This outstanding little book will be a breath of fresh air to anyone feeling that the current theories about the cause for the decline of the West are getting a bit stale. Carroll lays the blame directly at the feet of what is arguably the West's greatest achievment, humanism. He applauds the appreciation of the cheerful human grateful to be alive, but decries the hubris that assumes we can be whatever we choose. He also makes us wrestle with the fact that is not the "death of God" that is behind our cultural demise so much as our own inability to find a place to stand from which to face our own mortality. Carroll's tracing of the threads of humanism thoughout the history of the art and literature of the past 500 years is masterful. He explains how we got where we are and makes helpful suggestions as to a possible, if unlikely, route out of the present impasse.

Jeremy Taylor deserves a wider audience than those who are interested only in Christian classics.

He is also a prose stylist of the first water. Read him, and you will see where DeQuincey got his chops. As he warms to the solemn themes about which he writes, his sentences are like great rivers of poetic and exalted language. His experience as a preacher also makes him a great master of the -sound- of words.

For any kind of reserch paper on Lewis Carroll, this a good book to look through. This book is like Anotated Alice, yet different. It includes some annotations, but is still mostly about his life. How many people knew that the Lewis Carroll based his books on a real Alice? Going even further, how many people know that he used a different Alice in the sequel? You can find all this and more in the book. For example, some people may not know that Charles Dodgson had O.C.D. And his best friends were little girls? The things that are in that book are amazing, and very helpful. Cheers!!!!!!!! : )

Wow-this book really simplifies the stock selection process. I'm an experienced investor who has lost money in pure momentum stocks. I see this guy on CNBC and Bloomberg quite a bit and he seems to know his stuff. I agree with Standard & Poor's great endorsement "Magnet Investing provides an insightful look into the stock selection process. It will be a great boost to professional investors, as well as ones that only dabble in stocks." The first several chapters teach investors how to develop a disciplined approach to the market and then describes a new trademarked system that selects stocks based on a well defined set of criteria, combining value and momentum. If you have a PC, you can access this program through Telescan or set it up with another screening service. Then, with the click of your mouse, you can pick a pool of stocks that have the potential to be great performers. The system has averaged a 30% return per year over the past ten years. The trial CD from Telescan is an added bonus. I think the author's system is one of the best I've seen.

"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series.

People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.

Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man.

"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.

Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man

This is an excellent book for pastors! It is co-written by a father and son -- father James R. Carroll is a retired Presbyterian minister, and son John T. Carroll is a professor of New Testament at a Presbyterian seminary. They have teamed up to tackle some of the hardest sayings of Jesus.

For each passage, professor John gives a 3- or 4-page exegesis (under the heading "An Interpretation"), and then pastor James spends 3-4 pages helping us move from the desk to the pulpit (under the heading "Text to Sermon"). They have divided the book up as follows:

Chapter 1 -- The Scandel of Grace (Luke 10:30-35 The "Good Samaritan": Reimaging an Enemy; Luke 18:10-14a The Pharisee and the Tax Collector at Prayer: The Scandel of Grace for Sinners; Matt 20:1-15 All in a Day's (Or an Hour's?) Work: When Grace is Not Fair; Luke 15:11-32 On Being a Prodigal Father) **

Chapter 2 -- The Cost of Grace: Demands of Discipleship (Luke 14:26/Matt 10:37 For the Love of Family; Luke 16:18/Mark 10:11-12/Matt 5:31-32,19:9 On Divorce, Remarriage, and Adultery; Mark 9:42-48 Self-Abuse for the Sake of the Kingdom) **

Chapter 3 -- The Offense of Judgment (Mark 3:28-29 The Sin Not Forgiven; Matt 22:1-14/Luke 14:16-24 On Being Left Out at the Final Banquet; Matt 18:23-35 When Mercy Fails: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant; Luke 16:19-31 Wealth: Barrier to Bliss? The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus) **

Chapter 4 -- A Jesus Hard to Understand: Two Elusive Parables (Luke 16:1-8a Honestly Now! In Praise of a Dishonest Manager?; Luke 11:5-8 Help at Midnight) **

Chapter 5 -- The Offense of Jesus' Humanity (Mark 9:1, 13:30 Jesus and the End of Time: Was He Mistaken?; Mark 14:36/Matt 26:39,42/Luke 22:42 Was Jesus Afraid to Die?; Mark 15:34 Were You There (God) When They Crudified My Lord?) **

I have used this book for the basis of my preaching several times, and the congregation has loved it. This book has given me a lot to think about -- it truly deals with the hardest sayings of Jesus, well-researched and well-written by this pastor-father and scholar-son.

I found this book highly informative. It gives the names and tells about the backgrounds of each trooper and civilian involved in the 7th Cavalry. It tells where each one is from, what they did for a living before the Army, where they enlisted, and which officer they served. I enjoy this book so much because it lists one of my ancestors. It's a must for anyone studying Custer, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and Western or Montana history.

I bought this book while I was in USA (I live in Norway), and this book is one of the best tractorbooks I have ever seen. Much stuff about different tractors. ... .

The average American tourist sees Japan through the looking glass: Tokyo. Though it is a fairly accurate view, it is a narrow one. John Carroll, however, has discovered the rest of Japan within an hour of Tokyo. His 'Trails of Two Cities' takes the reader to Yokohama, Kamakura, and other spots within the Kanagawa Prefecture, which covers the peninsula south of Tokyo at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Trails is an excellent tour of the area, but it also gives the reader an accurate history of the area, secret and out-of-the way spots only a local would know, and background, insight, facts and legends you can't get in your run-of-the-mill Fodor's or Lonely Planet guides. The series of walks gives you a through view of the port of Yokohama, a city of foreign influences once considered the wildest port in the Far East; and the ancient capital of Kamakura, where the rise of Buddhism in Japan and the first shogunate occured. Its bilingual maps and information are highly accurate. I was stationed in Japan for more than two years in the area and took every walk in the book and had a great time; I wouldn't have even known Jogashima and Enoshima exsisted if it wasn't for this book, and the part on Kamakura alone pays for itself. It's a super way to explore that part of Japan. Even if you're an armchair tourist.