My voice teacher recommended Christy's "Expressive Singing" when I was studying opera. I found it helpful, although the photos were already dated. Recently I discovered "Foundations in Singing" in my public library. Impressed with its concepts, exercises, & approach, I puschased my own copy and use "Foundations" when I teach others. The cassette tape completes the set. My only reservation is the cost - ouch! Grudgingly, I must admit it was worth it to "bite the bullet" and buy the set. Hope this is helpful.

"My own voice teacher recommended Van Christy's "Expressive Singing" to me years ago when I was an opera student. It was most helpful. I must admit, however, "Foundations in Singing" is great for beginning students. I have elected to use it with my voice students. The cassette tape adds an additional dimension to the text: The demonstration of exercises is quite helpful. The song collection covers a wide range of styles and languages, while reinforcing the concepts in the text.

This is a clear, concise no-nonsense introduction for vocal students with a list of additional resources at the end of each of 12 chapters. It is supplemented by nearly 200 pages of wonderful, varied songs, many arranged for both high and low voice, with piano accompaniment. The music ranges from simple folk tunes through Broadway hits to art songs and arias in foreign languages. Appendixes provide guides to musical terms, the international phonetic alphabet, and tips on singing in selected foreign languages. Helpful for anyone embarking on improving vocal technique.

This thin little book is no lightweight. It's a Trojan horse that delivers timeless substance from the Scriptures on how to think about and live the Christian life. It reaches head and heart, and so is extremely practical--without being a simplistic "how-to" book. I have used it in a number of one-on-one discipling relationships; its small size makes it manageable and appealing to busy people, but God uses its substantive and convicting teaching to affect lives. Buy a copy for yourself and another for someone you care about, and get ready for sharpening discussions.

How do you review a book such as this one? When I first read this book several years ago, it changed the way I thought and lived the Christian life. Now, rereading it some years later, it reminds me of just how foundational it was in my way of thinking of "the Christian life". Especially in the way it taught me (and others through me who I teach) how important and "normal" is suffering in the true Christian life. It is through suffering God conforms us to the image of Christ.

This is a volume taken from the third volume of 'Calvin's Institutes' and has been incredibly helpful for Christians for over 400 years! One of the things you will find about this book is how extremely easy it is to understand it, as well as practical (in fact it is almost like it was written yesterday). Oftentimes, it is easy to think that a book written originally in the 16th century would be both difficult and impractical! However, this book is biblically crystal clear as well as useful! I have given this book away often and I have only seen growth in those to whom I have given it! May it be a new book for you, or one you buy again for a friend.

Calvin is the master exegete. Calvin pastors his readers with a glimpse into the eternal purposes of suffering. The author encourages the suffering saint to see that Jesus Christ was the ultimate suffering servant and that our temporal afflictions are sent from God to cause us to rely on Christ and promote obedience, sobriety, righteousness and godliness. The book is a quick, understandable read as it is a distillation of portions of his "Institutes." This work should dispel the false notion that all that interests Calvin is predestination!

I have been to workshops with John Van Auken and he has
a tremendous capacity and knowledge of ancient wisdom...that
seems to supercede what one can learn from distilling normal
history books, on site investigations, and even reading the
Edgar Cayce material...its as if he "lived there, lived then,
and has a remarkable capacity to remember it all and reveal it
clearly and effectively"....
This book is another splendid example of John's crystal
clear and profoundly deep capacity to share his knowledge
in a manner that both layman and passionate scholar can grasp.

What is a myth? Perhaps it's a story that isn't true on the outside, but is true on the inside. The tension between what our heart's intuition tells us and what we can actually experience on the outside is a source of great creativity and development, both personal and for the human race. Cayce's story of the history and destiny of humanity is a lesson here. Not only does his story include our spiritual creation and its purpose, but also the external history of life on planet earth, including predictions about major changes ahead. Is this story a myth? For many of those who contemplate it, his story is stimulating and spiritually fulfilling, which is what a good myth should do, whereas traditional religion has lost its ability to inspire. But Cayce presents his story as being literally true. Did things really happen the way he tells it?One of the fascinating aspects of his story concerns the existence of "Halls of Records," where this history is recorded. He said that one such Hall of Records was in Yucatan, Mexico. Furthermore, he said that at this site, there was also evidence of another key element in Cayce's story--the (in)famous "Firestone Crystal" of Atlantis, which was their source of power, but which had been misused and helped bring down that civilization.I vividly remember discovering the Edgar Cayce material and having my imagination sparked as never before by the story of the Firestone and its connection with Mayan imagery. Soon I was making pilgrimages to Yucatan to search for the Hall of Records. Whereas the external search was expensive and proved beyond my skill range, an inner search was also in progress and was more rewarding. I developed a symbolic meaning for the Firestone crystal; namely, that there is a dormant power of consciousness that can be awakened in spiritual community. Through group dream work (such as Atlantic University's Sundance: The Community Dream Journal) and interpersonal intuition of the heart, I was able to verify the tremendous creative power and wisdom that may be unleashed through cooperation when individuality is given equal footing with the unitive effort. As I became more involved with researching the inner meaning of the Firestone, my fascination with Yucatan and prehistory faded.But today I am inspired to turnabout, to look again with interest toward the outer side of the story. What motivates this revival comes through the publication of a significant book, The lost hall of records: Edgar Cayce's forgotten record in the ancient Yucatan (Eagle Wing Books). The author's, John Van Auken, a past executive director at A.R.E., and Lora Little, Ed.D., a psychologist, have spent years correlating information in the Edgar Cayce material with archaeological findings. In their meticulously researched book they have integrated a panoramic view of Cayce's spiritual story with scientific findings that take the story out of realm of pure myth and into the realm of history. Archaeological research, including advances in the interpretation of Mayan heiroglyphs and what they reveal about the Mayans' astonishing astronomical observations, has made it possible as never before to suggest that Cayce's story just might be true on the outside. Moreover, Van Auken and Little's research has made a significant breakthrough that makes their book as newsworthy as it is inspiring.A key point in Cayce's remote viewing of the Mayan archaeological findings concerned some artifacts, emblems of the Firestone, that were stored in the University of Pennsylvania museum. Previous investigations had failed to locate these artifacts in the museum's collection. The authors make a strong case, however, that the artifacts in question were those found in the site known as Piedras Negras, a Mayan ruins in Guatamala. Not in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, but part of the Mayan civilization in the general area of the Yucatan pennisula, nevertheless Piedras Negras could easily be described by Cayce's psychic perception as "Yucatan." Making this slight shift in focal point has unleased a provocative set of new findings. Athough there isn't space here to detail all the nitty gritty that the authors combine to paint a credible hypothesis about the external validation of Cayce's story, suffice it to say that they've excited me again to the possibility that there just might be a Hall of Records in that tropical jungle, as well as a model of the Firestone crystal.I am reminded of Cayce's statement that the records would be found and could be read only when the consciousness of the seeker matched the contents of those records. The lesson for me is that while an inner search is important, not to be forgotten is that it is equally important to look to the outer reality as well. Maybe it is time for me to make a return trip to the Mayan ruins to see what I shall see.

If you are interested in broadening your horizons from more traditional ideas and take a look at what they did not teach you in school in your history classes then this book is a great read. If you already have some background as I did it will fill in some of the blanks for you. It certainly is well documented and detailed. This book definitely challenges my Catholic School view of how things began...probably not the way the Protestants taught it either. Having "knocked around" the "psychic" literature (Cayce, Seth, and a few others) I already was quite familiar with Edgar Cayce. This book deepens my understanding of the man and his work. Over the last 10 years my massage therapist has been telling me about all things Mayan and what is said to be coming in 2012 and beyond. I thought he was a bit "out there" if you know what I mean. Now I have some understanding of what he has been talking about at a more "rational" level. I particularly liked the sections of the book on the Akashic records and the Cayce "reading" of those records. I also appreciated the parts of the Bible that were discussed and what the Bible's authors were trying to say in story form. I would recommend this book for those who are interested in furthering their knowledge in the area of spirituality, psychic phenomena, archeology, and anthropology. It will leave you with plenty of food for thought.

This book, LUTHER AND ERASMUS: FREE WILL AND SALVATION, contains some great summaries of the arguments involved. Originally, Erasmus, author of IN PRAISE OF FOLLY (1509) and a great scholar who edited a Greek New Testament in 1516, pictures his philosophical self as the perfect opponent of tyrannical godliness in DIATRIBE ON FREE WILL (1524). Luther was offended, not so much that he was named by Erasmus as a particular kind of fool for God, but that Luther's interpretation of the Bible on this question, ON THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL (1525), based on absolute interpretations which depend on the kind of faith proclaimed by Paul, because "the power or endeavor of free choice is something different from faith in Jesus Christ. But Paul denies that anything outside this faith is righteous in the sight of God; and if it is not righteous in the sight of God, it must necessarily be sin. . . . With men, of course, it is certainly a fact that there are middle and neutral cases, where men neither owe one another anything nor do anything for one another. But an ungodly man sins against God whether he eats or drinks or whatever he does, because he perpetually misuses God's creatures in his impiety and ingratitude, and never for a moment gives glory to God from his heart." (p. 308).

In the history of religion, Martin Luther might be remembered mainly for his opposition to the established church of his time and place. Having been subject to many vows as a monk, he openly rejected certain restrictions that the religious organizations of his day had imposed on those who wished to lead worship or serve communion, and his marriage was a scandal that was altogether typical of the kind of disagreements in that time which survive in some form in the present day. One question of faith that I still find meaningful, in FREE WILL AND SALVATION, is the Bible's comparison of life with military service, as assumed in the first verse of chapter 7 of the book of Job, which Luther uses to explain a similar passage in Isaiah. " `The life of man is a warfare upon earth,' that is there is a set time for it. I prefer to take it simply, in the ordinary grammatical sense of `warfare,' so that Isaiah is understood to be speaking of the toilsome course of the people under the law, as if they were engaged in military service." (p. 267).

As old Europe attempts to secularize itself into an economic empire with minuscule military forces, it seems oddly historical that a few fundamentally religious political movements are being tied to such warfare as exists in our times, a modern age in which terrorism excites the forces of civilization so much that no government or political spokesman that harbors such killers is safe. LUTHER AND ERASMUS: FREE WILL AND SALVATION does not attempt to solve this problem. If anything, this book is just a book that shows how knowledge in the form of books can trap scholars by allowing them to do what the best scholars have always been best at, exhibiting the meaning of states of mind that others usually flee, far beyond the realm of what Job 7:1 in THE JERUSALEM BIBLE asks, "Is not man's life on earth nothing more than pressed service, his time no better than hired drudgery?"

Happenstance, at the end of World War II, picked on Hiroshima, for the purpose of a ten-minute speech, to be a military base, instead of a city, for the announcement of the use of an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Most people's lives, the way they live, are more like the city, now, but there is a geopolitical interpretation of world power that allows anyplace to be the Hiroshima of the moment, if the rest of the world wants to see it that way. Luther blames the devil, in FREE WILL AND SALVATION, whenever a man thinks he is choosing to do something on his own, and considering Hiroshima a military base instead of a city in 1945 is the kind of thinking that ought to be considered worthy of the devil, even if Harry Truman was willing to adopt it for ten minutes so he would not seem too far out of step with his military advisers. But the outcry, after dropping a couple atomic bombs within a week back then, started to make it obvious that not everybody was inclined to accept the incineration of cities so lightly. I might even be leaving out something terrible about the nature of the judgment of God, which is the primary topic of this book, because Luther seems so much closer to the nature of Hiroshima than we are, survivors though some of us might be. What makes LUTHER AND ERASMUS: FREE WILL AND SALVATION such heavy reading now is because it makes no attempt to lighten up to match the spiritually and economically commercial nature of our society, which usually considers itself thoroughly artistic or comical, especially in the manner in which people all get along by going along. Half of this book doubts that the world could ever be considered so normal. After a general index (which includes some latin phrases, though the tough latin phrases, like *praeter casam,* are explained in an "Appendix: On the Adagia of Erasmus") of several pages, the Biblical References take most of four pages. Anyone who wondered why Luther thought Christians should be reading the Bible, instead of being spoon fed lessons by officials, should get a load of this. Praeter casam to you, too.

Is our will really free or are we predestined? Where do we stand when it comes to our salvation? Can we contribute to the salvation of our souls? Erasmus and Luther argued over what they and their contemporaries thought was the characteristic difference between the evolving Catholic and Protestant positions concerning human nature, namely, the question of the freedom of the will. However, we shouldn't be limited by this ideas, their often heated discourse reveals, as much about their subjective modes of thinking and about the atmosphere of this turbulent period. But in the history of ideas this discourse gains an added significance. It shows some limitations of Christian Humanism and enlightens most of subsequent developments of modern thought. Neither one of them loses we all win! The introductions to the texts are, for themselves, worthy of this price. E Gordon Rupp and Philip S. Watson, offer and impartial analysis of the two men's positions, assuming an important familiarity with the circumstances of the conflict. A great buy.

I shall preface this review by stating that, in my opinion, Luther wins this debate. Erasmus makes some very good points, but Luther's "Bondage of the Will" contained within this volume is, perhaps, the clearest and most humble presentation of the election of God and its relation to human will that I have ever come across -- to the extent that it rivals John Calvin's "Institutes" itself! I found the arguments convincing and clear, and I found Luther's dedication and submission to the authority of Scripture inspiring.

John Van Sant, a professor of Japanese History at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, has written an approachable and engaging look back at some of the very first Japanese travelers to the United States in the mid to late 1800s.

For the student of Asian-American History or Early Modern Asian Japanese History, Pacific Pioneers, is an invaluable reference that bridges the gap between the broad view of early Japan-U.S. interaction and the Japanese political reaction to it. Many of the popular books that deal with this area of history are concerned with its larger events such as the Perry and Iwakura Missions.

Van Sant's book is about individuals who came to a foreign land, and were instrumental in defining how the Western world viewed a recently opened island nation. Van Sant's scholarship is through and compiles a great deal of information that is often lost in the larger events of the period. Even those who aren't interested in Asian or Asian-American History can appreciate the people Van Sant has researched for their sense of wonder and discovery as some of the first to leave their homeland, which was closed off to nearly all foreign intercourse for over 200 years.

I find the book especially engaging because it examines how Americans reacted to their foreign visitors during a time when man of today's stereotypes about the Japanese culture had not been developed. Also, by examining the way in which the New World was viewed by the Japanese visitors, the reader can see how foreigners reacted to the Western world and found their culture to be exotic, captivating, and at times, frightening. The book is a revealing and honest look at how different cultures are viewed by people that were truly foreign to them.

A book I recommend for anyone who is interested in history on a very personal and revealing level.

This is a truly absorbing read. Author John Van Sant casts light on a little-explored corner of American history about which, I'm willing to bet, few readers have any knowledge at all. Some may be vaguely aware that a handful of shipwrecked Japanese sailors fetched up on American shores in the first half of the nineteenth century or that large Japanese embassies toured this country in 1860 and 1871-72. But how many know that scores of Japanese students were living in such an unlikely place as New Brunswick, New Jersey in the late 1860s and 1870s, studying about American institutions as well as "big guns" and "big ships." Or that several young Japanese aristocrats--including a later titan of Meiji Japan--were holed up in a utopian commune, under the watchful eye of an eccentric guru, doing housework and tending grapevines? Or that other countrymen and women of less elevated status, fleeing worsening economic conditions back home, were scraping out a bare living in Hawaii and northern California?

In clear economic prose, thankfully free of academic jargon, Van Sant explores each of these expatriate communities in some depth. (Oddly enough, the author makes no mention whatsoever of the troupes of Japanese entertainers criss-crossing the country during this same period. Even Mark Twain complained bitterly in 1867 about having to compete with a company of Japanese acrobats for an audience.) He also does the historical record a considerable service by freeing some of these pioneers--the "mysterious" Wakamatsu Colony of Gold Hill, California being a prime example--from an encrustation of myth. If I have any quibble at all with Pacific Pioneers, it is that it is too short. Highly recommended!

I think that Dr Van Sant tells a compelling tale of the first wave of Japanese settlers who came to the United States and Hawaii. This book is for anybody who is interested in Asian American History. It should be the first book cracked open for any student who signs up to take any Asian studies class, either in the undergraduate or post-graduate world. I loved it.

Gregory portrays the cormorant as a perfect blend of malevolence and mystery. Short but memorable, with an ending that is both haunting and surprising.

Initially, I intended to criticize "The Cormorant" by Stephan Gregory for failing to be as compelling as I had expected a book touted as "Award-winning" to be. However, as I began writing this review, my opinion began to take another shape. Gregory does a masterful job of creating the landscape and atmosphere of the Wales countryside and the cozy cottage where the narrator and his wife take residence after the death of his uncle Ian. It is quite easy for the reader to become enveloped in the world the author has created: to cozy up to the fire and watch the pre-Christmas snow falling outside the slowly-fogging windows, all the while sensing the sulking, angry presence of the ugly joke, the cormorant, trapped in a cage in the back yard. Based on atmosphere alone, "The Cormorant" is a book whose images and emotions will linger in your mind. The ending of the story, the portion of the book with which I was going to find fault, is still unraveling itself in my mind. At first, I felt that the ending didn't create the kind of emotional impact that I felt the author had intended. I now believe that my feelings had more to do with the fact that I stayed up late reading and got little sleep, rather than any failings on the author's part. I feel a bit like a shock victim coming out of it: the emotions are rising up in me as I think back on the story, and plotlines that I felt were left unresolved are weaving themselves together. The sheer fact that a novel can leave this kind of lingering impression should be enough to recommend it. White Wolf publishing, under their Borealis line, has published a number of great books in recent years by authors who are not well know in the United States. After reading several of the titles published in this line, I now browse through bookstores in search of the Borealis imprint. Some other titles in the line include "The Immaculate" by Mark Morris, "Resume with Monsters" by William Browning Spencer, and "Virgins and Martyrs" by Simon Maginn. Check them out!!!

I`m a marine engineering proffesor and lecturer and has been very, very interesant and very practical regarding to modern application.

¿How can i get from yours the solutions manual from this book? I Really want to acquire both book and solutions manual?

Kind regards

SOLUTION TECHNIQUE IN ALL EXAMPLE PROBLE

I'm a sucker for plays, and this play is no exception. I was fascinated by the title and read it without having any idea as to what the content was. It is wonderfully written and stark for the time it was written. It tells the story of Christopher Isherwood and the time he spends in Germany during the Second World War. You confront frank subjects and controversial topics in this book, and you realize that during World War II, people worried about some of the same things today, such as unwanted pregnancy and racism, to name a couple. Everything you once viewed in an idealized way during this time period unravels, and you don't really mind.

In all its forms (plays, movies, and books) the legacy of the radical Sally Bowles will live on forever. It is the lidicracy of the times that makes this spectackle a spectacle. A starving artist in Berlin that on New Years Eve met a wild and (quote-on-quote) "Perfectly Marvelous Girl" in a drab nightclub in the mist of the third reich. The spirit of the girl in this grim country is one of the reasons that her story will live forever. And also, seeing a performance in Davis, California starring Matt Dunn as the Emcee, and Rebecca Tosca Grey as the ever so taslented Sally Bowles releived me of all my stress, as well as "mind matter."

This is a great book! It will not give you the test questions and answers for the test. What it will provide is a great source of information relating to routing and an introduction to Juniper's routers. The depth of information in Juniper Networks Certified Internet Associate Study Guide is sufficient to pass the test. The questions in the book and on the CD require the same level of understanding as the actual JNCIA exam. In fact I scored the same on the bonus exams (located on the CD) as I did on the actual test. I have been working with Cisco equipment for over eight year and with Juniper routers for a little over a year. I have my CCNP and CCDP. With my background, this book and three weeks, now I have my JNCIA certification. Don't take the JNCIA certification test lightly. I would rate it at the same level as the CCNP and CCDP. With this book and some time you should be able to pass the exam.

I'm gearing up for the JNCIA/S exams, so have just bought the JNCIA book.
In addition, I have the Complete reference too.

As a history thing, I haven't been that impressed with Sybex revision books - mainly from a Cisco perspective.
This book however seems to be a step away from the norm - which is quite refreshing.

A CD is included (like all the similar Cisco Press books for CCNA/CCDA/CCNP/CCDP).
You get flash cards, 100's of exam questions, study guides, a palm/pocketPC revision app & the bonus of a pdf covering the entire book (aka Cisco) !

At the front of the book is a detachable pull-out study guide which recommends reading certain chapters for different parts of the exam.
When quizzed, the author certainly wasnt denying the fact that it could almost be a hint at what you will be tested on.

Book is split into sections (naturally) which run through the following;

Chapter 1: The Components of a Juniper Networks Router
Chapter 2: Interfaces
Chapter 3: Protocol-Independent Routing
Chapter 4: Routing Policy
Chapter 5: The Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
Chapter 6: Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
Chapter 7: Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS)
Chapter 8: Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
Chapter 9: Multicast
Chapter 10: Firewall Filters
Chapter 11: Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)

Differences between the JNCIA and the Complete ref are;

JNCIA has multicast.
JNCIA has CD.
Complete ref has a lot more about the 'boxes'.
Complete ref has intro to VPN (but not much).
Complete ref is a lot heavier.
Complete ref has more configuration examples.

If you're thinking of revising (and if you haven't got the complete ref) then this is the book to go for.
Combine this with Routing TCP/IP, a glance through the most excellent Juniper tech pdf's, hands-on the box and the Boson software exam guides ..... you should breeze through..

On the whole I am impressed with the book.
Its straight to the point, tells you what you need to learn to pass the exam, splits it into attainable sections then tests your knowledge on what you've learnt.

I have read "The Latin American Conspiracy" and found it not only interesting but motivating. Van Geldern brings America's financial vunerability home in a clear and uncomfortably vivid way. So uncomfortable, I had to re-think my views of America as the world's leader in monetary affairs. But it was also fun and full of action, intrigue and Holloywoodesque drama. I sincerely recommend this book for anyone concerned about our national financial standing and what possible alternatives we have if money does become worthless. S.B. Thompson

I have read "The Latin American Conspiracy" and found it not only interesting but motivating. Van Geldern brings American's financial vunerability home in a clear and uncomfortably vivid way. So uncomfortable, I had to re-think my views of America as the world's leader in monetary affairs. But it was also fun and full of action, intrigue and Holloywoodesque drama. I sincerely recommend this book for anyone concered about our national financial standing and what possible alternatives we have if money does become worthless. S.B. Thompson