[The following three paragraphs were striken from the end of my earlier review of this book due to length restrictions. The beginning of the review, of which these three paragraphs form the concluding portion, appears immediately below this review.]

Cardinal Ratzinger is forthright in his pessimistic assessment of the time ahead. "The danger of a dictatorship of opinion is growing, and anyone who doesn't share the prevailing opinion is excluded, so that even good people no longer dare to stand by such nonconformists [i.e. Christians]. Any future anti-Christian dictatorship would probably be much more subtle than anything we have known until now. It will appear to be friendly to religion, but on the condition that its own models of behavior and thinking not be called into question." (153) The Church must attorn to the zeitgeist in this scheme. These themes are explored in Michael D. O'Brien's "Children of the Last Day" novels.

It is time for the faithful, Cardinal Ratzinger says, to form "vital circles." [T]here are great, vibrant new beginnings and joyful forms of Christian life that don't figure much statistically but are humanly great and have the power to shape the future." (143). "Particularly when one has to resist evil it's important to not to fall into gloomy moralism that doesn't allow itself any joy but really to see how much beauty there is, too, and to draw from it the strength needed to resist what destroys joy." (69)

In his autobiography, the novelist and historian Russell Kirk wrote, "Not by force of arms are civilizations held together, but by the threads of moral and intellectual belief. In the hands of the Fates are no thunderbolts: only threads and scissors." Throughout this book, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger shows that in most parts of the world that the Roman Catholic Church is the last defense against the decay of human civilization. By defending revelation and sacred tradition against the moral anarchy of the age, the Church withholds disorder of the soul and the commonwealth, the idolatry of man as god, and preserves man, as a creature of God, against transitory and often violent popular passion. The ambitions of those men who would bring about and celebrate her demise are dangerous. Implicit in Cardinal Ratzinger's words and lifetime service is the message that it is time for serious men of serious purpose to come to her defense.

This is a book length interview of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He is the Roman Church's sentinel on the frontiers of theological adventurism, there to keep watch that the Church's Deposit of Faith is preserved against impious attack. He has held this position since 1981, when Pope John Paul II called him to Rome from Munich, where he was archbishop.

He was born in Bavaria seventy-three years ago. As with Karol Wojtyla, he had a full life before going to Rome. As a young man and seminarian he was exposed to the rise of Nazism in Germany. He was a prominent theological advisor during the Second Vatican Council and taught theology at Germany's most prominent universities. He earned a reputation as one of the Church's brightest and most creative theologians.

In an age when Truth has come under unceasing brutal assault, he has become a target of attack worldwide. He is routinely caricatured in the worldwide media as the new Grand Inquisitor, unthinking and dictatorial. This book will discomfit his enemies. It shows a deeply learned man moving carefully and deliberately across all the issues of the "Canon of Criticism," forthrightly defending the Church. It shows a man with a keen understanding of our present age and the ideologies that animate it.

The Roman Church is contemptible to so many precisely because it stands in unabashed reproof of so much of what passes as wisdom today, including the central "truth" of our post-modern era: that only truth is that there is no Truth. This reminds us that the Church is now, as always, a scandal. But it is necessary, Cardinal Ratzinger reminds, us to distinguish between the "primary" scandal and the "secondary" scandal. "The secondary scandal consists in our actual mistakes, defects and over-institutionalizations . . .." (124) The Church is made up of men who are subject to all the frailties to which flesh is heir. But the Church aspires for more. That she occasionally fails should not surprise us. That she aspires for more should inspire new generations of saints. Yet the very idea that man is not naturally good and should aspire for more through self-abnegation is a deep offense to the modern mindset that man is good and is always, inexorably, getting better. This makes the Church an object of contempt and, in time, hatred.

"[T]he primary scandal consists precisely in the fact that we stand in opposition to the decline into the banal and the bourgeois and into false promises. It consists in the fact that we don't simply leave man alone in his self-made ideologies." (124) Substitution of transitory political ethics for Christian ethics leads to despotism, the exaltation of a mere man as God: Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Min. "We can say with a certainty backed up by empirical evidence that if the ethical power represented by Christianity were suddenly torn out of humanity, mankind would lurch to and fro like a ship rammed against an iceberg, and then the survival of humanity would be in greatest jeopardy." (227) "For this reason . . . the Catholic Church is a scandal, insofar as she sets herself in opposition to what appears to be a nascent global ideology and defends primordial values of humanity that can't be fit into this ideology . . .." (124)

"[I]f we give up the principle that every man as man is under God's protection, that as a man he is beyond the reach of arbitrary will, we really do forsake the foundation of human rights." (204) The sacred tradition of the Church is arrayed in defense of the dignity of mankind. Contrary to fashionable caricature, the Church is not an ossified tree, subject to being felled by the latest gale. It changes, but slowly, deliberately, organically. "[T]here are various degrees of importance in the tradition [of the Church] . . . not everything has the same weight . . . [but] there are . . . essentials, for example, the great conciliar decisions or what is stated in the Creed. These things are the Way and as such are vital to the Church's existence; they belong to her inner identity." (207-208) As to its essentials, its First Principles, or everlasting verities, the Church is powerless to change even in face of popular demand.

Bringing to mind Edmund Burke and G.K. Chesterton, Cardinal Ratzinger reminds us that "the Church lives not only synchronically but diachronically as well. This means that it is always all - even the dead - who live and are the whole Church, that it is always all who must be considered in any majority in the Church. . . . The Church lives her life precisely from the identity of all the generations, from their identity that overarches time, and her real majority is made up of the saints." (189) Our present age cannot cavalierly discard the wisdom of this great communion of the living and the dead, of one hundred human generations of the Church, confident that it has somehow achieved superceding wisdom. Instead, it must, as must all generations, submit to the essentials of the Church, to revelation and the Church's sacred tradition. "Every generation tries to join the ranks of the saints, and each makes its contribution. But it can do that only by accepting this great continuity and entering into it in a living way." (189) The Church does not need additional "reformers" of institutions. "What we really need are people who are inwardly seized by Christianity, who experience it as joy and hope, who have thus become lovers. And these we call saints." (269)

This is not easy for any generation. It places a break on volition. It posits that man's every impulse is not virtuous. Intrinsically, it asserts that man is not God, that man must prune his impulses, as he would an overgrown plant to prepare it to bear fruit. "[P]eople don't want to do without religion, but they want it only to give, not to make its own demands on man. People want to take the mysterious element in religion but spare themselves the effort of faith." (212) This is New Age faith, not the faith of the Church and her saints. "If the willingness to be bound is not there, and if, above all, submission to the truth is not there, then in the end all of this will simply remain a game." (235)

It is often heard today that if only the Church would make priestly celibacy optional, ordain women and "reform" its doctrine to accommodate other contemporary demands, that she would flourish as never before. These cavils ignore the central truth of any true church - that its communicants come to it and submit to the truth it professes, a truth beyond editing by plebiscite. It also reveals a stunning lack of critical intelligence. "These issues are resolved in Lutheran Christianity," Cardinal Ratzinger notes. "On these points, it has taken the other path, and it is quite plain that it hasn't thereby solved the problem of being a Christian in today's world and that the problem of Christianity, the effort of being a Christian, remains just as dramatic as before." (181) Why should the Roman Church make itself a clone of Lutheranism? "[B]eing a Christian does not stand or fall on these questions [and] . . . the resolution of these matters doesn't make the gospel more attractive or being Christian any easier. It does not even achieve the agreement that will better hold the Church together. I believe we should finally be clear on this point, that the Church is not suffering on account of these questions." (182)

Cardinal Ratzinger is forthright in his pessimistic assessment of the time ahead. "The danger of a dictatorship of opinion is growing, and anyone who doesn't share the prevailing opinion is excluded, so that even good people no longer dare to stand by such nonconformists [i.e. Christians]. Any future anti-Christian dictatorship would probably be much more subtle than anything we have known until now. It will appear to be friendly to religion, but on the condition that its own models of behavior and thinking not be called into question." (153) The Church must attorn to the zeitgeist in this scheme. These themes are explored in Michael D. O'Brien's "Children of the Last Day" novels.

It is time for the faithful, Cardinal Ratzinger says, to form "vital circles." [T]here are great, vibrant new beginnings and joyful forms of Christian life that don't figure much statistically but are humanly great and have the power to shape the future." (143). "Particularly when one has to resist evil it's important to not to fall into gloomy moralism that doesn't allow itself any joy but really to see how much beauty there is, too, and to draw from it the strength needed to resist what destroys joy." (69)

In his autobiography "The Sword of Imagination," the novelist and historian Russell Kirk writes, "Not by force of arms are civilizations held together, but by the threads of moral and intellectual belief. In the hands of the Fates are no thunderbolts: only threads and scissors." Throughout this book, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger demonstrates that he understands better than, perhaps, anyone e

There are so many fabulous insights in this book, and such honesty that it should be required reading for high school religion classes. Cardinal Ratzinger has really hit the nail on the head, giving all of us an inside view of the issues that are important to the Church. "In today's whirl of instant bliss, religion, too, is socially respectable only as a dream of happiness without tears, as a mystical enchantment of the soul. Perhaps the Church comes under heavier fire because she talks about sin and suffering and rectitude of life....Just one curious example - when it comes to the state, as soon as crimes begin to multiply and society feels its safety threatened, there is an immediate demand for tougher laws. In relation to the Church, whose laws are moral in nature, the exact opposite happens - there is a demand for further relaxation."

I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Michael Downey lecture on this particular book before I ever touched it. I was blown away by his lucid and methodical description of that simple verse from St. John, "God is Love." I bought the book with high hopes.

I'll tell you, my hopes were fulfilled! "Altogether Gift" truly is a masterpiece. My Christian faith has been transformed. I always felt that 1 John 4:8 as well as 1 Corinthians 13 and John 15:9-17 were entirely overrated. I believed in them, but thought they didn't do God full justice. What a folly! How impious I was, for these verses are the key to understanding God's creative and salvific activity in the universe--particularly with mankind!

Downey's work permeates with the precious and transforming love that God bestows on those who acknowledge Him. The words God spoke in Isaiah 43:4 become crystal clear through Downey's treasure of theological and spiritual reflection ("For you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you"). During the course of my reading, I was frequently moved to tears as I realized how much more I (we) can love God if I (we) only allow His love to reach me (us); how much more I (we) should love my (our) brothers and sisters in this world. Wow!

Buy this book. Read this book. Live this book.

Michael Downey's new book, "Altogether Gift: A Trinitarian Spirituality," offers extraordinary and penetrating glimpses into the profound Mystery of God. Gracefully written, thoroughly rooted in classical Christian theology and spirituality, and shaped by the author's own obvious passion, Downey's compelling treatment of the Trinity affects the reader. At the level of intellect, his insightful interpretation of Trinitarian doctrine lends clarity and fresh perspective to complicated, dusty concepts. At the level of heart, his sensitive insight into the mystery of God's life generates moments of release from the aching desire to experience God's loving presence personally and certainly. This important religious classic is an essential read for Christian academics and for persons of faith who crave theological insight and spiritual enrichment.

Dr. Michael Downey's book, "Altogether Gift," is not a book that can be read in one sitting; nor should it be. In fact, it is one of those rare publications that occasionally comes along that needs to be savored in small portions. There is too much compacted into one sentence for the average person to ponder. Downey often does this in his books. To plumb the depth of what he is saying takes reflecive time and solitude. One often has to struggle to make the connections between what he is saying about the Christian faith and exactly how that applies to one's personal experience. I use as an example one sentence (p.86): "Our gift and task is to cultivate, to nurture and sustain the great variety of the manifestations of the magnitude of God's love in all forms of expressivity and creativity." This one sentence is packed with a multitude of questions, questions that can be asked of ourselves as we delve into the depth of our being in our search for the One Love.

This book can be used on many levels, but I can see its real importance and value as a spiritual tool for anyone, especially those exploring the Catholic Christian journey.

I would like to see this book used not only for individual reflection but also in growth groups with women and men who are serious in being challenged in their spiritual life.

Of the reviewers posted here, I think I am probably the only one who read Radical Hospitality, the other book by these authors, before reading Benedict's Way. I like Radical Hospitality better if only because it spoke to me about how I need to make some changes in my life. Benedict's Way is a great book for anyone who wants to go a little deeper into benedictine spirituality but isn't much into serious scholarship. My brother is a Benedictine monk and he showed me a review of the book that came out recently. It talked about how this book is written in a simple and direct style but there is an evident scholarship lurking in the backgrounds of the authors. They just don't seem to be showy about it. Which is very good news for the reader who wants depth without pretentiousness. Even if you do read Radical Hospitality first, you'll love this book.

Benedict's Way guides the reader easily into understanding God's intentions of our time here on earth. We have created a fast paced lifestyle that is self serving causing much anxiety. This is evident by the ever increaing need for lifestyle managing drugs. Our current society with all its technology and materialism has the highest rates of divorce, depression, sucide, etc., in history. It seems that all this financial wealth has done little to make us truly happy. Is it possible that God in is infinite wisdom understood this and inspired spiritual teachers like Buddha, Mother Terresa, and St. Benedict to teach us how to live?

Pratt and Homan have challenged the reader to look at their own life and reflect on it. For me personally this book has opened my eyes to my own self serving ways. Each chapter is thought provoking and one of my favorites Balance and Celebration caused me to pause and look at how I approach my family time, work time, personal time, spritual time, etc.

The format makes this an easy read with each chapter ending in a reflective prayer. Another great aspect of the book is the suggested reading section that includes web-sites to visit.

This book is a must read for anyone serious about living a simplier spirit filled life.

I'm new to Benedictine spirituality but am learning to value the simple things. I thought that made this book a good place to start my Benedictine journey. The book challenged my long-held ideas about spirituality and the nature of the universe and I came away feeling good about myself believing that maybe the universe is a good place after all. It helped me. I think that's what I really needed from a book rather than advice on Benedictine spirituality although I'm confident that is also a strength for this book. We all want balance and this really does help.

This is a collection of Roman Dirge's Lenore comic 5-8. If you enjoyed volume1: noogies, then you are sure to enjoy this. To those who haven't read the first volume, I recommend it if you enjoy dark humor. This is one of the funniest comics i've ever read.

Who ever thought that someone could write so much about a cute little dead girl? I hope Dirge writes more! Anyway, for those of you who know Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, it's sort of in that style. The major difference is the easy to understand part; Johnny likes to go on really deep rants that are hard to follow, but Lenore is simply cute with a morbid sense of humor. She is such a role model, except for the cat killing. That's bad.

I feel as if there has been a good amount of morbid, demented, and just plain odd comics to tied me over with for a while. Lenore is one of the better ones, the series is about a cute little dead girl, and her viewpoints on things...a bit different but still in the same style as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. If you like things such as this you might try reading either the Sandman series, or perhaps the goth inspired Gloom Cookie, both are incredibly great in their own rights :)

"No Man Is An Island" can only be described as profound. There are many superb writings of spiritualiy, God and Christ. Thomas Merton's book is one that should not be passed up, it is absolutely profound for the interior solitude, the silence within, our silence where we find God's silence, who knows us and where we know Him. A book by a man of God for men of God, Merton goes far beyond religious organizational teachings and human thinking, to that of the spiritual life with God. I can only say, I have new found respect for the Catholic church, for Merton does not write in defense of her, but for God, men and charity, that go far beyond this life, existing now within us, and bring us to the real life we seek.

In smooth-flowing prose that borders on poetic, Merton speaks of love, relations and reaching beyond oneself. Want to read an expose on the meaning of life that is both meaningful and practical to your life? Read this book!

A wellspring of encouragement for those who are looking for spiritual simplicity, without dogmatism. Merton's flowing prose carries the reader so effortlessly, that I often had to stop myself, saturated, and put off going on until I had the capacity to absorb more. The greatest challenge of this book is not in comprehending his points, but in accepting them as actually possible, and internalizing their meaning for one's own life context. Merton opens a door to a place of potential joy, that many will desire to pass through.

The book called the odyssey is probably one of the best books I've read in my whole life. this book is about a yong king who has to leave for the old trojan war right after he has a baby with his wife. Anyways, he goes throgh a lots of trouble. this book teaches a lesson to be patient and not to think of yourself as the most wonderful thing in the world because you will be punished for it! this book also has a wonderful movie with it, so I highly recomend you to read it. It doesn't really take that long to read it once you start!

I think the Odyssey is a real great book.I think it showes
a valuable lesson of ages, about 2,000 years ago.The Odyssey inspired me to be strong, and to never give up on anything in the world.The first time I saw the cover I thought to myself, this is going to a boring book to read.One thing that was wrong was that I judge a book by its cover.When you read this book you should get the movie to read and watch as you go further in the book, so remember to read this book because it real amazing I think that you will like it alot. This book will have your kid or relitives want to read.THE ODYSSEY is one of the best booksive ever read in the whole world.

the odyssey is defitily one of the best books I have ever read. It has everything a book needs to have action,adventure,romance,monsters,and freindship.I would recomend this book to everyone and anyone who likes any of these catogories I listed.

What an awesome book! It's a great book to have on hand, whether you will be visiting Europe, or would just like to learn more about all the great shrines of Europe (i.e. Lourdes, Fatima, etc.). The book is exhaustive in its coverage, and very enjoyable to read. The contact information for each shrine is extremely helpful and useful. I highly recommend this book, and it makes for a great gift too.

THIS BOOK GIVES AN EXCELLENT LISTING OF THE MAJOR AND MINOR SHRINES OF EUROPE.THE AUTHOR INCLUDES DETAILED INFO ON HOW TO ARRIVE TO THE VARIOUS SHRINES AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER.YOU CANNOT FIND THIS INFO IN REGULAR TRAVEL GUIDES.HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II SAYS WE SHOULD ALL MAKE A PILGRIMAGE IN THE HOLY YEAR.THIS IS A MUST HAVE BOOK TO DO SO.I TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY THROUGH EUROPE USING WRIGHT GUIDE.A+++++++,HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who plans on going for a pilgrimage to Western Europe. It contains a wealth of information to the well-known shrines and even to the ones you've not even heard of before. The prayers included in this book will greatly help one's pilgrimage be a grace and faith-filled one. This book likewise will be very helpful even to pilgrims who can not make the actual trip. I was at the different shrines in Europe not too long ago and I wish I had this book at at that time. Now that I have the book and opportunity is offering itself again, I am sure it will be very helpful. Kudos to you Kevin. Please write some more books similar to this, particularly on your pilgrimages to North America. It will surely be as helpful as THE CATHOLIC SHRINES IN WESTERN EUROPE.

I've been reading a lot of heavy theology lately, a lot of patristic sources, a lot of Greek and Hebrew and Latin word studies, and a lot of philosophical arguments for the Catholic Church. This book gets past the technical, and into the experiential.

I'd not been exposed to Howard before this book, but I've since read his *Evangelical is Not Enough* and *Lead, Kindly Light* as well. I love his style. The way he strings his words together, the vocabulary he uses, and the reflective style would lead one to believe that he might very well be British, and that he might very well have been sitting in a big comfy chair with a cup of tea while he wrote this, and that he might even be C.S. Lewis, reincarnated.

If you're not a Catholic, this book will give a quick glimpse into the "family living room," and show you what Catholicism is all about from a practical view. If you are a Catholic, this book will remind you what it's all about, or, will give you a vision of what it all SHOULD be about in your own life if it's not already.

Yes, it's light on theology, in a sense. He DOES address the Mass, the Eucharist, Mary, etc., but not by saying, "Ok, well, let's look at this Greek verb here, conjugate the infinitive participial imperative tense..." Instead, he looks at these issues in light of the Incarnation, and shows how the Catholic Church only follows the logic of the Incarnation perfectly. He doesn't come at you saying, "Look, I'm going to prove something to you here," and so you're not on the defensive. When he explains it, you just sort of say, "Oh... duh, that makes total sense. How could it be any other way?"

Very comfortable book, like a good pair of slippers. You owe yourself a cup of tea, a warm fire, and a chapter of this book.

Having grown up in an evangelical protestant home, I recently began to look into the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church to expand my understanding of christianity. At the outset of this search, I found ON BEING CATHOLIC, a thought provoking and entertaining account of the core doctrines of Catholicism. Thomas Howard's literary style is engaging and at times, actually melodic. He expresses his genuine love for the church in a manner more reminisent of a love poem than a dry elaboration of doctrine and dogma. Having converted to Roman Catholicism from a similar protestant background as myself, his depictions of the rituals and traditions woven throughout the Roman liturgy created a deep hunger to incorporate these elements in my devotional life. It is rare to find a book that stirs the heart as well as feeds the mind as greatly as ON BEING CATHOLIC. In the tradition of CS Lewis and GK Chesterton, Howard has produced a work that makes faith a life encompassing adventure rather than an emotional leap into darkness.I would recommend his book to any person seeking to better understand what it means to believe in a world that has lost its faith.

As a cradle Catholic in the tumultuous and exciting process of re-discovering my own Catholic faith, Thomas Howard's book is an absolute treasure! I read this book with alternating tears of gratitude and tingles of awe, and whenever I put it down I had to pick it up again within minutes to get more. At first I was inclined to scoff at the comparisons of Howard with C.S. Lewis, but I found they are quite accurate. Howard has the passion, elequence and grace of Lewis combined with a love for the Catholic faith (but with no antagonism for non-Catholic questions or (mis)understandings). The review by David Thomas was spot-on when he compared this book to a love poem. I mean it quite sincerely when I say that every Catholic, and every person interested in the Catholic faith, would do themselves a great service by reading this fabulous and inspiring book.

I thought this book covered conduction and convection heat transfer well, but I thought a better job could have been done on the section about radiation heat transfer. Perhapes more examples of radiation problems could have been used to make the subject more clear. I thought the mass transfer sections were well written and easy to understand. The solution guide to the problems are not available to the students. As with all engineering books, I think the solution guides should be available to the students to promote quicker and more efficient learning.

This is an excellent text for the heat transfer novice, both as a supplement to a class and as a personal teaching tool. The writing is easy to understand, and the chapters are arranged logically. The examples are well chosen and usually demonstrate how the theory and equations can be put to good use.

I have only two complaints about this text: There are far too few sample problems (and no problems with only answers provided) and the mass transfer is not taught in a useful way. The prior is a failure of many text books, but the latter is a major drawback. Incropera and Dewitt basically say "Mass transfer is the same as heat transfer, except use these units and equations." All of the mass transfer is tucked into a few chapters, as if it was an afterthought.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the fundamentals of heat transfer, but look elsewhere for a useful introduction to mass transfer.

This is the best all around book on heat transfer I have come across. I have owned the 3rd edition for nearly 10 years and refer to it almost daily in my job (doing heat transfer and fluid flow analysis for a semiconductor equipment company). The theory is clearly explained and well illustrated by many worked examples. The extensive tables of thermal properties in the back are nearly worth the price themselves. I don't think the serious student of heat transfer can go wrong with this book.