Sunday mornings are always my favorite times to go driving. There is no one on the road and the church parking lots are filled. Religion is the backbone to the south; every small town has atleast 2 churches, if not more. Going through one town, I counted 5 different churches in one mile of each other.

I moved to South Carolina when I was a child. Both parents were "yankees" and had no use for the local Baptist women's group or the ARP pews. I never attended any summer Bible schools or belonged to any youth groups. My world consisted of playing on top of the chicken coop or climbing the large oak trees on our property. It wasn't until I reached high school until I realized how important religion is to this area. I opened my locker one day and there was a note inviting me to a revival. I decided that I would go. What a shock it was. At that point, I had only attended Catholic churches, and not very often at that. I had never heard people speak in tounges before, and when the person I was standing next to fell on the floor, I was ready to leave.

Several months later, I was in a bookstore and came across "Foxfire 7". I took it home and stayed up reading long into the night. I apperciated that it was broken into different sections, such as "Baptists", or "Methodists". The people who talked about their domonation were preachers and parsioners both. Each subject was fully researched and developed. I use the book still as a refrence.

I have carried on my parents lack of enthusium toward southern religion, but I will take the tracts given out by soon-to-be preachers at the local grocery store.

I recently bought this book and have found it generally useful for planning my first trip. The book is well organized and gives a great overview of activities and places to see before it guides you through each region.

However, those interested in adventure travel that veers off the beaten path a little more may be wise to purchase a second book that delves more into these sorts of offerings, as this book does not cover this sort of thing very well.

Over all, though, it's a good book to have.

To the Christian, God is a God of great joy. C.S Lewis has said that, "Joy is the serious business of heaven," and the best visual picture of God's joy is His smile. Sadly many people have a concept of God as a harsh taskmaster, at worst, and disappointed in us, at best.

Shirwood Wirt has reminded us of an important key in knowing God. We must understand that God takes great delight in his creation. He created the universe with joy. He spoke His word with joy. He redeemed His people with joy. The Bible says that, "He shouts over you with shouts of joy." Zeph 3.17

"The God Who Smiles" covers diffent aspects of God's smile while interspersing stories from Sherwood Wirt's life and the lives of others. The authors delves into his own dark time when God ceased to smile on him.(Though it was truly that Wirt had ceased to see God's smile.) It was fascinating to follow the path that led to the restoration of that smile. He then challenges us to be like God and smile in all that we do.

A valuable book for those on the journey to discover what God is really like.

During a career spanning 36 years Sir Stanley Matthews left fans with innumerable memories of his breathtaking footballing skills. None of them realised, however, just how astute he was at defining one of the early 20th century's greatest poets. Comparing Eliot's "Mr. Mistoffelees" to Moses' speech on Mount Sinai is perhaps a little far-fetched, but one can forgive old twinkle toes the odd slip now and again. I mean, he was a cracking footballer, wasn't he, even when he played for Stoke. And I'm a Derby fan, so that's high praise indeed.

For those intereested in the railroad industry! Even if you live in the Eastern half of the U.S. or Canada.

This book has a lot of history on the major railroads of then, and now. Some of the historical roads have long disappeared, but others are still around, under new colors and new names. It's interesting to note, also, that the railroad was responsible for the development of the West . . . many towns were settled AFTER the railroad laid it's tracks. If you want to know about the shaping of a nation, and of an industry, this book is a must read!

If you have ever been cold-called by a stockbroker, this is the inside story you need to know. This is the real story behind the Hollywood version depicted in the recent movie "Boiler Room". It explains how the business works, how the real money is made, and how the suckers never get an even break. "Hot Deals, Cold Calls" is written in a simple, matter-of-fact style that rings true. It is about real people - good, bad, naïve - caught up in a system that glorifies greed. Imagine Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities" set firmly in the middle class.

The happiest moments of a liberal arts education usually take place late in the evening in a dormitory lounge or in a local bistro over several cups of coffee. They're conversations, often between two similarly minded people, that explore a favorite subject. Browsing through Imagining Characters is like lingering in a seat at the next table.

The works selected are an English major's hit list of mainly nineteenth century women's novels. Byatt and Sodre bring their experience as a fiction writer and a clinical psychologist, respectively, to their understandings and develop complementary insights rather than rigorous debates.

This isn't everyone's cup of java. The reader who enjoys this volume probably relishes at least half of the novels discussed, smiles at being called a feminist, and prefers discussion to formal criticism.

The author takes us on two journeys, forty years apart. In 1942, an inexperienced DuBois ran the Middle Fork of the Salmon River becoming the first person to run the river solo. If you have experienced this most challenging and beloved of America's rivers and wonder what it was like in earlier days, this book is a must. Filled with history and whitewater excitement and thrills, the author speaks with passion comparing his two trips and the regulation of the river today.

To come to the point right at the beginning of my review, let it be said that "Japanese Buddhism" is an exciting and immensely rewarding book. The author, Sir Charles Eliot, served as British ambassador to Japan from 1920 to 1925 and both his knowledge of Japanese thought and culture as well as the fact that as a scholar he had dedicated his life to the study of Asian religions may have made him the one non-Japanese expert of his time best qualified to write on the subject. Sadly, Sir Charles did not live to see his work published as he died - shortly before its completion - in 1931, but thanks to the efforts of his publishers and of George B. Sansom, an eminent Japanologist who wrote the last chapter, the book was finally printed in 1935.

Apparently, "Japanese Buddhism" is complementary to an earlier work by Sir Charles on Hinduism and Buddhism. Nevertheless, he does well to again describe Buddhism as it originated in India and how it made its way to China and finally reached Japan during the sixth century, as the evolution of Buddhism in Japan cannot be completely grasped without knowing Buddhism's history in India and China. The book thus is divided into three parts: As mentioned above, the first part deals with the characteristics of Buddhism as it was (and still is) practised in India and China, the second part is dedicated to a general history of Japanese Buddhism from the sixth century till the end of the Tokugawa period (mid-19th century) whereas the third part explains in considerable detail those "sects" - or "schools", as they are most often called today - that arguably played a decisive role in shaping the particularly Japanese interpretation of the original Buddhist tenets, namely the schools of Tendai, Shingon and Zen Buddhism as well as the schools of Amidism and the one founded by the charismatic Nichiren.

What is remarkable about Sir Charles' book is that it has withstood expert criticism and continues to be an excellent portrayal of Japanese Buddhism in spite of the 65 years that have elapsed since it was first published. True, the book offers no information whatsoever on the development after 1868 and thus no mention is made of the disestablishing of countless Buddhist temples after the Meiji Restauration - let alone the so-called "new religions" (shinshukyo) that were organized as lay Buddhist movements and which appeared only after Sir Charles' death - but anyone interested in the pristine forms of Japanese Buddhism may confidently turn to Sir Charles' book. The only reason why I do not rate "Japanese Buddhism" a 5-star-book is that in my opinion the Jodo school - which evolved side by side with Zen Buddhism and the Nichiren school - is not given the attention it deserves. Apart from this minor weakness, however, this is a rather comprehensive book on the origins of Japanese Buddhism and offers fascinating reading for everybody interested in the subject.

This is a solid work, with a lot of supporting material. Makes both Native Americans and Puritan settlers come alive as real people, yet with a balanced, non-sensationalized view. Can be a little slow in some spots, but overall a good read for those with an interest in the topic (i.e. Native Americans and early settlers, Massachusetts, or local history to Natick, et al).