This book is a necessary addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in american literature. Jim McClintock is an athority on London and this book demonstrates his vast knowledge.

This book is a fabulous explanation of all things that adolescence hands us. As a youth group leader, I'm thrilled to be able to offer this to parents to use when they have 'the talk' with their kids. James Watkins asked over 1000 kids to ask the tough questions about sex - he did the research and answered them honestly, with no holds barred. Good moral background is given and nothing is ignored or glossed over. I've purchased at least 5 copies in the last month - just to hand out.

There are only a few books I've ever read that I thought were important enough to buy a few more copies to give away. This is one of them. It's one of the best books I've ever read on the subjects of nutrition or medicine. Dr. Lonsdale's story of how he became completely disenchanted with the current "modern" model of Western medicine, which treats symptoms and never really gets at the root causes of illness, is an eye-opener. Through the story of his own medical training and practice, and through many clinical examples of his patients over the years, Dr. Lonsdale demonstrates how important nutrition is to your health. Everyone knows that "you are what you eat," but most people haven't really taken it to heart and made an effort to change their typical American diet. For these people, reading Dr. Lonsdale's clear, understandable explanations of how your body and brain utilize vitamins, minerals, and enzymes at the molecular level, and the devastating effects of a deficiency of any particular nutrient, will be a wake-up call. Many people, particularly American-trained doctors, will find some of Dr. Lonsdale's ideas (e.g., vitamin therapy) too extreme, but if reading this book doesn't at least open their mind a little to alternative ways of viewing the whole concept of "illness," then nothing will

Points to ponder through out the day, applicable to the needs in one's spiritual life are Scripturally based and are clearly and insightfully represented by Dr. Packer. I have read this book again and again for inspiration.

This book is a delight -- it is a great book for emergent readers, but it is more fun to read out loud. Zack's alligator has attitude -- and the giggles from my daughter made it a book we had to add to her personal library.

Built To Last was an extremely thought provoking and eye opening read. Built To Last studies some of the most successful (called the leading companies) and the following companies (non-leaders in an industry). The research for this book produced surprising results for the authors (and the reader). The authors found the there were at least twelve commonly held businesses beliefs that their research refuted. In essence these dearly held business beliefs were myths.

Here is a look at each of the twelve myths and a sound byte describing each:

1. It takes a great idea to start a company Few visionary companies started with a great idea. Many companies started without any specific ideas (HP and Sony) and others were outright failures (3M). In fact a great idea may lead to road of not being able to adapt.

2. Visionary companies require great and charismatic visionary leaders A charismatic leader in not required and, in fact, can be detrimental to a company's long-term prospects.

3. The most successful companies exist first and foremost to maximize profits Not true. Profit counts, but is usually not at the top of the list.

4. Visionary companies share a common subset of "correct" core values They all have core values, but each is unique to a company and it's culture.

5. The only constant is change The core values can and often do last more then 100 years.

6. Blue-chip companies play it safe They take significant bet the company risks.

7. Visionary companies are great places to work, for everyone These companies are only great places to work if you fit the vision and culture.

8. Highly successful companies make some of their best moves by brilliant and complex strategic planning. They actually try a bunch of stuff and keep what works.

9. Companies should hire outside CEOs to stimulate fundamental change Most have had their change agents come from within the system.

10. The most successful companies focus primarily on beating the competition. They focus on beating themselves.

11. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Decisions don't have to either or, but can be boths.

12. Companies become visionary primarily through "vision statements". Vision is not a statement it is the way you do business.

I would recommend this book to anyone engaged in developing and running a business at any level. If you want to design, build and run a lasting enterprise this book has some ideas and insights worth exploring.

"Built to Last" is one of those rare non-fiction books you just can't put down. Unequivocally the best "business" book I have ever read, "Built to Last" by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras is a compelling, thorough, well-written, unprecedented look at what it takes to "create and achieve long-lasting greatness as a visionary corporation." Unlike many current "trendy" management and "business success" books out on the market, Collins and Porras differentiate "Built to Last" by using their own six-year comprehensive, well-documented research study as the basis for further analysis.

What separates "Built to Last" is that each visionary company (3M, HP, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart...) is contrasted with a comparison company founded in the same time, in the same industry, with similar founding products and markets (Norton, TI, Colgate, Ames...). Perhaps what I found most intriguing were some of the twelve "shattered myths" they go on to counter throughout the book:

1. It takes a great idea to start a great company
2. Visionary companies require great and charismatic visionary leaders
3. Visionary companies share a common subset of "correct" core values
4. Highly successful companies make their best moves by brilliant and complex strategic planning
5. The most successful companies focus primarily on beating the competition

As a current business student with a summer internship in a "visionary company," I was amazed as their careful analysis rang true. This is one book I can highly recommend to any student, professional, or business educator looking for those not-so-subtle traits that characterize a truly visionary company.

This is "must" reading for senior managers!
Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

What a relief to read a wise book that is also witty, daring and playful. James Barron has lived the problem--and solved it--not just for himself but for a lot of guys. Barron travels the male psyche--hertofore the rockiest of roads--and makes the journey fun and easy. It's a great book fora woman to give to the guy she loves--it will help him make good choices.

Found this book to be insightful and really to the point. Reading it was like having conversations with a lot of my commitmentphobic male friends who have been in long term relationships and found this and eye opening piece. Where was this book months ago when I could have really used it with a commitment-shy guy? Not only does it go into detail about the psyche but also ways of overcoming them.

I'm sending my copy to a good friend of mine who has been in a relationship with a nice woman for 4 years. Many of the scenarios in this book have been played out in their relationship and I think it could be a valuable tool for them both.

Thanks for this one Mr. Barron.

Nice job Mr. B. for capturing my life on these pages - but where were you when I need you! I was (honestly) an evolved, caring, capable of intimacy guy who was classically marriage-phobic -- having lots of fun, many really good relationships (several 1-3 years long) but in the end still stuck, and walked (ran, usually, ambivalently torturing myself....) away from some pretty wonderful women because "I wasn't ready", whatever that meant. I finally figured it out, (no help from you thanks), got married at 42 years old and now have two beautiful children who I wouldn't trade for the world. For any man out there who sounds like me - - - read this book.

James W. Huston does a terrific job handling the fallout from "The Balance of Power." While the first chapter with the kidnapping of an American corporate exec and his wife is written in a rather choppy style, it improves by leaps and bounds after that. The scenes involving Admiral Billings' court-martial are flat out excellent. Huston presents great arguments on both sides. One moment you think Billings will come out OK, the next it appears he has no chance to win. I do wish the impeachment trial of the President was done better. Those scenes were just not as compelling as the Billings court-martial. Again Congressional aide Jim Dillon is a first rate hero. At times he seems over his head, but that first class mind of his is always working to get out of what appear to be no-win situations. The return of the terrorist who calls himself George Washington is a great monkey in the wrench. He's more ruthless in this book than in "Balance." Even with the two problem areas I mentioned, the book overall is a winner.

James Huston has done what few writers succeed in doing -- creating a sequel that is as good as, if not better than, the original. I would have rated this book "4 1/2 stars" if the Amazon rating system allowed me to.

Like Balance Of Power, The Price Of Power is a political/military thriller that grabs your attention right from the start and never lets go. The action is electrifying, the characters are very well- developed and the dialogue is crisp and realistic. You could almost envision seeing and listening to Bill Clinton in some respects if you try real hard. While 501 pages in length, there isn't one page that you'll be sorry you read.

The Price Of Honor is a book you won't want to miss. But do yourself a favor and read Balance Of Power first. Enjoy them both!

What a great follow-up to Huston's first novel. Pardon the cliche, but, I couldn't put it down. Fast-moving, plausible, and a true political thriller that weaves great action seamlessly into the storyline. The only negative comment I have is that I don't see a third book in this "series". Not really sure if the same characters can be utilized again. I was a Huston fan after "Balance of Power". Now I am a "groupie".

Presumably the reason why one would buy this book is to learn to read and write Japanese. However, all of the kanji are presented in isolation, not in the context of a sentence . No space is given to testing what you've learned. If you spend two weeks "learning" a few dozen of the kanji presented here, I guarantee within a month you will have forgotten all of them. Also any serious student of Japanese should be using hiragana and katakana in the learning process, not romaji. I've wasted mega Yen on countless Japanese books. Take my advice - "Japanese for Busy People Vol. 1 & 2", "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammer" by Makino, The Complete Japanese Verb Guide" by Hiroo Jpn. Ctr., "Kanji Power" by Millen, and "Essential Kanji" by O"Neill - are what you need!

I have studied Japanese for several years and can now read over 2000 characters and write the majority of those...I appreciate Heiseg's positive attitude regarding Kanji learning, but the rapid pace of Kanji aquisition he profeses in the introduction is misleading. Many of my friends swear by this method, but so far none has mastered over half of the Kanji using this method. I'm agnostic as to the effectiveness, but repetiton and contextual learning ensure lasting recognition. By the way, for those serious about knowing over 2500 or so characters in the long term, I would recommend the "grouping" approach found in Pye's book. (Heisig's book III may be helpful reference to complement Pye in making your own grouped flash cards.) In the end the mnemonic device is overused in Heisig's series.

I want to ditto paulbakker@hotmail.com's previous review, and add:

Particularly if you are living in Japan, and don't have full time to study, Heisig's system is frustrating. After Book One, (which at 1 hour a day takes about 1/2 year to get through) you know how to write "gall bladder" but can't read the sign in the local depaato that says "iriguchi". Also, many of the keywords are quite far from the kanji's true nuance (i.e., "nothingness" for "naku naru"). Contrary to Heisig's claim, the original keyword, (like the use of romanji), will forever color your understanding of correct Japanese. I.e., the criticism that kanji must be learned in context is to be taken seriously.

I do recommend buying Heisig's book because the imaginative memory system is brilliant and will inetivably aid your kanji study.

However, most important:

I don't recommend using any single author's system for learning the kanji, no matter how brilliant, fast, or self-contained it may seem. Instead, develop your own system based on your own personal learning style. As for me, that's a flash card system based on imaginative memory, pictographics, historical derevation (via. Henshall), sound associations and an ordering system based on the not-yet mentioned book by Habein & Mathias (The Complete Guide to Everyday Kanji - EXCELLENT), and my daily encounters with the kanji. However, for you, I hope, the system will be different and your very own.

The Old Scofield Study Bible (KJV) is one of a kind. Let me be honest right from the start by saying that God's Word does not make any sense unless it is understood with a dispensational perspective. Anything less than that, and your stuck with a Bible that contradicts itself all over the place. All a believer has to do is allow God's Word to interpret itself, instead of listening to the so-called scholars of higher Christian education. They are the main reason for the Laodicean apostasy we find ourselves in today. Scofield did a good job at letting God's Book speak for itself. I have discovered by experience that most of the study bibles out there on the market today are filled with nothing but the authors private interpretation of the scriptures. What's so difficult about just believing what God's Word says, and not adding your own thoughts to it. The Scofield Study Bible does have it's weaknesses on certain passages, but overall it surpasses any other study bible currently out there. With all due respect, people that haven't discovered this have never really searched and studied the Book "with their hearts" well enough to make any worthwhile comment on the subject. Given the choice, I choose to listen and trust God's Word, and not the liberal Christian scholars. Ahhh, there's nothing like a King James Bible to clear up a college education.

Great binding, soft (real not pressed) leather and the notes are helpful and handy. Someone else suggested The Companion Bible as a better study Bible. I have to disagree. Scofields notes are only to help guide you, the Companion Bible will bogg you down (and build your arms) with far too many notes to be helpful to the average reader. I have the same feelings for the Ryrie Study Bible. Scofield is the way to go and Oxford Press offers a high quality Bible at a good price. (note: avoid the so-called "New" Scofield, buy the "Old" Scofield Study Bible)

I got the New Scofield NIV pretty much the moment it came out. It was my first "real" bible. I had a couple of cheap $5.00 paperbacks, but not a true study bible. This was the first one I ever read cover-to-cover, Genesis 1:1 to Revelations 22:21. It was a tremendous benefit to me, and has become my favorite Study Bible once again recently (now that I'm entering Fuller TS).

With that said, this is a better Study Bible for an advanced student than for a beginer. It's conservative in terms of footnoting. Many pages have no footnotes. However, each note provided contains a serious theological meat. Pure meat no filler. The cross-reference system is also the best and most advanced I've ever seen (I like it better than Thompson's).

I don't agree completely with the classic dispensational theology, and I don't agree completely with the NIV translators, but with that said, this is probably the best overall study system on the market.