Revelation often has a waterfront address. Think of Thoreau, pen in hand, on the banks of Walden Pond...Leonardo da Vinci, pondering the subtle science of the River Arno...or Jesus, sharing the keys to the kingdom of God at the edge of the Sea of Galilee.
There's something ancient and elemental about being on the water, something that sets our own inner tides moving with a slow, irresistible pull. Shifted by that current, profound truth can rise from the depths of a human soul to bob up suddenly above the surface, visible to us all.
Three summers ago, nine-year-old Christopher Dugan sat in a hammock beside his father, watching afternoon come to the Maine lake where their family was vacationing.
"I'm going to die," the boy announced. "So are you."
With a touching faith and a seriousness beyond his tender years, Christopher asked his father some hard questions: What is it like when we die? Where do we go? What if there really isn't a heaven? What if it's all a lie? And, he continued, if there is nothing more after death, what's the point of anything we do here? "You're a minister," Christopher said, "so you know about these things."
Fortunately for young Christopher, and for us all, Dugan knows a great deal indeed - and he shares his insight in this remarkable first book. He chronicles a summer-long series of father-and-son conversations that allowed the pair to think and talk openly about life and death, their mutual understanding deepening as the dialogue progressed. The reader, privileged to listen in, will find wisdom and comfort here, gently interwoven with glimpses of the ever-changing lake shore.
Jeffrey Dugan is the rector of a middle-sized church in Farmington, Conn. Challenged to explain some of the toughest concepts within the ken of humankind, however, he does not preach. He concedes that intellectual knowledge of theology "does litttle or nothing for a frightened little nine-year-old asking his father for help in overcoming the fear and foreboding that everything we value most in life comes to an abrupt and empty termination with death." Instead, Dugan draws from his own well of remarkable experiences and the conclusions that resulted. In the face of Christopher's fears, this loving father offers "responses that come from the heart; person-to-person, soul-to-soul."
This is a simple book, an entertaining book, but don't let that deceive you. Its message is artfully packaged, but very powerful, and its author crafts a first-person story with the deft touch of a master.
The introduction, a 17-page account of Dugan's own path to understanding, points to the distinct likelihood that young Christopher may have inherited his tendency for truth-seeking. During his years at Dartmouth College, majoring in physical anthropology, the author was dedicated to the pursuit of scientific fact. His goal was to become a physician-astronaut specializing in space medicine.
That goal changed in the space of five minutes, on a snowy night in 1973, when Dugan glimpsed a reality that science could not explain. He refocused his keen curiosity on matters of spirituality, and set off on a new path that eventually led him back to the Christian traditions of his childhood, and to the writing of this book.
There is a special gift within these pages for those who struggle with loss and grief. Because of that, and because of the tragedies that have shaken our nation in recent weeks, it seems that Dugan's words have appeared just when they are needed most. An unexpected chain of events, including an editor who left the forgotten manuscript on his office windowsill for more than a year, resulted in the book's Oct. 1 release date.
"Christopher's Summer" has appeared just as many Americans begin to look for the deeper meaning that underlies our day-by-day existence, pondering some of the same questions that a young boy posed to his father one summer afternoon, beside a lake.

Poirier and McKee present a wealth of information on the history of human evolution. They outline the methods of dating, identifying and assembling hominid fossils. Dating is shown to be, within the ranges of accuracy, nearly an absolute with today's technology. With the age of the fossil[s] established and the parts identified, the fossil may then be placed in its proper location on the human family tree. Poirier and McKee spend the remainder of the book describing the concepts, controversies and resolutions associated with that final step. The material requires attentive perusal, but the interested reader will be richly rewarded.

Early hominid fossils were chronologically located by stratigraphy - the position of the fossil in the rocks in relation to other, known, remnants. The early finds were often located in poorly identified areas, or mistakenly dated for a variety of reasons. Paleoanthropologists of an earlier day lacked the technology available today. Worse, they were often unaware of the need to examine the likely environment of the time the fossil was laid down. As the authors point out, this misunderstanding led to misinterpretation of how evolutionary relationships were structured. Today's "digs" are the subject of multi-discipline effort, with botanists, geologists and other fields represented. The more comprehensive picture laid out by these environment associated with the find allow a firmer footing on our ancestral lineage.

While that assertion sounds promising and our heritage is now viewed with confidence, nothing could be further from the truth. Where the human evolutionary tree once looked rather simple, with but a few offshoots extending from the central trunk, the improved accuracy of dating shows many branches. How many of these truly belong on the main branch and how many led to the dead end of extinction is what gives this book its real value.

Paleoanthropology has been among the liveliest of sciences. The debates and controversies have left academic halls and achieved public exposure. Poirier and McKee present the contentions of most of the major figures in the field with circumspection and clarity. With each new find, various interpretations arose, researchers attacking and defending positions from various foundations. The authors give each assertion its due, with resolution occasionally based on their own assessment. They have no hesitation in stating their own position, but it's given with justifications. Counter arguments are made with confirming data. Evidence is shown, but not nearly as strongly as the need for new results. This book, in many respects, reads like an academic work, but that in no small part is due to the authors'
call for more work in the field.

It would be unfair to say that every hominid fossil is given the authors' personal scrutiny, but the impression is proximate. Nearly every major site, with many of the associated prime fossils are described, sometimes with maps and photographs. The illustrative material, maps, diagrams and photographs are invaluable. About the only missing element is a single skeleton and skull with the bones frequently discussed in the book labeled. While many are, they must be examined out of context in many cases. If you have the anatomy, you won't need the information, but the rest of us require the crutch.

For anyone wishing to keep abreast of the research in determining where humanity comes from, this book is a treasure. Given the amount of information the authors had to cope with, the work is clear, unequivocal and immensely valuable. While not a light read, there's little to obstruct even the novice reader. The material is well organized and presented with a clear, straightforward style. Since the authors' aim is to explain [and recruit!] without perplexing the reader or seeking adherence to positions, they have produced a book that will endure.

Since the publication of this book, it has been criticized for it's "machismo, misogynist" morale. Guess who these criticisms are coming from? White feminists (or those who support them). They cannot look beyond history and textual matter, instead they force and assume their principles and try (and unforunately, they succeeded) to make this a battle of Women's rights. I have read Chin's "Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and of the Fake" and in nowhere is there any misogynistic dictum. Why? Because this isn't a matter of Women's views or MEN'S! It's about history and how it should be interpreted. People like Kingston, Hwang, and Tan want to deconstruct Asian American history. Feminists want to help Kingston's and Tan's deconstructive views by arbitrarily labeling Chin as a misogynist. If Chin or the editors of The Big Aiiieeeee! were misogynist why would they have women writers in this anthology? Just because there aren't that many women writers doesn't mean it's totally and utterly sexist. Could it be because there aren't that many authentic Asian American women writers?! If there are no authentic texts to Asia America, would it hurt to say that stereotypes (or whatever) are actually right?

My boyfriend (he's Chinese) saw my copies of Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston books, he wasn't happy with my selections of these so-called Asian-American books, so he gave me the Big Aiiieeeee! I was surprised what Tan and Kingston have done (read Frank Chin's article...it's a blast!). I have to admit that I still like their (Tan and Kingston) books, but they don't represent Asian-Americans that's for sure. There are some Asian girls I know who are ashamed of being... well, Asians, so they go out with White guys (ever heard of that bimbo Margaret Cho?). I don't have a problem with that (with people going out with different races other than their own), but it seems that they're ashamed of their own heritage. They should get this book and read Sui Sin Far. Now, my favorite author! She writes about how a White woman falls in love with a Chinese man. And in spite of laws banning interracial marriage she was still not ashamed of him!

...Amy Tan, David Henry Hwang, Maxine Hong Kingston, Gish Jen, or Jade Snow Wong (and then some!)? YOU BETTER READ THIS BOOK! These people have reinvented Asian literature that have sold out to the Christian (and for that matter Darwinian) white-racist-stereotypical form of Asian writing. You'll read it all in this book, and it is disturbing to say the least. The editors of THE BIG AIIIEEEEE! shows how these authors hate what is Chinese and invent a fake history that appease the white racist way.

The Internal Revenue Service has made significant changes to regulations affecting nonprofits, shifting responsibility for compliance from the organization itself to the directors, staffs, and major donors as individuals. Most nonprofit board members and executives are only dimly aware of these changes, and fewer still are prepared with the documentation necessary to address issues of conflict of interest, private inurement, and disqualified persons.

One sentence from the book's introduction sums up the need for action: "The most important aspect of this legislation is that it empowers the IRS to impose punishment on individuals who violate the tax code by levying significant excise taxes initially and then more than quadrupling the penalty amount if remedy is not made to the [nonprofit] organization."

The solution, and the purpose of the book, is also summed up in one sentence in the introduction: "The key to protecting these organizations' officers and other interested parties from excise taxes is proper documentation."

The book is 3-ring bound and well-tabbed for easy reference and for copying of template forms and sheets that are included. In addition, the book ships with a companion PC diskette with forms in Microsoft Word 6.0/Word 95 format that should be usable by most current word processing programs.

This book is a valuable resource for nonprofit executives, consultants, attorneys, and others providing organizational development and counseling to nonprofits and charities.

The book does include examples and references to the health care field, but its content is equally applicable to all nonprofits.

The book's Table of Contents is as follows:

1. Overview of the Intermediate Sanctions Law 2. Establishing an Intermediate Sanctions Review Process 3. Disqualified Persons Determination 4. Diagnostic Review for Disqualified Persons 5. Diagnostic Review for Organization Manager Liability 6. Examining Revenue-Sharing Transactions 7. Rebuttable Presumption of Reasonableness

Appendices

-- Intermediate Sanctions Law -- Excerpt from House Ways and Means Committee Report on Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 -- Intermediate Sanctions Proposed Regulations -- IRS Model Conflicts of Interest Policy

Carlos Baker is generally known as the founding father of Hemingway biographical studies. His 1969 biography, "Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story" is the so-called "authorized" Hemingway bio and it was the first book of its kind to explore the author's life. All subsequent biographers owe a great deal to Baker and the seven years he spent producing "Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story."

Calling Baker's bio the definitive bio of Ernest Hemingway is difficult though for several reasons. First of all, being published in 1969, the book is now outdated to a great degree. Second of all, a slew of other biographies have been published since 1969 and some are very formidable. Baker's book, in my humble opinion, is probably the most tediously researched biography of Hemingway. His "Notes" section is just over 100 pages.

If I had to recommend one standard Hemingway biography, I would likely choose "Hemingway: A Biography" by Jeffrey Meyers. I have read many Hemingway biographies and in comparing them, the work of Meyers does stand out. He offers details not present in other bios and provides fine commentary on EH's literature. Meyers gets as close to definitive as I think one can come in a single book.

I bought into the hype and bought this over-priced little book. Droll and cunning at times, there is nothing splendily unique to recommend Frank's not-very-memorable rogue, Brandon Sladder. It is hard to tell if the characters' names and personal habits are supposed to be clever (or ironic), but they seem to have been pulled out of the air at some cliche-sniffing party. In fact, the plot of "The Columnist"-- a columnist who continues to fall upward, whilst failing to see the bodies dropping behind him-- is hardly new.

The book has been touted as a "look under the rug" of Washington, with its saucy secrets about which we out-of-the-Beltway types are unaware. Thus, we find politicians, staffers and all forms of media makers with secrets as deep as weekly visits to the local house of ill-repute, pedophilia and addictions. (Well, there's a new twist?) This sort of self-involved, narcissitic Insider strikes me as the protype-- hardly the novelty.

The sole moments of glee found in "The Columnist" were trying to decide whom Sladder most resembled of the Beltway crowd. George Will was an awfully good fit, but then, so was a John Fund/Ann Coulter mix. I chose the latter, but this two-hour-read was still too expensive for that mini-moment of fun.

So the biggest fear I have after finishing this excellent book is that the Washington, D.C. setting will put off readers who might otherwise really enjoy it. We all know that Washington is a depraved, boring place and most of us hear more than we want about it and think that politics, etc., is dull. BUT this novel, while it skewers that world, is about much, much more. It tackles ambition, and in a sharply funny way that all readers can relate to. It is quite an achievement for the author, who I've seen in several interviews--he seems like such a nice guy, you wonder how he could pull off the loathesome Sladder. But that's called "good writing."

Frankly, I am writing this review in the hope that the author, Jeffrey Frank, checks these reviews out from time to time. I know I would if I were clever enough to have written this novel. I loved every minute of it. Three members of our family read it and passed it on to one another because we were so amused by this annoying, self-serving, so-full-of-himself columnist. Even the index is a hoot. Thank you, Mr. Frank, for such great entertainment. I will never again watch the Sunday morning "talking heads" without being reminded of Brandon Sladder.

The reviewer below misses the point. This book was the first anthology of Asian American writers to come out of the period of the founding of Ethnic Studies. It focuses soley on works by Japanese, Chinese and Pilipino Americans and features the usual suspects, Frank Chin, Carlos Bulosan, etc. It does not inlcude works by Vietnamese or Thai Americans because there was next to no immigration or even refugees from those countries immigrating pre 1965. Get your facts straight and review the text in its historical context and you will find that this text is a valuable source to capture the many dilemmas that Asian American's faced in forging an identity of their own.

You guys should make an effort to buy this book (if it's still around). In it, the editors expose "Asian American" authors who thought it best to represent Asian Americans by making them love "white America" in spite of their own Asian culture! For instance, Pardee Lowe has an aversion toward the tong his father is in; and in order to keep him from these "heathen chinese" he helps convert his father into Christianity (this nation's prevalent religion). You will also learn how subtle racist figures like Charlie Chan represent what whites perceive as Asianness. Bear in mind, the editors are not segregating the term Asian to mean just Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. Rather, they are merely using Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino literature to convey (this is a part of their argument) that these different subgroups (and then some) within Asia America were not (and are not) assimilated (they did not hate their own culture to show their patriotism toward America). They open their book with "Asian Americans are not one people but several - Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Filipino Americans." They are not saying "Asian Americans are not one people but only three..." And, yes, I've met Asian Americans who are just as biased as white people, but this isn't the case that the editors are making (nor are they this way). Really, all they are doing is challenging the subtle racist stereotypical view whites have of Asians (which is a prevalent view). Some of you may not know what a stereotype of an Asian person is! Why not find out how REAL Asians are by reading this masterpiece.

You guys should make an effort to buy this book (if it's still around). In it, the editors expose "Asian American" authors who thought it best to represent Asian Americans by making them love "white America" in spite of their own Asian culture! For instance, Pardee Lowe has an aversion toward the tong his father is in; and in order to keep him from these "heathen Chinese" he helps convert his father into Christianity (this nation's prevalent religion). You will also learn how subtle racist figures like Charlie Chan represent what whites perceive as Asianness. Bear in mind, the editors are not segregating the term Asian to mean just Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. Rather, they are merely using Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino literature to convey (this is a part of their argument) that these different subgroups (and then some) within Asia America were not (and are not) assimilated (they did not hate their own culture to show their patriotism toward America). They open their book with "Asian Americans are not one people but several - Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Filipino Americans." They are not saying "Asian Americans are not one people but only three..." And, yes, I've met Asian Americans who are just as biased as white people, but this isn't the case that the editors are making (nor are they this way). Really, all they are doing is challenging the subtle racist stereotypical view whites have of Asians (which is a prevalent view). Some of you may not know what a stereotype of an Asian person is! Why not find out how REAL Asians are by reading this masterpiece.

This book is a business story of how The Weather Channel became one of the leading media brands in the nation. It is not a "behind the scenes at TWC" tale, although a few pages in the "afterword" give readers a brief glimpse at how it all comes together on air.

The most fascinating parts of Batten's story are the tales of how TWC came to be in the very beginning, from the early company history, to the initial concepts and business plans of the late 1970s and early 1980s, to the 1981/1982 start-up, to the birthing pains caused in part by a messy corporate divorce with one of the founding partners. The book also provides an interesting glimpse into how the cable TV landscape was first settled by pioneers like HBO, ESPN, WTBS/CNN and, of course, TWC.

The latter half of the book deals with many of TWC's forays in the 1990s, including the highly-successful weather.com website, as well as several international ventures). But the final chapters lack excitement or drama.

The book has 264 pages, and it's not a hard read. I think the same story could have been told more effectively in about half the space, leaving out many of the details. The authors of this book focus almost exclusively on the TWC dealings and strategies at the corporate and operational levels. A better story could have been told by weaving in more perspectives from other TWC people, namely the on-camera meteorologists, some of whom have been with TWC since the very early days. Combine the best elements of this book (the first half of the story, in particular) with a real 20 years of "behind the scenes", and you'd have a compelling tale that would appeal to audiences beyond the book's target audience (TWC die-hards, business students, weather and media professionals).

Finally, the book provides 16 pages of full-color photos, but none appears to be older than 1998. Why didn't the authors add photos from the early days? Those of us who have been TWC fans for many years would have appreciated seeing some of the old faces, old graphics, and old technology that have made The Weather Channel the familiar and trusted friend it is today for millions of people.

Despite its flaws, I recommend the book for those who are interested in TWC specifically, or in the media or weather businesses in general.

This is an interesting book, using the Weather Channel as an example of the birth of specialized channels in the early cable market. Now we take the plethora of channels available to us as a given (57 channels and nothing on), yet in the early days it was a fight to get a new channel carried over cable systems. The Weather Channel succeeded through a strong idea, people that believed in it, and being on the cutting edge of technology. While I expected this to be a straight story of the birth and growth of the Weather Channel, I was surprised to find that it was that, as well as a musing upon communications, and what makes a successful channel, and a successful company. The actual history is only a bit over half the book. The rest looks at the technology involved, and the lessons of leadership, and new ventures. Finally it concludes with some interesting first person stories of experiences in the building of the channel. An interesting read. Not exactly what I expected, but still a fascinating glimpse behind getting a specialized cable channel up and running, and successful for 20 years.

I've been a friend and admirer of the author for almost thirty years. But I can be objective enough to say that you won't read a better business book this year than The Weather Channel. It tells an amazing story: how a very small company, centered around the newspapers in Norfolk, Va., and Greensboro, N.C., took a gigantic risk. Competing with the largest communications companies, Landmark Communications started one of the first national cable channels. And almost failed (you can't come closer to failing than this one). And, in the end, succeeded gloriously.
Though the impossibly modest author almost paints himself off the stage altogether, you will also meet one of the most decent and admirable executives in American business, Frank Batten. Because Mr. Batten's company is private, almost no one knows of this remarkable man. Although he's reticent about himself (a life-threatening and life-altering cancer that occurred at the time of the Weather Channel launch is dismissed in a paragraph),you'll understand how lucky the citizens of Norfolk and Greensboro have been to have him in charge of their newspapers the last 40 years.
This is a book about business, not weather. But if business interests you at all, it's a hell of a book.

I ordered this book having at least three months to study. I must say the book reviews a lot but it does fall short in some areas. It would of been a whole lot better if they would of explained the answers to the Practice Test at the end. They did provide explanations to the practice problems but not to the Big Practice Exam they have at the end, though they did provide the answers. The positives about the book is that its exactly like the exam. You get familiar with the way the questions are asked and that was a real plus when i took the test. It was as if i knew where the questions were heading.Best one out there though.

This book is an identical copy of: Allied Health Professions Admission Test (Ahpat) : The Betz Guide (Serial)

I bought both books and am returning the more expensive one, the Betz Guide.