This is the fifth volume in a printed series of catechises on the Catholic faith by Pope John Paul II. If you are looking to learn about The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, then look no further. This book is a compilation of addresses given by The Holy Father on Our Lady. Easy to read because it's a transcript of his addresses, so it reads like the spoken word. Each address is short (most are 3 pages) so it allows for a natural break, allowing the reader to stop and reflect in prayer. Different style than Scott Hahn's "Hail Holy Queen". Deeper and more reflective. A must read for fan's of the Blessed Mother.

This is an excellent study of John Paul II's difficult encyclical on faith and reason. Most of the contributions deal with the vexed issue of "Christian philosophy," a much disputed topic in the 1930s which has been given new life by our reigning philosopher-pope. Highlights are the fine essays by Avery Cardinal Dulles, placing the current issues in historical context, and the remrkable essay by David Meconi on the Marian dimension of philosophy.

This book offers some really insightful pieces on the Pope John Paul II's "Veritatas Splendor." Especially thought-provoking was O'Keefe's piece on Augustine and perfectionism. A great resource for those who really want to think through this Vatican document.

The book was very informative and it gives you alot of information on the last three popes that the roman cathlolic church has had.

Even after my recent initiation into the Roman Catholic Church, which followed several months of fairly intense study in the RCIA program, I didn't really understand much about Church Tradition, traditions, liturgy, Dogma, doctrine, Sacraments, and its position on individual and social issues. For help, I turned to the Catechism, which proved to be a concise, well written, logically organized, and often inspirational teacher. The Catechism not only provides clear definitions of Church rites and beliefs, it explains how those definitions came about and evolved, and how they are firmly rooted in Divine Revelation. For many years I had great misconceptions about the Church, I guess primarily because I viewed Church practices and beliefs as something man-made, not God-made. After doing some investigation and study, I discovered how wrong my view had been. Reading the Catechism will deepen your understanding of the relationship between the Church and Scriptures, and the "whys" behind the "whats" of how we practice our faith.

"God, infinately perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He draws man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength . . ." and so begins the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Catechism is a gift to mankind. Through it the faith taught by Christ and handed on to his apostles can be heard echoing through the centuries. It speaks to the mind, but even more so to the heart.
I love the hardback version because it has the Index of Citations listing Scriptures, Councils and Popes that allow you to find those references within the specific numbered paragraphs of the Catechism. The glossary in the new edition is very useful as well. I also recommend the hardback version because you will want to keep this book your whole life, referring to it often and reading it over and over. The quality of this edition lends itself more readily to this kind of use. A paperback copy can be useful as a second copy to keep in the car or office.
Please, if you are Catholic you must own this. If you are not Catholic but are interested in what the Catholic Church teaches, this is where you want to go for the truth of what the Catholic faith teaches and believes.

The Catechism succinctly explains the Catholic faith. All Christians can benefit from a reading of the Catechism of the Catholic Church because is accurately and forthrightly explains much of the dogma that all Christians share (i.e., Trinity, Divinity of Christ).

The Catechism is broken down largely into three categories. They are the Creed (both Nicene and Apostles), the Ten Commandments and prayer. Another useful reason to read the Catechism if you are Catholic is because you will learn what your faith teaches you. The index is very easy to use and scripture citations are plentiful.

If you are not Catholic, you can actually find out from the source what the Catholic Church teaches. This may be very helpful in resolving some very common misconceptions often held about the Catholic faith.

The Catechism is easy to read. I would recommend using the index and reading it topically rather from beginning to end. Take small portions at a time because the reading can be a bit dense at time. If you read to fast in order to "get through" it you will missing some good stuff.

The Catechism comes very highly recommended.

I'm troubled that many young people in these reviews don't seem to appreciate this novel. Even when "forced" to read it in high school, I loved it. I've read it for probably the tenth time recently and I can say that every single time it's better than I remembered it. I was prompted by the character is Haruki Murakami's book Norwegian Wood who carries it with him and reads it to cheer him up. This narrator calls it the most perfect book ever written and says that you cannot find a page that's not perfect. I have to agree -- it's not just the plot, it's the beautiful writing and incredible characters and scenes that stay with you years later. Even after years, who can forget the scene when Gatsby shows Nick all his custom made shirts, or Nick describes his first vision of Daisy by comparing her posture to someone balancing something on his/her chin, or any of Gatsby's parties, or the broken nose -- you get the idea. For some reason, rereading this book reminds me of picking up a relationshp with an old friend. It's so very comforting to read the best prose you can find in English and find that certain passages are almost committed to memory. Don't miss out on this one. If you didn't like it in high school, try it again when your reading tastes mature.

This 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, set in the year 1922, is a literary classic and I can well understand why. A mere 205 pages, it's a book that has everything - story, theme, symbolism, moral drama and great characters. No wonder it's stood the test of time.

The early 1920s was a very special time in American history. The Great War was over, and it was a time of celebration. Prohibition was the law of the land and bootleggers and gamblers were making fortunes as everybody partied with illegal booze and speculated in the stock market. In retrospect, we readers know that it all came to a crashing end later, but that was after the book was published and so the book captures the era in its own time.

The narrator is Nick Carraway, a young man who, like Fitzgerald himself, was raised in the mid-west and is working in the stock market in New York City. His own financial circumstances are modest but he rents a house in Long Island next door to the flamboyant and wealthy Jay Gatsby, who throws lavish parties and whose background is shrouded in mystery. As a New Yorker myself I must say I cringed at his geography, but the rest of the book transcends these minor physical details.

Slowly, we learn of Jay Gatsby's obsessive love for the wealthy Daisy, now married to the snobbish Tom Buchanan who is having an affair with a garage owner's wife. Nick is a friend of this cast of characters, participating in their lives but yet standing back and observing. He's a man of his times as well as a person who understands human character and foibles. How the story plays out is a complex drama filled with passion and tragedy and including elements worthy of Shakespeare or classic Greek theater. This is more than just a good story. It's an emotional ride in expensive cars to an era filled with people we can all identify with.

I give this book by highest recommendation. It rises above a mere good read and dwells in the realm of great literature.

I haven't read Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' in almost two years. I picked it up again, to-day, though, and realized the truth of the notion that one learns something new each time one returns to a book. 'The Great Gatsby' just is a novel that must be returned to periodically to appreciate it properly.

While the characters in the novel remain ultimately unknowable at their indefinite cores, Fitzgerald does a great job tying his characters to their historical setting. The protagonist of the novel, to my mind, is Nick Carraway, the narrator. The hero of his story, which frames the novel, is the legendary Jay Gatsby - a legend in his own mind. Although Carraway's narration is often heavily biased and unreliable, what emerges are the stories of a set of aimless individuals, thrown together in the summer of 1922. Daisy Buchanan is the pin that holds the novel together - by various means, she ties Nick to Jordan Baker, Tom Buchanan to Jay Gatsby, and Gatsby to the Wilsons.

The novel itself deals with the shallow hypocrisies of fashionable New York society life in the early 1920's. It is almost as though Fitzgerald took the plot of Edith Wharton's 'The Age of Innocence' and updated it - in the process making the characters infinitely more detestable and depriving it of all hope. Extramarital affairs rage on with only the thinnest of veils to disguise them, the nouveau-riche rise on the back of scandal and corruption, and interpersonal relationships rarely signify anything permanent that doesn't reek of conspiracy. The novel's casual allusions to beginnings and histories often cause us to reflect on the novel's historical moment - when the American Dream and Benjamin Franklin's vision of the self-made man seem to coalesce in Jay Gatsby, a Franklinian who read too much Nietzsche.

No matter how you read it, 'The Great Gatsby' is worth re-reading. M.J. Bruccoli's short, but informative preface, and C. Scribner III's afterword are included in this edition, and both set excellent contexts, literary, personal, and historical, for this classic of American literature.

No book has changed my life more than Beyond Fear and The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz. I have been reading these books almost every day for the past six months. The gratitude I feel for these books cannot be expressed in words, because the transformation they have engendered is too profound. This book gives you all the information, love and tools you need to create the life you choose. This is not a book which tells you what to believe. This is a book that teaches you how to choose what you want to believe. It leads you to discover your own truth and your own path to happiness. Living the words in this book has freed and empowered me to find the peace and happiness I was seeking. Now, this book and all of don Miguel's words live in my heart, and they will continue to guide me every day in deepening my experience of spirituality. If you are considering buying this book, do. Give it a chance to wake you up, open up your soul and amaze you!

Having read don Miguel Ruiz's book, "The Four Agreements" and after meeting him at a lecture, I picked up a copy of "Beyond Fear" with the hope of learning more about Miguel's process. I wasn't disappointed. Author Mary Carroll Nelson has crafted a very well written summary of the life experiences and teachings of a modern day nagual (keeper of spiritual knowledge). Readers unfamiliar with the words of Ruiz are presented with a clear explanation of his principal teachings and a glimpse of the man behind the message. While not exactly a "how-to" book, "Beyond Fear" does contain a few exercises and ceremonies to help the reader align themselves with the spiritual practice that is the basis of The Four Agreements. Those agreements are: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. The basic premise of Miguel's teachings is that we must break old patterns that are based in fear and replace them with new "agreements" that are based in love, shedding the habits of "judging" ourselves and others and no longer being a "victim" of those judgements. And, the way to do that is to adopt The Four Agreements as a code of conduct, which is the "Toltec guide to freedom and joy." Anyone can become a Master of Intent. All it takes is a conscious effort to look at your life and "your world" without fear or judgements and realize that the dream you are dreaming can be whatever you want it to be.

I like this book very much. I am biased, because I have been an apprentice of don Miguel Ruiz for four years, and the Toltec path has changed my life. Mary Carroll Nelson has done a wonderful job of bringing don Miguel's simple wisdom and love to the pages of this book. I have traveled many paths searching for my freedom, although I did not always know what I was looking for. Now, with this and don Miguel's other two books, and using the tools found here (The Four Agreements, Stalking and Dreaming, The inventory, recapitulation, forgiveness, etc.) I have reclaimed my personal power and found the simple peace that I was seeking. Thank you, don Miguel. I recommend that anyone who has read this far in these commments buy this and don Miguel's other two books (THE FOUR AGREEMENTS, and THE MASTERY OF LOVE.) And then do what he says! Miguel Ruiz lectures, leads workshops, and takes Power Journeys to Mexico and Peru, also. Find him, and go!

The book would ahve been good except before you even get into the material very good there are problems with wrong answers or very confusing explantions. If this much is wrong at the beginning what about later in the book when you get into the stuff you don't know.

This book is very well written and a lot of thought was given by the authors as to the presentation of the material and how much background to assume the reader has. I would give the book five stars based on the writing. However, the writers were not well served by the editor, as there are many typos, maybe as many as one every other page. It appears that the proof reading was done by someone without a math background, as many of the errors are obvious, such as an equal sign being omitted, turning an equality into a product. Or the length of the sides of a right triangle being given so that the hypotenuse is not the longest side. Sometimes the answers to questions are messed up, which is very frustrating. Hopefully when the book is republished, it will be given the care it deserves.

I teach myself a lot from books. Some books provide little, some a lot. With this book you walk away with a usable knowledge of trigonometry AND invaluable knowledge of how your calculator performs mathematical operations.
I've tok trig in high school, but the subject wasn't presented in such an organized and methodical approach. The overview in Chapter 1 provided insights that eluded me in high school. Chapter 2 provided detailed knowledge of my pocket computer and knowledge of it's use to solve trig problems that I never realized before. The examples and solutions provide feedback that the lessons were learned and owned. The subsequent chapters methodically build consistent, solid, usable knowledge. Mr. Abbot continually enables you to compare table-based calculations with your calculator calculations, building your confidence in your ability to do both. IF you've wrestled with other approaches to learning trig, this is THE book to get you through it.
I have read Mr. Abbott's Calculus book and find his approach conducive to my learning.

It's a good book, but it is easily broken. So my 2 year old, never gets to read it, because I am always having to glue it back together.