This book can be a life changer for the mind that is able to analyze and become aware of the differences in writting style between fact and fiction. Gregory (then Bishop of Rome when there were still two Bishops [which has now become the one Pope], one in Constantinople and one in Rome, and he was called "The Great"), older when he wrote this volume, is himself surprised at what he has dilligenty uncovered concerning Benedict's life. He almost speaks with a sense of wonder and awe...this is truely a treat.

Also, the young friend he is relating the products of his detective work to actively listens with an interesting, to say, sense as well. Not unlike the person mentioned by Burke as being able to "allow for the peacefull entrance of the truth."

This short book is both a literary masterpiece in my very humble opinion and a great historical record which was thankfully put together (by, in my mind, a man whom wanted to have proof of God or of miracles [as in the BIble] - not unlike Augustine).

This book if for everyone.

The famous life and great miracles of St. Benedict, for all children 10 and up. The story of poisoned wine, saving a boy from drowning, raising one from the dead, plus, how he founded the Benedictine Order, his sister, St. Scholastica, etc.

I bought, I read, I wonderd. I really think this must be a culminate work on "Nationalism" study among our contemporaries. At first you will see the argument of which this book treats is only limited to a regional/culturual/historical study on so-called Southeast Asia, but the author's brilliant thinking will lead us to the most effective "vantage ground" for analysing the universal "Nationalism" phenomena. I do recommend you this book and I do believe it is one of the must-have-items for every student and researcher who engages his/herself in human or social science.

More than 1500 years ago, St. Benedict created a Rule to organize the Roman Catholic monastic communities of Europe. Now in St. Benedict's Rule For Business Success, Quentin R. Skrabec Jr. has adapted the Benedictine Rule to apply to entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and business managers by offering them an approach to the eliminations of negativity in their organizations; develop teamwork; utilize cooperative advantages; integrate work and spirituality, become more self-actualized; and constructively build an enduring knowledge-creating enterprise.

There is not a Religios book in the world like this the auther took all the facts and turnd saint benidicts life into a naritiv like it is realy happining while you are reading it. this book is a real page turner and once i started i couldent stop just like the harry potter series. I hily recomend this book to people interested in monastic life, the life of saint benidict, the catholic church, miricals, or even somone who just wants to read a good book as rare as this one. believe me this book is worth reading.

If you're academically inclined and into semiotics, this book should be part of your library. Any designer of systems, whether they be Web applications, lemon squeezers, or a marketing campaign, would probably find use of the insights offered here.

A U.S. CITIZEN READS PRAMOEDYA

(Thoughts of Tales from Djakarta by M. C. Reitz)

In the U. S. a new genre of popular TV show has emerged, "survivor shows." Typically the producers round-up "average citizens" and arrange for a controlled experience of survival and competition. Of course no one dies, no one loses their mind or their identity, safety precautions are taken, medical teams are ready, no one must remain in this contrived condition against their will. The motivation is large amounts of money and instant fame. The characters become the subject of talk at work, in the car, on the phone, at the dinner table and other instants of casual conversation. Everyone has their favorite character and every one hypothesizes about the "human being" beneath the "caricatures."

At first thought, Tales From Djakarta by Pramoedya Ananta Toer puts to shame any suggestion that these survivor shows have any merit except to an overfed population whose energies are devoted to wealth and power rather than the basic need for food and shelter. The people of Ananta Toer's book are human beings who have endured a lifetime of degrading and hostile events. They are born into these events and die within these events. Ananta Toer's people adapt to small niches and yet their universal identity as human beings is never in question. Whether they experience fleeting moments of joy amidst poverty of spirit, kindness amidst destructive forces, love amidst hate, intimacy amidst lust or necessity amidst condemnation, their dignity and their worth as "human" is never in question.

On second thought, Ananta Toer's book reveals a universal truth for all of human kind throughout history. Beneath the caricatures caused by events lies a fully human being worthy of our respect and love. We can only look at ourselves and say, "What events produced this caricature called me and where is my humanity?"

I read the book for a 7-year-old Taiwanese kid (living in my neighborhood) and she found it intriguing. The fine and lively illustrations delicately organizes the whole story, which makes her retell the story thoroughly without missing any details by the atmospheric drawings of wildlife. In particular, kids may add their imagination to the original story. For example, if asked what Tangle will do if he doesn't decide to go home, kids may have many answers such as being taken away by the noisy skein of geese. Or the open questions like is it better for Tangle to go home or not? Anyway, a good book for parents to read for their kids. Enlightening!

Her dying Aunt Judith wants the rich, young heroine to marry her deceitful step-son and even gives them a special ring to use for the wedding. The ring allows her aunt to swap bodies with the other wearer when they each put a ring on at the same time. It goes awry when she drops the aunt's ring and instead, is sent back in time to the aunt's original body where it all began. She must stop her "Aunt" even if it means leaving Drew, the man who has learned to trust in her and she has come to love.

"Intelligence, a sense of humor, rightness of heart, observant sympathy for nature, and gentle sensitiveness are manifest throughout this book," said J. Frank Dobie, who wrote an introduction for it. In 1894 Carl Benedict was still wet behind the ears but crazy to get away and work on the range. In the summer, he hooked up with the Figure 8 Ranch to round up cattle in the Texas Panhandle. Out of that experience came this book, published fifty years later, about what it was really like to be a cowboy in some ornery country checkered by canyons and gyp water springs. A Texas cowboy classic