If you're looking for a great gift to give an aging boomer, try this book or another titled "Getting Old Sucks." Better yet, get both!

This book was pretty good. If you are one of those ghost story buffs, this book is not for you. The stories were short and not very descriptive. But, this is a good book for kids because they are not very scary stories, and are very interesting. This is also an easy read, and most of the stories have children as the main character.

This book is a world-class monument to peoples gullibility. The myths and superstition contained in this so-called "holy book" would be laughable if not for the destruction and suffering it has caused through the ages. Bigotry, hate, superstition, murder, ignorance, etc. it's all in there, ready to instruct the naive and lead the sheep (one of the reasons religious leaders refer to followers as their "flock"). Book burning is a horrible thing, but an exception should be made for this compilation of nonsense.

For my money, this is the Bible to use for prayer and devotional reading. Its language soars with majesty, unlike so many "low" translations today.
As far as the reviewer below who holds the Holy Scriptures in contempt: it is actually the atheistic/materialistic philosophies of the last century which have caused the most bloodshed. All of the religious wars throughout history combined would be only a very small fraction of the killings done in just the past 100 years in the name of secular philosophies. It is a fact. Go count the graves.
The Bible is the divine word of God. And it will be speaking to men long after the reviewer has, well, gone to his maker.

This edition of the Bible is masterfully put together: binding & cover, paper, type and layout, everything about the book itself is worthy of its contents.

This has to be the worst book I have read so far on Custer andthe Little Big Horn Battle. Big print, wide margins make this book inmy mind a money grab. Thirty pages of preface and introduction and 11 blank pages help to fill out this book. This book does have some interesting points but all in all I found it very disapointing. They must have laughed they way to bank with this one. END

This book has a misleading title. This is a small short book, and only a part of it is actually about the Little Bighorn (LBH) fight. Other parts of the book are interviews Camp conducted concerning the Yellowstone expedition, the Little Bighorn aftermath, the death of Crazy Horse, the Powder River expedition, and the Battle of Summit Springs. Do not buy this if you expect Walter Camp's complete notes on the Custer fight. Get Kenneth Hammer's "Custer in 76" if you want a far more complete set of LBH interviews strictly concerned with that subject. This book contains some of Camp's notes not included in Hammer's book.

This book is recommended however for its extensive highly informative footnotes. There are very nearly more footnotes than text, and therein is a wealth of information about the people and events in the 1866-78 era.

One of the finest accounts of the Custer fight. I would recommend this book over most of the others. Mr. Camp sought out survivors and interviewed them, he sheds some fresh light on many of the confusing issues. And he details some very interesting items of the actual fight itself. Excellent and has a place of honor on my book shelf. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

This book is well organized and speaks in a language that the novice can understand. Unfortunately, I have often been left with the impression that more information could have been added to the book so as to spare me a few trips to the library. I bought Brotzman's book when I was living in Germany at the same time I also bought "Textkritik der Hebräischen Bibel", the German translation of a Hebrew work by Emmanual Tov, also, I believe, translated into English as "Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible". I have to say that I prefer Tov's work. Tov provides more information on the various non-Hebrew versions, with Saadia ben Yusuf's Arabic translation being completely absent from Brotzman's book. Also, Tov's book has much more material on the Dead Dea Scrolls. Actually, Tov's book, being considerably larger, has more material on just about everything. Also, Tov's bibliographic information is more extensive and accessible, being listed with every chapter.

Brotzman's book is easier to understand (at least for me, as I was working with Tov in German), and perhaps this is why it is more commonly found in seminary bookstores than Tov's book. I would have to recommend Tov's book on account of the content, however. If you think you are too stupid to handle Tov's book, then this one is for you, but if that is the case, you'd best not meddle in Old Testament textual criticism.

I gave this book three stars because it is a complete introduction and provides all the basic information that a beginner needs to know. Beyond this, however, the book is really disappointing. I already knew pretty much everything in Brotzman's book before I read it and have never found any reason to refer back to it. Tov's book, on the other hand, though also an introduction, was a valuable reference to me long after I bought it and read it for the first time. Unfortunately, I lost that book during my move from Germany and have occasionally picked up Brotzman's book in hopes that it might answer some question that I had, only to be disappointed every time. Three stars is a generous award for this work.

is concise enough to be understood and does lend something to the neat field of OT Text Criticism. it isnt exactly written for the expert in the field of hebrew knowledge (this is only my 4th semester of it), but the title says it all, "a practical introduction".

The book amazingly summurizes how the Israelites understood Justice. He goes trhough the major texts of the Hebrew Bible and analyzes the context in which they were writte. He constantly keep an eye on the Near Eastern texts which are, more or less, older than some sections of the bible.

The book, however, has 78 pages of text, and, even though it was published in 1996, all the works cited go all the way to 1991. It feels as though something is lacking, but overall it's a good little introduction to a huge topic

I guess I liked this book because it confirms a suspicion I've been harboring during most of my thirty years of enthusiastic Bible reading--that the authors of the Hebrew Bible weren't as original as the Christian (and I suspect Jewish) community would like to believe. Although this book may for some readers dim the halo on the Sacred Text, Malchow is not on a debunking crusade. He simply points out how much of what is found in the Bible is remarkably similar to what can be found in many different kinds of texts (legal, liturgical, sapiential) common to the Ancient Near East. Nor does he waste much ink trying to prove direct dependencies. In fact, wasting ink and killing trees is the last thing you could accuse him of doing. At 88 pages (counting the introduction and bibliography), this is a lean volume that gets right to the point. It has helpful chapters on "Law Codes", "The Prophetic Books," "The Psalms," "Late Narrative Works," and "The Wisdom Literature." If Malchow's statement that much of the biblical literature was written by a privileged elite (including many of the prophets) is true, it is both astonishing and gratifying that these people so often spoke out against their own class and on behalf of the poor and marginalized. This is a book I plan to hold on to and read again and again.

The criticism of "The Prayer of Jabez" is often one of theological debate. "Man-centered" prayers and theology is what some believe this book to represent. But, taking a closer look at the book reveals something else. We get a fuller understanding of what it is, who it's written for, who wrote it & why when we think outside our paradigms. What is the purpose of this book? I believe it's 1) to communicate a fresh revelation of God's truth in the word and 2) to usher a change into a more fulfilling God-centered life in Christ. Wilkinson does this through giving his own testimony in The Prayer of Jabez. It's the story of his life that makes the book worthwhile, and it's a story that will stop anyone in his tracks, because it deals with issues and things that we all wish we had answers to. The Prayer of Jabez, then, doesn't seek to answer these questions with the simple prayer - it points to the One who can change lives. The prayer, is in essence, God-centered because, taken from Chronicles in the context of the book, it doesn't point to one man, Jabez, or Wilkinson or the reader, but ultimately to God. He is the One capable of answering the prayer; He is the One desiring to grant Jabez what he requested; He is the pro-active lover of our souils, yeah? I believe that the testimony of one man holds more weight to any court of reason than the debate of theological meanderings - Wilkinson is testifying to something he experienced through God and it changed his life... that's worth creating a nice package to. Is it a quick fix? No - it never proposes itself to be one. It never assumes that air. It never slyly tries to convey that idea. What is it? It's a powerful revelation of a truth from God's Word. It's a call to higher purposeful living in Jesus Christ. It's taking a deeper understanding of who God is & who we are & one aspect of that dynamic relationship. I recommend it... I think it's something we all need to know in our relationship with God.

So I read the book (Prayer of Jabez) a few weeks ago and it strikes me as odd that this book is popular. It's not a particularly profound or a new idea (people have been touting the power of prayer, positive thinking, future-vision, etc.) for as long as I can remember, and the prayer itself is a rather simple plea although the author tries to present it as complete solution to spiritual growth. (I mean he doesn't say it, but wilkinson almost implies that this prayer is all that is needed to align one's self with god and the internal destiny of the spirit and its intended blessings...in other words, forget all that other theology and the other 65 books of the bible...i got it all simplified into a bite size formula).

Its apparent that the prayer is asking for a greater blessing of spiritual responsibility, yet most people seem to be frightened of being called in closer to god then they are already standing. For some reason the people turned on by the book seem to have their sights set on success in their own terms, but the prayer is asking for success on god's terms which might differ quite a bit from what we have in mind for ourselves. I get the feeling this prayer is being mumbled more at the crap tables and slot machines of life then anywhere else. What I mean is, it is being prayed as we work for that job promotion or that child to be accepted to a great university or as we buy that new biotech on the Nasdaq...I guess we can want something so bad that we believe it is providence and that is where this prayer comes in. But then its merely a superstitious saying no different then 'baby need a new pair of shoes!' as the dice are released from our greedy little hands. but this prayer is really a prayer to be made aware of what blessings are before us and using those blessings wisely...not a prayer of redistribution of blessings. don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with desiring something and making that goal a priority, but this prayer seems to run askew to asking god to grant us our desires...this prayer asks god to grant us god's desire. Maybe god does really desire for me to get that Cadillac Escalade but somehow I think God is not nearly as much of a car buff as I am. I think we all know that (sometimes very faint) voice that God uses as his personal messenger for his will and this prayer is asking that the messenger's voice be amplified drowning out all the other mixed messages flying around. Now knowing that, the earnest recital of this prayer is kind of scary...for many of us hesitate to give god the reigns and let him direct us to those infinite blessings. Jabez was not messing around...who amongst us can say the same thing?

The Jabez book is strangly similar to another book (a book rivaling jabez popularity in the new age world) The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Wilkinson's four truths are different though. His aredisguised within a prayer and up for some interpretation...but they are none the less as short and pithy as ruiz' agreements. I do like the fact that Wilkinson makes no empty promises of happiness or particular results (Ruiz sounds like an infomercial selling spiritual get rich quick schemes with his four agreements)...Wilkinson's Jabez only promises that earnest application of the thoughts and perspective instilled with Jabez' prayer will be life changing. If someone changes internally there will usually be external evidence that something life-changing occured, but its the inner affirmations of the prayer and not the actual prayer that is working here. In other words, not so much God hearing and answering a prayer, as our own inner spirit getting in touch with the blessings that are abounding just within our reach but out of our sight every moment of our lives. (new agers would say that the blessings are a vision intended for the third eye).

No doubt about it...this book has some real meat in its svelte 93 pages, but like recipes adapted for mass consumption...something might have got lost in the sauce on the national level. Is the Jabez movement the evidence of a rennaisance for god and the spirit or merely a fad springing from America's desire to recitfy its puritanical foundation with unrelenting manifest destiny?

what do you think?

After recieving The Book (The Prayer of Jabez) from from a long time friend whom which I was visiting...I read the entire book in the time it took to Fly from Tampa to Massachusetts. At first I was a bit leery. I do tend to be bit skeptical when it comes to "Quick Fix" deals. Though to be fair and not judgemental...I pressed on to read the book in its entirety. I found myself to be extreamly "moved" while reading the accounts of Dr. Wilkinson. I was very enlightend and felt a sense of peace within myself. This is not easy task. I decided that THIS is what I am supposed to share with the other women in my Church's Womens Retreat this November...so I went on-line to order the materials to do so. I felt a huge pit in my stomach when I proceeded to read the various contrasting reviews. Some saying that this book is nonsense. How can you believe a man that is interpreting the Bible to the extent of asking God for Blessings of wealth Etc. I say to all of you... READ THE BOOK and JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES! I did not interpret the Book in this way at all. I feel what Dr. Wilkinson was saying... Ask God For Blessings... allow me to broaden my boarders so that I may reach others... Please be with me the entire way, because I am not sure I have the strength to go it alone... and last but not least, Keep me from Evil so that God can continue to work through me. Somehow these others have interpreted this Book to be a book of asking God for Wealth and Power! I ask... Where is YOUR mindset?! Dr. Wilkinson makes reference to those whom have recieved great blessings from God just to in turn be tempted into believing they have accomplished these tasks on their own. SATEN IS HARD AT WORK! Just waiting to entice us all into believing WE are the great ones, so we may fail! I can not stress enough to open your heart and not be tempted to shut out this book before you open it! In the meantime I must tell you that I have shared this book with my Husband and WE HAVE experienced the miracle of GOD! We have been Blessed Time and Time again! I wish to thank Dr. Wilkinson for opening our eyes to this form of prayer. The skeptics say... Dr. Wilkinson brags of his accounts throughout the Book, I say, Brag? YES! FOR GOD! As for his personal accounts, I say he is just witnessing. Is this not Gods Will? BOTTOM LINE- Judge this book for yourself, and as for all the hype of the other novelty items...If this is the way that God sees fit to finance the ministry of Dr. Wilkinson so that he and his people can spread the word of God to as many people as far and wide as possible...who are we to judge! I belive that the Prayer is not a set prayer... But a guideline to apply to our everyday life so that we may help our fellow man. I myself have only been praying in this way for a very short time... but I can tell you that I HAVE SEEN THE MIRACLE OF GOD! And no matter how many reviews I read that tell me that this is just another Hoax...I will still believe in the truth of God and Prayer! God Bless You ALL!

I received the Oxford New Revised Standard Version POCKET EDITION Bible. It is 4 1/2" X 6 1/8" in 6 pt. type. It is a very lovely little bible, but it requires keen eyesight.

This book written by four of the top Hebrew Scripture Scholars was a fien overview of the themes and theology of the Old Testament. But there was some uneven parts of the book. The style was not even, which is perhaps what you get when you have four different authors. Also there were inconsistencies in content. One example is in the section on the later prohets when the conclusions starts off by saying there are three major parts to their thought and gives only two. This being a theological introduction there was also little reference to liberationist or feminist theology, which would have rounded out the picture the authors offered. In conclusion, while there are some good parts there are some problem areas which need to be refined. Perhaps a second edition would be helpful?

On the one hand this book is scholarly and thus a great pleasure to read, with many Greek and Hebrew words without any of these horrible transliterations. On the other hand, Aune uses the ideas of the German deist school, which lead to reject the textual and historical (Church Fathers, etc.) evidence for the date, composition, authorship of New Testament docuemnts such as the book of Revelation. A defense of the Christian views (date, composition, author, etc.) on Revelation, which refutes Aune's old liberal arguments, can be found for example in "An Introduction to the New Testament" by D. A. Carson, Douglas Moo and Leon Morris, which book I recommend.

Liberal scholars will certainly greatly benefit from Aune's volumes on Revelation (I only have volumes 52A and 52B, but I assume the next volumes will be similar). To those looking for a Christian commentary on Revelation, I would rather not recommend Aune's books.