Along with John Cotton and George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards was one of the most important preachers in American history. The grandson of Solomon Stoddard, the famous revivalist preacher from Northampton, Massachusetts, Edwards entered Yale in 1716 at the age of thirteen and received his first ministry in New York at the age of nineteen. In 1729, at the age of twenty-six, he succeeded his grandfather at the important Northampton Church, where he preached the need for a return to the rock-ribbed Calvinism upon which the "New World" had been founded. The Calvinist creed entailed absolute and unquestioned commitment to beliefs in the total depravity of man as a sinner, unconditional election, predestination, divine revelation and conversion, and eternal suffering for sinners. Edward's ministry had an immediate and dramatic effect, increasing the size of his church, producing over four hundred converts by 1734. The Northampton Revival foreshadowed The Great Awakening--the popular religious movement of 1740-1741 based on the idea that "opening of the spirit to the divine" was more important than a trained intellect--that rocked the very foundations of colonial society.

Edward's most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," was delivered as a guest sermon to the parish in Enfield, Connecticut, on July 8, 1741, at the very peak of The Great Awakening. Edward's text for the sermon was Deuteronomy 32:35: "Their foot shall slide in due time." Edwards, who typically spoke in an unemotional and relatively plain style, took advantage of the recent prophecy of the end of the world that no doubt weighed upon his listeners minds. Reaching to the depths of his emotional spirit, he preached a sermon designed to terrify his audience into conversion. He did this by carefully drawing upon his listener's belief in the inevitability of eternal suffering for sinners, and by vividly characterizing the vengeful God who would dangle them over the burning pits of hellfire as if they were nothing more than a spider or a "loathsome insect." The powerful spider imagery may well find its genesis in Edward's 1734 book "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners," where he developed similar imagery when he wrote of man as "A little wretched, despicable creature: a worm, a mere nothing, and less than nothing; a vile insect that has risen up in contempt against the majesty of Heaven and earth." The effect of the sermon was astonishing, with parishioners crying out for "mercy," and several reports of suicide. Perhaps more than any other sermon delivered during the 18th Century, "Sinners" epitomizes the emotional intensity and power of the revivalist message of The Great Awakening. After reading this sermon do not be surprised if you conclude it is as powerful today as it was in 1741.

This book is similar to Piper's God's Passion for His Glory in that iit contians a commentary on Edwards and tthe text of one of Edwards' books (although this book is an infinitely easier read than Piper's. Sproul and Parrish do a fantastic job in the introduction where they give the background to the state of revival in New Engalnd. At the end of the book are exercises for those who would like to prepare for revival

The text of Edwards, Concerning the marks of the Spirit of God is much easier to read than his other works (although Sproul modernizes the text--this probably a good thing for many of Edwards' sentences would go on for pages). I would recommend this book for the challenge it offers Bible Believers (who else could be involved in a revival?) as they pray for revival. May God raise up another Edwards to combat the secularist, charismatic, postmodern onslought facing our churches!

Edwards is the greatest mind America has every produced and his stuning logic, acumen, and biblical knowledge are on display here. Edwards, unforetunatly, is only known today for hellfire and brimstone sermons. This is unfortunate because this does not represent the totality of what he talked about. His 'hellfire' sermons are in here. Unfortunately for humanity, he was correct. If you do not understand God's holiness and justice, these sermons will seem cruel and sadistic to you. (I would suggest you read R.C. Sproul's Holiness of God.) However, if you are willing to be challenged with the extent of your own sin, read on. Jonathan Edwards is a giant among men. I wish we could have another like him for today.

This book is not for those who want a light read. Edwards doesn't write like that. Bring your thinking cap. You must also remember he was speaking and writing in the 1700's. The style of the prose reflects that. But his genious still comes through. I thank God for Edwards and I highly recommend this book.

This is not a true biography as the title let's on, although it is almost always filed as a biography in any Christian bookstore. Jonathan Edwards, who knew Brainerd personally writes a short biographical sketch, but the book is largely Brainerd's on writings and journals. The journals were not written to ever be published, and the reader will recognize this right away. Therefore they contain honesty and transparency that a typical biography would never come close to.

Largely a prayer journal, it communicates Brainerd's wrestling with God, his confusion, and his incredible heart for holiness. Your heart will be thrilled as you work through this great work. You will refer back to it years after you read it.

We live in a day of "easy belevism". The days we live in are also sadly characterized by a christianity, which implies when it doesn't declare, that life is supossed to be easy for the child of God. The reader will see both of these dilusions dispelled in the life story of David Brainerd. Brainerd,was willing to undergo great hardship to take the true gospel to the natives of his day. His life shows all christians what happens when "glorifing God and enjoing Him forever" becomes ones chief aim in life. This certainly is not a chicken soup for the soul book that can be read with little thought. This book, however, will challenge every christian to live for the glory of God.

Beware! Danger ahead! This man's life and death will change you.

Are you comfortable with your "lot" Christian reader? Content with your religious practice? Satisfied with your progress in things spiritual? Should you be led to feast on the diary of David Brainerd with mind open (to God) and heart sensitive, you won't be. Do you sense that God must be quite pleased with you and all of the efforts you expend for His kingdom? Should you persevere and finish the book, such a sense will be dismantled by God's Spirit!

Buried within the private, personal journals of a young missionary (chronologically speaking - he went home to heaven at age 29) is a depth of spiritual wisdom, fervor for God's kingdom and glory, and love for the Savior, quite unparalleled (if not unrecognizable) in modern Christianity. The mystics would acknowledge in Brainerd what they themselves longed for, a wholesale abandonment to God - His purposes and His will.

Brainerd's growth in grace began with his conversion in 1739. His own words best describe: "My soul rejoiced with joy unspeakable to see such a God, such a glorious divine Being...My soul was so captivated and delighted with the excellency, loveliness, greatness and other perfections of God, that I was even swallowed up in Him...I wondered that all the world did not see and comply with this way of salvation, entirely by the righteousness of Christ."

One who has been so entirely apprehended by the Almighty is enabled to see his own soul very clearly; and this Brainerd did. The depth of his own depravity was before his eyes each day of his new life and most certainly played a part in his frequent melancholy. But it was balanced and fueled by the awareness of Christ's perfection and the beauty of His perfect remedy for sin.

The missionary was fixated on the promotion of God's kingdom; among the heathen Indians in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, ignorant settlers, and even the clergy, whom he endeavored to instruct, exhort and encourage, even on his deathbed. The hardships and privations he endured in the preaching of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ are quite beyond our ability to imagine. Total self-denial marked him clearly. He faced death at many turns. He was willingly and joyfully spent for his Savior. But, oh what fruit God brought forth! Read and see.

Listen, as he describes for us the essence of true Christianity and its counterfeit, from his journal entry on the Lord's day, May 24, 1746: "Could not but think, as I have often remarked to others, that much more of true religion consists in deep humility, brokenness of heart, and an abasing sense of barrenness and want of grace and holiness, than most who are called Christians imagine; especially those who have been esteemed the converts of the late day. Many seem to know of no other religion but elevated joys and affections, arising only from some flights of imagination, or some suggestion made to their mind, of Christ's being their's, God loving them, and the like." Another entry; June 18,1747, just months before his death in Jonathan Edward's home: "Especially, I discoursed repeatedly on the nature and necessity of that humiliation, self-emptiness, or full conviction of a person's being utterly undone in himself, which is necessary in order to a saving faith; and the extreme difficulty of being brought to this, and the great danger there is of persons taking up with some self-righteous appearance of it...being never effectually brought to die in themselves, are never truly united to Christ, and so perish."

Can we at all identify, dear reader?

Take a journey through the early years of our great land with a courageous servant of God. This is a book to touch the soul, to be re-visited time and again, to be worn out with handling.

But perhaps what makes this journal so compelling, is not the chronicling and inspiration of a remarkable missionary life, so much as the MESSAGE that God anointed. The Church mystical and corporate needs to recover this message today. Delve in and be changed!

This was originally published, along with four other sermons, under the title "Five Discourses on Important Subjects Nearly Concerning the Great Affair of the Soul's Eternal Salvation." All five sermons are now published in Volume 1 of the Banner of Truth edition of Edwards' Works (see my review), as well as in this Soli Deo Gloria reprint.

Having now read several theologians' writings on the difficult doctrine of justification (Berkhof, Gill, Murray, Grudem, and now Edwards), it would be fairly safe to say that Edwards is at once the most difficult of them all, and the most astute (with John Murray perhaps excepted as being more helpful).

The great Northhampton preacher refused to be evasive in answering difficult questions about the role of faith in justification. While strongly defending justification by faith alone apart from works, he avoids both legalism and antinomianism. The sermon is structured well,though laden with some very complex reasoning and it is thoroughly Scriptural and evangelical. But be prepared to think!

For a synopsis, Edwards' "doctrine" is that "we are justified only by faith in Christ, and not by any manner of virtue or goodness of our own." This truth he unfolds by I. Explaining the meaning of it; II. Considering the evidence of the truth of it; III. Showing how evangelical obedience is concerned in it (a most helpful section); IV. Answering objections; and V. Considering the importance of it. I would encourage readers to read ALL of this book before forming ANY opinions about it. You need to follow Edwards reasoning all the way through to the end and let him deal with the most likely objections you will have(and which he anticipates!).

One of the most valuable quotations of all is this: "God, in the act of justification, which is passed on a sinner's first believing, has respect to perseverance, as being virtually contained in the first act of faith; and it is looked upon, and taken by him that justifies, as being as it were a property in that faith." Or, to paraphrase John Piper "God sees the oak tree of perseverance in the acorn of the first act of saving faith." That insight alone is worth the price of the whole book - but of course, there is much, much more gold to mine in Edwards, and in this sermon in especially.

Jonathan Edwards is best remembered for his role in the first Great Awakening in the United States and being Yale University's first president but he is also probably the greatest theologian America has ever produced. His heart and his passion were in preaching the word of God and secondly in teaching it. This book does a bit of both.

I greatly appreciated Edward's desire to exegete major passages of Scripture dealing with justification. While Edwards does a good job in presenting strong biblical arguments for justification by faith alone he also provides a great deal of warning to those who desire to live a life of sin and indifference. He offers sinners the grace of God and he offers Christians the holiness of God.

This book is worth the purchase. If you have not read or studied the works of Jonathan Edwards, I would encourage you to begin here. His knowledge of the Bible was incrediable but his heart is best shown in this book that deals with a doctrine he faithfully preached and loved.

...If you are well grounded in the faith, Steadfast and immovable (Col1:22-23) read this book to sharpen your discernment. In studying these men we get a better understanding of what we are up against presently. When you discover the full scope of Calvin's destructive doctrines, his five points, and how everything ultimately concludes with 'unconditional' eternal security, you will see the handprints of Satan in every tenant. These men planted the seeds of modern day easy believeism, although unaware of their negative influence, the things they taught will ring throughout eternity in the ears of millions of lost souls who bought into their security in sin message.

The sermons of Edwards are a cornerstone of religious faith in this country. His ability to reach common man led to a national revival. This "calvinistic" doctrine is what our nation needs now! It is both a comfort and a fearful thing to know that our eternal lives are in the hands of a loving God and a just God who can be angry at sin!!! I'm sorry some people feel threatened by Calvin and Edwards but if you are seeking enlightenment this book can help point you there.

This biography gives an accurate account of the basic events of Edwards' life, but the potential buyer should know that he is writing from a distinctly Christian perspective, which, in this case, results in a rather uncritcal interpretation of some of the more ambiguous events under consideration. For example, saying that the Great Awakening was really a direct, divine intervention in the lives of men, while it may indeed be true, leaves too many legitimate historical question unanswered. Why did it occur in N England, Wales Northern England and Germany in particular? To what extent was it linked to the diversification of N. England society and the corresponding erosion of the clergy's political power? Moreover, while Murray's critique of previous biographers' religious skeptism is well taken, he dismisses their work too quickly. For example, in his attempt to discredit Perry Miller he actually mis-quotes him (p xxi), putting words into Miller's mouth that aren't anywhere to be found in Miller's book. Murray also places within the same quotation marks two excepts that are 132 pages apart in the original book. Murray's assertion that Miller's interpretation "has long since been abandoned as untenable" simply isn't the case. Admittedly those in the school of Miller, avowed atheists, necessarily interpret Edwards in a way that Edwards himself would not have appreciated, but Murray's biography could have benefited from some of there hard-nosed, prying investigations into N. England family rivalries and political power-plays. I think most Christians would also appreciate it.

Jonathan Edwards is maybe the most exciting historical Christian to study (except for Luther. Part of this explanation is the fact that history shows us a much differnt picture than the modern stereotypes show us. Murray is to be commended for his standard setting work on Edwards. Murray is very warm and doctrine centered. As periodical "Christian History" said of Murray's work, "this is the biography Edwards himself would have most appreciated." (Spring 2003).

Final Analysis

This book is long, complex, and well researched. It is not bed time reading, but rather, Sabbath reading as it will stir one's thoughts to the Lord. Murray pulls no punches as he shows his view of Edwards: This man saw more of the glory of heaven and the terror of hell than any modern Christian ever will. Murray's aim is that after reading, Christians will then take up Edward's works and discover the glory for themselves.

Mark Noll said it well -- this is the only biography in which Edwards would recognize himself. Lets Edwards be Edwards. Thsi will be THE classic Edwards biography for generations to come.

Sinners in the hands of an angry God, by Jonathan Edwards.

Who would chose this title for a best seller today? Yet this is probably one of the best-known American sermons ever preached! This sermon had three main sections: ' The state of mankind'; 'Sinner, beware'; and 'A warning to all'. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1785) was pastor at First Church of Northampton, Massachusetts. His aim in ministry was to transform his congregation from mere believers who understood the logic of Christian doctrine to converted Christians who were generally moved by the principles of their belief.

On July 8th 1741 Edwards preached his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to a Church in Enfield, Connecticut, USA. It was a word of light imparted to darkened souls and many came to faith experiencing true 'heart religion'. It was based on Deuteronomy 32:35 "Their foot shall slide in due time". Jonathan Edwards gave a clear picture of the predicament of every unbeliever and lukewarm Christian. Edwards used compelling words and images to describe the shaky position of those who do not follow Christ and God's urgent call to receive His love and forgiveness.

Edwards spoke graphically, for example, "As the heart is now a cesspool of sin so if sin were not restrained it would immediately turn the soul into a fiery oven, or a furnace of fire and brimstone". He warned his hearers that, "Whatever pains a natural man take in religion, whatever prayers he makes, until he believes in Christ, God is under no manner of obligation to keep him from eternal destruction for even a moment." This book gives an interesting insight into a revival sermon - used by God to help change America. Read it ... if you dare.

This particular sermon from Edwards has been trumpeted by some as the greatest sermon given on American soil, while being vehemently attacked by others as puritanical fire and brimstone of a backwards age. Oddly enough, there are elements of truth in both sentiments, more the former than the latter however. While unquestionably hitting on many timeless truths that are relevant in any period of time, the genius of the sermon really comes out when one considers the historical context in which the sermon was given.

Contrary to many negative reflex and often revisionist reactions we tend to hear today about puritanism and Edwards, Edwards was not a constant fire and brimstone preacher. The writings of Edwards reveal a man who spoke much more on the grace and mercy of God then of His wrath. But really, the two go hand in hand. There's no need for God to be merciful if there's no eternal wrath to fear. There's no need for God to show grace to human beings if there's nothing bad enough in human beings to warrant divine punishment. It is impossible to adequately discuss God's mercy and grace without also dwelling very intently on the wretchedness of man and the divine justice that must be exacted if we believe that God is perfectly holy. This is the context in which this sermon by Edwards was given. He was invited to preach at a church that was spiritually dead and dominated by a spirit of skepticism and a deeply entrenched disbelief in the need for radical personal conversion. Such is the attitude that can be found in many churches today. Yet contrary to what happens each Sunday in these kind of churches all across America, the preacher at this particular church found such comfortable skepticism not to be a virtue of an enlightened congregation, but as a cancer that ensured that many in his church would go unsaved if things didn't change. Enter Jonathan Edwards, and his sermon to this church on that day changed the people in that church and made a lasting impact on American Christianity that is felt to this day.

The main purpose of the sermon, contextually speaking, was to abruptly dislodge and disrupt the culture of apathetic skepticism that reigned in this church. Edwards attempted to do this by drawing haunting imagery of God's mercy in all things, ensuring the congregation that the only reason they are even breathing is because of God's grace. He paints a picture of man dangling over an eternal fire, and stressing that this is where man finds himself right now, and that the only reason he doesn't fall in is because God (and a very angry God at that) has a hold of him and hasn't yet let go. For Edwards, it was clear that by holding on to sinful and unrepentant man and not allowing him to fall at any moment, God was being infinitely more merciful than we deserve, but that such mercy is not indefinite or inexhaustible, but instead serves either to keep an elect person alive long enough for him to reach a point of faith and repentence, or serves to harden the sinner's heart to the point where eternal damnation is a completely just punishment for having denied and defied the authority of their Maker for so long.

Some have commented that this kind of imagery is backwards because Christians shouldn't be in the business of trying to scare people into personal faith. While such a sentiment sounds good and tends to appeal to our modern sensitivities, such a view is decidedly unfaithful to the entire earthly ministry of Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospels. Jesus talked about hell and punishment more than anyone else, and certainly far more than Edwards. If one accepts that Jesus is God and can therefore be considered a pretty reliable authority on the supernatural and the afterlife, then one must conclude that Christ's continual warnings about eternal punishment are authoritative, accurate, and should be heeded with deep seriousness. I found this sermon by Edwards to be very faithful to the uncomfortable and even scary warnings given by Jesus throughout the four Gospels of the New Testament. Edwards is not scaring people for the sake of scaring people. He is doing exactly what Christ did 2,000 years ago - out of a spirit of deep love and concern, he is warning people of the very real and terrifying consequences of deliberately walking away from Jesus Christ.

In the end, the basic question one has to ask when reading either Edwards or Scripture is whether the eternal punishment described by both is truthful or not. If it is, then how can it possibly be an act of love not to tell people about it? Better to offend with the truth and call people to faith in the one true God and personal repentance than try to make people feel comfortable believing a lie and not seeing a need for people to change anything about their beliefs, wrong and negatively consequential though they may be. If someone believes that eternal punishment is false, then that person has bigger fish to fry then Edwards, they must also patently reject the sayings of Jesus and adopt completely by blind faith a different view of the afterlife. Many have taken this latter road, just as Christ predicted would happen. But truth does not depend on whether our ears are sufficiently tickled. Those who sincerely want to know the truth will give Edwards a fair hearing here and put his views to the test.

The danger in understanding Edwards is that all too few know anything about him except for this sermon. He spoke about the excellency of Christ more than any other topic.

The editor was wise in noting that Edwards gave this sermon to a church that was playing around with God. Jesus' example is that He was very harsh with the religious hypocrites, and He was gentle and sweet with the "sinners."

It should be noted that without law there can be no concept of grace. When the doctrines of grace were recovered in the Reformation, respect for God's law was likewise recovered. If someone is coming to Jesus not based on because they need forgiveness and atonement with a Holy God, they are coming on false grounds. That is why this sermon is needed today. There is too much felt-needs sermons. Come to Jesus because He will make you better. No, come to Jesus and escape the wrath of God. If you come on other grounds than that, you are endanger of not being a true disciple. That last sentence may sound weird. If it does, I would read "The Gospel According to Jesus" by John MacArthur.

I have to admit, this book contains an impressive overview of all the Windows DNA technologies. As a reminder, DNA has been there for years and was working under NT4. It has been revamped with trumpets with a new name, .Net, with all those new services. The authors do have this in mind and they will tell you where .Net will be improving features.

I would recommend this book to anybody that wants to know what is Windows DNA/.Net (beside thinking it's everything that Microsoft is providing for developers!). Of course, you cannot have all those technologies into one book and expect the best coverage on all of them. Having that in mind, the authors create an incredible reference for developers that wants to upgrade to a more scalable & distributed environment as well as to take leverage of the new technologies that came with Windows 2000 (for developers that is).

The only thing that I have to mention (and I did to Wrox) was that I personnaly believe that this book, though the readers needs to have professional knowledge of development, would be better inside the Beginning series since this book serves as an overview reference of all those technologies. Wrox will undoubtfully then release multiple Professional books that will go further in those new technologies (such as doing COM+ events or asynchronous components, having XML Business Objects, etc.).

As a bottom line, most of the authors wrote in a confident programming style and it is a very interesting book to go through. ... But I can't wait for the .Net one!

This book comes in handy as a great reference for utilizing these technologies in the real world. If you're looking for a book that you can sit down and read cover to cover to understand the basics, this is not it. If you're an experienced developer who wants to dive into the guts of the technologies, then this is for you.

I recommend this book a chapter at a time (after reading the first 2 review chapters), in order to learn how to implement a technology (like MTS, MSMQ, etc) in the real world.

Windows DNA is an platform and methodology for Enterprise development. It is taking all of what Microsoft offers for industry : server software (SQL Server, Biztalk), development software (Visual Studio) and productivity software (Office, Viso) and making them tightly inter operatable to produce scaleable solutions that can be development very rapidly.

This book covers Microsoft DNA and does so very well. If you have been following the evolution of Microsoft's Enterprise development methodology and related technologies (MTS, COM, etc..) then you should flip though this one before buying to make sure it offers enough new information for your investment. Do this especially if you already have the Wrox title: Professional MTS/MSMQ and you have a good book on ASP or Visual Basic.

If however you are a beginner/intermediate level Visual Basic, ASP or VC++ developer and you want to expand you knowledge from how to build small-to mid-sized client-server or desktop applications to building scalable Enterprise solutions then this book is for you.

The Influentials is a refreshing and insightful look at one of America's most important power bases (not the ones you may think of first)...and a group that directs U.S. opinions and action. The Influentials is a well written account of demographic patterns and socio/political trends. The effective use of interesting and persuasive statistics adds value to the narrative explanations rather than detract, always a welcome change. The authors' coverage includes logical and extensive reviews of who are the Influentials, how they develop those positions, and where the Influentials intersect society and markets.

The book's use of a "Profiles in Influence" side bar component makes strong connections to their material and the readers own intuitive beliefs about power and influence by profiling actual Influentials...those that live among us. I found the material in the book a powerful perspective as I also was moving through similar marketing influence material in Lancaster/Stillman's "When Generations Collide", Paco Underhill's "Why We Buy", and "Changing U.S. Demographics" edited by Norris Smith.

For one simple, powerful reason THE INFLUENTIALS stands head and shoulders above the field in the marketing trends book sweepstakes. Its insights are based on data, long-term empirical data, judiciously considered. Facts. Numbers. A real departure from most books about the American consumer which base their hypotheses, and thus their recommendations, on anecdotes, renovated B-school doctrine, all plumped up with a few chunks of data culled willy nilly from any variety of sources. (Has anybody else noticed that the same warmed-over statistics show up again and again in the most marketing books? Shall we blame the Internet and Lexis/Nexis searches for this sudden homogeneity?). THE INFLUENTIALS, on the other hand, shares primary research data on the American consumer going back 30 years or more. Berry's and Keller's insights and recommendations are shaped by the evolving opinions of Americans. The horse is before the cart where the horse belongs.

Interspersed with the data and trend analysis, Berry and Keller introduce in mini-bios to actual Influentials. These particularly well-written sections serve to embody the data, (the data sections can get a little overwhelming at times) and show us how an Influential lives, thinks and leads. Most are local community leaders, or have real involvement in their communities, and and as such are the nodes of wide personal networks. They are the people who get things done, the people to whom others look to for advice or counsel. By the way, over the years, about 10% of Americans have "qualified" by their behavior to be counted as Influentials. The definition of an Influential is based on a question about people's political and other civic behavior that Roper has been asking since the 1920s, and has been updating ever since to reflect changing times.

Now it could be argued that the Roper definition of what constitutes an influential American is antiquated, no longer applicable in the post-modern era. For instance it could be said that the influence of super-empowered individuals (to use Thomas Friedman's term) has been magnified in our hypermediated age to such an extent that "celebrities" now have exponentially more sway over how we choose to think, to live, to dream than any local influential. A good point, but Keller and Berry do not reject the influence of the celebrity and celebrity brand culture. They answer that that Roper Influentials are not only leaders in the sense that others look to them for political or community leadership, but that non-Influentials also look to them for guidance on most consumer goods and entertainment because Influentials also tend to be early adopters of new goods, services and culture. In other words, Influentials serve as an early warning system for those trends that other Americans will get to a six months to a year or so later.

What's really impressive about THE INFLUENTIALS is that Berry and Keller share so much data. That runs counter to another kind of marketing book that readers in this field will recognize -- the marketing books as "teaser." In this type of marketing trends book, the reader is told that the insights offered in the books are based on years of trend data, presumably similar to that found in THE INFLUENTIALS. This type of marketing trends book then indicates that the real information is only available to the clients of the writers. They go on to cite case studies where organizations have used the data to effect stellar marketing programs and boost profit. In other words, now you've got to buy their consulting services to get the real information and the real help you need. In THE INFLUENTIALS, it's all there - sometimes actually too much is there - but that's certainly better than books that are empty shells, "door openers" for standard consulting services.

All in all a solid, well-conceived, time-tested and amply proven marketing paradigm. A rare treat.

With the limited marketing dollars at our company these days, we've had to cut the heck out of our budgets -- in everything from mailings, to advertising, to public relations and, of course staff -- "making do with less" is an understatement lately. "The Influentials" has provided some very useful food for thought. The fresh perspective in the book, combined with the wealth of data, has provided me with some new methods to consider in making the most of my staff's time with the greatest results. And, in an effort to save a little more, my copy is now making the rounds in the department!!