I borrowed this book from a friend and had to obtain a copy for my own personal library.

The introduction is so moving that anyone interested in modern Irish History will not put it down.

Connolly's viewpoints on Socialism, Nationalism, and the Catholic Church lifted an enormous cloud of confusion I have had since my early schooldays in Belfast.

This book does an excellent job of exploring the many contradictions of the life and career of an artist who was both his own biggest fan/promoter and his own harshest critic. The book presents the many talents (artist,etcher,interior designer to name a few) and his many flaws (vain, arrogant, bitter and self serving attitude) while still showing the human side of the artist . The illustrations are complete and a glorious showing of both his popular works as well as his less known pieces. The triad of this book, "Diabolical Designs" and "Beyond the Myth" reveal an artist who deserves much more critical and popular attention.

"The question is not what you look at, but what you SEE."- -H.D. Thoreau

This quote from Thoreau aptly applies to the work of Flagstaff, AZ. artist James Turrell. Turrell has been fascinated all his life with the concept of light and its use in art and architecture. Add to this his notion that the individual should experience this art alone, embracing what the piece has, and does not have, to offer, and one has the basic mindset to take on his art.

To best experience Turrell, one needs to go to an exhibit and take the time necessary to participate IN his art. Like a good book or good music, art reqires a level of active participation to fully realize the piece's potential and to maximize its impact. A Turrell exhibit is a glorious thing- each person actively participates, taking in his color concepts, becoming one with them. Whether in one of his famed "skyspaces," where the participants sit in a consistently lighted room to look through an oval shaped hole in the roof at dusk to watch the changing lighting patterns- the light from the roof diminishes and the consistent railing lighting in the room dominates- or vice versa if one sees the exhibit at dawn, to his "dark rooms" where the viewer is in a 99.9% darkened room with the faint glimpse of an outline of light, allowing the mind and eyes of the viewer to re-conceive its surroundings and realities- not unlike an ink blot test, but in the dark, Turrell's pieces are challenging the concept of light and how each of us perceive it and use it in our lives.

What his art offers is vividly displayed in this book, a wonderfully in-depth one that showcases his growth and remarkable consistency brilliantly. His art is eclectic, ranging from the aforementioned "dark rooms," "Skyscapes," "blue rooms" (viewers in a room with a blue light dominating it, again, challenging perceptions and optics), to a recent "skyscape" that allowed perceived viewings of an eclipse, to his re-construction of a dormant crater (outside of Flagstaff, AZ) to allow unique views of the sky, light, the world. Each piece of art challenges the concept of optical illusion vs. reality- the light offers 3 dimenstional viewing in a 2 dimensional world based on angles of the light, the walls, etc- as well as the common perceptions of light in art.

Again, Turrell should be viewed in a proper exhibit, but this book offers a brilliant overview of his career. The text is in both German and English, but still offers precise pictures, diagrams,and Turrell's philosophies on art, light, and the world. It's a brilliant work by one of today's foremost artists.

I have read many commentaries and Barclay and John MacArthur are the best in my opinion. Barclay is the easiest to read. He aims at the people to which it is written, the culture in which it is written and the language at the time. Barclay is the most quoted in terms of history. Very, very interesting reading.

This is a must have book for anyone who cares about low scores and fun on the golf course. Mr. Peters provides several quick drills for any swing fault. When any little part or piece of your game goes out of whack, he gives several drills to quicky put you back on track. No serious golfer should be without this book.

In fact do NOT recommend this book to your friends. I may be playing them, and not having this book is a definate handicap.

This book is short, but sweet. The illustrations are nothing less than astonishing and the plot is very good.

This is the first book I've ever read on the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). I got the book after reading a history of paper and thought knowing more about this famous treasure trove of ancient scrolls would make interesting reading. I was not disappointed.

The book is nothing if not comprehensive and inclusive. Vanderkam teaches theology at Notre Dame and Flint is co-director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. Together, they have produced a comprehensive and easy to read introduction to the subject. They discuss the evidence and the controversies. It is not a didactic tract seeking to make converts, though. If you want an more emotional or intuitive experience of the words written down so long ago, a different text might be appropriate.

It starts with the discovery of the scrolls near Khirbet Qumran, tracing the various Bedouins, art dealers and scholars who identified the scrolls and brought them to world wide attention. We are then treated to a history of 'digs' near the discovery caves and a tentative outline of what we know from the physical evidence. This history includes the rather sad story of scroll deterioration since discovery.

With the physical evidence covered, the authors turn to a detailed review of what we think the scrolls actually say. Scholars think that most of the material represents copies of ancient text that served as 'source' for existent copies, the earliest of which was created about 400 AD. Thus, all our traditional texts are relatively recent copies. In contrast, the DSS were created between 150 BC and 68 AD, 500 years earlier. In essence, the DSS provide a way to 'check' on Jewish, Samaritan and Christian traditions for copying their theological references.

The next section reviews what we know about the 'community' responsible for the scrolls. At this point, the book becomes consciously speculative. The scrolls don't include a tour guide, so we really don't know who copied/wrote all this stuff. The most popular theory involves the Essenes, but the authors are careful to give voice to all the extant theories.

Finally, the book concludes with a review of implications (if any) on how scholars think the DSS relate to the Christian New Testament. The list includes theories the authors dismiss, but they do a good job of putting each theory in the best light possible. The book if nothing, if not inclusive.

"The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls" will enrich your understanding of all ancient texts. There are no cataclysmic revelations, just a filling in of a few blanks, corrections for a few mistaken verse translations and confirmation of translation for others. For me, it simply authenticates New Testament writings. One doesn't have to take the New Testament commentary as gospel, but it definitely looks like an authentic product of the era between 25 - 100 AD.

In this book VanderKam and Flint present an in-depth survey of the Dead Sea Scrolls with many insights making the book worthy enough of a scholar to read, or in another sense, worthy of the two scholars who wrote it.

The book begins with the discovery, dating, and preservation of the DSS. The archaeological work of de Vaux is well spoken of, but V and F point out his dating may need some adjustment. The site may not have been occupied until the 1st century BCE. There may have been no 30 year gap between Periods I and II. And Yaakov Mosherer (more of his work on coins ought to be read) points out that coins from years four and five of the Revolt are rarer, so there is no need to posit that Qumran was destroyed before 73 BCE.

In their survey of the DSS and Scripture, V and F mention that Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem with a verse missing. For those who do not know, an acrostic poem is one in which the successive verses begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Masoretic Text and English versions based upon it, Psalm 145 skips the "nun" verse which would occur right after verse 13 in English versions. One of the DSS texts contains the missing verse. The verse from 11QPsA may be translated "God is faithful in his words and gracious in all his deeds."

One will want to grab her/his favorite version of the DSS texts as he makes his way through the sections on the non-biblical texts. There is no text of the Book of Esther among the DSS. However there is a *proto-Esther* to be found. The fragments known as 4Q550 clearly show similarities with the Book of Esther though the same story is not told. For all of the scrolls found among the DSS, one might get the impression that the library was comprehensive. Actually it was not. Works such as the Wisdom of Solomon and other Jewish Greek works are absent. Also notably absent is the pro-Hasmonean 1 Maccabees.

Most readers will pay avid attention to Part Four of the book on the relationship of the DSS to the New Testament. Dispelled are the theories of O'Callaghan, Allegro, and others. The connections between the DSS and the NT are generally nuanced. 4Q521 supports the idea that Jesus saw himself as Israel's Messiah. However Luke 7.21-22 is not a direct quote of 4Q521. Rather it shows that Jesus adopted an extant manner of speaking and gave it his own spin. Common to nowhere else in ancient writings than in 4QMMT and the Pauline writings is the
phrase "works of the law." Because of 4QMMT some scholars are rethinking the traditional Protestant thinking of the use of the phrase in Paul.

The last section is on controversies surrounding the DSS. The recent availability of the DSS in such books as Abegg's _DSS Bible_ and Garcia Martinez's _DSS Translated_ have made us forget that once upon a time Solomon Zeitlin wrote a series of articles in which he claimed the DSS were medieval documents. More recently was the lawsuit by Qimron against Shanks. This section is followed by four appendices one of which is a bibliography of translations and editions of the DSS.

In sum VanderKam and Flint have written a very thorough and very readable survey of the DSS. It is surely worthy reading for those of us who like to read and worthy reading for a scholar as well.

This tape series taught me how to lead a disciplined and mentally tough life. It applies to both professional and personal aspects of my life. The teaching is simple with lots of real life examples. It even taught me how to stay patient while sitting in a traffic jam!! I highly recommend this to anyone who is challenged at any time by lack of discipline, stress, anger, and/or frustration in life!

This is a great book for preventive measures toward good health. It offers balanced nutritional information by an dietician. The recipes are superb for those who need to be careful with dairy or meat products.

The passage of nearly 40 years, has shown the test of time for the following poets featured in New Directions 18: Gregory Corso, Russell Edson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Denise Levertov, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Thomas Merton. They and many others prove this collection to be worthy of any collector studying the early work of these famous writers.

Editor James Laughlin provides an "exhibition gallery in book form" for experimental and unconventional writing including a previously unpublished film scenario by Lorca, seven poems and a translation by the late Denise Levertov plus five zany parables from a young Russell Edson. This is fine reading with a historical look back into the early Sixties.