Although the "Master's Plan for the Church" (MPftC) came out before "Ashamed of the Gospel" (AotG), I recommend reading AotG before MPftC. AotG presents a broader base for what problems exist (e.g., watering down the gospel) and why they exist. MPftC is more of a practical application -- now that AotG has shown what to avoid, MPftC shows a better way to implement things in your church. Our denomination (CRC - Christian Reformed Church) has most of those things in place and does a pretty good job of staying true to how a church should be run. MPftC helps keep our minds in line with doing the right things and not just things because "we've always done it that way". Most of the chapters and appendixes are taken from sermons at the author's church. The format is easy to read and well organized. The appendixes fill the final one-third of the book and are required reading. I recommend getting both books for your church library (we have AotG and probably will get MPftC soon).

To many churches focus on entertainment and people pleaser messages as their means of increasing their numbers. Churches forget that it is not our job to grow the church, that is Jesus' job. This book does not waste time going into concepts and strategies that will increase the size of the church. But instead focuses on what the Biblical structure is for the body of Christ. John MacArthur does not focus on how to increase the width of the church, but the depth. There is not a single church in the Bible ever commended for it's size. Excellent Book !

John MacArthur once again brings true christianity and biblical teaching forth with clarity. If we who are called out(The Church) truly want to follow God and make the church the institution for the glory of God then we ought to follow the design God projected in scriptures which is the Master's Plan For The Church. For if the church is not built on God's design we are prescribing a prescription for disaster. This book is a must for any pastor or leader or Christian.

This book offers a good historical perspective of the necessity of a police force to keep civil order in a society. It also contains much of the debate about the dangers of such a force if it is not constituted with checks and balances. Besides this the story of the creation of Scotland yard in London from the 1730's to the 1830's is told with interesting characters and is in good taste, although realistic in portraying these characters. I highly recommend it.

To the first reviewer's comments (all true btw) I would add that this would have been a perfect subject for a miniseries. They wouldn't have done justice to it but nevertheless............

This is one of the best books ever written in this genre which is historical fiction., not mystery or suspense as one might think. There Mr. Creasey was the author of over 600 books using at least 17 psudonyms. This is the story of the birth of the western concept of a police force starting slightly before the Bow Street Runners and continuing on through the creation of the 1st modern police by Sir Robert Peel in the mid 1800's. To the best of my knowledge the historical "facts " used by the author are accurate and the storyline is first rate. In my opinion this was the best effort of a very good career. This book should never have gone out of print

If you've ever been involved in a relationship that gets deep, personal and reveals a you you never knew existed...Shanley's already been there and brilliantly written about it. His ability to peer into the dark, dank depths of the human psyche and then actually write something funny about it is unparalleled. I've seen many of his plays and always left with a sore stomach from laughing so hard. I wanted to read them, too, so I could take the time to savor the deeper understandings. I'm constantly lending my copy to friends to read after they come to me in the throws of personal or relationship crisis. I'm grateful for this collection and can't wait for the next one.

I found the plays in "13 by Shanley" to be as outrageous, quirky, beautiful, and redeeming as his screenwork. Shanley has the uncanny ability to make you read him twice, because one reading doesn't quite settle with you. I found myself reading a play in this collection, all the while thinking, "that's odd. I'm not too sure I care for that one. Oh, well." Then, I'd wake up the next morning, with lines from the play nagging at me. I'd go back to it and, sure enough... "it's brilliant. How did I miss that before?"

Shanley isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, if you have any kind of appreciative bone in your body for passionately quirky romances like "Moonstruck" or moodily misunderstood fairlytales like "Joe Versus The Volcano" (my personal all-time favorite)... then I STRONGLY urge you to pick up "13 by Shanley" for 13 cultured tales of love, beauty, and self-discovery.

Shanley's a genius. He's in a class by himself.

To my fellow reader I give my heartly welcome.

John Playford is one of the most know dance teacher all times. So this book is a must to everyone who is starting or has danced historical dances. Music is no problem if you know how to play violin or recorder, because there are notes for every dance.

If you don't know how to play that isn't a problem at all. In the internet you can find freely copyable music to almost every dance.

English country dances are easy and fun to dance. And you have to use your head in these dances that is very different to modern discodancing. So buy the book, start to dance it keeps dementia away.

Happy dancing.

The English Dancing Master has been most useful to our theater company in staging authentic ancient dance. The single line of melody in standard music notation is easy for musicians to use. The dance instructions are clear and make it easy for a small group to learn the dance. The dances are beautiful, and there is a wide variety of styles and partnering.

It's so easy to wander out into pure fantasy when writing about D&s. While i'm sure he embelished a bit for effect (what author doesn't), Preston captures so wonderfully the ecstacy that comes from releasing control and been totally dominated (even when writing from a Top's perspective). Highly recommended to the novice; it's about as real a perspective on domination and submission as you can expect in erotica.

The John Preston books are all must-haves. With some embelishments on reality, which make nice reading - yet the foundation is sound. At very worst it is where the slaves heart is.

I own several of Pat Ament's books (including his soul-baring autobiography), and I've enjoyed reading them all. John Gill has become virtually the patron saint of modern bouldering, and the many intriguing photographs in this book amply show why. Simply put, Gill was an entire generation ahead of his time--both in terms of his ability and his recognition of dynamic bouldering as the cutting edge of free climbing.

Ament's writing style here is more straightforward, and less dense, than in his other writings. Rather than attempt to speak for disparate voices, as he does in his Royal Robbins biography, Ament generally lets those voices speak for themselves in this book. The result is an expository style that makes for light, enjoyable reading.

Given the fascination that Ament and Gill share with the spiritual aspects of climbing, one would almost expect Ament to devote much of his attention to Gill's metaphysical philosophies (as did Jon Krakauer in his article on Gill that was later reprinted in _Eiger Dreams_). However, by concentrating on the events of Gill's life and his wanderings among the boulder patches of the American continent, Ament has painted a vivid picture of Gill as Johnny Appleseed, putting up routes--and leaving his legacy--everywhere. I think that is what Gill will most be remembered for, even if his spirituality makes him that much more a climbing guru.

I was first exposed to Master of Rock in the seventies with its first publication. Being at the time, a devoted climber and student of style, I spent hundreds of days in the Valley watching John Long, Ron Kauk, John Bachar, Barry Bates, Jim Bridwell, and all, polish their individual styles while applying everything and anything I could grasp from them. I could'nt walk past a door jam without cranking out the requisite finger tip pull-ups. I was 86'ed from Modesto Junior College's campus dozens of times while explaining to the authorities that "my frisbee is on the roof" . . . Imagine my surprise and joy to discover this relatively unknown man through Pat Ament's timely biography of John Gill. I was floored by this person who stayed so low-key yet with so much incredible climbing talent, in a sport not lacking in ego! For this book, Pat Ament deserves my gratitude for it is through this book that I found that element of climbing I was looking for. To me, John G! ill is still the consumate hero of motion on rock, however minimal that motion was. Yes, big walls were beckoning, Yosemite and Tuoloumne test pieces were fondling my emotion, and the smell and taste of my ruck sack permeated my VW Beetle, but to me, none of it mattered without style and art with every climb, as the end result. I grew up as a climber by studying the greatest students and teachers of style and ethics through the seventies. John Gill defined style before I called myself a climber. Thank you Patrick O. Ament for taking time from your study of climbing to write this book and allowing me to discover John Gill. I will always charish knowing who John Gill is now and who he was then.

"Leading for a Change" by Ralph Jacobson is like having your own consultant working with you. Ralph makes the book "user friendly". He presents the reader with a "bag of tools" from which he/she can pick and choose those that meet their specific needs. Mr. Jacobson has brought together sound theory on leadership with practical approaches for operationalizing change. I would guess he has been able to synthesize theory and practice because he himself has worked both in HR and as a consultant...he seems to know both sides of the equation. This book gives the reader some special insights into "what may work" and what won't in your specific circumstance. He organizes the book in a way that makes it a handy reference book...one you can pull off the shelf and remind yourself as to how you may want to approach a leadership issue. I would recommend this as reading to anyone who has concerns about how to maximize leadership potential...either on a personal basis or for your company.

Ralph Jacobson is among the very top thinkers in organizational and leadership development today. Working in Customer Relationship Management, where organizational change and leadership challenges are everywhere, I appreciate both the wisdom and practicality he offers. I'm going to make this book required reading for all my clients.

In Denmark, where I come from, this book is called Horses at North, which when I got it made me think that it was another book about horses. And I didn't bother to read it. But then, on one of those days where you're willing to do everything just to make the time pass I started to read it anyway...and couldn't let it go. 3 days later I'd finished it. During those three days I had been Anne, I'd fallen in love with my kindred spirit Robin, and I'd cried and cried. This book is not only a stunning piece of writing, but also a view into the lifes of those who seems different and a good look at those countries back then. It is one of those books I treasure the most.

Sadly, John Masters is out of print! He was one hell of a writer. I found this book at a secondhand store. Masters was a real he-man British Army guy type who writes brilliantly from either gender POV and masterfully delineates the character of Robin Savage, his odd-duck protagonist, accused of cowardice because he is simply not in step with his fellows. Superb.

This guide (which I found at a half-price bookstore) is very helpful. I use it often. My copy of MOO II did not include a printed manual, so I wanted a some sort of hard copy. There are a few minor mistakes in the printing, but is a great guide!

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares is a very difficult strategy game intent on making the colonization of the galaxy as realistic as possible. The Strategy Guide assists you in doing just that.

The main force of influence in the Strategy Guide is the explanation of every little bitty thing inside of the game. The technologies for Research are completely explained in detail, in addition to suggestions being given for what to choose and at what time to choose them. The alien "Picks" option that allows you to customize aliens is completely explained and suggestions for alien creation are put forth. However, the writers have a bent for challenging themselves, which I highly suggest to veteran players of the game.

All in all, it explains the entire campaign necessary to bring down those pesky Antarans and how to best keep a Space Eel from spawning. Give it a peek sometime. You won't be disappointed.

One of few 600-pages book that is easy to understand, and a "pleasure" to read. The book is well organized, and fairly comprehensive. I was a novice in manufacturing concepts and this book helped me gain significant understanding of manufacturing planning concepts. The only subject that is lacking is a brief chapter on modern supply chain planning software packages that have become essential tools these days. The book is very expensive, but IMHO it's worth every penny if you're trying to learn about the subject.

John F. Proud has given us the definitive text on master scheduling. He has turned what should be a dry subject into 500+ pages that are thorough, enlightening, and suprisingly readable.

Contents include the mechanics of master scheduling, managing the MPS in various manufacturing environments (make-to-stock, make-to-order, etc.), planning bills, finishing schedules, capacity planning, demand management, and system implementation. Key points are punctuated by a running fictional account of master scheduling in action -- with all the personalities and politics that bear on this essential task.

Proud presents the vast material in a logical and entertaining manner. Detailed computational examples are provided for many of the situations a master scheduler will face. Proud is not afraid to depart from standard APICS language or teachings when appropriate -- but he does clearly identify when he has done so. Perhaps most significant is his exceptional grasp of the human relations and management issues involved. He shows that master scheduling is more than just crunching numbers.

Highly recommended as preparation for the APICS Master Planning exam.