres of entertainment!

This book is way cool! It has 3D paages including 3D glasses, some sort of pack that changes from boiling hot to freezing cold, a hundred of info, some illusions... It's like my own Science Museum !

Zap! Science is a great hands-on book. With many expirements, this book makes science fun.

Being one of PJP's biggest fans I was on tenterhooks to find out how the holy father starts his day and boy oh boy I wasn't dissapointed.
This booki is jam packed with amusing anecdotes like the time the holy father met Rabbi Lionel Blue for coissants and prune juice on the Mary Magdalene verranda overlooking St Peter's Square.
The good Rabbi presented the pontiff with a glass case containing the foreskins of celebrity jews including Sammy Davis Junior and Dana International.
Oh how I laughed - Papal Bull? I thought I'd had a cow!
I found it holy enjoyable and I hope the sales are mass-ive.

I'm not Catholic but I was really looking forward to reading this book and I have only been disappointed in one area. If you like the Pope -and let's face he is a pretty popular guy- then you will like this book. Much of the wit and common sense that make John Paul II a favorite even among Protestants come through in his writings of which these readings are a sample. My only complaint is that there are 120 rather than 365 or 366. I would like to have had breakfast every day with the Pope rather than being shorted. I am sure there was sufficient material to fill a larger book. Maybe they are saving it for another repast.

Each prayer is wonderfully written and Paul Chilcote captures the essence of Wesley's teaching. Praying is not easy for me, and it has been a delight to incorporate the reading of a single prayer from this book both when I first awake and last thing before I sleep. Paul Chilicote manages to write as though his very words are my own thoughts and struggles and brings me to an attitude of reflection and thoughtfullness as I prepare to offer my personal prayers to our Lord. I expect this book will be read many times over.

In the 18th century John Wesley took church to the people. He preached at British coal fields as well as in urban centers. 53 of his sermons became known as the Standard Sermons and were used as teaching tools.

Paul Chilcote distilled the 18th century language of Wesley's sermons (which might take an hour or more if read aloud) into 53 lyrical prayers. Very accessible. Very real. Very much in tune with the language of today's heart. These are prayers to pray daily and weekly, prayers to let grow from the lips and travel to the mind and the heart, prayers to become a part of the soul. Chilcote's work updates Wesley and continues to speak to Wesley's concern for the spiritual formation of all people.

It may well be true, as Roy Howard never said (p. 51) that "too much fact checking has ruined many a good news story." But the many misquotations listed here, some very well known, often have fascinating stories in themselves. In a day when, thanks to the Internet, misquotations, urban legends, and dubious "facts" fly faster and farther than ever, this book is a very valuable resource to have around.

My major complaint with this book is that I wish it had been much longer -- for example, there are numerous quotes attributed to Winston Churchill (like the one about being a liberal when you're 25) that could stand to be debunked alongside the two included in this volume.

Still, though, it's very helpful to be able to demonstrate to folks that Lenin never said anything about "useful idiots" (p. 76), that Lincoln never made the long statement beginning, "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift..." (p. 82), or that Voltaire never "defend[ed] to the death your right to say it" (p. 124). For those reasons alone, I would recommend this book be kept and studied by anyone who cares about truth, accuracy, and stomping urban legends to the death they deserve.

He's my professor in college at UCO, and he's an amazing man.

This work is just an extenstion of his personality -- exacting, intelligent, and focused on what's really true rather than just what people say.

If you're at all interested in accuracy, or if you're a big fan of quotations (like I am), than this is a wonderful book for you!

The Wisdom of John Paul II describes the Pope's innermost thoughts on subjects such as abortion, education, war, religion, and love. The book is well-written and interesting as well because it's made of quotes from speeches made by the Holy Father. The Pope's views on certain issues have often been controversial, but certainly there's a lot of wisdom in his words.

Nick Bakalar and Richard Balkin have scoured numerous encyclicals, speeches, and letters to assemble this wonderful treasury of Pope John Paul II's thoughts on many questions facing today's society. The result is a wealth of wisdom and insight from the most seen man in the world. This isn't a book of answers to life's vital questions; rather, it offers the Pope's and the Church's view on such issues and asks us to question our attitudes and feelings. The topics are far-ranging, both contemporary and timeless. Matters of love, family, death, women, work, and youth are addressed as well as subjects such as human rights and progress and the modern world. Bakalar and Balkin's greatest strength in composing this book is the wide spectrum they've selected from. These issues are universal, and you will find something that speaks to you. You'll probably discover much more.

"The Wisdom of John Paul II" is not only a great addition to your inspirational or religious library; it's also a great addition to any library. I suggest giving this book as a gift, especially if you're looking for something meaningful that can be read over and over (instead of being used as a dust-collector). Non-Catholics and even non-religious will find the Pope's words inspiring, and his message of universal love can be understood and appreciated by all. He does not viciously attack groups in conflict with Church teachings but graciously approaches controversy as does a leader of the faith. Wherever he acts as an apologetic, he does so with the patience and firmness that has guided the Church through more than two decades.

This book, in part, acts as an intimate autobiography as it his diary of his times and how he has confronted the Church and society he has been entrusted. What makes this papal journal stand out from the rest though is that it is more than a portrait of the Pope or a collection of his quotes. His words represent one man's thoughts, but it also gives us a strong picture of his vision for the Catholic Church of the new millennium. Every issue is one that immediately concerns contemporary society, and that makes this book such an enjoyable and necessary read.

it was gooooood............verrrry gooooood

Starting with a strike of the coal miners, the company hires outside thugs, who end up massacring the miners. But this is only the beginning of the blood that made Williamson (a small coal mining town in southern Illinois in the 1920's) Bloody!

The thugs didn't leave. They rather liked having the run of the town. Bootlegging, gang wars, and all [heck] breaks loose.

Its important to remember the context when reading this book--because the author doesn't give you much. The worst race riots in American History happened a few miles away, in East St. Louis, in 1916--a few short years before the time covered in this book. Unions hadn't been legally recognized--that came a few years later, amidst the depression. Coal, and the economy in general, were booming. The stock market was exploding. And the federal government took the position that its role was to foster the wealth of the rich.

Anyone who thinks that political corruption is confined to big cities, hasn't spent much time in small town politics. This book is an eye opener. Of course, anyone who thinks that this sort of corruption is a part of America's long distant past, hasn't been reading the paper much recently. Political shenanigans in down state Illinois are alive and well. Of course, the big economic engine driving the southern Illinois economy today is the prison industry, but that's another book. (see Going Up the River, by Joseph Hallinan, for a description of the same area today, dominated by Tamms Supermax Prison).

Williamsburg County had an unbelievable amount of violence, in both variety and magnitude, in such a short period of time. In less than fifty years this one county had labor wars, Ku Klux Klan wars, gang wars, and one of the worst feuds in American history. Paul Angle is a good writer, but that is only an added benefit. Reading the media accounts of these events would be fascinating enough. Anyone interested in a case study of a dysfunctional community should read this book.

I write primarily to prevent the interested reader from being influenced by Alan Mills's review. It seems that Alan's review is based on a look at the dustjacket, or perhaps something someone told him while he wasn't exactly paying attention. Had he been listening more closely, he might have learned that Williamson is not a town, but a county. Had he finished Chapter One he might not have missed the central fact that it was not the miners who were killed in what came to be known as the "Herrin Massacre", but the company's mine guards and a group of recent Irish immigrants working the mine during the strike,who surrendered to the union under promise of safe conduct, before being taken to a field and shot by striking miners, who then cut the throats of their victims and urinated on their bodies. It is possible that a reading of the book would have alerted Alan to the fact that in 1922 Williamson County the union was not only well established, but had the support of a majority of the populace, and the collusion of some county officials. It was a combination of public intimidation and bribery that prevented jurors from convicting anyone in the two celebrated murder trials that followed the massacre. I don't understand Alan's point about the federal government fostering the wealth of the rich; worrying about this may be a hobby of Alan's, but the concept has nothing to do with Angle's book, or the events it describes. Those who do go on to read Angle's classic book will find a well-written and exciting account of an extraordinary period of lawlessness in Southern Illinois. It is also well-researched and accurate. Some of the participants in these events later refused to write books of their own, saying that they could never tell the story as well as Paul Angle already had.