What makes this book so refreshing is the author's approach: "I set about to look into the histories of some of our favorite faith words and found that those histories repeatedly guided me back to the theme of death and birth." The Great Illusion is death; the Grand Parable is new birth. The 15+ chapters investigate words like "resurrection", "heaven", "angels," "Satan", etc., using history, literary analysis, and etymology to dig into the meaning of the words and stories of the Bible when they were written. In the introduction the author writes: "We need a way to read scripture that can help us to focus on the enduring goodness of God in a day when the faith is too often presented as a barrier rather than a doorway." This little book does exactly that. It retrieves a sense of love and grace and presence from the Old and New Testament that I thought had been lost to Fundamentalism. This is a moving (and accessible!) book for people of any faith, since the truths it re-discovers are timeless (see the chapter on "eternal"). (And it made me want to go back and re-read Owen Barfield.) Each (short) chapter includes discussion questions that make this book appropriate for adult study groups.

For those individuals who want an eas to read book about George Washington, I recomend this book. It goes through Washington's life from start to finish with commo asked questions and the answers. This is a cool book for grade levels 3-6.

This was the first book I read for my Communication Engineering course and this subject became one of my strengths after I read it. The style of writing is conversational and not overly technical.The arrangement of the topics is again just like a beginner needs for it to be.The language is lucid .The matter covers not only the technical details but also the practical difficulties.The author has taken pains to make things simple except in places like receivers where its impossible. In my opinion it is the best place you can learn your basic radio and modulation thoery and also stuff about receivers and radio wave propagation from.Be sure to read about tuned amplifiers,oscillators and push-pull amplifiers...you wouldnt understand most of the book if you dont know these elementary concepts.

There were very few things that I didnt find in this book...one was the procedure for determination of AM modulation index by the use of a Oscilloscope,but i dont think i can recall anything else which was missing.

George Washington is such a mythic figure, that any honest account of his life and career brings both surprises and a reaffirmation of just what a great man he was. Burke Davis is a first rate writer and historian and focusses here on Washington the General who led America to military victory in the Revolutionary War despite long odds and much personal hardship. Just keeping his ragtag army together was enough of a challenge. To actually win battles such as Trenton and Yorktown and survive the treachery of Benedict Arnold makes him all the more remarkable. It is a shame that the Revolutionary War evokes little of the passion in Americans today that the Civil War does. Washington's military feats dwarf those of Grant, Lee and Sherman. With this book, Washington the military commander gets his due.

Both my husband and I have enjoyed these letters thoroughly. The wit and humor and gentle humanity make them highly recommendable. Hart-Davis was a publisher and Lyttelton a retired Eton English teacher, and anyone who cares for books will love these.

Mr. Crisps's biography of Miles Davis stands out not only for its incisiveness, which is unusual in biographies of jazz musicians, but also for its deft treatment of the musicians from whom Davis drew his inspiration, including such unforgettable (though all too often forgotten) greats like Jeffrey Ellenberger. How refreshing it was to read about Davis's assimilation of Ellenberger's groundbreaking "Cathedral Parkway Blues" and "Suite 5F" in his later work.

I took structural geology at the University of Washington spring quarter 1997. Book was excellent and contributed to a reasonably good grade (3.3) for the course. Recommend for students or professors of structural geology

In the new post-September-11th world, this book could not be more timely. The author, Annette Smith's, exciting writing style completely captivates as she describes a teenaged boy, Steve Barrett's, adventures with Arab terrorists both in the air and after he lands in Egypt. His successes can help empower teen and young readers in these trying times. Based on her son's true adventures in Egypt, this is an exciting read which should be re-released in light of our country's current events.

After being reunited with her birth parents in Nova Scotia and after saying a tearful goodbye to her Louisiana parents, Nicole has a yearning for more. She and Anne become close friends and Nicole loves her parents, but there is something calling to her, dividing her allegiance. Her Uncle Charles has asked for her to go to England and become his heir, and she considers doing just that. After prayer and consideration, she decides to leave.

England is a contrast to all she's ever known . . . its glitter and bustle are almost too much for her, and she feels useless among the rich trappings and servants.

Anne, meanwhile, is dealing with some devastating news. She decides to go to England. Anne adjusts more quickly to England than Nicole.

Nicole and her uncle have to make some hard decisions. . . .

I didn't find this book as exciting as the others in the series (especially Book 1, my favorite so far), but it is still interesting and integral to the series. The writing is still beautiful and thoughtful and this book is worth the read.

This book is great! It's been a while since I read the first two books in this series, and I was surprised that it was so easy for me to pick up right where they left off.

This is the story of Nicole's journey to England to take her place as the heir to her Uncle Charles. Her ideas of duty and responsibility, but also her need for change and to find her own place in the world are at the heart of the novel.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot--especially the surprise ending, but needless to say, this book will keep you charmed through the end--through all the heartache, sorrow and joy that comes through in colonial America.

This is my second favorite of the series, my very favorite being "The Meeting Place." Unlike "The Sacred Shore", the book preceding it, "The Birthright" brings out the character of Anne as well as that of Nicole, rather like "The Meeting Place" did with their moms, Catherine and Louise. I always felt that Anne is "short-changed" in the other books in the series, and am glad to see her getting more equal treatment here.

A great way to familiarize yourself with the Dead Sea Scrolls. I like the layout of the text, examining the scrolls cave by cave. Many beautiful color photos, almost a coffee-table book, but more than just a photo album. For those hesitating to purchase this book because of Davies' involvement, I would suggest that his minimalist views on the historicity of the Bible are not a factor in this book. My only complaint - more than once, documents/scrolls were mentioned in passing as if the reader should already know about them, then, a few pages/chapters later, the document was explained in detail. Coupled with "Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls", the reader would have a good introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Where does one start the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? One would do well to start with copies of the texts. The biblical texts may be found in _The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible_ translated by Martin Abegg et al. The non-biblical texts which includes the sectarian texts, may be found in _The Dead Sea Scrolls_ translated by Michael Wise et al. (Incidentally there are no unpublished texts of any significance. These two volumes cover the field.)

Then one needs a book which explains where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found such as Jodi Magness' _The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scolls_. But as the starting point one needs _The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls_.

Philip Davies, George Brooke, and Phillip Callaway have written a "complete" introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first section of the book discusses the discovery of the scrolls, their editing, and their publication. The second section discusses the history of the time of the scrolls, including the sects of that time.

Perhaps the third section should have been divided into two. The third section begins with chapters on how to make a scroll, script styles, Carbon-14 dating of the scrolls, and how to reconstruct a scroll from fragments. (If one has never read of the techniques for scroll reconstruction, this chapter is a must.)

Next comes the bulk of the book. The most significant scrolls from each cave are discussed. Cave 1 had a number of the sectarian scrolls. Cave 4 had the largest number of scrolls. The scrolls from Caves 5 to 10 receive only two pages of attention despite the sensationalism surrounding the Greek scrolls found in Cave 7 (and see also page 190).

The fourth section of the book discusses the settlement of Qumran. (One should be sure to refer to Magness' _Archaeology_.) The fifth section discusses the meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I will leave these for the consideration of the reader.

Included in _Complete World_ are a list of the contents of Discoveries in the Judean Desert, a chart of paleographic Hebrew, a list of the scrolls by cave, etc. _Complete World_ is a feast of reading with the scrumptious photographs of a coffee table book. This book deserves more than a five star rating.

The three authors on the latest book about the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the top in the field of archaeology. Together, they present careful evidence into the history and meaning of the manuscripts found in the Dead Sea. The book is easy to follow, starting with the finding of the scrolls, then moving into a historical backdrop of the world as it was in ancient times for the authors of the texts. An added advantage in this book is it lays out exactly where each scroll was found, the condition the text was in, and the background for the scroll being reviewed. A small section was devoted to the Copper Scroll, one of the biggest mysteries in all the scrolls found to date. This is an easy read with a comprehensive account of one of the most important archaeological finds in the past century