I'm living in Ecuador for a year and have almost every guidebook (there are many)published. If I could narrow it down to two, it would be this one and the Footprint Guide. If only one, this would be it. What's remarkable about this book is that it cares almost as much about the quality of food and accomodations as it does about wilderness trips. It's descriptions of restaurants are excellent and it's practical information about such things as the location of rental car agencies is as up to date as it can be. It also has a remarkable index which includes places, hotels and restaurants all in separate categories. With the other guide books, it takes much longer to find something for the second time. When you read a description of a place or an old hacienda to stay in, you really trust that the authors have actually been there. The authors know and love Ecuador. Perhaps if you're looking for only student prices, this is not the best book, but for the adventurous over 30, this is it!!

I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. In it it gave a fascinating first hand view into how the Newton brothers entered the life of bank and train robbers. The story was written based on a number of interviews with Willis and Joe Newton. The brothers discussed their feelings on how they were viewed, and how when there was ever any robbery, the Newton brothers were the number one suspects. I also enjoyed the humor in which the brothers were able to look back on thier escapades and run ins with the law. Some of the best parts of the book, I think, were when the Newtons described how they outsmarted the law, and escaped from prisons numerous times. The decriptions in the book provided vivid detail into life during the turn of the century. Each brother described in the book had very different interests and tastes, from Willis, a strong headed boy who was smart and determined,to Jess, the lazier of the brothers. In all, this book provided me with new insight into an era that has long since passed, and into the lives of criminals. I thought this book was an excellent read.

To begin, "The Pastor and the Patient" is poorly organized. The book begins on a firm footing by suggesting that there are three pastoral functions, healing, sustaining, and guiding It would have been more utilitarian if the authors had organized their material into three phases then explored the actual visit from the perspective of the three pastoral functions:

•Pre-visit
oChapter 1 - A Pastoral Theology
oChapter 3 - The Pastor's Homework
oChapter 4 - The Pastor's Bio-ethics
oChapter 7 - The Pastor's Spiritual Resources

•Visit
oChapter 2 - The Hospital Community
oChapter 5 - Finding Your Way in the Hospital

oChapter 9 - The Pastoral Visit
oChapter 6 - The Patient's Needs

•Post-visit
oChapter 8 - After Hospitalization
oChapter 10 - Follow-up

The Pastor and the Patient seeks to demystify hospital visitation and ease concerns on behalf of the Pastoral Visitor, however, the problem is, in doing so it is too general and too basic. The topics that it addresses are too broad; they range from pastoral theology to moral dilemmas associated with abortion and euthanasia. As such, none of the topics are, nor could be, adequately addressed. Such broad moral issues may have been better addressed by exploring their individual dilemmas more broadly. That is to say, it might have been more utilitarian to examine the gap between human pathos and divine ethos rather than to suppose the readership would agree with the authors' theological conclusions. Statements such as, "It seems clear that the fetus has no moral status" invite more debate than they are useful. In short, the authors' invite critical discussion with respect to their stand on moral issues which could have been avoided by limiting the discussion to the dynamics surrounding those issues and cautioning the Pastoral Visitor to be prepared for an open discussion of the issues with their patients and the patent's families.The Pastor and the Patient is at best a simple dialogue for the lay visitor. It lacks in depth, clarity and organization.

The book starts off strong with a quick look at a pastoral theology which could and should have been better fleshed out. There is sufficient material in The Pastor and the Patient to provide direction with respect to pastoral visitation, but it is not a road map. I personally appreciated chapters 7 and 9. Chapter 7, The Pastor's Spiritual Resources, provides limited insight into the ecumenical nature of Chaplaincy and is useful if only to introduce the idea of interfaith needs. In chapter 9 it was interesting to read the authors' approach to the pastoral dialogue by means of the verbatim.

Bottom Line
Save your money on this one, it's too shallow and lacks focus.