If you're a Catholic Christian and want to appreciate your faith more, these books will serve you well. If you're not Catholic or Christian and wish to encounter the most persuasive apologetics, this is an excellent place to start.

Chesterton is a wonderful writer. A poet by nature, Chesterton focuses on the material and concrete in ways that seems both paradoxical and wondrous. In "Saint Francis of Assisi," Chesterton takes the most popular saint, and presents all those details that really make us modern secularists most uncomfortable with him. In another book here, he links St. Thomas Aquinas to Francis, showing that, despite their vast differences in temperament, they both strove to save and present the goodness of creation and nature and to rebuke (in word or action) those who would hold the bodily in disdain.

In a sense, the biographies here are more than biographies. They're filled with diversions, and those diversions all point in the direction of the remaining book, "The Everlasting Man," which is presented between the other two. The central point here is that the Incarnation is the central event of human history; it allows us to joyously celebrate the good of creation and nature, as God has blessed matter with His very being.

Also, Chesterton is a real pleasure to read, as this passage shows: "One of my first journalistic adventures, or misadventures, concerned a comment on Grant Allen, who had written a book about the Evolution of the Idea of God. I happened to remark that it would be much more interesting if God wrote a book about the evolution of the idea of Grant Allen."

His wit shines in the conclusion of this anecdote. To his bemusement, his editor castigates *him* for being blasphemous. "In that hour I learned many things, including the fact that there is something purely acoustic in much of that agnostic sort of reverence. The editor had not seen the point, because in the title of the book the long word came at the beginning and the short word at the end; whereas in my comments the short word came at the beginning and gave him a sort of shock. I have noticed that if you put a word like God into the same sentence with a word like dog, these abrupt and angular words affect people like pistol-shots. Whether you say that God made the dog or the dog made God does not seem to matter; that is only one of the sterile disputations of the too subtle theologians. But so long as you begin with a long word like evolution the rest will roll harmlessly past; very probably the editor had not read the whole of the title, for it is rather a long title and he was rather a busy man."

This volume contains the most important works of G. K. Chesterton, his study of St. Francis, his study of St. Thomas Aquinas, and _The Everlasting Man_.

I have chosen the word "study" rather than biography deliberately. Readers looking to find a strict chronological account of St. Francis or St. Thomas according to the modern or postmodern canons of historiography should look elsewhere. What Chesterton does is get you at the heart of these two saints. He tells you what they were all about. He is somehow able to convey to his readers the very air that these saints breathed.

And then there is _The Everlasting Man_. While it is hard to characterize, this is Chesterton's best work. Period. Written as an answer to H. G. Wells's _Outline of History_, Chesterton gets at what is most important in human history: the fact that God became Man in Jesus Christ. It really is an incredible book.

Chesterton had an amazing knack to cut to the heart of the matter. If you want to see what St. Francis or St. Thomas were all about, or to appreciate more the Lord who inspired these saints, I would highly recommend this book.

Ignatius Press has done the world a great favor by releasing their "Collected Works of Chesterton" series. If you can only afford three volumes, get # 1, 2, and 6. If you can only afford one volume, it should be # 2.

Chesterton's book on St Francis is wonderful. Unlike most modern books, it places Francis squarely in Christianity. (Many contemporary books on Francis portray him as a 13th-century hippie, which would have astounded the devout friar!)

The book on Thomas Aquinas is simply the best biography of him ever, and many noted Thomists have agreed with this sentiment.

But "The Everlasting Man" is the true pinnacle of Chesterton's amazing output. In one book he puts "comparative religion" into a new and brilliant perspective. C.S. Lewis listed "Everlasting Man" as one of the reasons he became a Christian, and it really will floor you.

(If you are short on funds you can always buy Everlasting Man as a single volume, too!)

This book should be the reference for any engineer involved in todays transition into the digital TV world.
It goes to the guts of analog and digital signal processing and its complex interactions. It really helps us in setting up -and mantain healthy- our daily workplace: the citadin HFC network.
You can't expect less from an Hewlett-Packard book.

An excellent introductory book describing the characteristics of digital transmission. I picked up this book based on the review from the Boston, MA reader with the expectation that it would provide me with the basics of digital transmission theory.

The topics are organized in logical order with the basics of signal transmission, conversion from analog to digital data streams, digital modulation, error correction, power measurements, and interference sources.

What really impressed me was the simple to understand descriptions and drawings used to convey the underlying theory without getting the reader bogged down in engineering type equations.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in a general understanding of digital signal applicaitons. Even though the book is geared towards cable TV, it provided me with a strong foundation in digital communications!

Digital Basics for Cable TV Systems is an extremely valuable source for learning about how Analog and Digital data is created and tested. The differences between Analog and Digital channels is described using very basic concepts. Complex modulation and measurement considerations are explained in an easy-to-understand format, with terrific examples. The test set-up procedures definitely help anyone who needs to learn how to test Cable systems with Analog and/or Digital Channels.

Explanations of the interractions between existing Analog and new Digital channels are very clear and relate well to the Cable TV population.

Digital Basics for Cable TV Systems is a great reference tool for teaching engineers and technicians!! The Chapter quizzes and summaries really help the reader to organize their learning and prove to themselves that they grasp the concepts. The Glossary provides definitions of all of the industry terms.

I read and learned from every chapter! I recommend this book to anyone who works with Analog or Digital Broadcast Systems--it is a MUST!

I love this book and, in fact, I'm buying copies to give to friends. The story of the ongoing conversion of the author is an example of the journey of any seeker of God: great awakenings, stumbles, doubts, reassurances, understanding.
The first portion of the book is compelling and hard to put aside. The other chapters, however, are so rich with material from additional sources that I found them best to meditate on, think of as you live your life, and then dip into once again. This is perfect as a devotional for the liturgical seasons of advent and lent.

When I pick up a book on spirituality, that is nearly 600 pages long, I find myself flipping back and forth, counting the number of pages I still have to read (yawn). Having admitted that, I will add that "religion" is probably my first choice when searching for new books. Conversely with this book, I found myself counting the pages to see how many pages were left, because I didn't want it to end. Straub takes us along on his spiritual pilgrimage. In his "Thoughts Scribbled While walking," we can almost chart his spiritual growth (like an ascending line on graph paper). This book will inspire you to follow his lead by pursuing a deeper relationship with God. I was skeptical upon reading his background as a TV/soap writer, but I found it (along with his honesty and humility),to lend credibility to his personal transformation . I have never read a book that inspired me to write the author to tell him how much his writing touched me. This is one author I would like to thank.

This is a book to be savored. As a resident of Southern California, I found his personal observations on the cultural values of Americans right on target. It's too bad this book may never make the N.Y. Times Best Sellers' List, it could change the world.

As St. Francis is a man for all Ages, This book can be read on so many levels. As a straightforward biography of Sts. Francis and Clare it offers a modern no nonsense rendering of the lives of Assisi's greatest progeny. The chapters on Francis and Clare have a spiritual depth that would enhance the formation and understanding of any inquirer into the lives and spiituality of these two great saints.

Straub's honesty and openness in describing his own personal journey from being an atheist to a believer with a special evangelical vocation, the insightful musings of his Pilgrim's Diary, the history of the churches of Assisi all add up to a tour de force. I believe this book will have a great appeal to the general reader in addition to those with a special love for Franciscan and spiritual themes.

Certain parts of the book radiate incandescently. The rule of synergy states that the "whole is greater than the sum of it's parts." And yet, there are so many "parts" in this book that seem to stand alone in excellence at least equal to the power and depth of the whole. The treatment of Francis' timeless elegy to his God's creations, The Canticle of the Creatures, is truly inspired. The poem's majesty is wonderfully underscored by Staub's personal reflections and those the of other writers quoted in praise and awe of St. Francis' spiritually poetic genius. In closing his reflection on the canticle with Fr. Eloi Leclerc's The Language of the Soul's Night, Straub poignantly illustrates how St. Francis was as relevant in elevating souls in the rawest and most dire moments of the twentieth century as he was in the past and, most assuredly, will be in the future.

A specific charism of the Franciscan is to be able to shed the layers of meaningless diversions, vanities and preoccupations that restricts us from either confronting or exposing the truths and essential realities of our lives. Straub is able, in the most literary and articulate fashion, to expose his spiritual (human) doubts and shortcomings as he grapples with the profound search for meaning in his life. His "inner life" is shared with the reader in the most intimate terms without apology or embarrassment. I felt priveleged to become a part of Straub's journey and reveled in the awareness of how much we humans have in common with each other.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is seeking growth in their spiritual life. Father Haase has combined the best of St. Francis and Thomas Merton to produce a very helpful, thought-provoking book. Chapter One, "Abba!,Father" talks about God's unconditional love for us. Fr. Haase quotes Merton: "We need to see good in ourselves in order to love ourselves. He(God)does not. He loves us not because we are good, but because He is." This is just an awesome thought!!

Read this book slowly and then read it again. There is so much in this book that I want to remember, that I found myself making notes in my spiritual journal several times during my reading. I now have to find time to read several of Thomas Merton's books that are quoted in this book.

I would also recommend "The Gift of Peace" by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin and "The Practice of the Presence of God with Spiritual Maxims" by Brother Lawrence.

Father Haase uses his life experiences to allow the reader to touch Jesus' words. Profound insights, enlightening. Thank you Father Haase for sharing your life with us.

"Calling on the century-spanning kindred spirits of Francis of Assisi and Thomas Merton as interpreters of the familiar words of the Our Father, Albert Haase takes us home. SWIMMING IN THE SUN brings the warmth, the intimacy, the majesty of our loving God face-to-face with the reader in a wonderful and unforgettable way. Rarely have we judges experienced so much wisdom, beauty and inspiration presented in such a short delightful book. It's very satisfying to go swimming with St. Francis and Thomas Merton with Father Haase as lifeguard."....The Judges of the 1994 Catholic Press Association's Catholic Book Awards, First Place for a First Time Autho

Bierma and Waterstraat have very accurately described a proven outsourcing process to reduce both chemical usage and chemical costs. The book is excellent for newcomers looking to use chemical management as a tool to reduce usage and costs but has enough information for those that are using chemical management to improve their programs. At any level the book offers "practical and proven" examples to illustrate implementation and documented the results. The authors have cleverly descibed the total life cycle costs associated with chemical use and why it make both economical and environmental sense to implement chemical management. If you are a user of chemicals or a supplier of chemicals this book challenges you to look outside of traditional buy/sell relationships and move towards outsourced chemical management. This book sets the stage for a rapidly growing industry that is no longer a trend but a very effective management discipline. It's a must for users and providers of chemicals.

La forma mas efectiva de comtribucion a la actualizacion gerencial de la Ingenieria Quimica

F. Scott Fitzgerald may be remembered most often as the author of "The Great Gatsby", but during his lifetime, he earned most of his income by writing short stories for magazines. This compilation includes many of his earlier classics, all dealing with the same wealthy class of people that appear in his novels. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is a delightful tale about the lengths (literally) that girls will go to in order to fit in socially. "The Offshore Pirate" is a compelling and romantic story with an exciting and climactic ending. In addition, "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz", a longer and quite famous story has a brilliant plot; a boy visits his wealthy friend's home, and while he enjoys himself immensely and even falls in love, he finds out that the visit may come at a hefty price. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a hilarious story about a man born looking like he is 70 years old, and looking progressively younger as he "ages", so that he eventually seems younger than his grandson. All in all, you cannot miss with any of his stories, and they make great evening reads - one a day will surely keep the doctor away!

Nostalgia has an inevitable foreshortening effect upon reputation. For most of us, Fitzgerald is the perenially young, perenially arch chronicler of the 1920s Jazz Age -- of bathtub gin, flappers, rumrunners and boats born ceaselessly back.

This collection of short stories does much to restore an unappreciated side of Fitzgerald the writer, most notably his willingness to experiment with technique, his almost existential grasp of human absurdity and his articulation of unease and pessimism about the possibilities of the American Dream.

The stories range widely in quality from precious parodies from his Princeton years ("Jemina") to profoundly moving glimpses of the human condition ("The Lees of Happiness"). Even the most insubstantial of the stories printed here are worth the read for, if nothing else, they show that even at his youngest and roughest, Fitzgerald had a keen grasp of voice and description and how to use it to breath life into wispy plot lines.

I take issue with some of the critical recommendations contained in Patrick O'Donnell's fine introduction to the collection. I did not, for instance, find "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" particularly impressive. I think the best stories are those that hew to a psychological theme prevalent in Fitzgerald's fiction and his adult life -- the dread of what comes after youth and a nostalgic fixation on youth as the best time in a person's life. The stories I liked most -- "The Lees of Happiness," "The Ice Palace," "The Cut Glass Bowl," "Benediction," "The Four Fists," "'O Russet Witch!'" -- all tackle this theme.

Many of the stories in this volume aren't profound, but are just a delightful read. I defy you, for instance, to read "The Camel's Back" without bursting out loud in laughter over its protagonist's gyrations and setbacks in quest of his true love.

There is a wistfulness at the center of Fitzgerald's prose and his life story that seems to have faded from our collective remembrance of him as a Great American Author. This volume does much to remind us of that winsome note and to remind us that Fitzgerald paid dearly for it in his personal life as it lit up his writing at the same time.

Praying With Francis De Sales is a must read for spirtual filfillment. The author gives solid themes of meditation to enrich anyone's life. The author touches some topics that everyone needs help in such as Heart to Heart, where the author reconizes the affairs of the heart and how it may lead you.The bond of friendship , where the author reconizes the important of a friend. If you are a person with the weight of the world on you shoulders and need some inspiring words and methods of spirtual healing to help you through life(as we all do)this is the book for you.

This selection from the Companions for the Journey Series allows you to relate to Francis de Sales in a way that is easy to understand and gives you a feeling of oneness with God. Once you start reading you will not put the book down until you reach the last Meditation. The reflections themselves allow one to increase the power of your thoughts and imagination and help guide you throughout your entire life.

I've treasured this work of Mr. Wolfe's since purchasing it in the first edition in 1988. I can think of few authors who can transport their readership into relms of utter beauty and transcedence. Experiencing them is a gift to behold.
A MUST start for those who have not read anything by Wolfe.
A treasure for all times.

First published in 1906, this book is a history of Northern Italy from the rise of the Communes in the major cities (XI Century) to the establishment of "tyrannies" by powerful families at the beginning of the XIV Century (first the cruel Ezzelino da Romano, then the Visconti in Milan, the Carrara in Padua, the Scaliger in Verona etc...). The author analyzes the balance of power and the struggles between Guelfes and Ghibellines in cities like Milan, Pavia, Cremona, Brescia, Verona, Padua, Mantua... There are very few studies in English about the wars between Guelfes and Ghibellines, which tore Italy between 1200 and 1350, so if you're interested in the subject it's necessary reading.

On the other hand, the illustrations are poor : the maps look like photocopies of hand drawings and the photographs are very dark. That's 1906 technology I guess.

Transformational change addresses the problem of how to deal with change when moving from a mass production oriented business to a customer centered customized production business. One of the truly unique perspectives of this book is that it discusses and details the process of such a change. Many similar books effectively argue the need for change but then provide no direction on how to make the change. Thomas Wentz' book provides detailed discussion and processes for creating that complete transformation of your business

In the past most businesses were based on a mass production focus. Success and management were evaluated on a numbers basis. How much has sales increased? How many items were produced during this period last year? This numbers orientation tends to cause people to work hard to meet the numbers as their primary focus. In this scenario employees typically don't go beyond what is expected of them. There is no motivation to create a unique world-class organization. Add to that the fact that times have changed and customers now require a solution or product that is customized to their specific needs. If you can't provide a customized solution or product then they will simply go to a competitor that can. Is this just another business direction change? Thomas Wentz argues that it is more than just a directional change, it requires a complete transformation of the business from one form to another completely different form.

A nice extra to the book are the numerous "Key points" scattered throughout the text. By summarizing the prior information in just one or two sentences and making it stand out from the text it is easy to quickly read over the key points of the book and refresh your memory on an ongoing basis. An excellent book on business and change that also has some applicability to personal change, it is a recommended read.

This book finally provides the process to address how leaders can transform their company. Many other books defined the need to rethink the "business of the business" but none actually outlined a process. I have not only read the book but also participated in several of Tom's Simulation exercises. With this experiential background, I can honestly express to readers that you will actually understand what Tom is trying to convey only after having experienced the Simulation in conjunction with reading the book. We all have seen managers who were trying to "fix" an organization into a level of performance desired by customers, stockholders, and employees. Given the changes in consumers' demands for customized solutions, organizations that were built within the context of Mass Production cannot be "fixed" into a new existence. Organizations must be transformed and created to compete within the new reality of Mass Customization and the required thinking of a "market of one."

The Simulation allows team members to "feel" the transformational change process and thereby it becomes more meaningful and alive than simply understanding the intellectual issues documented within Transformational Change. In particular, it becomes critical that a collection of individuals become aligned on the outcome the organization is trying to "create"; i. e., the Vision. More importantly, the individual boss can no longer "tell" the organization what the Vision should be. In today's world, team members must collectively create the Vision and enroll in that creation procss. Subsequent to alignment on Vision, then the Structural Framework becomes the documented process for leading the organization through transformation.

If you read this book and participate within a Simulation, you will not believe how you will be equipped to transform your organization and be prepared to deal with the realtiy of Mass Customization. This is a very important book that all leaders should read, and read again.

Written by the Thomas K. Wentz (President of Corporate Performance Systems Inc.), Transformational Change: How To Transform Mass Production Thinking To Meet The Challenge Of Mass Customization is a solid and deftly presented guide for adapting to the new and evolving demands and realities of a globalized marketplace where merely churning out vast quantities of a product is simply not enough to be profitable. Now, more and more, customers want goods and services uniquely tailored to their tastes, and they are willing to pay for it - so much so as to change the shape of international businesses worldwide. Learning how to incorporate customization for maximum consumer satisfaction and profit is a rocky road, but individual chapters of Transformational Change address a range of relevant problems including corporate restructuring, gathering appropriate intelligence, competitive advantages and disadvantages, and a great deal more. Transformational Change is a truly excellent resource and a highly motivational reading for business managers at all corporate levels of responsibility.