St Paul's martydom might not quite vindicate all his speculative theology... but somehow, in spite of everything, he was still a man of the church, something which can't be said for most of his sophiological colleagues, or for any of his ideological descendants.

THIS BOOK WAS GIVEN TO ME AS A GIFT A VERY LONG TIME AGO, BACK IN 1975. THE POETRY WAS WONDERFUL AND BEING IN LOVE WITH A VERY SPECIAL PERSON AT THE TIME AND SHARING "THE POEMS OF DR. ZHIVAGO" WITH HIM......MADE ME BELIEVE THIS BOOK WAS MADE FOR "LOVERS"!

This book is great! You should get it. It has great quizzes, and ths HootHoot on the cover is cute! I got it a few weeks ago.

This is a rather good book, a typical Osprey Publishing production. The topic is the Praetorian Guard, the bodyguard of the Roman emperors from Augustus until their disbanding in the early 4th Century AD by Constantine. This is a very good introduction to this elite military unit and is one of the few English sources on the topic...the majority are either in French or Italian and a few others are merely secondary sources that mention the Guard only in passing. The color plates are also excellent works as usual, some are of course conjectural as most of the sculptures and artwork of the Romans have been damaged or lost their own paint over the years. The authors make no pretension as to the accuracy of the color of the Roman shields but the shield designs are pretty accurately described and drawn. Other than that it's a rather good book with a good amount of very useful information for the beginning person interested in Rome or maybe even the experienced historian interested in Rome.

Poor Ivan Goncharov! He was fated to become the Salieri of 19th century Russian literature. Thematic similarities between _The Precipice_, which he regarded as his masterwork, and _Fathers and Sons_, which Turgenev rightly regarded as his, led to a falling-out between the two authors, friends until then.

Yet _The Precipice_ is, perhaps because of its slightly campy air to modern audiences, a very enjoyable read today. It features:

--characters with programmatic names decodable to those with a basic knowledge of Russian (for example, the heroine is "Vera," or "Faith"; the bad-boy protagonist is "Volkov," or "Wolf");

--a plot containing seduction, betrayal, redemption, and secrets of the generation of elders (there's more implied sex here than in all of Turgenev);

--serious discussion of ideas that were to set Russia afire within fifty years, much as did _Fathers and Sons_.

Not as challenging, perhaps, as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Goncharov is far from a waste of time for the reader with an interest in the impact of philosophy on literature in the nineteenth century. Read it if you can find it.

More specifically, what could be more down to earth than The Project Surgeon: A Troubleshooter's Guide to Business Crisis Management, by Boris Hornjak (Project Management Institute, 130 pages, paperback, [...]). The publicists pitch this one as a hands-on troubleshooting manual for operational managers'and they're not far off. Although the book isn't specifically about IT, the guidelines that Hornjak lays down can be applied by almost any IT manager who has to regularly put out fires while simultaneously moving forward on several fronts.

Hornjak, a 17-year veteran project manager, covers business recovery in three parts'Emergency Management, Crisis Management and Crisis Prevention.

Emergencies are projects handled quickly, Hornjak writes; they have a beginning, middle and an end and can be metered, guided and analyzed, just like any other project.

Almost more valuable than the prose and the tips are the charts, checklists and examples of the analytics that not only mark a project's progress, but also show when it should be cut loose and when it's already too late to do so.

But if you're not a project manager, don't even open the book; knowing the details on how badly major projects can go wrong will only keep you up at night. 'Kevin Fogarty

One of the most puzzling questions facing modern businesses, especially Web-based organizations, is how to decipher whether and when intellectual property needs to be paid for or protected. On the surface, it seems obvious, but the Napster controversy alone demonstrates that it's not.

A wonderful little book for those wanting a introduction to the Renaissance period. Perfect for travelers, students, and those who just enjoy both history and art. The illustrations alone are worth the price. I highly recommend this book, as well as the entire Crash Course series.

Reflections of an artist mind unleashed, Rauschenberg's images of political and social issues are portayed through scattered images and expressive paint strokes. His use of mixed media portrays an intensity between his paintings and the connection expressed in his life and his surroundings.

I have studied this book and author as well as theosphy and comparative religions, philosophy, science of mind for over 20 years and the truth contained in H.P.Blavatsky's writings as well as intuitive knowledge have caused me great joy and massive yearning for additional lifetimes of study...I highly reccomend this book for serious students of lifes mysteries and higher learning.

"Translation," as Vladimir Nabokov said, "is a form of betrayal." As such, poetry in a foreign tongue is seldom worth reading in translation -- one usually finds the fire and beauty of the word trapped behind the translator's teeth. Fortunately, for the English reader, George L. Kline has the smile of a jack-o'-lantern. Not merely content to convey the meaning and ambiguities of Pasternak's poems, Kline closely mimics the rhythms and sonorous melodies of the Nobel Prize laureate's Dylan Thomas-esque lines. Compare the following stanzas from "Lessons in English." The first is from Merrill Sparks' competent translation; the second is a morsel from Kline's breathtaking translation:

When it came time to sing for Desdemona And she began -- her song, restraining, The darkest demon saved for her dark day A psalm of stream-beds, weeping, flowing.

When it was Desdemona's hour to sing, When her voice steadied and grew strong, Black day, a demon blacker far, sent up A psalm for her of wailing river-runs.

So fine are these seven translations that one wallows for more of Kline's touch. To best know the beauty of Pasternak, short of learning Russian, seek out this glorious (but all too brief) book.