Gundry's Commentary on the Second Gospel is simply the most thoroughly researched and meticulously documented study in print! His thesis is relatively simple: The Second Gospel presents an apology for the circumstances surrounding Jesus' death.

All commentators on Mark end up dealing, in one way or another, with the fact that there exists two distinct types of literature within the narrative. The first kind, largely toward the beginning, consists of success stories in which Jesus works miracles, casts out demons, heals the sick, forecasts the future, draws large crowds to himself and so on. These characteristics were highly estimated in the first century Greco-Roman world. The second kind of literature, largely towards the end of the Gospel, consists of Jesus' passion in which he is betrayed, forsaken, denied, and ultimately crucified. Such characteristics would bring shame upon a person.

Gundry goes to painstaking detail to show how Mark appeals to the various success stories in Jesus' life to immerse a shameful death, a death by crucifixion, in a sea of glory. Jesus' death on a cross then turns out not to be a thing of shame, but instead, the opposite turns out to be the case. According to Gundry, the Gospel of Mark presents, however paradoxical, a cruciform shaped theology of glory.

Two concerns a potential buyer may have: 1.)This commentary assumes some knowledge of Greek and technical terminology in exegesis from the reader and, 2.) the author's Pre-Millenial interpretation of the Olivet Discourse may seem strained to those whose interests fall outside the well worn millennial arguments.

This is a substantial work that simply must be consulted for any academic study in the Second Gospel and which should also prove a valuable tool for most who are interested in a detailed understanding of Mark.

This is another one of Robert's (and others) great works! This book is written well, and is geared towards providing the DBA early in his/her career the information needed to master the Oracle database and take the next step to becoming a senior DBA, and then on to being an expert. Each section provides detail explanations on how each piece of the system works, why it's there, how to monitor/tune/administer it, and special things to look out for. The book goes beyond the "basic" architecture and gives outstanding explanations for many of the advanced features, such as replication and data warehousing, and explains them in plain language that is easy to digest. An excellent reference for any DBA!

It seems like everyone wants to be a visionary these days, especially in the high tech sector where I make my living. The problem is that a vision without execution is a hallucination, and there are a lot of hallucinations from what I see. This book is a grounded and straightforward guide to crafting an organization based on realities.

It starts with how to build and articulate a vision, and from that vision derive a mission statement that will guide your company towards realization of the vision. What I like about the authors' approach is the way they integrate quality management concepts into vision, mission and values. They also emphasize leadership and make it clear that the best crafted and articulated vision and mission statements are for naught without a total commitment and strong leadership to guide the organization and constantly keep focused on where they are supposed to be going. This is reinforced with some natural laws, such as you get what you talk about,the culture of a work team is a reflection of its leader, and you can't walk faster than one step at a time.

The natural laws set forth in the book have corollaries in the form of problems. Here the authors identify and provide guidance to problems such as managers who won't let go, the front line resists greater authority, an inappropriate focus on the boss and clash of ideas. One key concept that I especially thought astute is relocating authority and identifying consultative and decision roles and responsibilities as centers of authority are transformed into participative management. I think this is key because doing this is a fine balancing act. I have witnessed attempts to do this in other organizations that did not clearly define scope and responsibility (or accountability and authority), only to see managers let go of authority that was rightfully theirs. The result can be chaos and lack of focus - using the authors' approach it becomes a true participatory environment that is focused on mission.

Other highlights include: continuous cultural improvement with an emphasis on measurement, effective use of task forces and a wealth of HR guidelines ranging from hiring/firing to salary and incentives. These set this book apart from many that deal with vision and mission statements because too many books sidestep these important factors.

Over the years I have read a number of books that deal with vision and mission statement development. This is the first that squarely addresses the leadership issues as well as the HR challenges that you will face when you publish your vision and mission and transform your organization into what you envision. If you are just looking for quick and dirty way to get a vision and mission statement hung in your lobby or emblazoned on your web site this book is not for you. If, on the other hand, you have an idea where your company should be going and want a clear path to getting there get this book and take it to heart.

There are several comprehensive nuclear medicine textbooks and I have used them all from time to time. This is without a doubt the most clinically relevant, and contains excellent radiopharmacy and basic science information as well.

This is an excellent book for students of the nursing profession. Clear concise details are given. It is ideal for studies and I consider it to be a 'Nurses' Bible" and it is one I will keep and refer to forever. Recommended for all medical students. You can't get a better book at this price.

This is a highly recommended book for parents of QUADS as the author is a mom to quadruplets herself. The book is written in a fun, rhyming style which holds the interest of even my active 15 month old quadruplets! This book makes a great gift for parents of quadruplets and serves as an excellent keepsake for those special quadruplets. A definite item to be on an expectant quad mom's baby shower registry!

As a devotional, the book is inspiring. How can it not be? The old hymns my parents knew, and taught me to appreciate, hold an appeal unmatched by many of today's choruses. Reading the words of each hymn brings back warm memories of sing-a-longs in my parents church. To read the stories behind the hymns is a profoundly inspiring experience. For the one who is searching for a deeper relationship with God, the book is a wonderful devotional. For the music enthusiast, the book is a treasure of history.

If you have seen the silent film, Nanook of the North, you might recall that moment when the protagonist arrives in his splendid kayak (also the name of George Hitchcock's near legendary literary journal from 1964-1984), he gets out of the boat and then, from within the boat emerge his wife, two or three children and possibly a husky or two -- on that my memory is not clear. And Story Line Press' masterful collection (edited by Robert McDowell, Joseph Bednarik, & Mark Jarmon, with introduction by Phil Levine, "One-Man Boat: The George Hitchcock Reader" accomplishes a similar effect -- out of this collection emerges George the poet, the playright, the actor, the editor, the novelist, the short story stylist, the witness before the HUAC, and on the cover, George, the painter. This selection from a significant body of work should serve as ample introduction to the work of a man, extraordinary by anyone's standards. This collection stands as testimony to a life lived in dedication to ideas about art and the full expression of art as a daily enterprise rather than some caged rarefied entity. I would hope this book becomes required reading for any serious student of late 20th century literature from the West Coast. I'll close with a paraphrase of one of my favorite poems, "Lying Now in the New Grass" -- the poem is an invocation of rest -- it is sensual and surreal. In its final image the "plow of night" passes over the world. I can think of no other way to spend a restful afternoon/early evening than to sit quietly with the magic of this book, a cup or glass of a favorite beverage, resting in the kayak of this book, with the capable hands of a master at the oars, be he Nanook, be he George -- don't let anyone fool you, it only looks like a one man boat -- it is filled with multitudes.

I've been waiting for a book like this for a long time. It offers, at last, a clear-headed and incisive analysis of the whole scandal mess in today's media. It's short, to-the-point, delightful reading that I found tremendously entertaining. Anybody who listens to the daily diet of dirty laundry on the news will love this book.

and descriptions combine to make this an excellent reference on horns of the period.