Shirley's early novel "City Come A Walkin'" takes us on a surreal (and frequently brutal) jaunt through a near-future San Fransisco where the city's overmind has the ability to manifest as a mirrorshades-wearing techno-shaman with a marked dislike for bad guys. The brilliance and terror behind this straight-forward tale is Shirley's refreshing refusal to cling to genre conceits. "City Come A Walkin'" challenges the nature of identity as well as the parameters of urban morality.

This book really opens up your imagenation, because it's plot. You really need to look at the wording to understand a lot of it.The only thing I didn't like about this novel was it was a little slow at times.

This is probably the most unique concept I've come across. The idea of a the city's consciousness manifesting itself is fresh and interesting. It's hard to believe this title is as old as it is. It seems like recently written cyberpunk. Pretty obvious that instead, all other cyberpunk has taken from it.

This installment of The Daily Study Bible Series covers the Pastoral Epistles and the letter to Philemon. William Barclay has given us a good devotional study firmly rooted in biblical scholarship.

Scholars have disputed Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Epistles (I and II Timothy, Titus). Barclay's introduction covers the issues involved well. He takes a middle position where a later teacher expanded genuine Pauline fragments. Unfortunately, he does not expound this view in the commentary itself; he is silent about which sections are genuine and which are later. Since "we are still hearing the voice of Paul" (13), it probably did not occur to him to make the distinctions. Barclay's introduction to Philemon includes an interesting if speculative account of how this short letter became included in the New Testament.

The commentary itself is best described as expository. Barclay does not only analyze the Greek text. Using exhortation, anecdotal stories, and other sources, he also suggests what these texts might mean today. From a strictly academic viewpoint, this commentary will seem superficial. For the popular audience for whom Barclay has intended this work, it should serve as a springboard for further study. Barclay provides a list for further reading for this purpose.

Though this book is a good introductory work overall, the reader should be aware of a couple points. The first relates to these epistles' stances on women and slavery. Any casual reading of the letters will strike the reader as bordering on misogyny and condoning slavery. Barclay places these tests in the situation of the Roman/Greek world in which Paul wrote them. He makes a valid point that doing almost anything else would be scandalous (with women) or even dangerous (with slaves). To his credit, he says those circumstances no longer apply. However,considering the history in which these texts were and are used, I have to think he soft-pedaled these issues. After all Christianity is supposed to be "light for the world" (Matt. 5:14, NJB).

The other issue concerns Barclay's treatment of other religions. When Barclay mentions them, he almost invariably creates straw men of them. He makes at least one anti-Semitic accusation without evidence. Against these straw men, Barclay over idealizes Christianity. Even granting this work is now more than twenty-five years old, Barclay should have been above that.

In his series of New Testament Commentaries, William Barclay gives us a commentary on the "Pastoral Epistles" and Philemon. 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are called the Pastoral Epistles because Paul had written them to encourage and advise two pastors in Early Christianity. They give advice concerning the character and conduct that Christians should have, specifically the character and conduct of a church's pastor.

Where Barclay's strength lies is in the meticulous analysis of the text. Paul tends to pack a lot in his sentences; Barclay picks the sentence apart and brings things into clearer view. While he does an admirable job discussing Paul's world in the light of the times (when slaves outnumbered free men, when women were neither to be seen nor heard, etc.); how Paul's words can be applied to a modern, slave-free, woman-respecting society; and spends a great deal of time analyzing Christian conduct.

While the commentary is generally good, it wasn't much that I hadn't heard or read before. It can be argued that this was Barclay's intention. Since he translated the entire text from the original Greek, quoted many other Bible verses and Paul's pagan contemporaries (to illustrate the thinking of the day), etc., he could have written a pretty good commentary series intended for Biblical scholars. Instead, he wrote one for the regular chruch-goers.

I do have to throw in one comment concerning the inerrancy of the Bible. Barclay speculates that Paul may not have written the entire epistle, but rather that someone found one of Paul's old letters and re-wrote it to address the Gnostic heresy in the Church. This speculation is dangerous as it encourages one to pick apart the Bible and throw away the parts that he/she doens't like. It makes the Bible subjective ("I don't like that part about no murder. I don't believe the Holy Spirit wrote that, so I'll ignore it."). The Holy Spirit doesn't need an editor; It will have what it wants in the Bible and make sure that any "false teachings" are not included.

In all, this is a pretty good commentary. It gives a thorough, Biblical analysis of the conduct of Christian pastors and lay-people. It also gives a healthy view of the historical period in which these letters were written.

I have found Barclay's Daily Bible Study Guides of the New Testament the best in-depth commentary of the bible books. He presents scholarly analysis in very easy to read passages. Reading this book in particular greatly increased my understanding of Paul's extraordinary letters to Timothy and Titus on Christian leadership principles.

I used this as my study while teaching the Gospel of Luke to a Sunday School Class. This commentary made my lessons fill with great background and history. The outlines are built into the book and ready to use as a template for a lesson. This is one of the best for teaching on a weekly basis or for preaching.

I found this book interesting. One thing that most people don't know about the Irish Potato Famine is just how much the British Government is to blame for all those deaths. Any food that an Irish person had in their possession was seized and then shipped to England and other countries. This is the dirty little secret of the British Government.

Who has ever heard of a someone who, having a highly succesful preaching ministry in a civilized country, leaves it to others and instead goes to work amongst cannibals on a small island in the middle of a great ocean? Yet this was exactly what John Paton did! He not only was aware of the fact that the islanders were in the habit of clubbing people to death, boiling them and then eating them up, but he also knew that before his arrival to the cannibal islands, previous missionaries had attempted the same task but had beed killed and eaten as soon as they reached the islands. Then why did he go? He went because he wanted the gospel of Christ to have progress, to the salvation of sinners and the glory of God. When he first arrived at the island of Tanna, he had to start from scratch. He had to learn the language of the cannibals, which was hard considering the fact that they had no written letters. But through hard work Paton not only learned the language, he also but it in letters. In his autobiography John Paton tells about the trials he went through amongst the cannibals. He was constantly close to being killed, but always managed to escape. He explains that the only thing that kept him from losing his mind was his living prayer-life with the Lord. But the cannibals did not repent or forsake their idols of wood and stone, but instead became more and more furious over Paton that he finally by boat escaped by the skin of his teeth. That meant that years of hard work had not brought any conversions. After his escape he dicided to go back! But this time to a neighbouring island named Aniwa. And there, after hard work and after a special incident, everybody on the island repents and turns to God! When Paton was old he spoke with the president of the USA, trying to persuade him to prohibit the selling of alcohol to the islanders. He also visited Charles Spurgeouns home and made some very interesting remarks concerning George Muellers orphanges. Personally I must say, that the most impressive part of Patons autobiography is not the adventures amongst the cannibals; but his description of his father James, who in my point of view probably was one of the holiest, but unknown, men ever to walk the ground of Scotland. Shall the world ever see such men again? Or has the zeal of true religion now declined? O, dear friends, let us walk in the footsteps of such men as these, to the glory of God!

Like pretty much all of Dr. Barclay's books, the Letter to the Hebrews makes the Bible verses that are so difficult to comprehend easy to understand and beautiful. His Bible studies are good whether you're reading the Bible for the first time or whether you're studying it in depth. He gives you a lot of historical background which really helps. I did find the section about priesthood (Hebrews chapter 7) slightly tedious, but that's my only complaint. It's definitely a worth while read.

Barclay's book on The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians is an excellent analysis of these books of the Bible.

Barclay provides an introduction to each book before proceeding to a line-by-line, verse-by-verse discussion of the text and its meaning.

The author has a very good understanding of the history and backround of these books and shows detailed knowledge of the language used by Paul. His commentary sheds light on the reasons for Paul's letters and clearly explains the specific guidance Paul was offering to these followers.

Finally, I liked the quotes and short stories Barclay tossed in with his analysis. It's a good book for Bible study. It's easy to read a little bit each day. It's also easy to spend a great deal of time reflecting on the most meaningful passages.

This book is excellent to understand the behaivor of organizations, groups and their structures. If anyone who needs to manage a group (small or large, does not matter), must not skip these subjects. Every group, every project has different needs and a different management plan. They are different like individual person. That book shows and explains that perfectly.

This book is a great introduction to animal rights issues for children and their parents. The subtitle is: An Action-Packed, Fun-Filled Book to Help Kids Help Animals.

There are lessons and suggested activities for kids to make a difference in the lives of animals. Everything from building birdhouses to protesting the use of animals in circuses. There is a vast array of subjects, and this book is absolutely loaded with information. There is probably not a single animal welfare issue that this book does not cover.

Parents should be aware that there is some deep and unsettling subject matter here. It is presented in a way that is certainly suitable for children. But parents may want to use this book interactively with their child, so that they may be there to answer any questions.

Though this book is now out of print, I certainly recommend buying a used copy.

It's amazing how much of an aura of mystery the obscure Boba Fett has acquired in the Star Wars mythos. In the films, this character has about a half dozen lines tops, but the mysterious armor, demeanor and standing as one of the greatest bounty hunters in the galaxy piqued fans' interest.

In "Enemy of the Empire," we see Fett's first encounter with Darth Vader. Writer John Wagner takes a humorous look at some of the denizens of the Star Wars galaxy and we get to find out how Fett received that odd dent in his helmet that appears in both Episodes V and VI.

"Enemy" didn't win any Eisners (comics' highest award), but it had solid storytelling and art (even if the latter was somewhat cartoony). A nice, light read featuring that mysterious bounty hunter on an adventure that fits quite nicely in the Star Wars epic.

While working one's way through the arts of bartering for souls, a person has to be careful who they choose to align themselves with. This holds true for anyone wanting to make their way out of a deal alive, from the lowliest of traders to the mightiest of bounty hunters. In Enemy of the Empire, Boba Fett learns just that, finding out that perhaps Darth Vader isn't an individual to be bartered with and that something worthy of his attention has to be profitable as well as dangerous in order for him to thrive. He is sent to find a certain someone that has an item in their possession, one that can tell the future in ways that some species would find disturbing, and that can even bring a player like Vader himself hunting for your head.

The storyline that is presented in this TPB is really a good one, brimming with some odd species, a bit of intrigue, and the art of bounty hunting that makes people seek out Boba Fett. It touches on a little of the methods on how to track someone, how your armor can sometimes get an array of ugly reminders of why you should or shouldn't be wary of dealing with anyone, what to do if you are attacked by one of the most dangerous forces in the universe, and how truly messed up some people's abilities can be. The problem in the book is that its art doesn't hold a candle to the interesting worlds involved in the storyline and that, despite the attempts to seem somewhat humorous at times, it fails to evoke laughter from myself. Instead, it seems to take away from some of the faces involved, especially when you are dealing with Vader and his boss, not to mention the rank and file that happen to make up the universe's shady characters. It took me a long time to get past this little portion of the book and, were it not for the fact that Fett was involved, I would have perhaps skipped past it completely.

This isn't to say that the read is worthy, because it is. You simply have to be ready for something of a disappoint in the art department - which I was a little prepared for but not to the extent that it laid out here. Also included in this is "Boba Fett's Salvage (or Boba Fett 1/2), which isn't that bad of a story and that is not the most fun piece to find by itself, making it a better by and something that friends of the hunting class might want to look into. Just remember to bring an open mind to the table because, well, mixed results sometimes anger the viewing mind.

The world of 'Star Wars' comics has been able to achieve heights of drama in expeceptional works such as 'In the Empire's Service', 'Outlander', and 'Mandatory Retirement.' This is not anywhere near that list. Then again, its not supposed to be.
It's for entertainment value, plain and simple. The art and writing are somewhat silly while still having an elemnt of drama and reality to them. John Nadeau of the XWRS fame has a very different art style here, one far less dramatic and far more silly.
Then end is good, especially regarding the fight between Fett and Vader and the fate of the Pessimists. (I love irony.) Overall, while its by no means the best SW comics out there, its a fun, quick read and reccomended as such.