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Book reviews for "Marks,_John" sorted by average review score:

Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative
Published in Mass Market Paperback by New American Library (1989)
Authors: Herbert Mason and John H. Marks
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A beautiful myth
I read this book in my western civ class during college. I was not sure what to expect from it, but found that I was pulled in and the book and meaning of the book would not let go. This is the meaning of life at its best. Athough not much history is involved with this epic tale, the writing is. This well done verse translation gives a glossary at the end of the book to help with hard to pronouce words and makes the read a bit easier. I do suggest reading this great book. It is very well done.

Gilgamesh
I had to read this book for a school World History class. This tale of the ancient god Gilgamesh, was written in free-form verses. This book was short, with an intresting and thought-provocking introduction and conclusion. I have not read other translations, but this one semmed very benificial to the high-school aged student. Although I did not really enjoy the story, it really forced you to think; about life, death, and immortality. Also included was a great feature, a glossey at the back of the book so you could look up proper nouns when you got confused. I found the glossery so helpful as I read this book. In conclusion, although this book was not my peferred style of writing, this is a very good translation of an epic tale.

A deep view of the meaning of life
While there cannot be much doubt as to the cultural value of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the importance of the story transceds mere literary significance. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of those simple and yet deeply insightful stories that one can relate to. The verse narrative style that mason adopts, while by no means a flawless poetic translation, takes you through the events in a seamlessly captivating manner. One can infer a lot from the story about the meaning of life, especially as regards how the ancient ones chose to answer questions such as eternity and why humans cannot live forever (u'll have to figure out which part of the story I am talking about!!).
Overall this is a great reading. Shouldnt take too long to finish either, although I recommend that you take your time reading this one.


Squadron Supreme
Published in Paperback by Marvel Books (1997)
Authors: Mark Gruenwald, Mike Carlin, Tom Defalco, Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, Ralph MacChio, Alex Ross, Bob Hall, Paul Ryan, and John Buscema
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Proof Mark Gruenwald was the all-time best comic author.
Even without SQUADRON SUPREME, his excellent runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA and QUASAR speak for themselves. But this is one of his finest hours.

This limited series is not the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme; they had shown up in several issues of THE AVENGERS, parodying DC's trademark heroes and "proving" that the Avengers would beat them.

But it was the late, great Mr. Gruenwald who took them and placed them in a superb mini-series that combined comedy, drama, and action with moral arguments.

Even to this day, the questions remain. Who was right--Hyperion or Nighthawk? Where EITHER of them right? And so forth.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gruenwald. After writing this, you've earned it.

Squadron Supreme-supreme comic writing.
Other reviews have mostly summed it up. This story is superb. Mr. Gruenwald is underappreciated genuis. It's unfortunate he, and the Squadron, haven't been appreciated sooner. And, that Mr. Gruenwald didn't get to see his most cherished creation enjoy the recognition and popularity it deserves. The exciting and innovative concepts and ground-breaking devices aside, I enjoyed the heck out of the Hyperion character. With Superman being one of the premier characters of the superhero genre, and practically a pop-culture institution today, it seems odd that unlike other hit characters, he has never seriously been emulated. But it is that very popularity that prevented it. He is so recognizable, writers were just too afraid of being "copycats". Leave it to Gruenwald to have the courage to create his own version of a classic(as well as the rest of JLA), and instill it with it's own identity, and his own unique vision. Not unlike an "ElseWorlds" story, there is much familiar, and much strikingly different. Powers and origin parallel. But Hyperion, like the other Squadron characters, has his own unique quirks, hang-ups, dreams, and ambitions. The story takes the "What-If?" concept to extremes, as Hyperion and the Squadron say and do the things their "original" counterparts wouldn't even think. Fans of Superman and/or JLA should love this, as will any fans of good comic story telling. Don't pass on this one, if you miss it the second time, you may regret it.

A Masterpiece of the Alternate Timeline Comics Genre!
I recently bought and read the collection after having read the original limited series back in the 1980s. The late Mr. Gruenwald's storytelling skills and love for the old JLA series continue to shine. I loved some of MG's takes on the classic heroes. How would Superman change his outlook if he abandoned his Clark Kent persona? How would the Golden Age Wonder Woman act if she outlived Steve Trevor and lost her Amazon homeland? Would Batman be more effective on the streets or the White House? We see all kinds of fantastic technology in comics, but what would happen if it was unleashed on the real world? Before Kingdom Come, he had the courage to present the ramifications of great power taking on greater responsibility at the expense of free will. Unlike KC, SS does not get bogged down in dark tones and endless fights, while it still allows the reader to empathize, as well as root for, the Squadron even though they have gone beyond their lawful duty. One wonders what comics would have looked like today if Squadron Supreme had been the big influence instead of Watchmen.


The Guide to Living with Bladder Cancer
Published in Hardcover by Johns Hopkins Univ Pr (15 December, 2000)
Authors: Mark P. Schoenberg and Johns Hopkins Genitourinary Oncology Gro
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Extremly well written
Written in plain English, so you can understand everything that's necessary about bladder cancer. No need to sit with a medical dictionairy to explain terms, since everything is put in plain words. I have bladder cancer and this book has put the disease in perspective for me. I would advise anyone that wants to understand this form of cancer to read it now.

Tells what is needed to know about symptoms
Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the least discussed: Dr. Mark Schoenberg's Guide To Living With Bladder Cancer tells what is needed to know about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Chapters move from the basic initial signs of such cancer to treatment options and bladder preservation therapy. A quite comprehensive portrait evolves.

Very informative
This is the only book about bladder cancer that I found for the general public. It's very informative and well written with a general optimistic tone. It was very helpful to understand the diagnosis and treatment options.


One God & One Lord : Reconsidering the Cornerstone of the Christian Faith
Published in Textbook Binding by Christian Educational Services (31 December, 2000)
Authors: Mark H. Graeser, John W. Schoenheit, and John A. Lynn
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Popularist statement of a non-Trinitarian view
This book probably fills a need in being one of the few populist appeals for a non-Trinitarian view of God and Christ. ... The book is definitely enthusiastic but is a bit thin on substance.

There are three other books available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk which might be a better buy. (Be aware that both Amazon sites ship across the Atlantic at very reasonable rates)
[1] Richard Rubenstein: When Jesus became God - a Jewish historian of conflict resolution examines how the early church controversies lead to the adoption of the Trinity. Not much related to the New Testament but fascinating reading all the same.
[2] Anthony Buzzard: The Doctrine of the Trinity - an appeal for a non-Trinitarian view of Christ, with good section on the history of early Trinitarianism.
[3] James Broughton, Peter Southgate: The Trinity True or False? Much more thorough and complete than Buzzard on the scripture sections, but very brief on the historical side.

After reading this book you will know who Jesus is.
Most non-trinitarians know who Jesus is not. Very few know who Jesus is. This book fully explains who Jesus is and why he is not "GOD the SON" or a "mere" mortal (as the trinitarians would like you to think all non-trinitarians believe). You will learn why believing he is the "highly exalted" Son of God is the truth.

These authors explore a subject that for most orthodox Christians is not to be questioned. However, anyone who seriously studies the Scriptures cannot reconcile the Jesus revealed in the churches with the Jesus revealed in the Scriptures. This book reveals the truth about Jesus and where and when the error crept into the Christian faith.

It is a must read for any believer who truly wishes to know who the only begotten Son of God is.

Compelling and challenging
Few people change their minds on their opinions about the nature of God, but those willing to put their faith to the test will be rewarded by a careful examination of this book's arguments. Non-trinitarians who hold Jesus as Lord will see this as validation. Trinitarians will see it as heresy.

The Bible instructs Christ's followers to "prove all things, hold fast to that which is good." Just as non-trinitarians should read the best trinitarian arguments, trinitarians should read this book. It is probably the best non-trinitarian argument in print.


Greece (Rough Guide Series)
Published in Paperback by Routledge Kegan & Paul (1984)
Authors: Mark Ellingham, John Fisher, and Natania Jansz
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Just OK
This review compares the Lonely Plantet Greece (4th Edition) with the Rough Guide Greece (8th edition). We spent 2.5 weeks in July, 2001 in Greece, our first visit, and these were our guide books.
A relucant 4 stars to each, and a slight preference for RG. We certainly found the books serviceable, and they gave us good ideas of where in Greece we wanted to go. But they were much less valuable in their listings for individual destinations. They were the least valuable compared to the other LP and RG travel books we've used (Portugal, Italy, Thailand, Tokyo).

As usual, they both overstate their hotel rankings which to me make sense only if you've been sleeping out on the beach from necessity, and now have finally scraped some money together for a room. An exagerration, but I've lost patience with gushing praise for facilities which are usually no better than serviceable and sometimes less than that. And, we're not into spending money on fancy accommodations. Occassionaly the books are on the money, but often not.

On the smaller islands RG usually had more accommodation listings, but occassionally LP did. There were at least two instances when LP had none, just saying that rooms were available.

The ferry schedules in the books, pretty much consistent between them, bore little relation to reality, even though we were there in the high season.

I want to complete with my usual gripe about these and other guide books: we don't know which restaurants and hotels were actually visited by the writers (and by which one) and when. To paraphrase from my review of RG Portugal:

LP is out front in saying that its reviewers do not stay at all the hotels or eat at all the restaurants they list. I would like it if the reviews would be initialized by the reviewers with the date. This would allow us to learn each reviewer's tastes and standards, not to mention seeing which places they actually visited.

One LP writer (not I think an author of this book) in discussing restaurants wrote: "As one of those LP writers I can tell you that it is not physically possible to eat even a 'little bit of a meal' in each of those restaurants :-) What we all tend to do is eat at a broad cross-section within the norms of natural eating times and visit the other restaurants and talk to the owner or even the diners if it can be done discretely. In the same vein we don't sleep at every hotel!"

Talk to the owners for your evaluation! Says it all.

Capable enough to get you through high tide...
Most of my friends often recommend the Lonely Planet books, especially for those of us who can't mortgage our homes for one-night stays in hotels listed by Frommer's and Fodor's guides. But I went with Rough Guide for my trip last summer to Greece, and while some of the maps weren't as detailed as they could might have been, most of the recommendations were spot on.

Many nightspots get renovated; names get changed, etc. That's something the editors can't really help with. But any restaurant or bar I went to (listed in the guide) was above-average, if not better than they claimed.

The historical data was also well-balanced; so you're not bored to tears with it, and yet it's detailed enough to keep you reading through it. Bonus marks for the great inclusion of the Greek music coverage (flawed, but excellent), and the price of the book is decent.

Comprehensive, concise, relevant, practical!
We just came back from a 3 weeks, modest-budget, partly backpacking, partly car-rental trip around Rhodes, Crete, and Peloponnese. We deliberately stayed off the beaten tracks as much as possible. We used this guide along with French "Guide du Routard" and Michelin guides. I picked this guide against the Lonely Planet one based on an excellent experience with the Corsica rough guide last year.

This Rough Guide was above all very practical -- it simply is amazingly detailed, and what's more, it's mostly right. The rooms , hotels, and restaurants suggested were spot on. Very few outdated entries.

This guide also includes much relevant background info on Greek history, politics, food, an so on. This made for a much more interesting trip.

The paper was very thin yet high quality, making this guide even more worth its space in my pack.

This is definitely not the guide for organized tours -- the authors make no secret of their disdain for package tourism and the spoiling it often brings. But, for the independent traveller, this is the best guide I have found in English or French.


Elway
Published in Hardcover by Triumph Books (1998)
Authors: John Elway, Mark Serota, Elise Glading, and Marc Serota
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Excellent pictoral history of Elway's life!
If I was going to rate my personal enjoyment of this book, I'd give it 5 stars, easily -- 6, if I could. However, the critic in me did notice some improprieties. The book reports a few minor factual mistakes. For example, the inner jacket flap mistakenly reports that Elway will be entering (in 1998) his 15th NFL season, when in fact it was his 16th. Elway himself at one point confuses the sequence of plays when recalling "The Drive" in the 1987 AFC Championship. He also claims to have been ahead at halftime in his first two Super Bowls, even when, a few lines later, he recalls that in his 2nd Super Bowl (against the Washington Redskins) the opposing team took the lead in the second quarter. The reason for these indiscretions is more due to the format of the book than a problem with Elway's or the editor's memories. This book is autobiography only in the loosest of senses; the text is very brief, and in it Elway offers his views on his own childhood, his career with the Broncos, the current state of the NFL, and a smattering of personal life philosophy as well. It is not presented as a comprehensive life story, but more like an extended interview/monologue, and no one but the "statistics hounds" (like me) will even notice the rare and incidental factual errors. Some of the text also appears to have been lifted from earlier interviews; at one point, while describing how he dodges defensive ends, Elway refers to a game he played "the other day" in Minnesota, yet at the publication date (early 1998) Elway had not played a game in Minnesota for a year and a half. This book is also very expensive, compared to corresponding books of its type. However, the aforementioned criticisms are very minor, and if you can get past the cover price, and are an Elway fan, you will love this book. Despite being brief, the text is written entirely by John Elway himself (making the book unique, in that no other book offers a wholly first-person perspective of Elway), and does cover his entire life up until the publishing date. The paucity of text in this oversized book also makes the numerous photographs stand out all the more, and the photographs are beautiful -- like the text, they range all the way from Elway's childhood to his triumph in Super Bowl XXXII. Despite the criticisms offered above, this is a very fun book to read and glance over for the Elway fan. As I said in the beginning, the "objective" side of me noticed a few improprieties in the book, but the "fan" side of me didn't care and loved reading it anyway. Highly recommended.

The Elway Story
The name of the book is Elway because it is about him. This book is a good book because he tells about his whole life. There are a lot of good pictures in this book. This is a good book because John Elway wrote it. I like when he broke his leg. It shows you how much he loves the game. The only thing they should of had more of is touch down passes. This book is for all ages.

Photographic celebration of John Elway
This book is simply excellent, combining amazing photographs with commentary from the great man himself.

SuperBowl XXXII is extensively covered and there are photos from Johns personal life, growing up and present, with his family and around his home. You get to hear John's views on things away from football also.

I just wish this book could have been bigger and with more photos from other key points in John's carear, especially the Denver-Cleveland AFC Champ series which are not given enough depth.


The Rough Guide to Greek Islands
Published in Paperback by Rough Guides (2000)
Authors: Rough Guides, Mark Ellingham, Marc Dublin, and John Fisher
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nuts and bolts greek islands
Primarily geared towards the independent low-budgeter, the book is packed with accurate, practical detail and covers more remote island villages than other similar books. Reads like an encyclopedia and thus compliments other books (eg. the Facaros/Cadogan book and this are a great combination) Better than Let's Go or Lonely Planet for solely islands travel. Doesn't have a very good Athens portion. I'd suggest getting the Facaros book first and then if a return trip or looking for more minute and/or remote detail get this to compliment.

One of three competitors
Two other books Lonely Planet and Greek Island Hopping are aimed at the budget traveller visiting the smaller islands. This one and Lonely Planet also cover the whole of Crete. Greek Island Hopping has more detail about actual travelling and about the boats themselves and more maps, but only touches on the northern ports of Crete. I like all three. Greek Island Hopping wuuld be most useful if you want to find out how to get to a small island, or how to get off one.

brilliant
This book does an amazingly good job of covering so many Greek islands so well. If it covers the island you're interested in (and it probably does), you'll be provided with plenty of accurate, interesting, helpful detail on any just about any specific area or village of the island which interests you. While agree the Athens part could be a bit beefed up (as we all invariably end up in Athens at some point or another for varying bits of time) the island sections far make up for it.


Golf Rules Plain & Simple
Published in Paperback by HarperResource (1999)
Authors: Mark Russell and John Andrisani
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Depends On Your Need
Pretty well done. Golf Rules Plain & Simple is a book that I hope only gets better with future editions.

With that in mind, I offer some suggestions that the author or other readers may want to comment on.

Some suggestions:

While there is a footnote that gives the author's opinion as to the more important rules, he doesn't use them to order his book. Rule #1 (for example) is about seeking advice on golf club selection - and of his five key rule situations - the first one drags in at Rule Number 18. Also, it would seem to be much more helpful to put yellow and red staked hazards on adjoining pages for the reader to compare and contrast.

After stating each rule situation, the author gives the most common mistake made (first) before giving the correct procedure. This is not helpful and potentially confusing. When telling someone how to do something - do you want to start with the wrong way or right way? Nothing wrong with pointing out the common errors - just put it at the end.

Some more could have been expected as to the top issues. For example, how to come to agreement with others as to where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. Things to say to an opponent could make this a lot less trying in match play, for example.

To the author, page 67 talks about a provisional ball played for a ball that you think is lost in a water hazard. Agreed. But the more common argument is when it is unclear. Where is your explaination in the book that if you don't see it land (and stay) in a water hazard - the ball is assumed to be lost? Another point that your book appears deaf on - what happens (for example) if you are playing a match and hit a ball towards the woods bordering the fairway. You don't have any indication that it is a hazard (it looks like normal woods from the tee) - you announce your intention to hit a provisional ball as you may have a lost ball. You and your opponent both agree as to where the ball seemed to drop down. You find your ball but those nice woods actually turns out to be a red stake marked lateral hazard. You have a shot to the green (without penalty) that you would like to try. Your opponent says no. He says, "you can't use the provisional ball rule when a ball lands in a hazard. Lack of knowledge of the hazard's existance offers no help. You need to play your second ball (i.e. no longer provisional)as it is the live ball" (in other words, no five options for a lateral hazard). Is he correct?

Finally, while you give the five options for a lateral hazard correctly, a note that "playing it as it lies" also means no grounding of the club (while covered elsewhere) would be a helpful reminder here.

Hope these suggestions help.

The title says it all
Though the rules of golf are not as difficult as they are often said to be, they can nevertheless be arcane at times, but this book does a good job demystifying them. Knowing the rules can save you strokes, as you can sometimes use them to your advantage. In a format small enough to fit in a golf bag but with print big enough to read easily, common situations are presented, then common mistakes in this situation are shown, followed by the correct way to play. To help even further, one or more pictures accompany each of the 37 situations. All this, along with a modest price, combine to make this an excellent purchase for the golfer without the patience to read the official rulebook.

IF YOU GOLF-OWN THIS BOOK
Like most golfers I think I know the rules, but I don't. Who has the time to read the very confusing USGA rules book?

Mark Russell simply and clearly explains the basic rules of golf. O.B., lateral hazzard, lost ball-these are the rules that 95% of golfers DO NOT understand.

Thanks Mark!

Alan


Life at the Edge of Chaos: Creating the Quantum Organization
Published in Hardcover by Perceval Pub (1997)
Authors: Mark D. Youngblood and John Renesch
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Some good insights in a miasma of thought.
While there are some good insights into human nature and life in this book, it is such a distraction when an author litters their ideas with leftist dogma. If you are going to refer to economic phenomena, you should understand what you are writing.

Great organization building book, but not related to Chaos
Overall, I think this is a great book about organization building. It mainly talks about how you can change an organization. You need to face the challenge of "shared vision", "corporate culture", and "goverance". As a change agent, you need to improve your personal leadership/personal mastery, relationship and dialogue with others.

The reason I only give it 4-star is because I can't find a strong link between all these great lessons and Chaos/Complexity/Quantum. I think all these lessons exist everywhere in all great organization building book.

Net, I recommend this book to anyone who are interested in organization building, but not about Chaos/complexity theory, etc.

A GREAT book & a must-read for anyone in business today.
Kay Gilley, keynote speaker, executive development consultant, and author of Leading from the Heart and The Alchemy of Fear:

This isn't a good book: it is a GREAT book. And, it is a must-read for anyone doing business on the bridge into the 21st Century.

Mark Youngblood has done a masterful job of simply and succinctly helping us understand the promise of ever-present, fast-paced, and dynamic change in our businesses. Encouraging us to transcend the limitations of Newtonian organizations, he brings tangible application to what it means to lead and work in a quantum one. He offers the promise that when we learn to embrace with the fluidity of chaos that we will be both more effective and enjoy our lives and work more. His examples are simple and direct and bring crystal clarity to the concepts he presents.

My personal copy is always near at hand, well-marked with dog-eared pages, sticky notes, and a long list of page reference notations in the back. When readers show up at my book signing with books that look like this, I know they have been well used...and my copy Life at the Edge of Chaos has indeed been well used. I can't recommend this book too highly.


Three Gospels: The Good News According to Mark, the Good News According to John, an Honest Account of a Memorable Life (G K Hall Large Print Inspirational Series)
Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1999)
Author: Reynolds Price
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A writer approachs these texts as only a writer can...
Reynolds Price is a brilliant, prize-winning writer, an ancient languages scholar and Christian, apparently. His approach, from the literal translation of two gospels, to the writing of his own, is fresh and eye-opening. Highly recommended to those who choose to look deeper into Christianity and its founding texts.

Good translation, better commentary
Reynold Price's translations of Mark and John are good in that they try to transliterate the style and feel of their Greek originals, but truth be told they just don't read as well as the translations to be found in other Bible tranlsations. But Price's commentaries on these two Gospels are the main factor in this book. He utilizes something that's missing from the "detective kits" of most other Biblical scholars: common sense. I've read a great majority of the books on the "Historical Jesus," each of which - as the old saying goes - reveals more about the author than the subject. Instead of going off into groundless supposition, as most other Historical Jesus questors are known to do, Price gives us the evidence that we have and makes common sense conclusions on who wrote the Gospels: when, where, how, and why. He doesn't make any mention of the so-called "Secret" Gospel of Mark, true; but I think this is less Price being unaware of it and more of him just realizing it's a phony and unworthy of mention. Read Akenson's Saint Saul, which brutally brings this forgery to light. Price's extra Gospel, which he wrote himself, is interesting, but ultimately the selling point of this book are his commentaries to the two ancient Gospels themselves.

Mistake Again!
Ahem.Mr Price is not the Editor. He's the author! (I wonder if any one reads these reviews and notes its contents). Its still a wonderful book, with a fresh new look at the Gospels of Mark and John. And frankly, after reading it, one gets a new perspective of the relationship between God and man. It certainly gave me a stronger foundation and background to the two gospels and an insight into Christ.


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