How to Get Into the Bible is a wonderfully laid out book that really brings the messages of the Bible home. Each book of the Bible is reviewed. Timelines and maps of the surrounding areas, found in the first page or so of each review, help the reader keep straight complicated chronological and geographical data. Also at the end of each review is the encore section. This tells the reader where they can find similar material in other books of the Bible.

I really liked the way the book is set-up. I enjoyed the shaded boxes, which highlight famous lines and ask, "did you know" questions about each book of the Bible. The section titled, How We Got Our Bible, is helpful. That is followed by a section highlighting the main points of Bible. This can help those who may not be familiar with many Bible stories. Moreover it serves as a good overview.

This book is great because it is written for a variety of readers from different age groups. Teenagers on up could enjoy this book. You can choose to use the book as a reference book, read it as novel, or just read each review and then read the accompany book.

This book is an excellent companion book for Bible study. It's a great startup book for someone who's new to the Bible and can also serve as a handy quick reference for someone already familiar with the material.

Each book of the Bible is addressed in terms of plot, main characters, the book's relationship to other Bible stories, and more. It's like a well fleshed out study outline in many ways. What I particularly liked is that even the very short books of the Bible are given equal treatment. You'll get ample material about 1 Peter, Micah, Obadiah, and other small books along with the big boys like Isaiah and John.

Time lines help you keep a mental picture of what's going on around the events of each book. Where multiple opinions and theories abound, the authors introduce the reader to a variety of interpretations and the merits of each.

While many of the author asides and comments may prove uncomfortably liberal for evangelicals or fundamentalists, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in digesting the Bible. It's entertaining and captivating enough to read straight through like a novel, educational enough to use as a supporting study text, and consistantly useful enough to keep it on your reference bookshelves.

I bought this book to be a companion in my bible study, but ended up reading it cover to cover. I like the way the writers have compared in timeline form, known world events and biblical events. They have also included archaeological facts for biblical events.

Anyone who likes funny things and cats will love this book. It is full of little stories and one liners and cartoons about cats and what they do, all amusing. Everything is done in black and white. My daughter, 10 years old, also found this book full of laughs. The only problem I had with this volume is that the binding along the spine became separated, but I recommend it anyway.

If you're a cat owner, you would find this book reviewing all your feelings (happy or unhappy) about cats. Then, after you've read this book, you would ask yourself: Your cat owns you or You own your cat? 'cause you finally understand know why you can't control the cat - cats are more superior than men.

Actually, this is the first book I can finish after I graduated from university 4 years ago! Very interesting comics, thanks to Jackie Geyer. Humourous content, thanks to Stephen Baker. A must read for any cat lover (and also for those who want to 'own' a cat).

Mr Baker should be given an honerary Ph.D. in Veternary Science, specialization in cat psychology.

This is a Must read for anyone with even a passing interest in the mayan culture. Still easy to read even though it was written over 150 years ago! Imagine you are one of the first explores to adventure into the the jungles of the Yucatan and vist the ancient cities hidden in the jungle. I wish I had read this book before My trip to the Yucatan, would have made my trip that much more enjoyable! The Catherwood engravings are spectacular!

This is a must read for any one with an interest in the ancient Mayan culture an ruin sites. the other reviewers have summed this book up great, but I just wanted to throw in my two cents.

And real full strength Catherwood illustrations.

Unlike some of the recent re-edited editions of Stevens' and Catherwood's work, this Dover Publications edition Volume One of the two volume "Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan presents dense, complex, and revealing insights into a brilliant writer's impressions of travel in nascent Central American countries.

Regarding his charge to enter into diplomatic relations with the governments of these countries, Stephens reports, "I was not able to find one..."

In following Stephens eccentric and sometimes high-handed travels through these unsettled societies, we are by contrast in his ruminations given glimpses of the political and social climate in the United States at that time - a commercially predatory, exuberantly expansionist, segregated society. Despite the biases of his times, Stephens is always adaptable to the ways of his hosts.

Although not great in number, Catherwood's illustrations of the stelae at Copan are truly great. His revealing comments on the difficulty of adapting his Western perception enough to capture the scenes even with the help of his camera lucida - tell us just how unusual the sculptural forms were.

As a team - Stephen's enthusiasm and wry humor and Catherwood's sublime skill and dogged persistence - consistently produced great and discerning works of scientific and historical value.

It should be illegal for anyone to edit or abridge these books.

The author does a superb job of bringing the reader all the details of the gruesome murder of Pennsylvania Attorney Marty Dillon.... June 2, 1976 Marty and his friend, Dr. Stephen Scher, went hunting.........according to Dr. Scher, Marty got killed while chasing a porpupine, when he tripped and his gun went off.... Before two years were gone by, the doctor married Marty's widow...the town became a little suspicious, and Marty's parents always believed something was "fishy"......... It took 20 years of battling the system, but at last Marty's body was exhumed .... the autopsy showed that the wounds were not found to be self-inflicted and his death was finally ruled a homicide......... I don't read true-crime novels as I find them too gory, gritty and disturbing..........however, while visiting my Mom, and forgetting to bring the book I was reading, I looked through her large pile..........since she's not a reader of fiction, my selection was limited........] This book was a quick and compelling read...My heart broke for Marty's parents......I suggest you read it yourself and draw your conclusions..........as for mine, I'm so glad that our great legal system still (for the most part) works!

I read this book on a bus trip from Baltimore to (ironically) Montrose, and as a former resident of Montrose, I must say that this book was a joy to read. Although I was not a resident of the town in 1976, I have spoken to enough people that knew about the situation Maria has captured the true feeling of this town and their opinion. Yes, Larry Dillon did pass away in 1998, but he lived to see that justice was served. Although, poor Jo has to live with the fact that Stephen Scher was released from prison in 1999 and is a free man once again. I guess the system CAN forgive and forget!

Without a doubt, this is a gripping story. Maria Eftimiades has written a concise and facinating account of a person who thought he really got away with the perfect crime. It is a relief to see that justice finally prevailed. This is one of the few books to give some idea what it costs for a top defense lawyer. There are no words to accurately describe Pat Dillon Scher's actions. I highly recommend this book!

Our class liked this book. We thought it was hilarious and gave a wonderful picture of how much a million really is. The kid tower was very imaginative and was an excellent example of a million, billion, and trillion. David M. Schwartz has a fantastic imagination. This book is great for little kids, because it shows there are numbers greater than a hundred. It's language is easy for kids to understand, and it contains many amazing facts.
However, older students dislike it, because it was too fictional. We felt it didn't explain these concepts well enough for us. Overall, we wouldn't recommend it for grades higher than fourth grade.

This picture book is a great pairing of engaging children's literature, detailed illustrations and a deep math concept. I love the way that Schwartz and Kellogg bring this book to life!
I love Kellogg's illustrating! I would just love to jump right into the pages and be a part of all the action. His characters are drawn with such unique faces. And each page is filled with numerous details and endless nooks and cranies. Each page begs to be explored over and over.
If you have never enjoyed a book illustrated by Steven Kellogg now is the time!
The writing in this particular book is also very well done. The little facts about the number 1 million are really interesting. For instance it would take a fish bowl the size of a city harbor to hold a million goldfish!
This book really helps kids and adults understand a very abstract concept. How many of us really have a good grasp on how much a million really is? This book definitely puts it in perspective!
Read it once and you'll have to read it again and again!

I really enjoyed this book and I like the way David M. Schwartz used kids as an example of measurement. I thought the story was cute and I think young kids will really enjoy this. This is a story that I read a lot when I was in elementary. The story shows a very creative out look on counting and makes a million look like a humongous number. I think kids can really learn from that and even makes it kind of fun to learn. Sometimes I even like to read this book over because it really is a fun book to read. The illustrations are also very good and I think they definitely add to the creativity of this book. I really enjoyed looking at them.

This is the eighth in the naval action adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin, and, except for the last twenty pages, there's a surprising lack of action. Jack is doing a turn commanding a seventy-four-gun ship of the line in the blockade of Toulon on the French Mediterranean coast, a mostly cold, dreary, boring, enervating sort of warfare. The admiral he admires is wasting away from overwork and the vice-commander, Jack's old nemesis, tries to use him in a diplomatic feint which turns into a debacle, damaging his reputation among those of his crew who don't really know him and even making him doubt himself. Stephen is busy behind the scenes, sharing the secret limelight with Prof. Graham, an expert in all things Turkish. Finally, in a narratively somewhat disconnected incident, they are sent off to the Turkish-held Greek islands to undermine the French among the local beys and pashas. While it makes for interesting reading in depicting another, rather less dashing, side of the naval war against Napoleon, this volume is uncomfortably episodic and not at all one of O'Brian's best. I would definitely not recommend this as one's first novel in the series.

Patrick O'Brian continues his series of wonderful novels about the Royal Navy in the age of sail. I am amazed how he is able to continue to construct fresh interpersonal dynamics to keep the plot lively. I continue to be impressed with his ability to convey vivid images and emotions of his characters. Those who have served in the military will sympathize with O'Brian's characters through his great descriptions of how leaders wrestle with leadership and endure bureaucracy. Anyone unfamiliar with his work should start with the first in the series, Master and Commander.

This book was very enjoyable, but, after reading the first eight books in this series, I have the feeling that I've already read the best of the series. This book is wonderfully well-written, as have been all of the books in this series so far, and there is no shortage of the wit and humor that O'Brian is famous for. There are a couple of problems with this book, however. First (and this will be a problem for all of the rest of this series as well) there is the problem of time. In the previous book in this series, O'Brian stopped giving us real historical events that would allow us to know exactly what period of time the events in the books are taking place in. The reason is obvious; by the time the events in this book have taken place, the war would be very nearly over (I figure late 1814 at the earliest) and there is still another ten books or so in this series before the war ends. The other problem with this book is that nothing very exciting happens until about two-thirds of the way through this book. In the last third of the book, Jack is given a special mission that requires diplomacy as well as fighting ability, and even Jack knows that diplomacy is not his strong suit. There is a great plot twist towards the end of this book worthy of a good mystery novel which leads to a fantastic ending. Everything comes together at the end of this book, and it gives the reader a good reward for persevering through the earlier slow parts. I will certainly continue reading this series, although I don't think the later books will quite equal his early masterpieces.

I have suffered through three kidney stones myself, with the most recent by far the worst. My therapy since then has been simple but (so far) effective: whenever I feel the least bit thirsty, I fill up a jumbo plastic 32 ounce cup (acquired from a local fast-food restaurant) with water and down the entire contents over the next half-hour or so. I may spend the rest of the day in the bathroom, but I haven't gotten a kidney stone since.

For those who want more information about possible therapies (and causes) of kidney stones, there is this book, which provides an excellent overview of the numerous types of stones, what causes them, and what can be done about them. There is strong encouragement to confront one's doctor to make greater efforts to diagnose causes along with information on just what these efforts should be. One key chapter covers what one should or should not eat, which is again divided according to types of stone. My only quibble is that an occasional looseness in terminology causes confusion: generally a stone is referred by type, which can include calcium or oxalate. However, at a couple of points, there is a reference to a calcium oxalate type. I have no idea how that fits in with the other types.

But that's a very minor point. Overall this is an excellent book and absolute must reading for anyone with serious kidney stone problems (i.e., who has gotten more than me!).

this book is excellently written. It help my family get through a very difficult and painful time. since we read this book there are no more stones. there is no book out there like this plus i recommend their web site.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is co-authored by a kidney stone sufferer. Gail Savitz knows what she is writing about. The other author is a urologist that is able to put the kidney stone nightmare into laymans terms. This isn't a book that you struggle to read; it is easily understandable and is written in "real" English, rather than Doctor Speak. The book explains what a stone is, the 5 most common chemical risk factors, common questions/answers, and many other things. Most importantly, it tells you steps to take to prevent another stone. Anyone who has suffered through this horror will appreciate knowing how to keep it from happening again. It is also an excellent book for the friends and family of stone sufferers. These people must learn what you are going through. This book gave me the information that my own doctor failed to give me. I recommend it highly!

Frost is a new series character for me and I will enjoy following him in this series. He is brash, rude, profane, obscene, callous, rough-edged, filthy minded and has poor personal hygiene. Nonetheless, he is also relentless and compassionate. He gets his bad guy and also shares the credit.

Most of the police have the flu and -- of course that's when a whole series of crimes take place, piling up on the exhausted Jack Frost. (Would someone's parents really do that to a child?) meanwhile, his vicious and incompetent superior is looking over his shoulder trying to find an excuse to scrape the Frost out of the force.

After reading all the Colin Dexter Inspector Morse books and feeling at a loss as to what could possibly satisfy me after such a delightful and rich reading experience, I was lucky enough to find Frost.Definitely not politically correct but what fun to read ! Great stuff.

Incredible. This was the first Frost book I read after seeing the inferior TV show first. In my opinion it's the best of all five Frost novels, with good mysteries, likeable (and unlikeable) characters, just about everything.

Whether you're British or American, you'll love this book (and the others in the series.) Here's hoping Wingfield writes more!

The bottom line on this book is that you should stop doing everything for your children. Coddling can cripple a child for life. That's a pretty easy premise to accept. However, some of the promises made by this book are not so easy to accept. The authors seem to imply that parents who follow their time-tested strategies can bring all children around. They act as if all children are cut from the same mold and will behave reasonably when treated reasonably. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily so. On the other hand, regular family dinners and meetings probably won't hurt, either.

My daughter is currently 16 and my son is 13. I first discovered Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelson just before my son was born in 1988. I was very impressed with their ideas and have consistently used them ever since, with excellent results.

Glenn & Nelson state that self-reliance and self-responsibility will never stop being crucial, in any society, at any time in history. But, unfortunately for parents today, we receive very little help from the society at large (especially the public schools) in teaching these values to our children. This means that modern parenting is far more complicated than simply enjoying and loving our children. There are essential attitudes and skills they need to know in order to grow into decent, self-reliant adults which no one is likely to teach them if we don't. But in order to do this, we first need to know what these attitudes and skills are and what techniques work for teaching them, and then apply those techniques regularly by spending frequent one-on-one time with our children.

I believe that though many parents will find the ideas in this book inspiring, a big barrier stands in the way of them actually following its advice--they are already strongly established in the convenient, no-thinking-required, typical tradition of parenting in the U.S.: (1) eating dinner together as a family group as many nights a week as possible; (2) nagging the kids daily to clean their rooms, do their homework and chores; (3) going on family outings, such as a fast food place or a movie, several times a month; (4) telling the kids if they complain about bullying from siblings or schoolmates to "stop tattling and work it out yourselves;" (5) ignoring each other the rest of the time as much as possible.

When parents are used to an uncomplicated pattern like this, implementing Glenn & Nelson's time-consuming and thought-involving ideas will require a huge lifestyle change, which may be very uncomfortable. Here are some examples of these ideas, which I have found extremely helpful, but are anything but simple or easy to apply: (1) Stay calm. When you get upset at the kids, Glenn & Nelsen suggest getting out your anger and frustration by yelling, privately, at the mirror in the bathroom, and after the worst is over and you are not so upset, only then go talk with your child and discuss what went wrong and what can be done differently next time. (2) Treating children with dignity and respect. Philosophically, many people these days believe it's a good idea to treat all human beings with dignity and respect, but in practice, even people to whom these beliefs are sacred frequently instinctively speak disrespectfully to family members, especially their children. When people hold no such belief, then the odds are it is only an accident of a fleeting good mood that will cause them to speak with respect to their children. (3) Planning ahead. Glenn & Nelson suggest discussing important situations in the child's life ahead of time and coming up with an agreement that spells out meaningful consequences if the child does not live up to the agreement.

Glenn & Nelsen openly admit in this book that positive, assertive (vs. oppressive or permissive) parenting is top-heavy on the work involved when you are first starting it, because it is never easy to learn new habits. However, without this effort, early on and consistently, our children all too often drift away from us over the years, some to the point of becoming almost totally emotionally disconnected during the dangerous teen years. At that point, to start the work of positive, assertive parenting can be a nightmare of endless, painfully frustrating work, with no guaranteed outcome, no matter how hard we try. For this reason, I recommend this book most strongly to people who are expecting their first child, or to parents with small children. These ideas will still work for parents of teenagers, but it is far better to head off future bad outcomes by preventing them.

You never realize just how wrong you've been raised up until you read this book. Glenn and Nelsen touch on some of the simplest, yet biggest aspects plaguing our society today. This book covers everything on how to fix social barriers and generally become a better person while allowing others the same opportunity. I honestly believe that everyone should read this book. Even if you don't have children of your own, the principals it teaches can be applied universally. You'll realize now the right and wrong ways to associate with people. Must... read... book...

"The Reluctant Messenger of Science and Religion" is a study in how science and the world religions are not in conflict with each other and need each other to form a complete picture. To make it less of a laborious read it is presented in the format of a novel. It starts with two members of debate societies debating over whether science is correct about the creation of the earth or religion is correct. From there we follow both the losing and winning debater through a series of life changing and illuminating events that effectively illustrate the authors' beliefs. It is very well written for a book of this sort and teaches the viewpoint that there are other interpretations of various Bible passages that are not in conflict with science. In fact there are several areas where the teachings are actually a return to the older beliefs. The book also freely examines other religious views from Islam to Hinduism, Buddhism to Sufi and brings them into the discussion.

Strong conservatives from almost any religious teaching will probably have a problem with this book as it attempts to bring harmony between the various beliefs and show that they are all parts of a more complete whole. Since most conservatives by definition believe that their view is right and any other is blasphemy I would expect them to have at least some difficulties. On the other hand, those with an open spirit will probably find it one of their favorite books.

Having said this, I would be failing my obligation to my readers if I did not point out that there are several editing problems of a nature that I would not expect in a finished product. While I did not make a note of them as I went along there are maybe ten to fifteen in the book - far more than the two to three maximum that I expect. As an example, page 235 has the sentence "Chester spoke to know one in particular". Although annoying, they don't interrupt the flow of the book too much and the authors make their point very clearly. It is only because of these errors that this is a recommended read and not a highly recommended read.

The website is so vast, that it was almost inconceivable to imagine that a book relatively small as this one, would do justice to the premise that all religions as well as science have to be seen together to uncover the truth.
But the Drs. Boston have managed to produce just that! The Reluctant Messenger is a book that satisfies the reader of a skeptical Chester's adventures with religion and science with the Master, which are on the website, and introduces a new juxtaposition: that of Lydia who is a believer of one religion alone. Coming together in a debate spirals each into a search for peace; in two differing directions: one in remote areas of India, and the other within the remote areas of conventional religion. The seeming innocuousness of the physical setting hides the breathtaking journeys each of them takes to the far reaches of human belief, faith and knowledge.
Those who have made a study of religion and/or of science, will not be disappointed: this book is a masterly progression of elegantly presented word diagrams that explain just how the different religions as well as science do fit together into a magnificent picture. There is a masterly change of pace from the sublime to the mundane: descriptions of a meditation of different dimensions and the clearing up of a breakfast table.
The tolerant among us are used to thinking that each religion leads to God- but that all religions together do that; and that science is not just a re-discovery of old facts but a re-presentation of them: that is indeed a unique perspective.
But what of the stories of Lydia and Chester? Do they come together once again? As the book progresses, so do they; and as we are caught up in their lives, it appears that we will need a sequel to find that out!

I read the book three times before righting this review,this book is incredible, mind boggling and as it states it has that missing piece of the perfect puzzle! ...
Stephen W. Boston, is the one who brought me to G-D, and also has enlightened my life with Truth, and now has given me a map to the path of awareness. This book is essential to anyone who
is on a journey with G-D.
Thank you Stephen I cherish all you have taught me.