This is an excellent collection of essays by the greatest preachers in the Reformed tradition today. Some of the topics include The Primacy of Preaching (Mohler), The Teaching Pastor (Sproul), Evangelistic Preaching (Alexander), and The Foolishness of Preaching (Boice). John Piper's essay on Preaching to Suffering People is one of the best things he has ever written and by itself is worth the price of the book ten times over. Derek Thomas' essay on Expository Preaching is full of very good instruction. Joel Beakes' contribution on Experimental Preaching is also excellent. I highly recommend this book for pastors. If you are not a pastor, consider purchasing it for your pastor as a gift. He will be appreciative.

The Fact that this book is excellent should be no surprise, merely take a glance at the authors. This book will probably offend pastors who are in to the modern pop pyschology, but then they probably wouldn't be reading it anyway. Granted, that was probably unfair but...
Naturally some chapters are better than others, here are a few:

"The Lasting Effect of Experimental Preaching"--the essay on spiritual formation--worth the price of the book.

"The Primacy of Preaching"--by Albert Mohler--very good, a wake up call to the church.

"Expository Preaching"--good and bad examples of expository preaching, very fun chapter.

"Preaching to Suffering People"--by John Piper. It is by Piper, enough said.

"A reminder to Shepherds"--By John Macarthur, a fitting close to a fine book.

Absolutely essential reading for upcomming (as well as seasoned) preachers. A true gem, very informative, and a must for all who proclaim God's Word.

This book reads like fiction but isn't---I was there! I can attest to the choas inside Sunbeam from the day Al Dunlap's name became synonomous with Sunbeam. What started with a "dream team" with an idealistic mission to save Sunbeam and restore it to it's former glory ended up like a nightmare beyond any professional's code of ethics. My thoughts before I left.... I wish I could take a shower and wash this dirt away.

John Byrne captures the essence of Al Dunlap, the madman he became and the lives he sacrificed in the process....all for profit at any price.

A must read on corporate greed in the 90's.

I lived the al dunlap saga first hand. Breakfasts, luncheons, and diners with the man as well as frequent barbs and threats. I was as close to the story as any outsider could be. But I must confess; John Byrne's account of the Sunbean story was told better and more accurately than either I or any insider could tell it. Byrne is a pro's pro. I would probably read anything he wrote since I would know that it was written with honesty, integrity and passion. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the mind of deception and the evil of greed.

Through in-depth interviews with insiders, John Byrne has accurately depicted the pressure-cooker environment inside a company in the midst of a melt-down. He recreates the bizarre chain of events that began with Al's highly publicized appointment as CEO and ended with his ignominious dismissal. By juxtaposing the external PR spin with the internal chaos, he illustrates the two faces of Al: the charming, ebullient darling of Wall Street and the media, and the ranting, irrational CEO who seemed to enjoy firing people.

The book also depicts how Wall Street analysts, otherwise savvy reporters, individual investors, and even Sunbeam's own Board of Directors were duped into believing Al's fairy tales far longer than I would have imagined possible. They seemed to want to continue to believe, even in the face of growing evidence of his duplicity. The author captures all these events and offers comments and perspective from many of the individuals involved.

Just like one of Aesop's fables, this story highlights the ethical dillemas faced in the business world; the bad choices of an arrogant, unfeeling egomaniac, and the moral of the story: you'll eventually pay the price for profit at any price.

I chose this book because one day I had nothing to do so I went to the library and saw this book. The book was about Albert Einstein. I thought about some things about him, but didn't really find something important about him so that made me want to read this book. I wanted to know how his life was and how did he become so smart. I learned many new things in the book about Albert Einstein. The book was really easy to understand and had some pictures of him doing things.
I recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn more about Albert Einstein. There are many surprising things in this book. One thing was that when Albert was taking his first violin lessons he flung a chair at his teacher. His parents quickly hired another teacher. When Albert was little his parents complained that he was too heavy and also that his head was too large and square shaped. They worried that their son was going to become retarded, but they were wrong. At the age of twelve Albert was really interested in math so he asked a medical student named Max Tameley to lend him some books on math. By the age of thirteen Albert was already past the level of Tameley's.
My favorite part of the story was when Albert Einstein was about at the age of six and taking his first violin lesson. He got mad and all of a sudden through a chair at the chair. I never knew that Albert had a really bad temper when he was a little kid. I always thought that he was a nice little young boy who liked to study and work. The book also says that whenever his sister, Maja, saw that Albert's face was pale she would run away and find cover because she knew that he would throw things. Once Albert almost hit her with a bowling ball and once he did hit her with the handle bar of a hose.

john severance is a good nonfiction writer besides this book he has wroght books like gandhi:great soul,artist and thomas jeforson.Most people in the world know the name albert einstein and the famous E=MC2, but the theory of relativity and his life in general is on known of but with this book will help you under stand it a bit better,did you know he won the nobel prize well he did for physics.

This small monograph is an early "inside" view of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee, where it was first born, written some twenty years after the events of Reconstruction, augmented by an introductory essay written in 1905 by noted historian Walter L. Fleming. Ostensibly written by D. L. Wilson in collaboration with Captain J.C. Lester, one of the six founders of the Klan, it is predictably a decidedly pro-Klan document. Written in 1884, it serves as the first published "inside" story of the Klan. The authors refrain from the use of names, and there is no documentation. The book is essentially a story of the Klan, with which Lester attempts to gain popular acceptance for his description of events. The attempt at moderation serves to trivialize the Klan's deeds and to cast doubt on the degree of central organization of the Klan movement. The Klan is described as being founded for amusement, never shaped by political motivations or thirsts for violence. The society only took on foreboding characteristics as dictated by social forces of the time. The Klan sought to enforce law and order, but members soon found themselves compelled to combat violence with violence in kind, thus rendering impotent the more admirable aspirations of Klan leadership. Illustrative of the inherent dangers of counter-violence was the admission of reckless terrorism being inflicted by rebellious Klansmen following the disbanding of the true Klan in 1869. In closing, Lester and Wilson ask men to judge the Klan's actions on the basis of the conditions of Southern life, but they clearly seek to glorify the Klan for the good it accomplished, namely a stabilization of social order. In essence, the book is an apologist document, but it does provide for an illuminating, fairly contemporary look inside the Reconstruction Klan by men closely connected to the movement. As such, it is of great historical significance.

Reprint of a book published in 1905 which includes the original privately published 1884 edition of this history of the Klan from inside sources. The introduction to the 1905 edition identifies some of the Klan's leadership and briefly discusses its relationship to other secret socieies of the era. The Klan's chief judicial officer, Albert Pike, 'stood high in the Masonic order'.

Written with a pro-Klan spin, the book is a terrific resource for understanding the first incarnation of the KKK from the perspective of those who were in it. Worth looking at whether you love them or hate them.

I bought a used copy of the book and software at the beginning of the term, for a class. Now that we're starting it, I find out that a) we will be using the CD's software, including the online grading service, and therefore b) the copy I bought is useless to me.

The grading service records one email address (i.e. that of the previous owner) per book number. That email, necessary for submitting homework and for sending you the results, cannot ever be changed. In my case, it turns out the CD (which includes a .pdf copy of the textbook anyway) was the important part of the purchase . . . and will not work since it's been used before.

So be warned: don't buy the package used if you will need the software.

Stanford uses this book in its two introductory philosophy classes (philosophy 57 and phil 159). It is appropriate for students without much exposure to math or computer science, as it is very verbose--much more so than Enderton's _Mathematical Logic_ for example.

Students found the software initially frustrating, and the instructor interface can also be harder to use than it should be, but in the end it is worth it. I handed out a survey at the end of one course and the students generally thought the software was helpful and shouldn't be omitted. Showing the students what to do can be helpful. I just took part of a class period and went through (using laptop+projector) installing the software, building a world, writing a sentence, submitting a few exercises, and getting feeback by email.

Oh, and even if the software [was bad], instructors w/o TAs would probably still love it, as 2/3rds of the exercises can be graded automatically.

This text is written in a very clear (shall I say logical?) manner. It covers all a first order logic course can consider.
The exercises are very well thought out and doing them gives the reader a thorough understanding of the subject matter in a chapter.
I disagree with another reviewer (John Rocklin) who did not like the software. There are adequate help files (he said there were none). The software is understandable, especially with 1) using it, 2) help files and 3) manual. It is extraordinarily useful to construct a "world" in which to test the truth of logical statements, prove the truth of a series of statements and devive a truth table for a given statement. The opportunity to send exercise answer files over the net and have them graded in minutes is a great feedback mechanism. The student can send files for grading until they are correct and then also send them to the professor for credit.
All in all, highly recommended.

Dr. Craft has really done his home work. This is the only book I have found that gives complete and accurate information on ALL the models of cars promised. Complete and accurate information along with good color photography make this not just a coffee table book but an enthusiasts reference guide as well..

I didn't think that you could come up with a whole book just about the Boss line of Mustangs. Great pictures and history of this classic car.

This book has great pictures and tells of the 1969-1970 trans am series seasons with great detail recalling the great camaro/mustang battles of that era. Includes some information about the shelby road racers and the 1968 Tunnel Port Mustangs. Has an abundance of 1969-1970 Boss 302, Boss 429 pictures and deatails about the cars. Some information on the Cobra Jet cars too. Buy it!!

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller is an autobiography illustrating her insistent desire in learning how to write and read and defeating her deafness and blindness at the same time. This book records her life back from when she was as young as 4. Due to the loss of sight and hearing at the age of 19 months, Helen lived her life in frustration and pain in her early life. She couldn't understand her family because she didn't yet learn how to communicate. To solve that, her parents hired Ms. Anne Sullivan who influenced her the most. Even througt special education with Ms. Sullivan, Helen coulsn't communicate with her family without Ms. Sullivan's translations. Yet, Helen didn't give up. Her passion for learning how to read and write overcame the obstacles. Her improvements on reading, writing, and arithmetic amazed her teachers and family. She has succeeded in many many areas which helped her to get in college. On her way, there were events that made her learn that deafness can be conquered, such as the blind institution, etc. The students in blind institution were one of Helen's inspiration in learning. Since they lived states away, Helen must contact her friends by mail. That motivated Helen's will to write more. The attached letters in the book shows how much she's improved since she first started to write. This book has taught us lessons that we would never learn in everyday life. Helen Keller defeated her disabilities and lived went to college as a result of her hardworks. Her courage and insistence should be admired. Teenagers nowadays worry much more on appearance or etc rather than their future. This book shows the lesson of working hard, and anything would be possible.

I first read this book in 6th grade. I have read it several times in the intervening years, the most recent time being within the past one year.

Helen Keller, blind and deaf since the age of 1 1/2 has offered, in her own words an accounting of her life experience. It is incredible to imagine how this woman, unable to see or hear can give such a strong voice to descriptions of nature. The book is replete with beautiful, articulate metaphors that draw the reader into the world as Helen knew it. One wonders how a person with no language can "think," and Helen provides some clues. During these "dark days," prior to the arrival of her "Teacher," Annie Sullivan, Helen's life was a series of desires and impressions. She could commnicate by a series of crude signs she and her parents had created. She demonstrated early on that she could learn.

I like the way Helen herself takes her readers past that water pump when she learned that "all things have a name." Instead of getting stuck there, Helen takes her readers on the journey of her life to that point.

In addition to having a good linguistic base, Helen also demonstrates having a phenomenal memory. When she was twelve, she wrote a story she believed to be her own. Entitled "The Frost King," it bore a strong resemblance to one written by a Ms. Canby called "The Frost Fairies." Many of the sentences are identical and a good number of the descriptions are paraphrased. In relating this devasting incident, Helen and Annie recall that Annie had exposed Helen to the story some three years earlier and Helen had somehow retained that information. This plainly shows intelligence.

Both the "Frost" stories are reprinted in full, thus giving the reader a chance to see just how amazing being able to remember such a work really was.

Helen describes her work raising money for other deaf-blind children to attend the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston and in so doing, embarks upon her lifelong mission as a crusader for multiply challenged individuals.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) is a revered figure in American popular culture. Struck deaf and blind by illness at the age of 19 months, she still managed to get an education and become a writer and activist. Her story was further popularized by William Gibson's play "The Miracle Worker," which was also adapted for both film and television.

Keller's autobiography, "The Story of My Life," first appeared in installments in "Ladies' Home Journal" in 1902. This book is truly one of the great American autobiographies: an inspiring story of a courageous individual who overcame tremendous odds.

Keller writes about many things: her childhood in Alabama; her relationship with her beloved teacher, Anne Sullivan; her attendance at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City; and meeting such eminent figures as Mark Twain. She especially stresses her love of literature, which she describes as "my Utopia."

Along the way are some fascinating details and profoundly moving passages. Her tribute to the Homer, the blind poet of ancient Greece, is particularly powerful. I also loved her interpretation of the biblical Book of Ruth: a story of "love which can rise above conflicting creeds and deep-seated racial prejudices."

I think that many will regard Keller's autobiography as a mere historical or sociological document. But I think the book deserves a place as a great work of literature, and moreover as a work of literature in the great American tradition. Keller's poetic, often sensuous words about the natural world are comparable to the work of Emily Dickinson. And her stirring account of her revelatory awareness of language reminds me of Frederick Douglass' account of his first awareness of the power of literacy. The book as a whole is enhanced by Keller's charming, likeable literary style.

"The Story of My Life" is a wonderful book by an amazing individual. Helen Keller still has, I believe, much to say to contemporary audiences.

I found this to be excruciatingly boring. The material is at best obsolete and of little value. A waste of time and money and not appropriate to one searching for a history of Jesus.

I hold this book high and dear, despite a few disagreements. Anyone doing Jesus research should have this tome in their library. While I do feel this book is outdated (being it was written at the end of the First Quest and we are now in the Third) I do feel that better scholarship has been done out there that is more reliable and less blasphemous (such as John Meier, N.T Wright, Ben Witherington) and basically, while Schweitzer really did have a VERY good overview of the entire spectrum of historical Jesus studies, this book can be considered somewhat "outdated". The Jesus Seminar, as well as such scholars as Robert Funk, J.D. Crossan and Marcus Borg in both collaborated and singular efforts have claimed to not only carry on the legacy of David Freidrich Strauss, the supposed pioneer of what came to be the First Quest for Jesus, but they claim to take it further. While I heavily disagree with the Jesus Seminar and many of these "scholars" out there, I agree that they do take it further than any work in this book.

Scweitzer, however, outlines the book MASSIVELY well. He does not skimp on details and progress of the studies for each scholar he mentions and being a Theology professor himself, I do tip my hat to his studies. He does them well. He states more the studies of other scholars and does not go so much into what he has discovered. But I do feel that since this was written, there is much evidence against claims made in the book and, if you agree with the progress of the Historical Jesus studies, much better work out there, even by the Jesus Seminar.

This book is a great read, I recommend that if what I wrote interests you, buy it. However, you will definitely need much supplementary materials from both liberal and conservative scholars to revise your frame of thought.

Albert Schweitzer wrote this great classical study in 1906, back when historical criticism was predominantly a German enterprise. "The Quest of the Historical Jesus" eulogizes the quest of 1778-1901, indicting every scholar of this period for making Jesus over in his liberal self-image, for replacing the original Jewish apocalyptic prophet with a moral and ethical teacher suited to the Protestant temperament. As the reviewers below have observed, Schweitzer demonstrated that everyone had been peering into the well of the Gospels only to see themselves at the bottom. It's now become a cliche in historical-Jesus studies to speak of the painting telling you more about the painter than the subject being painted.

So who was the historical Jesus? For Schweitzer, he was an heroic, albeit deluded, messianic prophet dominated by the conviction that he was God's chosen instrument to announce the imminent end of history -- burning with apocalyptic zeal, marching to Jerusalem, confident that he could compel the Kingdom's arrival on earth through a voluntary death. But the anticipated divine intervention failed to occur, and Jesus was crushed by the system he defied, the entire drama ending on the cross. No resurrection.

Even if Schweitzer's portrait of Jesus is a bit extreme, he at least got the basics right -- that is, Jesus as an eschatological prophet -- and he rightly sounded the death knell for the liberal quest of the historical Jesus. And Schweitzer was a true prophet, for there has been a resurgence of the liberal quest, particularly in the work of the notorious Jesus Seminar. Just as the quest of 1778-1901 made Jesus into a liberal German Protestant, so now the Jesus Seminar has made him into a liberal North American humanist, fitting this mold in the guise of a non-eshatological cynic-sage divorced from Judaism. This Jesus is, as Schweitzer could have easily predicted, made over in the image of the Jesus Seminarians.

For more up-to-date works which follow Schweitzer in depicting Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, see E.P. Sanders' "The Historical Figure of Jesus", Paula Fredriksen's "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews", and Dale Allison's "Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet". Allison's book, in particular, is worth its weight in gold.

Actually I would give this book 3 and half stars. This book represents an effort to give a comprehensive introduction to modern nuclear attack submarine. This effort itself is respectful. But just like most other military technical books you find in an average bookstore, Clancy's work is filled with technical inacurracies. One obvious example: the side view of Kilo sub at the end of the book is totally out of proportion. And Clancy's USA-always-No.-1 arrogance is a bit annoying. In his tatical senarios, which are entertaining to read, he just assumes too little of the enemies' intelligence in blunt statement such as "the captain of the Russian boat tries the same evasion tactics as his American opponent, but they are probably not as effective." At another occasion he calls the Soviet Union a "babarian country."

In short, this book is adequate in providing amateur knowledge on attack submarine and is entertaining as a leisure reading. But maybe it's just not worth the money of serious collectors. The easily accessible accurate info. could be found in the menu of Jane's game 688I, Hunter/Killer (although it's quite dry to read), or US Submarines since 1945: an Illustrated Design History by Friedman and Chritley.

I haven't got too much submarine knowledge, but in this book Clancy gives you a general history of submarines and how to become a submariner. The book is to complicated for beginners, if you don't know basics. But you will learn more about subs after you read that book, but there is a mistake in the book; he wrote 60+ nm as ADCAP's speed but it is 55+ actually. Where did I get information? From Jane's Information group(Which is the biigest and oldest information group for military equipment in the world.) There is an idea in the book which is repeating very often "America has the best stuff." In the book he made a pretty big tour in the USS Miami and talked with her crew, he also talked about the HMS Triumph and her crew which is the A Royal Navy sub. There is a very useful Glossary annd a sub identification hand book at the end of the book. If you are just interested in with the subs you should read that book.

The book's strong point is the way Clancy takes you inside a US attack submarine and gives you all the inside details. You are there with Clancy, he also describes the missions and future roles of submarines. The bad part of the book in my opinion it was a little out of date. But it is a great book to learn about subs and their tactics, roles, and history.