I was alternately outraged and amused by Free Minds & Free Markets. I was outraged at numerous losses of freedom and the major media's poor reporting of them. I was amused at how weak the case has become for continued government expansion. For example, Paul Ehrlich predicted worldwide famines by 1975, and former Senator Gaylord Nelson said everybody would have to wear breathing masks in the 1980s -- thus, correctly predicting the fad of oxygen bars. Freedom is a new idea that is sweeping the planet. Free Minds & Free Markets provides an eloquent defense of freedom that is hard to find anywhere else.

Bob Howells is "The Mussel Guy" for Texas. This book, co-written with Raymond Neck and Harold Murray, is the most comprehensive publication on the status of freshwater mussels in Texas. This is a valuable resource for aquatic ecologists interested in mussels, which are a conservation concern due to declining abundance across the state. This guide presents species accounts with black-and-white photographs on each species present in Texas. Descriptions, geographic distributions, and ecological information is included. Introductory material covers everything from mussel anatomy and behavior to collecting gear and commercial uses. The guide is indexed and fully referenced. Several pages of color plates in the appendix are a nice extra. No self-respecting student of Texas mussels should be without it!

Having had the privilege of studying the course behind this publication first-hand at Exeter, I would recommend the book to any student who seeks a thorough and well-rounded survey of the contemporary debate between science and religion.

Or is it a debate? The authors posit several models of dialogue between these two - usually separated - spheres, and this forms a core feature of this textbook: the opportunity to explore ways in which the two complement and enrich one another.

Therefore as well as being competently yet simply introduced to complex scientific questions (the Big Bang, the origin of life, quantum theory - to name a few), the author allows scope for the reader to see - for himself, and through the eyes of great thinkers, more and less famous - how it is possible to construct a working hypothesis of the inter-relation between God, humanity and the cosmos.

In the later chapters, which are a particularly unique and enjoyable section, we are introduced to the scientifically-influenced theologies of Jay McDaniel's "pelican heaven", Sallie McFague's "embodied God" and Ruth Page's "Web of Life". The reader can enjoy these models, whilst exercising a critical eye, sensitive to the scientific perceptions and phenomena so effectively outlined towards the beginning of the book.

On top of this, other views are outlined, including a section on Islamic theology and creation.

This is a great book for students and all those interested in understanding more of the world about them. It is refreshing to find a theology book which is so world-affirming, without resorting to religious dogmatism: not just a dry textbook, but a competent handbook AND a "choose you own adventure!"

If you are looking for an honest, well done rating of the Presidents, then this book is the one for you. Blessing and Murray look at all the accomplishment of the Presidents and rates them without bias.

When I was in Library School at UCLA in 1989, one of the first things I did was purchase "Sheehy" (shorthand reference for 10th edition of this work) for what I considered was a bargain at 95 bucks. It singlehandedly paid for itself in the savings in my time - I didn't have to come and use the library copies for research or the extensive bibliographic verification required within the profession. I wondered in 1989, and I still wonder, why there isn't an online version or a CD-ROM version. "Balay" is a unique work so don't bother comparison shopping. Its organized compilation of reference resources is of the utter highest quality. I think of it now as akin to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) - something for which a true bibliophile (or library geek) might pine but would probably purchase only upon receiving a financial windfall. (Yes, I do own a copy of the OED - 1st edition, compact.) At this price "Balay" is pretty much an institutional purchase, rather than a personal one. But, if you're a new library student with 300 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, this would still be a great time saver. Hint, buy it as early in your library career as possible to amortize your savings in time. Then, keep it as an heirloom of a soon to be bygone era - the age of print.

I use this book to teach anger management to sex offenders in a state hospital. I only wish I could get my hands on ten to fifteen hard bound copies. It is an excellent book based on the cognitive-behavioral model that we use to teach sex offender relapse prevention. The two dovetail very well. Please issue another edition!!!!

Since I, too, grew up in Boonville, I'm inclined in favor of this book--I'm sick of reading about people who grew up in New York. I'm also inclined to be highly critical--though I now live two thousand miles away, my hometown is dear to my heart. If Bob Davis has the audacity to write a book about Boonville, he'd better he get right. Well,he did! From the descriptions of food (". . . red Jell-o with marshmallows in it was a dessert. Green Jell-o with cole slaw in it was a salad.")to the interaction of children and adults (he's expected to apologize to an adult who nearly runs over him with a car), he's dead-on accurate. Even his thought patterns are straight out of Boonville ("I don't want to malign anybody either way, but I am pretty sure that all four of the town boys in my class were virgins when they graduated and that at least three-fourths of the country boys were not.") Highly readable and a font of information for people who think the Midwest is dull.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne's short life was full of the grace of God. Andrew Bonar, his dear friend, knew him well enough, and had enough of his personal writings to portray a helpful, and edifying picture of his life. Although this small volume is hard to find, it is included in the larger "Remains of McCheyne".

This book along with Dave Hunt's book, Y2k: A reasoned response to mass Hysteria should be read by all Christians who have bought into the Y2K Madness that is occuring in the evangelical churches today. We need to get back to getting the gospel out, not preparing for the end of the world.

Very Goo