This book is fun to read. Do not try to read this book as proof of anything, but as a book to help you imagine what the setting for the Book of Mormon *might* have been like. While it does offer evidence and support of the Book of Mormon's authenticity, it doesn't try to prove anything, but to educate and inspire imagination. I found by reading this book that many of my own assumptions about the Book of Mormon setting were probably wrong, and that they were just that- my own assumptions. For instance, many people assume that the Lehi party landed on a basically deserted continent. But really that isn't implied anywhere in the Book of Mormon. In fact, it mentions several times about others in the land around them; nevertheless the fact that the scripture is more concerned with their immediate group than other tribes causes many, myself included, to assume that they were basically alone. This book made me rethink a lot of these types of assumptions, and helped me to associate the characters, traditions, customs and geography of the Book of Mormon with realistic models to better understand what they were all about.

This book really prompted me to think about and reconceptualize many of the assumptions I held about Book of Mormon geography and study. It was inspiring to develop a deeper understanding of the people in the Book of Mormon, and answered many questions. It's well researched and doesn't pretend to be decisive in its conclusions. Definitely the most authoritive book on the subject of Book of Mormon geography and a must read for all interested in the subject.

Cathy Pavia's inspired illustrations keep us coming back and finding more of Andy's bad deeds! When is she coming out with her next book? Is she in line for a Caldecott?

Have all the "Carl" books and HAD to buy "Bad Dog Andy" to round out the collection.

In this major work of narrative theology, Alan Lewis breaks new ground with his moving and comprehensive exposition of the neglected but vital place of Holy Saturday in the Paschal mystery. Writing passionately but with precision, during his own Holy Saturday experience of temporary remission from terminal cancer, he offers compelling insights into "God's powerful weakness." Prayer, for him, is the "posture of those who foreswear the idolatry of self-reliance and affirm rather the perfection, primacy and power of God." It is only because of God's self-surrender to death, "that those and only those who lose and give themselves away shall find and fulfill themselves." Lewis calls us to a Christocentric catholicity that defies the individualism, nationalism, and group conflicts nurtured by a "secular pluralism." When "power is the expression, not the opposite, of service," the Easter Saturday community will be characterized by "audacious speech as well as suffering silence." Not a book for the faint-hearted, this book, prayerfully pondered, will leave no reader's life unchanged. Lenora Black, OSB

I learned more theology from one course under Dr. Alan Lewis than from over 40 years of church sermons. He taught, as he wrote, from his personal knowledge and understanding of Christianity during the months he was living with painful, incurable cancer. As more fully explained in the last chapter of this book, healing is a gift from God. No one person is more deserving of it than another. Diseases are not God's punishments. They happen. I am renewing and reviewing my Christian beliefs during my personal struggles with my dad's end-stage Parkinson's disease and my young cousin's ovarian cancer.

I hope that amazon.com promotes this book because it deserves reading by all thoughtful Christians.

John Gardner is wham-bam back on pedigree form with Day of Absolution, his best book since Werewolf Trace, Dancing Dodo, Complete State of Death, Every Night's a Bullfight (don't settle for 'The Director', the bowdlerised version) and Garden of Weapons (if you haven't read these books, you should get out more!). JG is the best - complex where Le Carre is merely complicated, out-detailing Deighton and, with his penetrating Greene-like insights into the human conditon, relegating the rest of the spy-hacks (with the exception of Eric Ambler)to also-rans. Read this book and then go back and enjoy the complete canon. JG is the spy writer's writer.

Recently retired Foreign Office employee Charlie Gauntlet marries Metropolitan Police Detective Bex Olesker. Since she works in the Anti-terrorist Branch, Charlie has had a difficult adjustment because his former job has taught him how dangerous her work is.

Bex's latest case involves the deadly, legendary Alchemist, a wizard who has eluded police around the world for more than a decade. As Bex follows her lead, traitor Kit Palfrey visits Charlie with a tale about ancient Christian scrolls found in Moscow. While Bex journeys to Ireland, Charlie travels to Scotland to substantiate the scrolls that allegedly provide a new light on the last days of Jesus. However, neither Charlie nor Bex realize that their two divergent cases will soon intercede at a point that could leave both of them dead.

DAY OF ABSOLUTION is a great thriller that expeditiously combines elements from espionage, political, police procedural, and religion into a classy tale. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action while containing two major subplots that cleverly blend into a wonderful climax. The lead characters are fully drawn and the assassin is shadowy enough to seem real. This novel proves that John Gardner is the Man.

Harriet Klausner

I grew up in the area, my dad died of a brain tumor associated with nuclear fallout in Nevada, Classmates and friends in school died of a Leukemia rate 500% higher than national averages. This book also gives relevant dates and times concerning the deaths by eventual cancer of almost everyone involved in the making of "The Conquerors" Staring John Wayne, Agnes Moorehead etc. which was shot on location in So. Utah shortly after the blast and fallout. I read this book in college in Salt Lake in the 70's and it was WIDELY available then. I find it quite odd that it is impossible to find a copy of it in any library or any booksearch I have repeatedly attempted over the course of the last two years. The book also details and suggests fallout patterns from weather anomalies that affected Los Angeles and Las Vegas, that resulted in "smog" advisories for LA way ahead of its truly smoggier years. We used to be notified of blast times and would go upstairs to watch the blast wave spill water out the end of the pool and all the swag lamps swing. Fun Hunh?

VERY spooky book and its unavailability spookier.

Read the book years after my own experiences with fall-out in both northern and Southern Utah. Fuller tackles his subject with depth and emotion, caring for the subjects he interviews and writes about. This book was a thin wedge which finally opened the US Government's files on Atomic Testing and the low-level and high-level fall-out we all live with. Particularly liked the way the book begins with an ordinary day or what had become an ordinary event --- the explosion of a nuclear bomb in Nevada. His focus on the little people working in mines, ranches, and local farms. He makes us feel that they are important and that what happened to them is just as important as the election or assasination of a president. I found it quite moving the way the ranchers and sheepmen held out hope that this was an accident and that their government would, of course, do the right thing. Fuller follows these people from the original event (a bomb called Dirty Harry) to the interviews with the Department of Energy, the reports back and forth and the subsequent lawsuits. This is a MUST book because it is this case which led to a ruling by Judge Jenkins that there had been a gross mis-carriage of justice in the original trials because crucial information had been deliberately with-held from the defendants. His ruling in turn led to the Compensation Act which grants some money to surviving victims of a few couties in Utah if they have the right kind of cancer and can prove they were in the area at the time Dirty Harry.

Here's a real flyfisherman that has allowed each one of us into his own backyard. Mr Barbier's book, Eastern Sierra Guide for Day Hikers' tells his secrets on where to go, how to get there and what to use for a memorable day on the water. The Day Hikers' Guide has become my bible in the Sierra.

Barbier's book has opened up a whole new world to me. It's a fantastic, accessible, yet underutilized world away from all that ails our gotta have it now society.

The guide at the back of the book tells so much in so little space--it lists distances to each lake, the type of fish there, difficulty, region of the sierras, and more. This, like so much of the book, understates its value. Mr. Barbier's brief comments about essential gear, lures, fishing etiquette, mosquito avoidance, has taught me more than I've been able to learn on my own after too many trials and even more errors.

This is not a fisherman's only guide. Every hiker, backpacker, and naturalist who appreciates the beauty of discovering an unspoiled lake in the least likely places, high in the sierras, would do well to use this straightforward, beautifully simple book.

Write on, Mr. Barbier. You have a wonderful story to tell!

This short book is a wonderful and simple introduction to a complex and exceptionally deep teacher. Although by no means an expert in St John's theology, I have been active in the prayer life for several years and am familiar with his work. Sad to say, nearly everything written about this marvelous saint is almost as difficult to penetrate as the original. John Kirvan's little book can change all that, by giving us short vignettes which illustrate the basic principles of St John's magnificent work, and by giving us exercises we can use to shape our day. I cannot help but think that St John would approve,and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading and using this book.

If you feel a yearning for deeper spirituality, but are disenchanted with religion, this little book may be for you.

John of the Cross continues to be the greatest Western spiritual master of this age. After 500 years, his popularity is only growing. His insightful writings appeal to persons of all faiths. In Kirvan's words, "he leads the seeking soul more deeply, more insistently, more uncompromisingly, and more sure-footedly into the mysteries of personal union with God than any other."

That may sound intimidating, but this book is accessible to anyone. I read it on the train each day on the way to work. Each day is a three-part process: read, reflect and pray. Kirvan provides a small excerpt of John's writing that can be read in about 2 minutes, but contains enough food for thought to nourish you for the whole day. Then there is a small "mantra" phrase (for instance, "Let go of what you know") that can easily be memorized, or written on a small card and carried around with you, to be reflected on during the day. Then, for the end of day, there is a prayer that incorporates the day's theme. (I read that on the train going home at night.) So in 30 days, without taking any significant time out of my schedule, I found a spiritual friend in John of the Cross who nurtured my soul. My thanks to John Kirvan for making this possible. I've just ordered another four books in the same series, and more of the writings of John of the Cross.

The problem with Indermark's Genesis of Grace is that it ends. I wanted his insights and daily readings to continue beyond Easter. Here it is fifty days later and I still miss the book. I hope the author will publish other materials.

Indermark's writing combines biblical stories (readings each day in Genesis) with a commentary that ranges from biblical practice to a very contemporary visit to Auschwitz. This is a good daily devotional book.

Daily readings in the book of Genesis are a bit of a surprise for the season of Lent, but I found this book to be an exception aid during Lent of '98. Indermark focuses on the spiritual journey and makes some surprising connections with contemporary concerns.

I enjoyed this book very much. John Roseboro Jr. told of his life growing up in a very small town. His love for his family, and his accomplishments as a pro ball player for the Dodgers. John was a great ball player who should have been recognized more. Hopefully, he will write another great book. Marilyn Yates

One of the most sought after baseball bio's published in the last 25 years, this is one of the very few sports autobiographies that really shows what is was like to be a "star" and what life was like after the spotlight in baseball retirement. Now out of print, the book has become quite a sought after item among Dodger memorabilia collectors and baseball history enthusiasts.

"The House of Special Purpose" is compiled from the papers of Charles Sydney Gibbes (or Gibbs), English tutor to the children of Tsar Nicholas II. J. C. Trewin did an excellent job of going through Gibbs' papers and combining them with published sources to form a fascinating narrative. The photographs, too, are well-chosen. The Russian revolution happens a third of the way through the book; however, Gibbs was with the family in their captivity in Siberia, and has interesting anecdotes and dimensions to add. One complaint is the lack of a proper bibliography. While "House of Special Purpose" was mostly based on unpublished sources, it would be nice to know at a glance what other sources Trewin consulted. (Sometimes sources are given in footnotes at the bottom of the page; other times they are not.) Similarly, an index might have been nice. However, these are both stylistic complaints. This is an interesting book, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the last tsar. It is, as other reviewers have said, a shame that it is out of print and hard to find.

This is a wonderful book that describes the last days of Czar Nicholas II and his family. The emphasis is on the children --- son Alexis and daughters Anastasia, Maria, Tatyana, and Olga.

The book is based on the recollections of the children's tutor, Pierre Gilliard, who accompanied them in exile for a time. It is filled with photographs, letters, and other memorobilia from Monsieur Gilliard's collection. These provide a delightful side to the tragic story of the last days of the Romanovs.

It is a pity that this wonderful book is out of print.