It's not a linear play in any way, not cohesive in a traditional sense. The scenes are not even comprised of sentences strung together but simply of words, images. The written text is proof that drama is meant to be performed. I know I'm missing something as I sit in the library and read along. On one hand, the play feels thin. On the other, we need a body on stage and its subsequent movements to fill in the gaps.

The anger surprised me, not that I didn't expect to see anger. I just did not expect to see it in the scene that describes why gay men go to the gym, which is to fight straights and be ready for "the day we bash the bashers back / into the graves they've dug for us" (p. 42).

Could the play be performed today and seen now as it was then? Since the last scene takes place on the last day of 1999--a time now in the past but in the future when Drake created the scene in 1992--it's hard to tell. Describing a world that has seen the Queer War of '96 and the assassination of Rush Limbaugh and imprisonment of Phyllis Schlafly and William Dannemeyer sounds hopeful in 1992 but more like a fairy tale in 2000.

Still, I have to appreciate someone who--like me--found solace in West Side Story and A Chorus Line. And who can write, "the truth will set you free. But first it will piss you off" (p. 86).

David Drake presents not just a play of incredible power and honesty, but a lyrical poem of universal truth and an insightful history lesson. No, this is not your typical Aristotelian drama, but that is partially why I love it so much; the other huge reason would be Drake's challenge to the complacency and the overwhelming lack of anger in the gay community. There's plenty to be angry about for anyone -- gay, straight and in-between -- and Drake presents his rage and his humanity in a form that is accessible, moving and real. This play is a gift to anyone who loves dramas that expand the realms of possibility or who have ever felt the activist spirit churning within.

David Dodd has assembled a wide variety of stories to inspire and encourage addicted people to get clean. I was impressed that Twelve Step groups were NOT the focus of every tale, and that the one constant was that each individual made a PERSONAL CHOICE to forego their addiction and live sober. For all the help some people get from 12-Step groups, there are many who don't "relate" to the religiousity. But this book shows that recovery is still possible and worthwhile. The fact that most of these tales are told by celebrities and artists we KNOW only increases their value. Plus, it's nice to know that my gut feeling about Steven Tyler is "on the money" - he truly IS a mensch!!

I was attracted to the many well-known names listed on the cover, but once I began reading the book, I was overwhelmed with its passion and solutions. David Dodd has done a remarkable job which is reflected in this collection of interviews. My favorite part, however, is the introduction to the book, where the author tells his personal story on how he became sober with the help of Steven Tyler. His vivid description of the events were astonishing to me, they were absolutely incredible. This is a wonderful book!

Larry Christenson's theology is profoundly flawed, particularly in regards to raising children. He resorts to scripture twisting constantly in the chapter "God's Order for Parents". In his third paragraph he quotes Hebrews 10:26, 27 and 31 and claims that these verses tell us how God treats his children. Read in context, these verses do *not* refer to God's treatment of His children - these verses refer to His treatment of his ENEMIES (see verse 39, or check a standard commentary). Unless a parent decides from the git go that his children are his enemies (an unbiblical position in light of 1 Corinthians 7:14), this book does not describe a Christian family.

He then goes on to commit the heresy of endorsing the claim that, "You can rear [your children] in Christian doctrine and culture, and by God's grace they will be 'born again': but if you do not train them to work they will never amount to anything for God or themselves or for you." The Bible tells us "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me", not, "Gee, your parents didn't raise you right? Too bad you'll always be a second-class Christian."

Christenson would have us believe that God's discipline is always punishment. For instance, Christenson says Hebrews 12:5-6 refers to a situation where God's "teaching is rejected or ignored." But the author of Hebrews is addressing Christians who are facing persecution, not Christians who are in sin. "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have no yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin." (Hebrews 12:3-4) The word translated "such" means "such as this, of this kind or sort." Once again, Christenson is completely ignoring context.

Hebrews 12:5-6 should be read in the light of "We exult in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces proven genuineness, and genuineness produces hope." (Romans 5:3-4), or "To you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Phillipians 1:29) or "No one should be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this." (1 Thessalonians 3:3), or "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12)

Hebrews 12:5-6 is not a description of how God intends fathers to treat their disobedient children, unless God's choice to allow Satan to destroy all of Job's possessions, [do away with] his children, and destroy his health justifies Christians imitating God in those practices. Few of us will face as severe a "scourging" as Job did, yet the Bible makes it quite clear that Job was not being punished for any great sin.

Since there's no indication that Hebrews 12:5-6 is speaking of punishing people for their sins, Christensen is scripture twisting to use it in support of this practice. He further claims that "The Bible, however, consistently views love and fear as inseparable twins" And that "God's discipline of us, His human children, is calculated to inspire fear.... Fear acts as a catalyst for love. He who fears God most will love Him best."

How does a Christian parent reconcile these claims with 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." Or 2 Timothy 1:7; "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Contrary to Christenson's bold claim, the Bible does *not* "consistently view love and fear as inseparable twins" - it considers fear and love as opposites at least twice, as any concordance could have told him.

God does not want us to serve because we are afraid of punishment, which is one reason we are told repeatedly that Christ has taken our punishment. The reason 1 John 4:18 gives for why there is no fear in love is that, "fear involves torment." The word translated "torment" is used to refer to punishment - Christians should not fear because we are free from punishment. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1)

Our fear of God may be partially based on the fact that He can punish - but it is not a personal fear that He will punish *us*. Contrary to Christenson's position, our children cannot earn God's approval by acting out of fear, because God specifically orders us to act out of love. "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." (I Corinthian 13:3)

And what kind of wimp God does Christenson believe in? Christenson says that Christ disciplines us, but "He does not afflict us willingly." Excuse me? If God does not afflict us willingly, why does Paul tell us to "exult in our afflictions"? We should be glad that God is being forced into action against His own will?

Nonsense. Whoever it is Christenson is talking about, it is not the God of the Bible. "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." (Psalm 115:3) "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phillippians 2:12-13) God will do His Work even in children raised by Christenson's book - but first He will have to free them of Christenson's false theology that makes the loving and all-powerful Biblical God into an angry judge whose ability to do much of anything in our lives is limited and controlled by man.

This book has been used in our church as a counseling tool as well as taught from the pulpit. It is one we recommend to all aspiring teachers and anyone who works with children and families in general. Pastor Christenson has provided exceptional information in this book. I highly recommend it.

The building stones of God's precious Word are being set in order in this book for getting and keeping a good family relationship with God's Power following.

Terms of Endearment is a standout from a special author. The book has it all: unforgetable characters (I can't imagine where McMurtry comes up with these people), laugh out loud comedy and heart wrenching drama. The book is not just a story; it's a wonderful experience. Anyone avoiding this book as a result of seeing the Acadamy award winning movie is making a HUGE mistake. I actually read the book first, and found the crticially acclaimed movie to be a major let down. The movie covers about one tenth of what appears in the book, pratically ignoring some of the most memorable characters and story lines ever. Don't miss Terms of Endearment; I think it's great.

How can a man write so well about women and their day to day experiences, attitudes and emotions with such humor and understanding? It's almost uncanny. Wonderful story, much better than the movie. A great read!
Evelyn Horan - children's author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One-Three

I have never laughed and cried as much as I did while reading this book. After I read the book I watched the movie. I started bawling during the opening credits because I knew what was coming.

This book is alright, but it does not take into consideration all OS's on which the code might be running (xp users beware on the globalization chapter) and some of the end of chapter questions don't even seem to be based on data discussed in the chapter. That all being said, there aren't many other options exam prep books for 70-306 and this one is at least easy to follow along with although I don't think it is in depth enough for the exam.

A good book overall considering the amount of information covered. It does cover just about everything needed for the test. Most of the book is well written with hands-on exercise, chapter quizzes, and chapter summaries. The sample exam on the accompanying CD is a nice bonus.

A couple chapters seem to be clunky and thrown together. These chapters point to the accompanying CD for source code examples instead of listing them in the book like all other chapters. These same chapters seem not to offer much in the way of hands on exercises. Unfortunately these seem to be the more difficult topics. Fortunately these are only a couple out of over 20 chapters.

If you work with VB.NET, then this book might be all you need to pass the 70-306.

If you do not have much hand on experience with VB.NET you will find that you need to supplement your studying.

If you just want to learn VB.NET then this is not the book for you.

I just passed 70-306. I attribute a great deal of my success to this book. It's comprehensive and nicely organized to help you build and retain what you need to know. They use a number of techniques to help you retain knowledge: Each chapter references what certification objective is being covered. There are frequent "Exam Watch" reminders - a one-sentence summary of a key point. Each chapter ends with around 10 test questions followed by well-done explanations on the right and wrong answers. Also, each chapter has a "two-minute drill" of key points and "Lab Questions". Many chapters have good code exercises, some, of which, are on the included CD, for those too lazy to type in the code. In addition the CD has a bunch of test questions that can be used many times as they are randomly generated. All these techniques give one a handful of ways to re-enforce the material.
I agree with other reviewers that several chapters were not up to the standards of the rest of the book. The material is covered but not quite as good as most of the book - obviously done by different authors that the editor failed to make consistent. Also the test questions on the CD were not as tough as what I found on the actual test. Luckily, after conquering this book I signed up for the MeasureUp web site pretest questions. The combination worked very well for me; proof being I passed.
Despite these criticisms I highly recommend this book to get the bulk of knowledge you need. Once you've conquered its material then use something like MeasureUp to fine-tune what you need to know. Overall, I was very pleased. As a point of reference, I'm a moderately experienced programmer, having worked with a number of languages over the years but am not strong on VB.

Christianity, an offshoot of Judaism, was from its very beginning (at Pentecost) and evangelical faith. In fact, it's not so much a religion but a two-thousand year recitation of Redemtion through Jesus Christ. And in those twenty centuries some of the most unlikely and indeed offensive people who ever lived have found peace in Christ. It's good to pray for everyone simply because that's what Christianity is -- it's not a secret society or a clique, but men and women born again of the Holy Spirit who only wish others to share in that Spirit.

While it's good to pray for everyone, leaders of society especially need prayer support, whether they know God or not. Any buttressing will be appreciated. But the down side to this book is that while lists of influential people should circulate for prayer, putting them in a book and selling them seems on the face of it rather on a shakey foundation. It also gives Christophobes, the enemies of Christianity, who are quick to misinterpret anything Christians do from bigotry or fear, a reason to point to us as if we are somehow being judgmental, when in fact we're merely doing our Christian duty to pray for our leaders, whether our leaders agree with us or not.

Christians should stay up with the times (as Kierkegaard said, keep the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other), and this book really is only for anyone so clueless they don't can't name world and business leaders on their own.

I have found the book to be inspirational. Even those spotlighted who have no spiritual aspirations have done some things either very right or very wrong and thus teach the reader.
It is so succinct. Whoever wrote up the summaries was genious in
being salient. The write-ups are not only compelling, but riveting. It always leaves me thoughtful, reminded of the words
"We each will be remembered for one thing". Prayer just happens as I read - prayer for the individual. And the prayer helps
are very thoughtful and not trite as easily could be the case.
Only problem: It's three years old. The other day I quoted
from the book concerning the close spiritual bond between Jeff
Gordon and his wife. Someone brought me up short, "Haven't you
heard, they're getting a divorce?". But even that gave me pause for thought. Like anything old - fruit or pie - it spoils fast. Please, Kopp, Kopp, Wilson, do a 2003! Thanks for a great
job! Be encouraged! May your tribe increase! S.F.

This is a great prayer tool for Christians in their daily devotions. It encourages people to prayer each day for a different influential person. A picture of the person and a concise article telling how the person influences the world is included for each day of the year. The authors encourage non-judgemental praying for all individual even those with whom people may disagree or find offensive.

If you are in search of aknowledgement for the way you feel, read it. It may trigger you to set you on a path of further development. This 'trigger function' is about the only value of the book. If you are on a path and have done some work on yourself already, it's a waste of money and time. Hypothesis is stacked upon hypothesis, no sound argumentation is given, it creates confusion and fails to give directions for possible solutions. In one word: shallow. And (being a copywriter myself) I must say: research and writing is very poor.

PS: I opted for no star, but one is the minimum.

The picture on the cover of this book illustrates exactly how I have felt my whole life. This book has been a great help to me for years, and I wonder why more books like this aren't available; I had searched and searched for that book that described exactly what I was experiencing and how to heal from it, and I had all but given up, concluding that such a book had not been written and that no one else had ever experienced what I have. As "fate" would have it, I would soon stumble across ABSENT FATHERS, LOST SONS. I felt vindicated. I have found other books that have been very helpful for me, but this book feels as though it were written specifically for me. And since others have found this book helpful, I realize that I in fact am not alone in what I have experienced.

Guy Corneau has noticed what I have: he opens by saying that males in general have more developmental problems than women, and therefore it is puzzling that more is not being done to help men. Corneau argues that all men live in a kind of hereditary silence and that we fear that any man who speaks out about pain is a threat to male solidarity. The result of not speaking out is that men suffer alone and in silence, and the pain gets channeled in other directions; as Corneau points out, men far outnumber women in the prison systems. Corneau argues that for a man "to not have a father is to not have a backbone," and that the resulting lack of structure often results in anti-social behavior; men with absent fathers (emotionally absent will suffice) often turn to what Corgneau terms the "dark father complex," the clinging to extreme and often violence-based models of masculinity (such is the case with men who join gangs, etc.).

Two things that I found very interesting: Corneau argues that men who have not felt close enough to their fathers, will often be insecure in their sexuality and this will often result in them becoming "seducers"; the logic being that if they seduce enough women, and appear in the eyes of society to be "studs," then they will make up for the emptiness and insecurity they feel from never having been "confirmed" by their fathers, i.e., never having felt that their fathers accepted them as men. Corneau says that often when a man thinks he is running low on women, he is actually running low on men. Another fascinating thing is that Corneau argues that "seducer" men are often highly sensitive men who refuse to acknowledge and accept their sensitivity. These issues are described in my favorite chapter of the book, where the author discusses the various roles men find themselves in: the Hero, the Good Boy, the Eternal Adolescent, the Male Feminist, the Seducer, and the Homosexual. Corneau takes us through each of these roles and describes them step-by-step. Corneau argues that homosexual men are often obeying the unspoken command that they should never belong to any woman but their mother.

This book has been extraordinarily helpful for me for years now. I don't know where I'd be without this book. I would like to meet the author and shake his hand. ABSENT FATHERS, LOST SONS has helped me come to terms with myself, understand myself, and realize that I am not alone; many men suffer from the pain of not having felt close enough to their fathers. This book presents a somewhat revolutionary idea for this day and age: that fathers *are* important.

I must say that I found this book VERY important in my own life. It is almost chilling in it's description of the crisis in masculine identity. At times I have found this book difficult to read simply because it gets so deep it is almost scary.... Indeed, this book has been so transforming and thought provoking for me that I am only half way through it and have had to put it down and take a break. I highly recommend this book to anyone interesting in coming to terms with the current crisis in masculine identity. Although it has at times been difficult to read, because of this book I now feel much more centered and at peace with my masculinity than ever before.

I looked for some specific information in this book and found that there were *many* typos in the examples I examined. I contected the publisher (O'Reilly) and they told me that they rushed this to press. (Not at all typical of O'Reilly and hopefully not a harbinger of things to come.)

I work as a web developer and I use this set all the time. I can take it with me to help other developers and/or read it while away from my computer. It is very easy to locate what I need and allows me to find what I'm looking for when I don't quite know exactly what I'm looking for. It's not the end all to Perl references but it is the best hardcopy out there so far!

I must be honest, I'm writing this review mostly to netralize the bad reviews thus far.

That this book is on a CD only begins to demonstrate the effectiveness of it's contents, but this IS indeed an important feature.

I only wish this came out sooner (or I bought it sooner), when I was web-designing free-lance a couple of years ago.