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There is too much going on to tell. Tom Clancy and John Grisham's fans would REALLY love this one! It is extremely intense! Fiction and fact are mixed so well that I cannot tell where the truth ends and the lies begins! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING!
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And right up to the present day, there are those who feel that the Apocrypha should be included in the canon of Scripture, and the Roman Catholic church regards them as such today.
Bruce takes the time to discuss individual theologians such as Jerome, Origen, Tertullian, Augustine, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Athanasius, and many others and whenever possible, he furnishes their choices for books whoch were deemed fit for the canon of Scripture. Apparently, Athansius' trip to Rome in 350 AD was decisive for helping the western church decide on the 27 books of the New Testament that we now have today. Before this, they were hedging on Hebrews, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Revelation, James and 2 and 3 John.
The book concludes with a couple of the author's lectures on the subect of the secret gospel of Mark (which he rejects) and the difference between the plenary meaning of scripture and the meaning in context.
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Trollope presents a dilemma for most readers. On the one hand, he wrote an enormous number of very good novels. On the other hand, he wrote no masterpieces. None of Trollope's books can stand comparison with the best work of Jane Austen, Flaubert, Dickens, George Eliot, Tolstoy, or Dostoevsky. On the other hand, none of those writers wrote anywhere near as many excellent as Trollope did. He may not have been a very great writer, but he was a very good one, and perhaps the most prolific good novelist who ever lived. Conservatively assessing his output, Trollope wrote at least 20 good novels. Trollope may not have been a genius, but he did possess a genius for consistency.
So, what to read? Trollope's wrote two very good series, two other novels that could be considered minor classics, and several other first rate novels. I recommend to friends that they try the Barsetshire novels, and then, if they find themselves hooked, to go on to read the Political series of novels (sometimes called the Palliser novels, which I feel uncomfortable with, since it exaggerates the role of that family in most of the novels). The two "minor classics" are THE WAY WE LIVE NOW and HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT. The former is a marvelous portrait of Victorian social life, and the latter is perhaps the finest study of human jealousy since Shakespeare's OTHELLO. BARSETSHIRE TOWERS is, therefore, coupled with THE WARDEN, a magnificent place, and perhaps the best place to enter Trollope's world.
There are many, many reasons to read Trollope. He probably is the great spokesperson for the Victorian Mind. Like most Victorians, he is a bit parochial, with no interest in Europe, and very little interest in the rest of the world. Despite THE AMERICAN SENATOR, he has few American's or colonials in his novels, and close to no foreigners of any type. He is politically liberal in a conservative way, and is focussed almost exclusively on the upper middle class and gentry. He writes a good deal about young men and women needing and hoping to marry, but with a far more complex approach than we find in Jane Austen. His characters are often compelling, with very human problems, subject to morally complex situations that we would not find unfamiliar. Trollope is especially good with female characters, and in his sympathy for and liking of very independent, strong females he is somewhat an exception of the Victorian stereotype.
Anyone wanting to read Trollope, and I heartily believe that anyone who loves Dickens, Austen, Eliot, Hardy, and Thackery will want to, could find no better place to start than with reading the first two books in the Barsetshire Chronicles, beginning first with the rather short THE WARDEN and then progressing to this very, very fun and enjoyable novel.
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I wondered how the book would read as an adult. After just a few pages I was caught back once again into the wonderful celtic world and lived again in the monastary at Glaston. The book is a great read for all ages with a story that lets you dream of a time when knights rode the countryside and life was filled with enchantment.
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Bertie's main redeeming quality to his friends and family in this story is his manservant, Jeeves. Over the years of their relationship, everyone who knows Bertie comes to realize that Bertie is a bumbling fool and that Jeeves is a problem-solving genius. The parallels to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are unavoidable in one's mind, except these stories are played out as comedy along the lines of A Midsummer Night's Dream rather than as serious business. Like Dr. Watson for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bertie is the narrator of this novel.
Bertie, as a gentleman, feels that it is important to keep Jeeves in his place. He looks for the old feudal spirit of serf to master from Jeeves. When Jeeves challenges Bertie's decision to wear an informal jacket in the country that he brought back from Cannes, Bertie decides to put Jeeves in his place.
In Right Ho, Jeeves, everyone is looking for solutions to their problems from Jeeves. The fly in the old ointment though is that Bertie tells Jeeves to stifle himself while Bertie tries to save the day. As you can imagine, each Bertie wheeze (or plot) turns out to be a blunder instead that makes things much worse. Then Bertie tries again, with even worse results. And so on.
As background to the story's beginning, Bertie is just back from two months in Cannes on the Riviera with Aunt Dahlia, his cousin Angela, and her friend, Madeline Bassett. Aunt Dahlia recruits Bertie to give the prizes at the local school, while Bertie scrambles to avoid the appearance. His old pal, Gussie Fink-Nottle, a newt expert, has fallen for Madeline Bassett but he is too shy to propose. Bertie works on Gussie's resolve. Tuppy Glossop, another pal, is engaged to cousin Angela until they have a row about double chins and sharks. Bertie tries to bring reconciliation to the warring parties. Aunt Dahlia's domestic peace depends on the gourmet cooking of Anatole, which is essential to get money for her magazine out of her dyspepsic husband, Uncle Tom, to offset what she lost at the casino. Bertie's misconceptions soon have Anatole in despair, and contemplating departure. Aunt Dahlia is shaken to the core.
Things look glum indeed for the young lovers, Aunt Dahlia, and for Bertie. How will the day be saved?
The book is wonderfully read by Alexander Spencer, my favorite narrator of these P.G. Wodehouse stories and novels. Wodehouse intended these to be read as musical comedy, rather than considered as being drawn from life. With the proper narration, with an appropriate English accent, the tales are much enhanced.
Why, then did I rate the book down one star? First, the plot does go on and on through its complications. A good editor could have chopped this down by about 25 percent and made a much better novel. Second, there is a reference to people of color beginning with the letter "n" that will offend many, and certainly offended me.
A better offering in this series are the stories in the audio cassettes entitled, Jeeves and the Old School Chum. You might start there if you don't know Bertie and Jeeves yet. Only after you have used up the five star Jeeves audio tapes should you listen to this one. And you should do so only if you are fully compelled to have more of Bertie and Jeeves.
After you have finished this book, consider whether you have ever failed to take good advice. If you have avoided that, was false pride involved? If so, how can you overcome that misconception and self-deception in the future?
What?
One of the most popular of the Jeeves novels, Right Ho, Jeeves brings us to Brinkley Court, the lair of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, who is by far my favorite secondary character in all the books. This book is overshadowed by a decidedly antagonistic relationship between Jeeves and Bertie over a certain white jacket with brass buttons, and one can practically see Jeeves snickering in the background when his brilliant solution to the problems at hand is accomplished at Bertie's expense. Nevertheless, he does "rally round" when needed, and saves Bertie from a fate more hideous than death, viz. marriage to the loony Madeline Bassett. There are moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity in this book, notably Gussie Fink-Nottle's prize-giving at the local grammar school after drinking a jug of spiked orange juice, Bertie's very ill-timed question about haggis (a personal favorite of mine-the line, not haggis), and Aunt Dahlia's calm suggestion that Bertie go out to the garden pool and drown himself. This is comedy at its brilliant best. A wonderful beginning to a chain of events and characters that will follow in many books to come.
Next: The Code of the Woosters
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Although "The Shepherd" is a very short novel that can easily be read in under an hour, it doesn't hinder Forsyth from capturing your attention. He cleverly heightens the intensity of the action and suspense by using the first person point of view. The stricken pilot's fears and bewilderment quickly become your own, until they are resolved in a spine-chilling last-page climax that raises as many questions as it answers.
The gripping plot is marred only by a few incidences of blasphemy. But the paperback edition is beautifully enhanced by Lou Feck's full-page black and white illustrations. "The Shepherd" may be a departure from Forsyth's usual fare in that it is a short and sweet Christmas story that exploits the season's fondness for supernatural miracles. But it lacks none of his trademark spine-tingling suspense. Unlike the pilot, it will be a while before you come back down to earth after reading this one!
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A true eyeopener, it shows that while the fedral government "deregulate" the airlines, the airlines still regulate the government.
Shame on our government,Shame on AMR Corp.
Read this book.
There is too much going on to tell. Tom Clancy and John Grisham's fans would REALLY love this one! It is extremely intense! Fiction and fact are mixed so well that I cannot tell where the truth ends and the lies begins! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING!