Of the various confessional documents contained in the Book of Concord, the Smalcald Articles has been the most neglected in scholarly studies. William Russell, campus pastor at North Dakota State University, offers the first book-length study of the SA available in English. Russell's central thesis is that the SA represents Luther at his most essential. Russell provides ample evidence, both from internal and external sources, that Luther considered the SA to be an extremely important statement of his theology. Luther wrote this document at a time when he was convinced that his death was near. He was having severe problems with kidney stones and apparently also had experienced heart attacks. Elector John Frederick, who ordered the preparation of this document, was also aware of Luther's poor health and wrote: "It will be highly necessary for Dr. Mar-tin to prepare his basis and opinion with the divine scriptures, indicating all the articles upon which he has written, preached and taught. He should do this for the sake of the council, but also in view of his final departure from this world to the almighty judg-ment of God. He should indicate what he thinks, maintains, and where he remains in order not to offend the divine majesty-the points we must maintain without regard to body or possessions, peace or conflict" (p. 36-37). The Elector was anxious to have something for the church council that was ex-pected to be held in Mantua in 1537. As we know, a church council did not meet until the year 1545, in Trent, and lasted until 1564. As far as Luther himself was concerned, the council was fast approaching and the Lutherans needed something to take with them, upon which they could stand, and from which they could argue their case be-fore the Pope and the Roman Catholic theologians. Luther therefore prepared this document for a meeting of the German estates in the city of Smalcald that was held in February of 1537. In light of the above, it is interesting to note that the SA was not adopted by the various German estates that had gathered in Smalcald. Russell offers three reasons why this was so. First, Luther's health prevented him from attending the meeting and thus he was unable to present the document himself. Russell speculates that had Luther at-tended, the articles would have been discussed. Second, Elector John Frederick consid-ered the SA to be a theological statement, not a statement of political rulers, as was the AC which was presented to the Emperor at the meeting of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in 1530. Third, Russell feels that since the Smalcald gathering decided not to attend a church council, they did not consider the SA necessary to take up. However, Luther it seems was totally unaware that his articles had not been adopted, for in 1538 he was still operating under the incorrect assumption that the SA had been formally adopted by the political states in Smalcald. Russell sides with Friedrich Bente who as-serts in his historical introduction that the SA was adopted de facto since the majority of the theologians gathered at Smalcald did subscribe to the SA, and the SA did reflect the views of the majority of the political rulers at Smalcald. The SA was not actually published until the Spring of 1538 after Luther had prepared a longer preface, and made some changes to the text proper. It was incorporated into the 1563 Brunswick Corpus Doctrinae, and then later made a part of the Book of Concord in 1580. Russell provides an ongoing dialogue with Volz's and Ulbrich's Urkunden und Aktenstücke zur Geschichte von Martin Luthers Schmalkaldischen Artikeln and in many respects this book is a reaction, both in agreement and disagreement, to this work. The footnotes reveal that Russell has engaged in a thorough study of pertinent secondary sources, impressing the reader with Russell's desire to anchor his comments within the stream of scholarship on the various issues that are raised in the SA. He walks through the SA, noting the key theological concepts Luther raises and providing appropriate references from secondary sources that illuminate the points he is making. Russell's discussion of Luther's assertion in the SA that the pope is the anti-Christ is objective, and therefore useful. Russell refrains from grinding an ecumenical ax at this point, and thus permits Luther's position on this matter to stand without intrusive editorial commentary. Russell disagrees with the commonly expressed view that the SA merely reflects Luther in a pugnacious mood. Of course, the state of Lu-ther's health can be used to support the position that his polemical tone in the SA is not to be taken too seriously. Russell however states that even if the harsh remarks made by Luther about the pope do reflect some personal emotional frustrations with the progress of the German Reformation, simply to dismiss Luther's comments about the pope as anti-Christ "risks missing what Luther (and those closest to him) thought to be the main issue at stake in their efforts to reform the church. For Luther, the gos-pel of the forgiveness of sin by grace alone, apart from works of the law, is the distinc-tive feature of the Christian proclamation. Any theology (be it Roman Catholic, Ana-baptist, Reformed, or Evangelical) that violated this sine qua non of the church's mes-sage was open to the charge of being labeled by Luther as "anti-Christian" (p. 95). Russell is careful to observe that Luther's discussion on the Lord's Supper was purposefully concrete. Luther's realistic description that "the bread and wine in the supper are the true body and blood of Christ" was controversial (p. 104). By doing this, Luther moved a step beyond the language of the Wittenberg Concord of 1536, an agreement that had been signed by representatives from both southern and northern Germany. Russell indicates that the WC was meant to be a compromise statement, noting that the WC was "rather ambiguous at the very point it was supposed to clarify" (p. 105). Luther purposefully avoids the slippery word "with" when discussing the bread/wine and body/blood connection in the Lord's Supper, choosing instead to re-main with the much stronger copulative verb "is" - our Lord's language. Luther's wording apparently did not please Melanchthon, who was afraid that this matter would cause controversy at Smalcald. He went so far as to recommend that the estates pledge themselves to "the Augsburg Confession and the Wittenberg Concord" (p. 106). We see here a clear foreshadowing of Melanchthon's later compromising position on the Lord's Supper, which took full form only after Luther's death. In light of the impending ecumenical agreements between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a number of Reformed churches, Luther's position in the SA are all more relevant to our present day and age. Will Luther have the last word in the largest Lu-theran church in America on the subject of our Lord's presence in the eucharistic bread wine, or will Melanchthon and his heirs? Russell's book is actually quite brief, with the text proper taking up only 116 pages. The rest of the book is devoted to three appendices. Appendix A is Russell's translation of the Smalcald Articles. This reviewer is given to understand that Russell's translation, with editorial modifications, will be used in the new Book of Concord translation now in progress. Appendix B is a list of names and terms from the age of the Lutheran Reformation. Appendix C is a topical index to Luther's Works and Lu-theran Confessional writings, indicating where an interested reader might find other Luther documents on a wide range of theological topics. In light of the fact that this book is the only one in English devoted to the SA, one hesitates to be critical. But it needs to be said that the book is somewhat disjointed and repetitive. Key themes and concepts are repeated within a short amount of space. This is probably due in part to the genesis of the book as a series of lectures to students at Luther Northwestern Seminary as part of a regular gathering called, "Friends of the Lutheran Confessions." It is unclear if this book is

This is an excellent (and rare) exploration of the Smalcald Articles of the Lutheran Confessions. The author makes the case that these articles offer key insight into the mind of Luther because Luther thought his death might be imminent and the Smalcald Articles reveal what was most important to him. For example, Luther's thoughts on the Lord's Supper indicate that he was not close to the Reformed camp on communion but remained convinced of the "Real Presence" doctrine to the end. Mr. Russell deserves credit for an interesting work on this key neglected Lutheran Confessional document.

This book is too elementary to be helpful for anybody with any experience in programming.

well what can i say about one of the most preferred series for programming. this one is a real wacko 'cause it not only assumes your programming backgrond to be nill from starting therefore helping you to start off instantaneously. what i also liked about this book was the fact that the codes associated with the problems give one enough hands on experience so that one can tackle small scale problems very confidently.. i am sure that this book will prove to be a great help for all those who are looking for a very clear and intutive book for starting off learning Fortran 77

This was a great book. It is a wonderful opportunity to read for research on this particular area. I thoroughly enjoyed this as many others I interviewed did also. Buy this book...it's a good read!

This book is essentially a workbook for speed reading and improved understanding. It makes use of mini-excercises that will remind you of the reading comprehension section of the good ol' SAT's. The whole point is to show you how to read books while minimizing time spent and maximizing your comprehension of the material. By the time I finished this book, I must admit that I was finding college textbooks to not be nearly as intimidating. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially students. The only downside to this book (and the reason I only gave it 3 stars) was that the book is a little rough around the edges. The style is dated and rather mundane, making it rough going for anyone who has anything less than a superb attention span. Overall this book was great considering it was published in 1988. It would be a winner if they updated it and published a sequel of sorts.

Read this work several times. It is obvious a fun book with brief chapters dealing with a variety of "common" personality types found in the work place. Even though it contains psychological things, it appears to be primarily a "tongue-in-cheek" book using Greek Mythology names for the subject employee types. Of course, the "died-in-the-wool" Psychologists or Management Experts will criticize the book as being trite, lame, and not "backed by scientific research." However, my honest opinion is that this book was intended as both a fun piece and some diverted reading for individuals working in management, personnel psychology, and human resources. It also is a touch candid in the comparisons and even "arrow shooting" at certain employee types that are either irritating and/or whatever. Try it! You'll hopefully like it as I did.

Overall this is a pretty enjoyable collection. Not terribly outstanding but not the worst that I've read either. All of the stories are supposed to take place within an urban environment and draw on the horror from that situation. Some worked; some didn't. It seems to me that "theme" collections like this usually bat around 50%. It would be better if just the best stories were hunted out rather than trying to apply to one theme only. I've listed some of my favorite stories below:

"Prey" by Richard Matheson - A woman's present for her boyfriend takes on a life of its own.

"The Father-Thing" by Philip K. Dick - A story very similar to Invasion of The Body Snatchers but with children as the heroes. (Developed at the same time as the original story.)

"The Tunnel Ahead" by Alice Glaser - A family outing to the beach on a very crowded world

"The Chimney" by Ramsey Campbell - A boy's terror with facing what may or may not be coming for him

"The Litter" by James Kisner - A man's cat has kittens while his neighbor's dog has puppies, they think

"The Shaggy House" by Joe R. Lansdale - Two old men do something about the deterioration of their neighborhood

"The Book of Webster's" by J.N. Williamson - A man and a young woman travel the country adding to their collection

Consider the following statement from page 256. Here's some "early lessons" from the "new economy":

Dot-com startups as well as clicks-and-mortar strategies can be viable for B2B for B2C ecommerce if the applications leverage Internet technologies AND a marketplace strength.

Aren't you glad you bought the book? You ALSO need a marketplace strength to be successful, not just the Internet stuff. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

This text has a tendancy to give misleading information or entirely incorrect information. Even in the most basic concepts, the authors misuse terms or create terms used nowhere else in the IT industry. The authors relay their lack of understanding for basic computer concepts in this supposedly 2001 updated edition.

As an example for those who are literate in IT, the authors make statements such as "virtual memory is used only on larger computer systems". Got a 6 year old computer running MS Windows? You've got virtual memory.

If you wish to learn about IT, please find another book written by authors who understand the field, not business professors.

I am finding this book as an extremely useful reference tool for writing my senior thesis at Rutgers University (NJ) on the Internet and B2B transactions. I find it very easy to read and useful, and some of the case studies are very interesting and helpful. Some of the other buyers don't seem to think the book is worth its price but I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THEM. I believe the book is worth its price.

I agree with the review posted by darkgenius below. The book simply does not provide enough documentation for its claims. Many of the stories seem to rest on the slenderest foundations. For instance, the authors recount a tale of George Washington encountering a ghost - or angel - at Valley Forge in 1778. This lengthy, detailed narrative, written in a pseudo-Biblical style, is attributed to Washington himself. However, we then learn that Washington didn't write it, after all - it was written up by a "young aide, Anthony Sherman, who many years later, in 1859, retold the account" to a reporter. So what we have is a second-hand story circulated 81 years after the alleged event (and bearing obvious references to the Civil War - astoundingly prophetic in 1778, but not so remarkable in 1859, when the war was imminent). Things get worse as the book continues. Nostradamus is dragged into the discussion. We hear of a ghost story reported by "an unnamed source" in "a national tabloid." The Bible Code makes an appearance. All credibility is lost. In the Foreword, Joel Martin says, "We wanted this book to be more than merely a collection of anecdotes." They failed.

The idea of assembling together evidence on the reported hauntings at the White House and other important historical sites seems like an idea long overdue. One hears stories about Lincoln's ghost and other such rumors, but there really is no authoritative book detailing all of the facts and legends. Unfortunately, I must say that there is still no such authoritative book. Martin and Birnes have certainly presented readers with a lot of information; apparently, they have never met a rumor or unsupported fact they didn't like. That becomes a problem. These pages contain more ghost references than I would ever imagine possible, thus making the need for supporting documentation crucial. Frankly, almost nothing the authors give us supports what they are saying. Going beyond the sore lack of provenance to these reports, I became increasingly frustrated at the huge leaps of faith and incredible assumptions the authors try to pass off as fact. More times than I can count, we are told that this ghost has been known to appear here or that ghost would return a century later. Only rarely do we get any details whatsoever to back up these incredible statements. Matters only get worse as one forges ahead. Along with the lack of any detail whatsoever, the authors begin to tell us that a certain manifestation must surely have been that of a certain individual. Somebody may or may not have seen something at a certain place, but the authors conclude that the person almost certainly witnessed the apparition of some famous person. When they delve into the subject of spiritualism and psychic abilities among the presidents, they provide private dialogue between parties that they cannot possibly have documented. The most absurd statement in the book involves the authors' refusal to let the supposed death curse on zero-year presidents die; perhaps, they opine, President Reagan began "dying" at the hands of Alzheimer's Disease before he finished his second term.

There are just tons of examples of unsupported accounts and conclusions in this book, so many that I cannot put much faith in anything reported on these pages. I know this is not an academic text and I don't expect footnotes, but I do expect to actually learn the most basic of details of the reports cited. There is a significant bibliography in the back of the book, but even there the authors say that there was not enough room to list all of the sources they used. The trouble does not end here, as the authors make authoritative statements about such controversial events as the Kennedy assassination; these guys have an answer for every mystery in American history. Undoubtedly, there is some factual, important information in this book, but it's hardly worth finding amid the morass of unreliable reporting. While this book was interesting, I began to regard it as rather foolish halfway through it. The authors have some of these spirits making more public appearances in death than they ever did in life. My final complaint concerns the political agenda that clearly finds its way into the final hundred pages; the authors resort to snide comments and accusations that made clear their stand on modern-day politics. I don't care what the authors' political views are, but I don't think they have any place in a book supposedly devoted to presidential hauntings.

I totally disagree with the other two comments on this great book. Joel Martin has once again outdone himself. I could not put this book down until I was finished and then wanted to read it again!! The stories about the hauntings of the White House were so detailed and fascinating that I felt that I was actually experiencing them in person. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is a wonderfully different look at our history and the personal lives of our leaders.

I was really disappointed with his book. It seems to be disconnected,like a collection of works by the author. Some things are repeated in different parts of the book. There is much unrelated information to dig thru to get at what the author says he is discussing. The layout makes it difficult to read, there are lots of typographical errors and mis-spellings, even of President Roosevelt's name. Save your money.

I received "Cowboys With Chrome Horses" as a gift and got into it right away. I was not as impressed with the book as I had expected I would be, considering the experience of the author. I also thought the cover illustration was a bit goofy. The material between the covers is not so much historical in content as it is flattering to the authors buddies it chronicles. I was left wondering what the purpose of the book was more than being cought up in the story.

The first book to explain the historical interlacing of the independant American spirit with the allure of that most enigmatic machine, the motorcycle. Everyone who rides understands this sense of spirit and freedom. Bad boys on bad toys was a fiction created by the meida. The intertwining of that fiction with the rise in popularity of the era of the cowboy is explored historically and romantically. This book explains that saying motorcycle saying "if I have to explain you wouldn't understand" to both riders and non-riders alike. Easy to read, fasinating connections made.

Come on Steven Wakefield is the most unbeliveable character. He must be the most naive guy on the planet. I am totally disgusted by him. In the book he is so obessed with his dead girl friend he starts dating a girl who looks like her. I think this is a morbid topic not worthy to be written about. Sweet Valley High needs better writers if they want to sell any books at all

Like I said in an earlier Sweet Valley High review, Steven Wakefield is still obsessed with his dead girlfriend, and this is mentioned in a few SVH books.This time he leaves poor Cara Walker to chase after some girl who resembles Tricia. If I was Cara I would have just let him go, but in Sweet Valley happy endings are inevitable.

Steven Wakefield, the twins older brother sees a girl that is the spitting image of his dead girlfriend Tricia Martin. He begins dating her, in the hope that he can rekindle the same feelings that he felt with Tricia. Unfortunately, Steven tries to make his new girlfriend look like Tricia by making her wear her hair the same way as Tricia did and act the same way. Will Steven be able to realise that Tricia's gone forever?