Illinois Issues, devoted to Illinois politics, has published its second edition of this collection of sketches of Illinois governors. A colorful and sometimes idealistic lot.

I require this text in my graduate New Venture course at Western Michigan University. The real life cases and fundamental concepts covered provide a great foundation for New Venture teaching. I also require my start-up consulting clients to read Chpt 1,2 & 3 along with the case study "R&R". Good way to find out if they have what it takes. I first used and enjoyed this book from the other side of the class during my MBA studies at the GSB - University of Chicago.

Excellant book of this english painter's career.Large format and excellant illustrations highlight this painter of interiors,landscape,and especially fine figure pieces. Reprinted by the Royal Academy of Art.

This highly readable historical narrative provides interesting and entertaining nuggets of information about the brilliant eccentrics who named the birds, mammals and plants of North America. It's a great prep for the birder and botanist seeking context for why, when and how North American flora and fauna got their names. This tidy little volume needs to be on the bookshelf of every vacation hideway whose charm is mostly linked to natural beauty nearby. Ever wonder who Baird, Brewer, Bewick, LeConte, Douglas, or Rafinesque were? It's all here. Thomas Jefferson, DeWitt Clinton, Lewis and Clark, too. It's a fascinating and highly enjoyable read.

Every line officer and every police manager can benefit from this book. Anyone involved in hiring new police officers should have this book on the short list of required reading. This country has a need for improving ethics and morality in police work. Now more than ever the very best police officers must be hired and serve the public fairly and objectively. This book articulates the ideal. It is not theoretical, but practical. The book explains how and why police decisions should be made.

An excellent book, finally Banjamin on photography and cinema is available in english. Reading his essay on Chaplin is extremely illuminating concerning the question of the passage from silent film to sound film. His concept of critique, as well as his concept of "making history" lies in this text.

Marsha Cudworth has written a most useful and usable guide to the architecture of Cape May, NJ. Cape May, a National Historic Landmark, lays claim to being America's oldest extant seaside resort. It certainly is one of the loveliest and Ms. Cudworth's book shows why in a series of easy-to-use walking and driving tours.

Especially useful are pen and ink drawings of outstanding structures in this remarkably well-preserved and carefully restored slice of Victoriana-by-the-sea. Many of the drawings are taken from the beautifully-rendered Historic American Buildings Survey of Cape May. Others come from the author's own hands.

This slender volume is neither a full-scale history of Cape May nor a scholarly discussion of the town's architects and builders (for that, one should consult Emil Salvini's "Cape May: Summer City by the Sea" and Thomas & Doebley's "Cape May: Queen of the Seaside Resorts").

But for a lovingly written and charmingly illustrated traveler's companion, this small book is just about perfect. It is a model of the sort of well-researched yet non-academic guidebook which enhances the appreciation of our nation's historic districts for tourists, newcomers, and long-term residents alike.

Howard O'Hagan is, with great regret, an obscurity floating against the distant shores of the literary canon. The first strike against him may be that he was Canadian. Canadian authors always seem segregated from the rest of literature, relegated to the dim recesses of academia or a dusty shelf at the local library. The only Canadian authors who receive some recognition are Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro, and even they are hardly household names. Perhaps this ignorance towards Canadian literature stems from Canada's position in respect to the United States, that Canada just does not have as much to offer the world because of its location next to a global entertainment powerhouse. I am writing to tell you this is not the case: Canadians produced, and continue to produce, a richly diverse body of literature. O'Hagan's novel "Tay John" stands as proof of this wonderful richness. Set in late 19th and early 20th century Canada, "Tay John" tells the story of an Indian messiah of enigmatic origins as he moves through the vastness of the Canadian West.

The novel breaks down into three parts: the first reads like an Indian story, outlining the birth and destiny of Tay John (an anglicized name taken from Tete Jaune, or Yellow Head, referring to Tay John's mane of yellow hair). In this section, O'Hagan explains that Tay John is the offspring of Red Rorty, a white trapper on a religious crusade, and Hanni, a Shuswap Indian he beds while living among the tribe. The result of this union is Kumkleseem (Tay John), a yellow haired youth destined to become a leader who will lead the Shuswaps to a promised land of great plenty.

O'Hagan makes a jarring transformation with the second and third sections of the book, bringing in narrator Jack Denham, a wanderer who tells any one who listens about this strange character named Tay John. Denham relates a tale about watching Tay John fight a grizzly bear, about a card game gone horribly wrong, a couple trekking into the mountains of the West with Tay John as guide, and a story about a developer building a resort along the expanding railway system. Tay John is the central character in all of these anecdotes even though he has little dialogue in any of them. That is the beauty of this book: O'Hagan lets events speak for themselves through action.

This minimalist approach fits in with the landscape of the novel. The author introduces the reader to the rugged terrains of Western Canada, where mountains, rivers, and wide spaces serve not just as background but also as characters in the sweep of the story. Against this awesome backdrop move the human characters, living out their lives in the shadow of mother earth. O'Hagan makes you feel the smallness of humanity by elevating every mundane action into an act of overwhelming importance. This makes the story severely realistic, as people living in a land where humans are scare would tend to treat interactions with others as larger than life events.

The afterword by Michael Onjaatje is of great assistance in understanding O'Hagan's book. Onjaatje explains that "Tay John" was one of the first examples of mythic realism in Canadian literature. The story, explains Onjaatje, shows how a myth of an Indian messiah is made into a legend in the real world. Looking at the book with a view of Canadian history, I did not notice the myth/legend aspects as much as I noticed the parade of archetypal figures through the Canadian West: first the Indians, then some white travelers, then the railroad and a developer. You can trace the history of Western Canada just by reading this book.

Ultimately, words fail to describe this deeply philosophical piece of literature. The only way to fathom the beauty and majesty of this book is to sit down and read it. Regrettably, Howard O'Hagan only wrote two other books and an autobiography before his death. After reading "Tay John," it is obvious that he had the talent to do more work. This is one of those books that will stay with you long after you read it. Hopefully, it will receive more attention in the future.

I read this cuz I got this book called runes and it made no since so I got the book called understanding runes and so it made since to me, it's really kewl and fun! ~*Stacy*~

This is a very easy read, and it gives much insight into how Lewis saw religion and Christianity. It is very dated; I wonder how many people here would agree that it is a woman's duty to obey her husband.

I was kind of surprised at the number of very weak arguments and ridiculous assumptions in this book. One example is the circular logic of using scripture to try to convince us of Jesus' divinity. We believe he is the son of God because the New Testement shows that to be the case, and we believe the New Testement is correct because we believe that Jesus is the son of God. In fact, I think this is the only time Lewis tries to make a case for Christianity in Mere Christianity; he does try many times to make a case for theism.

I find Lewis' strategy to discredit those who disagree with him very similar to the strategy creationists use to try to discredit Evolution. They take certain unproven theories of evolution, and use the fact that they are not proven to assert that the FACT of evolution (that life forms tends to change over time) is false, even though they understand it as fact themselves. Lewis will attack weak claims made by some of the opposition, and then assert that the entire opposition has been discredited, even though the entire opposition doesn't make those weak claims. It's disconcerting to witness someone fool so many people using these kinds of dishonest tactics.

Well, this has mostly been very negative, but I am glad I read Mere Christianity. It is well-written, and it is extremely insightful in a number of ways.

On the issue of critics of this book getting few "helpful" votes... That some of the critics are not backing up what they say is merely an excuse. Many reviews that praise the book without backing the praise up AT ALL are getting all or almost all yes votes. I have provided examples in my review and it is going to be infested with many hypocritical no votes, not because I didn't support my assertions enough, but because people merely disagree with me about C.S. Lewis and religion.

After reading several books on a similar topic that did nothing but confuse me, I was glad that I came upon C.S. Lewis's work. All of the other books about the existence of God are way off in their own world, and discourage anyone who feels lost in their ideas about God. This book really explained the reasons that God must exist, and then moved on to easily describe the major beliefs of Christians, without leaving anyone out in the cold on what the key issues actually are. This book is perfect for the agnostic, the atheist, and even the Christian that wants to know the logical and simple reasons that C.S. Lewis came to be a Christian. Over and over, his words made me see even the simplest concepts of religion in a completely new light. I was greatly impressed and have already read this book multiple times.

Obviously, most people know C.S. Lewis for his Chronicles of Narnia and Space Trilogy, but he has amazing critical writings as well. Mere Christianity is one of these notable and important books.

No matter the stage in your walk in faith, this book will be a great read. Lewis' intelligence jumps off the pages, and the style of writing (taken from audio conversations) makes it feel like you're listening to a close friend. Lewis provides excellent allegories and everyday examples of faith, belief and basic understanding of Christian concepts. And the beauty of it all is that he provides just the right mix of philosophy, facts and faith.

I suggest this book if you:

A) Want some "real world" examples of why faith is important B) Need a refresher course of who God is and why He matters C) Need more backing/help in your crusade to spread God's Word D) (like most of us) All of the above