The printed 5 volume set provides a fine supplementary lexicon for all students of the Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The volumes are finely bound, printed on acid-free paper (though not ANSI certified). Each volume is smyth sewn.

Much more asthetic than using a computer screen, the printed version allows you to view all 5 volumes at the same time, even without electricity! Though it cannot compare with the search power of the CD version. The main text is in a two column format and all of the fonts are easy to read.

These volumes will become the standard Hebrew Bible lexicon. Unfortunately! However they should be supplemented with other works because:

(1) They do not show all of the needed etymologies, many entries display no etymological data. (Ernest Klein's work is recommended here). The data from North/West Semitics could be expanded, it is lacking in many entries. Hittite data seems deficient as well as some Sumerian data -- let's face it, they are early influences on the Semitic languages. The Koehler-Baum. work only skims the surface when it comes to etymologies.

(2) Many important works by evangelical scholars (such as S. P. Tregelles, Gleason, Archer, Kyle Yates, E. Young, Robert Dick Wilson, et al) were not even utilized. Too much emphasis was given to the popular works done by secular scholars.

(3) Ugaritic, Phoenician, Arabic and other fonts (scripts) are simply transliterated. They should have been printed out in their original script. Transliteration tables could have also been included for the scholars who are not familiar with these languages, but accuracy can be jeopardized when the original scripts are just transliterated, and it takes time and effort to "recompose" them. Perhaps they were transliterated so that the digital search engines could be simplified. Poor trade off!

(4) Some important definitions are missing for some entries! Thus other lexicons are needed. For example: sh-r-Ha (shin, resh, he) in volume 4, pages 1652f does not show the meaning as "to shine" (from a possible Arabic root) nor as "chains" or "bracelets" as in Isaiah 3:19.

(5) Textual variations are often not listed, and the Qumran literature and data could have been better utilized.

(6) Foreign word indexes could have been supplied, and an index of Biblical passages could have been added. Several hands worked on the 5 volumes, and a variety of abbreviations are used for the Biblical books, making Biblical book cross references difficult even on the CD version.

All in all, a very useful addition. The price is quite high and the folks at Brill often ask too much for their publications. The work NEEDS to be supplemented, and some entries are woefully deficient -- giving only a partial definition. Coupled with the poor etymological data -- this is not acceptable. Gary S. Dykes

The best English lexicon of biblical Hebrew & Aramaic, KBL is also easier to use than the classic BDB. Words are listed alphabetically, rather than grouped by root, with cross-references to other words from the same root (no more trying to figure out a noun's putative "verbal root"). Akkadian tends to dominate the etymological information, rather than Arabic), along with Ugaritic. Glosses tend to be traditional, although references within the articles and the extensive supplementary bibliography (84 pages; alphabetically by author) allow you to find narrative lexical discussions. The Aramaic section is outstanding, with citations ranging far beyond biblical Aramaic. Although some might be tempted to begin with an "intermediate" lexicon such as Holladay, KBL's layout, clarity, and wealth of information makes this appropriate for both beginning students, pastors, teachers, and other scholars.

This new (4th) edition is more user-friendly than the 3rd, while offering more detailed and up-to-date information and citations. The coverage of extra-Biblical material is extensive. What is fantastic now that it is available on CD-ROM ... , which is allowing me to search by Bible reference, or from English to Hebrew, or for grammatical terms and forms (e.g., roots). I can also do quick look-ups while reading my Hebrew Bible. No more time-waste in turning pages. Going electronic with this work was a brilliant move by the publisher....

'Drained' is an eloquent and heartfelt compilation stories, quotes, and memories about those who have at one time or another felt drained. Though the stories are of individuals from very different walks of life, they are connected by a struggle to let go of difficult pasts and a continuing search for peace. When I first began to read 'Drained,' I presumed it would be just another self-help book about tips for a better you. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not the usual therapist advice on how to forgive, but real memoirs of courage, strength, grace, and love. It is the kind of book I would recommend to anyone who has ever felt like they were searching for something they couldn't find, something more, something like peace.

This is a revised edition of another book by Arnold called Seeking Peace. This version removes some of the religious language that would be a problem for many who are still in desperate need of finding inner peace. The remarkable thing I find in this book is how Arnold finds and uses the threads of truth in so many backgrounds, traditions and religions... in a world where adherents of these traditions and religions seem to be at each other's throat. It is a challenge for the reader to find the "hidden Christ" in places you do not expect.

From the outset, Arnold puts forth a memorable and cutting composition of the human state, through his observatioins and the stories entrusted to him by others. The real life stories are hope filled and an enjoyable read. Buy this book, read it many times and never give up hope!

"If you love God," says J. S. Bach in Bach's Passion, "you do everything at the highest level of competency." And so should we all, if we all weren't so profoundly fallible.

RuthAnn Ridley's fictionalized life of "the greatest composer of church music" fleshes out many of the central conflicts faced by Christian artists and creators of all kinds. It is a novel of great inspirational value and good educational and historical interest.

Readers should be prepared for a long but engaging read, and, at the end, an excellent introductory glossary of terms, footnotes, a bibliography, and a "Word from the Author" regarding the novel's historical accuracy.

Ridley narrates Bach's life (1685-1750) basing each chapter and major character on true incidents and people. However, scholarship suggests that interpretation of Bach's personal life and motives is highly controversial. Although legends and anecdotes exist in abundance, personal correspondence and other acceptable documentation is scarce.

One recent source plainly states that there is no evidence that Bach's church music was especially important to him (Jan Koster, "Biography,").

Another source points out that even listening to the approximately 1,120 pieces Bach composed would still not reveal who Bach was (Sandberger, Bach 2000, Teldec Classics International 1999, p. 2).

Yet it is precisely Ridley's willingness to map out Bach's artistic and spiritual journey according to a faith in a personal God that affords this novel value. As a young man, Bach receives his summons while listening to a scriptural aria in a cathedral: "He would write a new and deeply personal music for the Lutheran liturgy, one that would woo a person into the love of the Divine Bridegroom" ( p. 50). We discover that the dark and eerie "Toccata and fugue in D minor" was an "effort . . . to deal with the heartbreak of losing their twins" (pp, 17-18).

Throughout his life, Bach encounters conflicts so common to many of us: professional jealousy; recognition of self disguised as the need for the recognition of God's glory; and perhaps, above all, the responsibility of vocation versus family. Bach is absent enjoying the intellectual heights of conversations with artists and philosophers while his first wife, Barbara, undergoes a miscarriage. Even more poignantly, Bach lingers on another such trip and misses her death and burial by two days.

Through this portrayal, Ridley also researches and gives us a snapshot of the lives of middle-class women in seventeenth-century Germany. Though she deeply loves him, Barbara grows estranged from Bach when he discounts her own spiritual struggles. Anna, the second wife, is encouraged by Bach because he recognizes her as a person and an artist in her own right, unlike the other male figures of her day.

As well researched and inspirational as the novel is, its still greater value is that it leaves readers wanting to learn more. Interested readers should thus consult recent biographies and scholarship, and certainly, listen to more of the music "that compels people to become involved, that raises them up into the God who became man" (p. 249).

- Andrea Ivanov-Craig, Christianity and the Arts Magazine

In RuthAnn Ridley's "Bach's Passion," the reader meets Bach, his family and his compatriots as living people. The characterizations and the descriptions of dress, customs and music of the time reflect exceptional research of Bach's life and times. An excellent glossary and bibliography relating to Bach are an added bonus.

- Herbert Colvin, Professor Emeritus of Music Theory: Baylor University

What you have done is to rescue Bach from the rationalists, even as you show him to be the greatest man of reason that the musical world has ever known. It is this apparent anomaly - the idea that this supremely reasonable man was also a man of faith - that infuses your writing and lends tension to it. This is also the Mystery that the seeking Christian must grapple with and come to terms with. It recalls Einstein's unshakable faith in God, and Aquinas's proof of God's existence based on the design of the Universe.

-William A. Kromer

Organist, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Downsville, NY

The book is very short, which is good, but not written in a particularly interesting fashion (i quit about halfway through it). The 'awakening' that is refered to by the title is the spiritual transformation of the town. Skip it and read "Hostage to the Devil", which is well written, has a variety of contemporary posession cases and contains the Roman Catholic "Rite of Exorcism"

When I first read an older version of this book some years ago it scared the heck out of me. The haunting fact that kept coming back to me was that this was NOT fiction. Since the new edition came out I have re read it several times and this time what hits me most is God's total victory over even the most frightening powers of darkness. Blumhardt takes on the worst of the worst in a desperate two year prayer battle for the soul and sanity of a possessed woman. God intervenes and gives a victory that impacts the whole town, with experiences of inner and outer healing.

Not the work of a writer's imagnation, this story (c 1840) puts a different spin on the occult, spiritualism and its relation to the reader simply because it really happened. Conversations with the dead, inexplicable shufflings and bangings, a young ministers two year prayer-battle with darkness for the soul and sanity of a possesed woman. Watch out! this book may not only change the way you view the supernatural, it could change your entire outlook on life.

This books reads like an advertisment that following Christianity will be a cure all for everyone. I took it back to the library after flipping through it and realizing this

This is yet another one of Christoph Arnold's great books. I am sure at some time or another everyone has felt like they are living in hell, just as I have. Christoph has a way of showing us how to cope with life's difficulties in a simplistic manner that everyone can understand. I would recommend this book to everyone, especially those who are full of despair and lacking hope for their future. There is always hope and this book will show you where to find it within yourself.

This Book, "Escape Routes" is so profound that you will not be able to put it down. These are stories about people like you and me that are trapped in today's Hell. But do not give up there is hope for all who read this book. Just think that there are many people out there that have the same struggles. Arnold makes it clear that not all have found there way out of Hell but we need to keep looking for our own Escape Route.

How does one measure a musical composer's thoughts and attitudes? When a composer does not provide the words to his own music, what are we to judge him by? And when the words are drawn from a sacred text or determined by a liturgical context? With a composer like Wagner who vehemently embraced a nationalistic gestalt, it is easy to understand the accusations of anti-Semitism. With Bach, it is less so.

Consequently the brevity of Michael Marissen's 36-page essay on the subject of anti-Judaism in Bach's St. John Passion. Marissen's methodology is to briefly examine the parts of John's Gospel that have caused scholars to deem it the most anti-Judaic of the four canonical Gospels, to review the choral responses to the biblical texts in light of Lutheran theology as it would have been understood a century after the Reformer's death (Bach owned many volumes of Luther's writings as well as the Calov and Olearius Bible Commentaries), and to compare what Bach actually did with what he could have done (as evidenced by what other musicians did and by the approaches taken in such popular culture forms as the passion plays). Only rarely does Marissen turn to an analysis of the music to make his points. He does this in his discussion of cadence in relation to Jesus' sense of his own identity (p. 12-14) and in his discussion as to whether Bach used fugue to express the obstinacy of Jesus' Jewish adversaries (p.30 ff). Musical discussion within the text is keyed to the recording of Sigiswald Kuijken (editio classica 77041-2-RG, BMG Music), though an Appendix of Musical Examples lists seven other recordings of the work as well.

The central essay is well argued and easy to follow. The footnotes are extensive and helpful, as is the list of Works Cited. The Annotated Literal Translation of the Libretto, which makes up the second half of the book, uses different type treatments to help the reader distinguish between Gospel text, chorale responses to the biblical narrative, and aria/arioso responses. The book also includes a 5-page Appendix on Anti-Judaism and Bach's Other Works (namely, the Cantatas for the 10th Sunday after Trinity and the St. Matthew Passion).

Although I have no training in music whatsoever, I was nonetheless, drawn into Marrisen's fascinating essay. (Calling this slim volume a book is really a misnomer. I literally finished it in one 90 minute sitting.)Brevity, notwithstanding, this is a carefully written analysis of the theological worldview that influenced one of Bach's most artistically lovely, if controversial pieces. He readily admits that a poisonous strain of Lutheran anti-Semitism infected the ecclesiatical community of which Bach was a part , while at the same time offering that some evidence exists to support the idea that Bach may not have subscribed to such thinking. In the end, I do not know if I was necessarily convinced by Marrisen's argument. Much more needs to be said about Bach's perspective in light of his entire corpus. Focusing on one work is an interesting, but finally too selective technique. Even so, Marissen does a good job of encouraging the reader to approach, even works of artistic power as beautiful as Bach's with the critical eye the historically anti-Semitic Christian West demands.

Reuchlin was one of the first Christian authors to attempt to make the Jewish Kabbalah accessible to a Latin-reading audience. The publishers of this work are to be thanked for printing such a classic.

However, this edition is not without its faults. As others have noted, there is no scholarly apparatus, which would have helped the reader make sense of what admittedly is a difficult text. The format of the text on the page is poor (although the Latin pages seem to be reproducing the pages from the first printed edition, so for that half of the book, the formatting is excuseable). I find the English translation to be idiosyncratic, and just plain erroneous in points. Fortunately, with the Latin right there, these mistakes are not that difficult to spot.

But for someone willing to put up with these problems, this edition of Reuchlin's work can be a helpful entre into the world of Christian Cabala.

Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522) wrote _De arte cabalistica_ (1517) as a kind of synthesis of his Kabbalistic thought. It is constructed in the form of a conversation among three thinkers, the most important being Simon, the Jewish explicator of Kabbalah. This work is in a sense a sequel to Reuchlin's _De verbo mirifico_ [On the wonder-working word], but focuses almost entirely on the Kabbalistic side of things.

As an introduction to Kabbalah in an ordinary sense, the text is not particularly useful, since Reuchlin has his own somewhat idiosyncratic spin on what is most important. As an introduction to Christian Kabbalah, however, it is a seminal work, and along with _De verbo mirifico_ and Pico's _900 Theses_ required reading. Reuchlin's opinions probably did more than anything else to encourage the spread of Jewish mystical thought into the Christian West, and this is one of the books at the heart of that movement.

The edition is useful, including both an English translation and a facsimile of the Latin text. Unfortunately the layout is poor, so that the translation often ends up several pages off from the Latin, preventing direct comparison. The translation itself is good, although it would be improved by more scholarly apparatus and notes, which are conspicuously thin. Fortunately the volume is inexpensive, which makes up for quite a bit.

A decent library of early modern occult thought should have this book. The modern practitioner will not, I suspect, find it terribly useful, nor will those interested primarily in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. The principal value of the book is that it makes available a text which greatly influenced later Christian occult thinkers, notably Agrippa, Dee, Bruno, Fludd, and others.

'Peculiar Chris', surprised me pleasantly. An interesting and perceptive account of a young man's life dealing with contemporay issues, at the time, of life in Singapore. Beautifully written, poignant and reminicent of a time, which meant much to the writer. All young gay men from around the world can relate to this book. It is a book for romantics. Although some issues in the novel are dealt with innocently and naiively, it is part and parcel of the charm of this young writers understanding,at the time, which makes this novel so much more heartfelt. Although many issues have changed over the years, we learn to appreciate the influences the writer was under at the time, and not only learn about his characters, which are colourful and diverse, but we gain a small insight to the writer himself. Johann S. Lee, let your fans rejoice once again, its time for your great pen to meet paper once more!

Johann (Joe) Lee was 20 years old when this book was published. He wrote the book while carrying out his national service in Singapore at the age of 19. For that age it is a exceptionally mature piece of work. The first openly gay novel published in Singapore takes us through the life and loves of Chris and his adorebale partner Samuel. Perhaps the handling of HIV and AIDS could have been dealt with in a more informed fashion but what kind of detailed information was available to a youth in the Singapore army in the early nineties. This novel does not focus on gay sex or make at point of focusing on gay rights like so many other books available but deals with the individuals and their relationahips and feelings. It is hard not to indentify with the protagonist, Chris, who, from the authors decriptions, is the perfect partner. This is an all round good read for any adult regardless of sexual orientation. Even though this novel is now out of print it is certainly worth trying to get your hands on. I await with bated breath for Joe to put pen to paper again. If he could write with such maturity and insight at 19 his next novel will surely be another success. Joe now lives with his long term partner in London and I wish him all the best. "Joe, get writing again. You have an extreme talent. It's a shame to waste it"

The Complete Preludes and Fugues for Organ includes the following prelude & fugues:
BWV 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 539, 541, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, and the following "possible spurious" ones: 553, 554, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560.

(I double-checked my BWV numbers for typos).

BWV 552 "St. Anne" in published by Dover in Organ Music (ISBN 0-486-22359-0), and 566, the Toccata and Fugue in E Major is published by Dover in Toccatas, Fantasias, Passacaglia and Other Works for Organ (0-486-25403-8).

The book is a paperback with sewn signatures, so it won't lie flat, but it won't fall apart if you smoosh it flat;-)

The included works are from the Bach-Gesellschaft of 1865, ed. by W. Rust, and the Bach-Gesellschaft of 1888, edited by E. Naumann.

People below complained that BWV 552 "St Anne" does not appear in this book. BWV 552 is part of Clavier Uebung III, which includes more than a dozen other pieces (mostly chorale preludes). According to Clifford Bartlett, in actual practice, the prelude was played separately from the fugue; the rest of Clavier Uebung III was sandwiched between the prelude and fugue. Furthermore, often only pieces of the Clavier Uebung were played, rather than the whole thing. Hence, one might argue that BWV 552 stands in contrast to other pieces clearly marked "Prelude and Fugue."

As a young organ student, I enjoyed the basic challenge and ease of reading the clean print in this fine manuscript.

I bought the book and thought to have both violin and piano parts on separate sheet. Unfortunately, the violin sonatas are printed in form of score containing both violin and piano. I have to copy the score for my piano accompaniment. Other than that the Fugue and Patitas are great. Overall this book is good for personal collection and I can never stop playing them.

First, I studied the Bach Partitas from the Carl Fisher Edition, and some day I lost it. I see the portrait of this work, and I liked and buy. Bach is phenomenal; and an important part of the violinist life, and this edition has a good distribution of the work, but the edition is not good, for example the Arpeggios of the Ciaccona are edited in a very old style, and not depured the different legato, sincerely is very difficult to undertand the intention of the editor; for the sonatas the edition could be better if the work includes the violin part separated from the Piano.
I choose three stars because, this work is very important, and the edition not help so much to explore all the work, because some passages will generate to a new violinist many ambiguities.

I have been a musician for 30+ years. I was a theory and compostion major in college. But I just took up the violin about a year ago. Of course, everything in this collection is way over my head, but I have considered it a joy to plow through a few bars at a time, picking up what I could of the craftsmanship of the guy who virtually invented music as we know it. It's amazing to watch him compose with complete anticipation of the performer. He gives you breaks when you need breaks. He gives you open strings when you need to hear intonation. He gives you a hold just in time to move to another position. Yet, if you listen to the partitas on CD, it sounds totally spontaeous, seamless, and fluid. It is a fulfilling exercise simply to listen to the CD, with violin in hand, as you follow along in the music. I will be learning these pieces for the next 30 years. I will never cease to be challenged by them. And their mastery will always be a very satisfying quest. The more I look into the mind of J.S. Bach through these compositions, the more I appreciate his genious!