I first saw the author perform one of these stories at a festival, then I bought the book. I have truly enjoyed these stories, even though I am no longer a child, because I can see the original myth in between the puns and Texas twang. Adults, I think, would get a good laugh from these stories because these are the stories that they already know but transported to the twentieth century.

I got "hooked" on Barbara McBride-Smith's brilliant style of writing and storytelling when I met her the summer of 1998. She was leading a storytelling workshop at East TN State University. The study of Greek Mythology was never appealing to me until I met Barbara. I am a 6th grade Social Studies teacher, and when I introduce Barbara's work to my students, they fall in love with her. I highly recommend this book to ANYONE!

This book places humor in stories where humor is not usually found. Told in the Texan style, some passages just make you want to burst out laughing. It helps to have a general knowledge of Greek Mythology before reading, just so you can get the references and jokes. Great read, great laugh!!

I just received this book as a gift and have read most of it. The sugggestions are so simple and "do-able". I have a 15 month old and I was having trouble knowing what I could be doing to instill the Catholic faith at such a young age. Turns out there are many things, such as showing her how to kiss the crucifix at the beginning and end of each day, make the sign of the cross, etc. Wonderful sections on prayer, holy seasons, tv and the media, and even secular holidays. Highly recommended!!

This was one of the first books I read after the birth of our first child, and I am so glad I stumbled across it! The author gives concrete examples and a myriad of suggestions on ways to incorporate our faith into our everyday moments with our little ones. My oldest is now 4, and she and her two younger siblings still recite the prayers every night that this book suggested. I give this inexpensive book as a gift to new mothers, and I would urge other Catholic moms of small chidren to keep this on the bedside table for repeated reference.

This book is full of ideas for bringing up our precious little ones in the Faith. I definitely recommend this book for everyone.

Father Francis MacNutt, has shared with us 30 years of experience on the healing ministry. I found this book, very helpful in giving me knowledge on a subject that is very difficult to talk with friends and even priests. It gives me courage enough to go on, and continue to discern on the healing ministry.

Real world, down-to-earth, in a realm too often seen as fantasy or historical, is how MacNutt approaches the healing work of a loving God. Scripturally supported throughout, this is an explanation of Christian healing, a straight-forward 'how-to' erasing much of the mystery many Christians and skeptics have surrounding the healing Jesus called His disciples to offer the broken. It powerfully affirms the healing work of Jesus, alive and occurring daily, even now. He provides practical answers, numerous experiences of his and others' and, at the same time, demonstrates the humility of walk in admitting those things to which he still cannot offer clear and simple answers, things beyond his understanding. This is a handbook for healing ministers, a book of testimony to instill faith in the unhealed that they can be healed, and a treasure for the Christian Church.

This was my first McNutt book. Excellent!! One to read over and over again. Uplifting and down to earth. Wonderfully written!

Molly Wolf finds the supernatural in the very natural events of daily living, finds it very well and expresses it very beautifully. Her weekly essays are delivered by e-mail, and a year's worth has been collected here. Rejoice that she has a multi-book contract with a major publisher, and her writing only gets better. You can access sabbath-blessings@justus.anglican.org for information on how to subscribe to the weekly essay/sermons.

I have never been a reader of religious works. But Hiding in Plain Sight opened my heart to reflection on how God's wisdom and teaching come into play in life. It is decidedly non-technical, non-preachy, and at the same time lyrical and down to earth. Its audience will span those, like me, tentative and searching, to those well-versed in traditional theology. Reading it is a joy.

Every Saturday, several hundred members of an internet list called Anglican eagerly anticipate the arrival in their computer mailboxes of a "Sabbath Blessing" by Molly Wolf. Since 1995 she has posted one such essay each week -- a gift of generosity born of an exquisite sensitivity to the presence of the divine in the midst of the ordinary.

"Hiding in Plain Sight" presents several dozen of these short pieces. They are unpretentious and grounded in the ordinary, but they fairly glisten with an awareness of how an immanent God breaks into everyday life in rural Canada, where work, children, mud in the spring, and talks around the kitchen table are the regular fare.

Her pieces may begin with a walk near a saltwater marsh at low tide or a sense that the spring thaw is imminent and a torrent on its way, a piece of raw wool or a visit from the plumber. Wolf's great gift is to see God's presence in regular life, to interpret ordinary things and events as transparent windows to the holy.

Although never saccharine and always unblinkingly honest about human failing and the perpetual attempt to run away from grace, Wolf nevertheless opens her readers' eyes again and again to the startling sense that no matter what, it's all right here, right now -- the Kingdom of God is here, hiding in plain sight.

In the two millennia of our Christian faith, giants of the church have kept the institution alive and defined its orthodoxies, celebrated its sacraments and built its great cathedrals as shapers of tradition and guardians of right belief. Yet through this great tapestry of time and faith, there always weaves a bright thread of saints and mystics whose devotion is never primarily institutional or mediated by authority or even bounden duty, but by responding in gratitude and joy to a God who insists on revealing himself in a milkweed plant or an afternoon's work picking suet for plum puddings, who persists in redeeming by love the bleakest situations we can contrive for ourselves, and who invites us to know transcendence in the here and now.

Molly Wolf lives in that tradition and writes out of an almost Franciscan vision and as if with her friends in mind. The publication of *Hiding in Plain Sight* should gain her many, many more who will lean over and look through her window and see her glimpse of the Kingdom, visible just over there where some deep ruts left by heavy machinery are dry-caked, where from "this life... this rutted path (both of body and of mind)" we are transported to "a shoreline in the sky. Another country, beautiful and almost within reach."

[This review by Connie Jones appears in the upcoming issue of COVENANT, Nashville, Tenn.]

"One must live in a state of permanent dissatisfaction with the Church." Wow! (a quote Rohr uses in the book by Italian Monsignor, Richard Guardini, early 20th century) "And one cannot separate Christ from His cross. And one cannot separate Christ from His bloody painful Church." Rohr teaches (to me at least) that we should live Christlike behavior instead of our pompous duality, always joining hands to be against some other "thing/persons/religion/denominations/etc. He set fire to my weakened human condition that I seem to whine about all time to myself. We must suffer to get to the light at the end of the tunnel, but we "must" go through the darkness of the tunnel to get to the light. I loved the book.

I have recently begun exploring Christianity after many years away from the church. Christianity is laden with language that is misunderstood and dog tired. I've been really seeking what all of that language and symbolism is pointing toward. And does any of it dovetail with my own spiritual experience. There were points reading this book where I was truly elated because aspects of the deep heart of Christianity just glowed at me with the lustre of something true.

Rohr's exploration of victimhood and scapegoating seemed so deeply appropriate in the post September 11th world. The notion of transferring our pain, vanquishing it and making ourselves mighty as we assign it to someone else. The challenge is, of course, to be aware of and hold your pain, allowing it to transform you. I'm no Richard Rohr so suffice it that my paraphrase is profoundly anemic.

The book is dense and I'm sure I didn't really "get it" all because truthfully I have no idea how any of the contents relate to the title of the book or the chapter titles for that matter. None of that detracts from the truly profound insights he shares.

Rohr strikes me as someone who has a certain clarity and a desire to convey it, share it, spread it about. I had a moment of suspicion at one point, thinking he was telling me "it's like this". But it passed. While I wouldn't say the book is chock full of humility it leaves plenty of room for a reader to think it through. I really appreciated all of the biblical references and looked them all up. He uses the New Jerusalem Bible. Mine is the New American Standard Bible. It was interesting how far apart some of the translations were.

It amazes me that a person who writes as much as Father Rohr can be as fresh and insightful as he is in each new book. Hope Against Darkness is nothing short of brilliant. As I understand him, Rohr argues that the spiritual searcher of today is caught between the modern and the post-modern worldviews. Both are no longer acceptable, but both contain strengths we ought to retain as best we can. The anxiety that arises from this ambiguous state of homelessness is the dis-ease he treats in this book, and his remedy is a richly creative appeal to Franciscan spirituality. Simply wonderful! A book to read, re-read, and give to others.

I'm an undergraduate student of history, anthropology, and classics, so this book is merely one of my assigned texts for an obligatory course. I was a bit worried (and a bit more when I saw the price tag), but I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book.

Before you buy it, realize that it is, first and foremost, a textbook, so it is written in a scholarly fashion and has plenty of (relatively common) references to periods of time (e.g. Bronze Age, Paleolithic), historical persons not covered in great detail within the text, etc. Also realize that if you want a comprehensive, detailed, and -- best of all -- interesting overview of Rome from its earliest known inhabitants (circa 1200 B.C.E.) through Justinian (circa 600 C.E./A.D.), this is a great place to get it. Highly recommended.

This is the most complete, concise, and up-to-date survey or Rome from c.1000 B.C. to c.600 A.D. Along with the standard political, military, and legal narrative comes several chapters detailing Roman thought, religion, economy, agriculture, families, technology, and art. Useufl maps are abundant in this edition. Don't be awed by the price tag -- it is well worth it.

As a previous reviewer has noted, this is the standard text for any survey study of the Roman state and people. Well and concisely written, this is the place to start for anyone seeking a broad review of the history of the Roman state, from its legendary and archeological inception to the last days of Justinian. Clearly organized and, unlike some other books written to satisfy the requirements of the undergraduate classroom, presented in a style that will satisfy both the casual as well as historically trained reader, this text broadly and completely covers the essential events, figures and characteristics of the social, political, cultural and military developments that define the Roman civilization from its birth in legend to its political decline and transformation during the rule of the Dominate, eventually evolving into the Romanized societies and political entities that were to define and characterize the early Middle Ages. If there is any criticism that can be leveled at this work, it is only regarding the price, though if you visit your local university bookstore, it is likely you can find a clean used copy at a cost more commensurate with what should be expected.

Holy Places is a visual delight, filled with gorgeous color photographs of 10 sacred sites around the world. It is a book about saints, prayer, miracles and recovery, art and religious history and architecture. The reader is transported to ancient Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, Mexico and New Mexico. The book is a pilgrimmage into Catholic history and devotion. I gave a copy to my elderly aunt who called me to say that she had just been to Italy and Mexico and was about to travel through Spain -- that reading the book was as good as being there (and by the way, she would try to make it to Chimayo, New Mexico).

It is a concise and richly crafted book on some of the most famous holy places in the world.

Who might like this book?
Travellers
Spiritual seekers
Pilgrims
Artists & art lovers
Children
Historians
Lovers of religious relics
People who like pictures

I highly recommend this wonderful book.

Holy Places is a visual delight, filled with gorgeous color photographs of 10 sacred sites around the world. It is a book about saints, prayer, miracles and recovery, art and religious history and architecture. The reader is transported to ancient Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, Mexico and New Mexico. The book is a pilgrimmage into Catholic history and devotion. I gave a copy to my elderly aunt who called me to say that she had just been to Italy and Mexico and was about to travel through Spain -- that reading the book was as good as being there (and by the way, she would try to make it to Chimayo, New Mexico).

If you are a world traveller and like to visit art and historical sites, this is a definite must see. It is a concise and richly crafted book on some of the most famous holy places in the world.

Who might like this book?
Travellers
Spiritual seekers
Pilgrims
Art buffs
Children
Historians
Lovers of religious relics
People who like pictures

I highly recommend this wonderful book.

Holy Places is a visual delight, lavished with gorgeous color photographs of 10 sacred sites around the world. It is a book about saints, prayer, miracles and recovery, art and religious history and architecture. The reader is transported to ancient Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, Mexico and New Mexico. The book is a pilgrimmage into Catholic history and devotion. I gave a copy to my elderly aunt who called me to say that she had just been to Italy and Mexico and was about to travel through Spain -- that reading the book was as good as being there (and by the way, she would try to make it to Chimayo, New Mexico).

If you are a world traveller and like to visit art and historical sites, this is a definite must see. It is a concise and richly crafted book on some of the most beautiful holy places in the world.

I highly recommend this wonderful book.

People fantasize about the ancient world and as an ancient historian I'm often amused and annoyed by what these fantasies entail. This is especially true in books written for children and young adults where the nastiness (by our modern standards) of the ancient world are often overlooked and underplayed. Mary Ray's "The Ides of April" does a fairly good job of looking at the concerns of citizens, young people, and slaves in mid-first century Rome. While the murder mystery kicks off sharply I do wish she'd spent more time on the characters before the entire legal nightmare began so that we could be more emotionally invested in the characters. Likewise it ends a bit aburptly. I haven't read any of the other books of the series yet, but it seems like the same characters may not be encountered which is a pity. The characters are well done, they seem to grasp the mindset of the people of that time though I think holding onto a Greek identity when one is born a slave in Rome is a bit awkward. I'd recommend it to anyone between 14 and 20 who is interested in the ancient world or in power dynamics in history. For those of us who are older, it can be entertaining as well.

The thing about this book was that it felt _REAL_. It was hard to remember it was *just* a book.

You felt the danger; you felt the bruises on the ribs. You wanted the hero to make it. You just didn't find yourself doubting the realness of it.

Now, it's been a couple years since I read this, so perhaps I was just more gullible. But I don't think so. I still remember it, after all this time. Its magic was a special fete considering I had NEVER been interested in the Roman era or historical mysteries.

When the book was over, I wanted it to keep going.

An excellent historical mystery. I highly doubt you'll regret reading it.

This was a very good book. Sometimes a bit of a slow read, but such and intriguing murder story set in anciet Rome you won't even think to put the book down! Great for everyone!

Aside from the fact that The Byzantine Empire, while largely ignored in the Western Historical tradition, is among the most important phenomena in the development of the Western Enlightenment, reading about a figure such as Constantine XI Palaiologus is an excellent way of showing that leaders need not be anemic bankers with no sense of honor or dignity. Nicol shows the end result of Western Christendom's abandonment of the East, and the East's continuing glory in the face of the inevitable. He treats his subjects fairly and attempts to understand and convey their motivations/actions while not indulging in an apologia. Overall an excellent and thoroughly readable text about an extraordinary figure. I also enjoyed his study of the posthumous mythology which has arisen around the Emperor, even among the Turkish people. Can anyone imagine Bill Clinton or Tony Blair behaving so valiantly? So selflessly? Neither can I. Constantine was a hero in the classical sense-except that, unlike Achilles or Aeneas, he really lived. An excellent role model for the young and an inspiring figure for the mature, treated respectfully yet objectively (insofar as anyone can be objective) by Nicol. I would certainly read anything he writes. My only complaint is that I wish the book were longer.

Donald Nicol is a blessing to Byzantine History in the 20th century. One of his greatest pieces of work is THE IMMORTAL EMPEROR. This is only the second biography on the life of the last Roman Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine Palaiologos, and the first to appear in one hundred years. This book is not the history of the fall of Constantinople. For that, you should see Runciman, "The Fall of Constantinople." It is, however, an extraordinary treatment on the life of Constantine XI as well as the incredible legends that surround his death to this present day. Some people have critisized Nicol for providing almost too much information on the legends and myths that surround Constantine. But I think it all goes to show just what this one man means to even modern Greeks, as well as people everywhere. Nicol's research is unmatched. You may feel that there is too much packed in such a small book, but because it is all very exciting and well organized, you will want to read it over and over.

Matt

It's a shame how certain pieces of history are left out in American high schools. It seems that Greece's only contribution to the world was 5th century Athens. Byzantium was a world power for over a 1,000 years and the problems it had are still heard today (Bosnian War). Nichol's book tells the tragic story of the once great Byzantine Empire and its last brave Emperor. The book is excellent for anyone wanting to read more about the last days of the Empire.