Grant's book of Korean proverbs provided me with interesting insights into the Korean language and culture. The book is enjoyable, and the proverbs are translated both for meaning and word for word. Related title: Whitefield Korean--This book combines Grant's Guide to Korean Characters and his proverb book. It also contains progressive language lessons designed for use by missionaries.

Aleksandr Pika is a great northern anthropologist, and I am greatful that his work has been translated into English. This book is an excellent study of USSR policy as it has affected (and continues to affect) Native Siberians.

Great little Quick reference tool for those that want to get into leather braiding. Easy to understand directions and illustrations can get you started right away. Also great because it is an inexpensive way to get started braiding

This is one of those books for us custom leather workers that is a must. Having done leather work and fancy knot work for around 16 years I found this book full of ideas I could use. Most of the illustrations are fairly accurate (some definately need to be checked .....i.e. the Herringbond knot). Minus the flaws in the illustrations this book is a keeper.

The author writes well enough for the common person to understand without talking down to the reader. He approaches the subject assuming the reader knows nothing (and in my case was entirely correct). The information is pertinent, easy to follow, and the illustrations are wonderful!

A change in Focus--Grant takes the Reins

Until 1864, the Army of the Potomac had never won a campaign. Each Union attempt to capture Richmond drove south, was repulsed, withdrew to Washington, found a new general, and tried again. After his successes at Vicksburg and Chattanooga, Grant came east to a promotion, to general in charge of all Union Armies.

Grant brought a different focus, and Catton defines this superbly in this book, drawing on many of Grant's memoranda to other officers, as well as President Lincoln. Catton captures the essence of a Grant campaign: hold on to the enemy, grasp and retain the initiative, and always move your logistics aggresively forward.

Catton also tries, albeit weakley, to show that Grant was not a "pure" attritionist. He offers examples of Grant's desires to push west and sever Richmond from the Shenandoah. Catton explores the political reality of uncovering Washington to a Confederate thrust, while attacking the logistics that sustained Confederate armies, while Sherman simultaneously attacked Atlanta and its strategic railhead. Catton states that after the battle of Cold Harbor Ggrant's numerical superiority was at its lowest level, but he does not provide the hard math to support this stance. On the other hand, Catton shows well the manuever warfare used by Grant to slip away after Cold Harbor, steal a march, and get across the James River before Lee, stripped of his cavalry, could discover the move and react.

This book does a very solid job of capturing Grant's determination, his unyielding efforts to impose his will on the leaders and staff of the Army of the Potomac, and to integrate the political realities of volunteers, political appointee generals and a presidential election with the cold hard reality of constant campaigning.

A good read not just for students of the martial art, but for any leader who must address the Sisyphean task of invigorating old "we've always done it that way" people with a new ethos and drive.

This is a well-researched account of the last two years of the Civil War (1863-1865). The harsh realities of the battles and living conditions are especially given great detail here. The final days of the war and the surrender of General Lee are extremely poignant as the author examines the tattered remains of the once invincible Army of Northern Virginia. The exchange between the victors and the vanquished at Appomattox is the highlight of the book. The author also takes pains not to overlook any of Grant's military blunders such as Cold Harbor and gives an even-handed viewpoint throughout. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the darkest days of our nation's history.

HOW TO MAKE COWBOY HORSE GEAR is the sequel to Grant's LEATHER BRAIDING. As such, all projects listed in this book are braided from leather. Illustrations clarify the steps. Instruction is direct, but has a wonderful dose of cowboy humor mixed in. As an added plus, there is a brief section by Lee Rice entitled, "How to Make a Western Saddle."

My family and I have worn out the first copy. It is excellent -- well-written, fairly well organized, and easy to follow. We recommend it to anyone interested in making their own gear.

This book was given to me while I was studying Korean at the Defense Language Institute. The format of the book is pretty straight forward: count the number of strokes in the character and start searching. Although its obvious that "hanja" plays a diminishing role in "survival korean", it can provide useful insight into meanings of more complex words. Be sure you've learned "hangul" before you consider adding this book to your library. With a bit of study, you'll find that you'll be able to learn more "hanja" than the average Korean knows. I know I have.

Along with my Korean-English dictionaries, grammar guides, and textbooks, GUIDE TO KOREAN CHARACTERS: READING AND WRITING HANGUL AND HANJA, is my ticket to the cosmopolitan side of Korean life. The Korean language uses two alphabets, hangul and hanja. Hangul was invented by a group of Confucian scholars commissioned by King Sejong in the 15th Century. However, even today, most of the Korean found in newspapers, books, and on television is of Chinese origin. Like the Japanese, Koreans use Chinese characters, but pronounce them differently. Hanja, or Chinese characters, are required for most adult discourse and counting.

The book starts with simple characters, or "radicals", progressing to complicated ones. Students can follow the graphs and learn to write the characters. Each character is also translated into English and Korean. Hangul is provided in the jacket of the book, but this is not a Hangul textbook. A further index also organizes the characters for quick reference.

Because the Korean educational system authorizes and halts Hanja education seemingly every decade, learning Hanja gives the non-Korean student an advantage over Korean students. Sino-Korean words are also easier to remember, because they are shorter. Learning Hanja opens up a whole different world to the non-Korean student.

Excellent reference for an ongoing student of the Korean language. The ease of use and extensive practical information make this a must for anyone studying Korean. I also have Pictoral Sino-Korean Characters by Jacob Chang-Kim. Together, my hanja reference collection is 100% complete!

This volume (as well as the series in general), is somewhat helpful for application of the text, but it certainly should not be used in isolation. I found this one to be rather shallow in that it gives little time to the historical situation in the text. A better commentary that includes extra focus on application, but without diminishing original meaning and history, is the NIV Application Commentary on Luke by Darrell Bock.

This commentary is the third one written on Luke by the same author. It focuses on contemperary application of Luke's message. One might need another (more detailed) commentary to determine the original meaning of the text. Those with necessary training in the Biblical Greek should consult his two-volume commentary published by Baker.

This is a great resource for preparing sermons on Luke, or even for just reading along while you read Luke in your own home. It's easy to read, and gives valuable insights. I'm glad I bought it.

Of the modern commentaries of the New Testament, this may be one of the most easy to grasp. The writing style is friendly, and it doesn't bog the reader down scholarly analysis of every other word. As is the case with many Bible commentaries, I wish the typeface were a bit larger.

If you are a Bible Study teacher and would like one reference book on the NT, Raymond E. Brown's may be the most scholarly, but Barton's book is more friendly and, ultimately, more useful from the standpoint of your students.

Very useful tool to aid in your Bible studies. If you have trouble understanding what a particular verse means, or what it means in your life today, this is a good book to have. I looked at a few other books like this, but like the layout, and price of this one best.

This book contains the opinions of a Board of Inquiry as to the fraud (or lack of fraud) in the issuance or sale of military bounty land warrants issued by North Carolina to its former soldiers in the Continental Line. The introduction to the book contains a history of the land fraud related to North Carolina's bounty land warrants (known as the Glasgow land fraud). A Board of Inquiry reviewed the warrants to determine if there was fraud involved in the way the warrants were issued or in the way they were sold. For each warrant, the opinion of the Board is mentioned. Some warrants are mentioned more than once because more than one person were involved in the fraud. The book also includes some information about the court trial of five men accused of fraud. There is a complete name index and a place name index, but these are a little tricky to use because the warrants aren't in numerical order in the book. The indexes refer to warrant numbers. After finding the number, you have to refer to the list of warrant numbers (prior to the index) to determine on which page to look for the warrant (and the man's name). This book is written primarily for genealogist and historians interested in finding out more about military bounty land warrants.

This commentary is aimed for the young Christian and the group study leader. It is well designed and easy to navigate. It is also reasonably detailed and readable. Generally it gives the various alternative interpretations for difficult texts, including the rapture and millennium. The text of Revelation is in bold, and the comments are on one or two verses at a time, with the fragment of text being commented on highlighted in italics. It alternates between different modern bible versions, which I found annoying. It does a reasonable job of interpreting the meaning of the symbols. It includes additional tables and maps, an index, application notes and classic quotes from noted Christian thinkers.

There are instances of sloppy interpretation or editing, such as saying that the church at Ephesus was filled with pride, which is not what the text says, pride applies more to Laodicea. The mighty angel of 10:1 becomes an archangel by 10:2. On page 173 it misquotes Tertullian by saying, "The blood of the martyrs is seed" it should be "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church" (or seedbed of the church). However these are minor criticisms on what is basically a sound commentary.

Its strength is that it avoids the crass sensationalism and fiction of some modern interpretations and in general it follows the interpretation given by the more scholarly commentaries, which is to be welcomed. It is readable and not over technical and will help make Revelation meaningful to the young Christian. It is not so brief as to be useless but it packs quite a lot of information in its 284 pages making it worth buying.

The study leader will find Keener useful for application and Johnson or Krodel useful for further detail, with Mounce as a more scholarly reference. Other useful commentaries for the layman are Hendriksen and Ladd.