I am a youth pastor in a local church. I have often struggled with the current model we have of the American church. The traditions we hold so dear are so often not based on clear New Testament teachings. I have longed for a church where "one another" passages are lived out, where accountability is strong, where the pastor is not a CEO but a servant, where leaders are biblically chosen and where the Church is not divided on various theological camps. The only place to usually find this, sadly to say, is in cults (where the gospel is not preached in its power or truth).

Banks will offer you hope if you are like me and you are burned out on "church as usual." He will challange you to examine Scripture with fresh insights into house churches in their historical context. He will challange your notion of "Church" in our westernized thinking and will lead you to a biblical and fresh restoration of the true Church of Jesus Christ. We must move away from the Institutionalized church and return to the New Testament pattern that Banks gives in detail in this book.

Robert Banks interpritation of the Apostal Pauls view of the Church is enlightening to the modern reader of the New Testament. Banks presents a contextual historical account of St. Paul's understanding of the Church of his day, which in return spurs the thoughts of the reader to contemplate the state of the Church in this day and age. This is an excelent book for those interested in understanding the historical beginings of the Church as well as what Paul understood the church to be. I recommend this book to all who are contemplating what the Church is called to be in this day and age, by looking at what it originaly was.

This book goes step by step to build what u need and desire. The ideas are freash and new and easy to apply. You don't feel alone when u have this book with you. If u can read u can build a shed using this book. A few words of warning. Don't let ur kids get to this book because they will building sheds all over the place it's that simple. Excellent Book

Very Goo

this is my 5th edition -- why is it less than the 4th edition? On the corrections link I could not go above 3rd edition.

my email has changed to pond@ee.net

I am also a faithful customer and you have my new email address.

:) Bob Pond

This book is well written and includes many practical examples and illustrations. It provides Minitab macros for computations and includes modern advances including the bootstrap. These macros are written out in an appendix and the data sets used are also listed in an appendix. The data and macros can be used on the computer throught the floppy diskette that comes attached to the book. The authors show exact calculations of the bootstrap distribution for the median. This is useful text that I referenced in my book on the bootstrap. The level of the book is intermediate and is appropriate for an advanced undergraduate or a graduate course in modern statistical inference. It covers both the robust estimation of location and scale and has a nice bibliography of the literature as of 1990. It also includes many advanced topics such as the two-sample problem, robust regression and time series. Chapter 1 introduces modern advances in statistics and provides motivation for robust methods. The authors emphasize the importance of computing in modern statistics but also provide a sound warning against the over-reliance on computers. They make a serious effort to mix theory and practice, covering the important asymptotic results and theoretical concepts and also providing practical examples mainly from biology and the physical sciences.

This is a fine starter book for the first time home owner. In the first few pages, I had the answers to the three major problems I had been dealing with! Nice and straightforward catch-all book on working over existing stuff or putting in new.

I picked up this book in Home Depot back in 1997. At a glance I found out how to take out a load bearing wall, something I needed to do. I bought the book, and with it I had the confidence to take on a major remodel of my house. The book has everything, from framing an addition to fixing a leaky faucet. I consult it often. Right now (03/2002) I'm using it to build a shed. The language is clear and concise and the book doesn't waste words. I recommend it highly.

I, recently, purchased this boook (my brother said he had one, and it was great). I flipped through most of the book -- it isn't the kind of book you sit down and read straight through. I've done a fair amount of handyman stuff around the house (I just replaced the motor in my dryer - which wasn't too difficult once I had the right parts). Well, as I flipped through the book, I would stop and read sections which interested me. There are well-written sections on, basically, everything about a house and what is in it. After spending about an hour scanning the book, I said to my wife: "You could build a house with the information that is in here!" It is one of those "I'm glad I bought this book" books. A great book to have if you're looking for stuff to do around the house; it is a real "Home Improvement Encyclopedia."

Contrary to the previous reviewer's belief, this text has nothing to do with "installation" of "satellite dishes"... The subject of this book is phased array antenna design... It does a reasonably decent job... It's nicely focused on it's subject... As always, where Artech published books are concerned, it's a bit overpriced for what it provides, but it's still a reasonably good buy... (Handy man???)

this book completely tells you everything about all types of antennas and satellite dishes too!!!! It won't lie and tell you its easy to do, because its definitly not. But you will feel confident with this book. Kind of like a "handy man to go".

This book is a good collector's item for those who love hearing about how Churchill, Reagan, JFK, FDR, Calvin Coolidge and countless others infuse some humor into their political lives. It was quick reading and funny, and truly bipartisan. Dole's contributions were good as well, but most of the book is quotes from other statesmen. (Question: What is a statesman? Answer: A politician who has been dead ten years. It's from the book.) A good one to have on the shelf if you like politics, would make a great gift for someone who does. And you don't have to like Bob Dole to like it, though it doesn't hurt.

I am a big fan of Bob Dole, and I certainly wish that he had shown this side of himself while he was running for President - he might have won. But this book lets the reader know what those of us who have followed Dole for a long time have always known, Bob Dole has a great sense of humor and a great appreciatation of humor. The book itself doesn't contain a lot of "Doleisms". Probably because his own brand of humor is a little to dry and a little too barbed to lend itself well to print. (My favorite line from Dole was one he uttered on "The Daily Show" during last year's Presidential Primaries: "Al Gore has done more for No Doz than I have ever done for Viagra.") The book itself is small, easy to read, well organized and always respectful of the other politicians and their targets when applicable.

Fun little read, thumbs up.

The minute I got home from the book store, I began reading the book and I had a hard time putting it down. As I was reading the book, I realized that this was not the Bob Dole that the public got to know during his 30 plus years as a public servant. The jokes were very humorous. From this book, we are able to see a side of Bob Dole that not too many people had the privilidge to see during the 1996 presidential campaign. This book was a worthwhile investment. I loved the book!

I have read this book by Mr. Regalbuto and have used the information on many trips around the country. For anyone looking for a spiritual high and no frills economy in lodging and meals the information is invaluable. The clear directions and information about these havens of retreat from worldly concern make it easy to experience a bit of heaven on earth. Such practical information I have not found elsewhere.

First of all, I am not much of a traveler, but many in my family our. This is a wonderful book for family who sometimes need to get away from everyday life and don't know where to go. I thank Robert Regalbuto for doing his homework on the places of interest. Enjoy....

As a child growing up in Connecticut there was always a mystique but a certain serene feeling that I would experience when we would go to the monastery to pick up our mother after she attended a retreat or picked up mass cards. I experienced that same calm when I visited centuries old castles and churches in Europe. The only other experience similar for me is to be in a museum or at the ocean-they are always there for me, secure and comforting. Robert Regalbuto's wonderful book "A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses" fourth edition, is a concise volume that I love. I love it because with it's gems of anecdotal information and necessary addresses, phone numbers etc. I am able to visit monasteries throughout the United States and Canada in order to relive that serenity I found whenever we visited the monastery to collect Mother after her day of good works.

My copy is nearly a year and a half old, and amazingly, looks "almost new". Of everything I own, it's the only item that gets abuse, and abuse it gets. It gets dropped, laid open with other books on top of it, etc. I use it constantly. I must. I'm a terrible speller.

Rarely do I look up a word that's not included (and I look up some obscure ones !), and it has lots of extras. The "New Words" section is funny. It has everything from "Abs" to "Yada-yada-yada"..."Guide for Writers" (I should read that someday !)..."Avoiding Insensitive and Offensive Language" for the politically correct out there..."Glossary of Business Terms" if you need to figure out the fine print on a document, and much more.

The words entries are in a bold clear print, making them easy to find, and the quality of the paper is excellent and of a good thickness (I have many dictionaries with paper so thin the print on the reverse side is visible).
It's a sturdy little volume, ideal for daily use, and it's bright red and yellow cover makes it a cheerful one too.

With 60,000 entries and fine clear typeface this 7 X 4-1/4 X 1-3/4 portable is just the ticket for the reading table. Its beautiful glossy, dark red cover makes it a nice accent piece as well.

Unfortunately it does not travel well, since the cover and binding can not take much abuse. For the briefcase and the beach, the Langenscheidt Pocket Merriam-Webster (also 60,000 entries) with its slightly smaller size, sturdy binding, and flexible yellow plastic cover is better suited.