Initially I was looking for that ONE hymnal that just contained as many of my favorite songs as possible. I was looking for only one book since I did not intend to buy a whole bookshelf of them.

I have to admit that the title first confused me. I was afraid that I would end up with a whole book of wonderful songs I didnt know. Wrong on all accounts! This is a great hymnal book for ALL people who love and treasure these precious hymns. Thank God for the people who had the gift of putting together this wonderful hymnal.

The AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE HYMNAL is, by far, the most comprehensive collection of music in celebration of the African American church tradition! ...An absolute must-buy for every church musician, director and choir member. KUDOS to NOLAN WILLIAMS, JR. (Music Editor), DELORES CARPENTER(General Editor) and the entire AAHH editorial staff!

This collection of hymns, spirituals, and gospel songs is a total delight. As soon as I opened this book and started playing this music on my keyboard, I could hear heavenly gospel choirs singing in my head. Of course, there are many hymns and songs included here that most people would know, but what makes this hymnbook a treasure are the songs specific to the African-American tradition, with harmonies that unmistakeably suggest a black gospel choir. As a bonus, there is a good quantity of responsive readings in the front of the book suitable for use in the worship service. This book will get you into the Spirit, whether you are black, white, or anything in between. The "African-American Heritage Hymnal" zoomed right to the top of my hymnal collection list the moment it arrived. Get it, you won't be sorry!

David Griebner offers wonderful short stories that are almost Zenlike, but are rooted in Christian faith. His stories, like koans, take us on the road of discovery to gain a sense of the self within, the sense of self that lives beneath the many artifices that we construct.

His stories are short, quiet, meant to be read slowly, and especially, to be read one at a time. Do not read this little volume in one sitting, though certainly that is possible. Rather, read one story, chew it, savor it, and understand how it connects with your life's journey.

Griebner's stories evoke in me Dag Hammarskjold's words of gratitude:
"For all that has been--Thanks!
To all that shall be--Yes" (*Markings*, p. 95)

This book is a great book for christans. It has many inperational stories for all ages.

David takes us away from our everyday cares with a set of stories which show the depth of love being offered to us by God. Wonderful reading for spiritual growth.

This is a great book but don't be sucked into buying it for 150 dollers goto the UK site and get it for 8 bucks. Ships just as fast.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0261103474/ref=sr_aps_books_1_2/026-5367973-8334817

This is one of the best biographical books I've ever read. Carpenter captures the character of some of the most interesting British writers of the WWII/post-WWII era: C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams. He manages to tread that careful balance between criticism and adoration. He accomplishes this, I think, out of true sympathy for each of the writers involved. He helped me understand the nature and complexity of the different relationships surrounding C.S. Lewis without resorting to vulgar fault-finding or "taking sides". At one point, Mr. Carpenter recreates an Inkling meeting. The intellectual vigor and personalities of the participants rises off the page and helps to explain why the Inklings generated (and still generate) such interest.

Several recent events have renewed an international interest in the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein: the 50th anniversary of the publication of "The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" (1950), and the screenplay release of J.R.R. Tolkein's classic "The Fellowship of the Ring" on movie screens around the world in 2001.

Both of these world famous novels were first introduced "publically" at the regular gathering of a few British writers and friends, who informally called their literary club "the Inklings". Even the name "inkling" was a playful self-parody, referring both to the fact that they displayed their imaginations in ink and they often only had an "inkling" of what the other was really talking about.

Carpenter, also the authorized biographer of J.R.R. Tolkein, helps readers enter into the private lives and late-night meetings of these writers. You can smell the cigarette smoke, hear the whistling of the teapot and sense the tension of Oxford intellectuals wrestling with the outbreak of World War II. Thanks to Carpenter's careful retelling of these gatherings, you sit back in the evening, sip your tea and imagine yourself among these writers as another member of the fellowship.

For books on the fellowship of the family, look into these two titles: "The Family Cloister" and "The Christian Family Toolbox" both by David Robinson (New York: Crossroad, 2000 & 2001).

Mesozoic Vertebrate Life Edited By Darren H. Tanke and Kenneth Carpenter with Michael W. Skrepnick as the art editor is a new research inspired by the paleontology of Philip J. Currie is an excellent book... a book for the advanced dinosaur enthusiast. This book goes into detail about Theropods, Sauropods, Ornithischians, Dinosaurian Faunas, Paleopathologies, Ichnology, and Dinosaurs and Human History.

This book has a whole host of contributors(46 to be exact). All of the men and women are tops in their respective fields, so this book is like reading a medical book with all of the resplendent medical terms. Ah, but doen't give up, there are some very excellent drawings that help explain what the author is talking about, so your not left in the dust choking on the dust. I've noticed that the best dinosaur book on detail are written in this style where a collaboration of many authors that are expert and on the cutting edge with break throughs are written this way.

I would say this, the fossil record is telling the finder something... the finder has to study what he has found and make a determination and conclusion as to what he has found. All of this takes education, trial and error, and luck. So, you have the best guesses written here... things may stay as they were presented or they may change with insight, only time will tell.

If you are more than just a casual dinosaur devotee, than this is the book for you. It is light on the early Mesozoic, but it makes up for it in the late Mesozoic. The book is mainly composed of North American Mesozoic, but there is representation in China, and South America included.

There are excellent references included with there abstracts. This s not a book for children, this is an advanced case study of the dinosaura of the Mesozoic time. Those wishing for a book that compares jaws and endocarnial anatomy will relish this book. There is even an abstract on "The Impact of Sedimentology on Vertebrate Track Studies" which I found fascinating. I didn't know they went to that much detail, in models of track formation show clearly that the layer upon which the foot descends retains the most information of the impactor. Stresses are distributed radially away from the impact site and decrease exponentially with distance.

If you want detail this book has it. There are seven sections as I mentioned above, and they are divided into 33 chapters. This took a while to read and digest the information. This would make an interesting additions to a home library.

Research papers on dinosaurs continue to increase in number, and many bring readers new and thoughtful ideas about the biology of these ancient, dramatic animals. A growing number of books for public and professionals focus on Mesozoic animals, dinosaurs in particular; this one is for professionals. The 33 papers essentially cover dinosaurs of North America, but there are papers on Chinese and Patagonian dinosaurs. Most papers are systematic studies, and some include descriptions of new taxa, but there are also useful studies on dinosaur anatomy, biomechanics, gastroliths, and even sociobiology. A section on ichnology (footprints) examines traces of other animals than dinosaurs; four papers discuss paleopathologies, showing how much about extinct animals can be gleaned from the condition of preserved bones, and another treats dinosaurs in fiction, with many illustrations derived from novels, comics, and other literature sources. About 20 color paintings, restorations of important dinosaurs in lifelike settings, are included along with photographs of the critical feather-like features on some recently discovered Chinese dinosaur fossils. Unfortunately, many of the black-and-white photographs are rather muddy. A useful book for many paleontologists, at a reasonable price. Upper-division undergraduates and up

The title is misleading. If you're looking for information on pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, or Mesozoic crocs, this book probably isn't for you. However, if you want to get the skinny on Tyrannosaurus arm movement and what they were used for (yeah, amazing, eh?), new dinosaurs, and generally good information on dinosaurs, this is a good book to consider. Heavy on the second half of the Mesozoic, the book none the less manages to have a good variety of papers about various aspects of dinosaurian paleobiology, phylogeny, and behavior. A great volume.

The Integral Years is the third volume of The Crooked Lines of God: A Life Trilogy, the collected poems of William Everson. Each of the three volumes reflects a major stage in the life of the poet and the thematic nature of his verses. Everson, who was known as "the poet of the San Joaquin," died at his home on Kingfisher Flat in Santa Cruz County, California, in June 1994. He left behind 52 books of poetry and 10 books of prose. He was a member of the Dominican Order of monks between 1951 and 1969, writing poetry and giving public readings of his verse as Brother Antoninus. Time magazine referred to him as the "Beat Friar" during this period, though Everson was not, strictly speaking, a member of the Beat Generation literary movement. According to Stanford's Albert Gelpi, however, Everson was "the greatest religious poet of the second half of the twentieth century." Everson's "A Canticle to the Waterbirds" is a masterpiece of religious verse and puts Everson on a plane with Francis Thompson and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Everson's "religious verse" is published in Volume 2 of the trilogy, The Veritable Years.

Everson's early poetry was highly secular and pantheistic. Much of it was written under the influence of Robinson Jeffers, whom Everson regarded as a mentor. The early poems are contained in Volume 1, The Residual Years.

Everson left religious life in 1969 to return to the secular world and marry Susanna Rickson, his third wife. Everson's later poems, published in this volume, show his maturation as a poet and a man. He has returned to nature, and much of his verse is both confessional and erotic.

The three volumes of the trilogy were actually planned by Everson during his life time and carried through to completion posthumously by the dedicated work of Allan Campo and Bill Hotchkiss, lifelong friends of the poet who edited the collection. They also collected Everson's unpublished verse and uncollected poems, which are published in the volumes as appendixes.

I bought the book while rebuilding the front porch and columns on my 1904 home. It *is* a lot easier to take something apart if you know how it was put together. And we needed to re-create mouldings and millwork that was destroyed by previous property owners. This book shows how the "old masters" built these old houses.

I'm an old house purist. And this book has nearly 200 pages of detailed blue prints and drawings, giving excellent detail on how old buildings were assembled. (primarily residences) It satisfied that craving [us] purists get to make something the way it was made 100 years ago.

The drawings enabled us to *truly* restore the beautiful details of our old home.

The book has very *very* few words, but lots and lots of blueprints and drawings.

Professor William Coaldrake is a lecturer in University of Melbourne Australia, one of the best architecture school in the world. Born in Japan, he has studies and investigated to great length about Japanese traditional architecture, and had participated in rebuilding projects in Japan. He also appears in a Discovery Channel documentary about the Japanese Samurai and Castles. In this book, you will learn the unique process of traditional architecture, the carpenters, and their tools and buildings. A great read for anthropologists, historians, architects and the general public who wants to discover the unique traditions in Japanese architecture.

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.

The Velveteen Rabbit was (and still is) my favorite children's book. The classic tale of how the little boy's love made the rabbit real is a classic. I had a hard time finding this book, but I finally have it. I am hoping to read it to my future kids and hopefully my kids will read it to their kids. This is a book that anyone from any generation could enjoy. I will always love the Velveteen Rabbit!

I first read a William Gay story in Harper's magazine. What a great story, I thought. Who is this guy? What else has he written? He's a fiftysomething ex-carpenter. And he's written "The Long Home."

The first 100 pages or so immediately hooked me, making me think I had found the next Cormac McCarthy. And at times, when the prose was clicking, it didn't feel as if I was reading a book as walking in someone else's dream. In a fit of joy I almost posted a review without finishing the book. I'm glad I finished it, though, because the last half doesn't fufill the first half's promise.

The last read like a primer on how to construct a formulaic Southern goth romance. It's very pedestrian, very planned. Will Winer side with the forces of good with Oliver or will Hardin infect him with his evil? Will he get Amber Rose? It's all very melodramatic and conventional in the end. Cormac McCarthy did it better with "All The Pretty Horses", mixing melodrama and lyricism to a potent affecting mix. "The Long Home" has moments where the prose doesn't seem to be written as it is handed down from God himself. And then it collapses into a "Cold Mountain" mush. And I truly and deeply dispised "Cold Mountain."

All in all, the man has talent and I will read his stuff. But I'll be wary.

I read this book with an increasing sense of wonder and awe. William Gay has written a moving, heartbreaking novel with people I believe and believe in, with language both poetic and taut, with detail to die for, with humor and wisdom and heart and darkness and a sense of place you might read a thousand books and never find. Buy this book and wrap it in Mylar and stand it on the shelf with your Faulkner and your Cormac McCarthy, and then take it down and start reading it over again. We all keep hearing about the next new voice in American fiction. Well folks, William Gay is a whole varied chorus of voices, all singing in perfect harmony. The song is dark, god yes, but you can't stop listening.

The title of this review may seem pretentious, but, as an author, I rejoice in the literary art of story-telling at it's highest level. Mr. Gay, who I had the pleasure of meeting in Nashville at The Southern Festival of the Book, is a masterful story-teller. His characters are lively and real. The inner-workings of the mind and the tenacity of the southern male are reborn in this tale. Though some critics have said his work is Faulknerian in tone, Mr. Gay's prose is far more readable and, in my opinion, lyrical. His love for the area and the people about which he writes are reminiscent of Pat Conroy and his attachment of South Carolina's Low Country. Congratulations to William Gay for a job well done.

Having heard so much praise for Gaddis' work and having read excerpts from all four of his novels, I decided to give "Carpenter's Gothic" a try. I must say that I was not at all surprised to find that everything I've heard about Gaddis' virtuoso prose and dialogue is absolutely true. The man was an absolutely brilliant writer. His dialogue is the best I've ever read. I also can see why he never really became popular: he's not the easiest writer to read. A book like this has to be read at least two times in order for the reader to catch up on a lot of what is going on. Not that this would be much of a chore. In fact, I think that anyone who has read this book would look forward to a second go-round!

Carpenter's Gothic is a good book--the harshest criticism ever written on American crudity: illiterate religious zealots, megacorporations and good consumers, the mass media, and the density of the average American mind. Gaddis' dialogue--and _CG_ is nearly all dialogue--crystallizes the idiocy and the vague terror in the hearts of his messed-up characters. It's always spot-on in its parody of stupidity and incoherence (I am a college student, and I constantly hear echoes of _CG_ when other people, or I, talk). However, there are no interior lives of the Proustian or Joycean sort--all is speech, documents, objects. Gaddis writes nothing of what his characters think. While the external emphasis is completely appropriate for late 20th century America, if you're looking for meaningful inner lives, skip _CG_ and go to Gaddis' first book, _The Recognitions_, or jaunt to Joyce. Better yet, go out and make some effort to raise yourself above the intellectual level of the characters in _Carpenter's Gothic_. The spirit of Gaddis might give thanks for that.

Is there a bigger literary crime than the fact that so few read William Gaddis? Before his death in December '98, he may have been the best living American Author. Think of a slghtly more serious, but equally wicked Thomas Pynchon. Carpenter's Gothic is a tense, dense, explosive, beautiful, hilarious, acerbic and taut work of genius. Gaddis' ear for dialogue is frightening. He has few equals. His prose is Faulkner, Hawthorne, Joyce, Beckett - and nasty. Great satire here, targets being American everything, especially fundamentalist religion, foreign policy, and the media... This is easily his most accessible novel. WARNING: not for sensitive Christians!