First off, Barlowe is an amazingly talented artist, and anything he does is worth owning.
Second, this book is an excellent continuation of "Inferno". If you do not own "Inferno", this can be read alone. However, the two are part of the same vision of Hell.
Third, while this book has slightly less content than "Inferno", it's still excellent. The artwork is inspired and haunting. The demons have an organic feel that makes them look real. They also have the remnants of their angelic heritage. Whereas "Inferno" is Barlowe's travels through Hell, focusing on people, places, and "beings", this book focuses on beings in the hierarchy of Hell, from officers to demons to fallen souls.

As my first thought, the point of view of Brushfire was much different from that of Inferno. This time it is written as if Barlowe were actually in Hell while painting his various subjects. Although this can be interesting, the perspective sometimes leaves out alot of information about the demons major and minor, focusing more on what he was thinking and what was happening around him at the time he was painting.
Brushfire mananages to have very visually rewarding illustrations. Pictures of "posing subjects" tend to be more photographic, while pictures outdoors are usually more like the ones from Inferno. However, I feel it could have incorporated more of the titanic scale so ubiquitous in Inferno. This effect gives Barlowe's Hell a very supernatural feel, one that separates his vision from that of other's.
As a humorous ending note, there is a little "insider joke" in the book. One of the pictures is of Morphaiis, a demon that Barlowe befriends on his visit to Hell. What makes it funny is that the painting is of James Cowan, Barlowe's friend and book publisher (who just happens to work for Morpheus International.

And that's not a bad thing, in the least. Some of the images simply took my breath away, more so than those in Inferno. Hannibal and his army of souls still has be picking up the book just to see it again. The text that accompanies the artwork is nice as well. It answers some questions that Inferno left us with and gives more of the lush inferno of hell while expanding it with the sketchily outlined events of a rebellion and war. While I believe this book could stand on it's own, it truly seems to shine as a companion to inferno. Indeed, inferno itself seems much more coherent after having read/viewed Brushfire.

Great book for the beginner and experience alike. Worth the buy.

Grat book for the beginner and experience alike. Worth the buy.

You can't go wrong with Wayne Gisslen's books. After being introduced to his books in Culinary School (CHIC), he is still my point of reference for recipes & techniques. Anyone who wants to cook & present like a pro - can with this book's help. The book is wonderful!

If culinary schools use him as their reference - why shouldn't you?

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Advice to the Reader:

First, read Philip Greenspan's review on Wayne Smith's book. Secondly, read Wayne Smith's book. Then, please read my book The Secret Fidel Castro: Deconstructing the Symbol. Reach your own conclusions.

Servando González.

Shortly after Castro came to power the U.S. took a hard line against Cuba. To support that position it portrayed Castro as a tyrannical dictator who subjected his people to a repressive regime. The media, endorsing the government's hard line, has given the public a picture of Cuba to justify that policy.

"The Closest of Enemies" by Wayne S. Smith-a former officer in the State Department-gives a different perspective to that view. He describes some of the internal disputes that occurred over that hard line policy and shows us a Cuba at variance with what has been presented in the media. His tours of duty brought him to Cuba in 1957-59, during the period when Battista was overthrown and again from 1977-81, when he was chief of the U.S. interests section in Havana.

The disagreements on foreign policy were not his alone. Many of the career foreign service officers felt that resolving differences through negotiation would be more productive. But both Democratic and Republican administrations-Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton--have followed the same uncompromising line.

Even before Castro came to power an arbitrary policy was followed. When it was apparent that the Cubans were opposed to Battista the U.S. continued to support him. They could have backed a more moderate candidate instead but waited until it was too late and Castro was victorious. Their excuse-it would not be right to intervene in a foreign country and it would draw unfavorable criticism. However, in 1954, it did intervene to effect the removal of Jacobo Arbenz from Guatamala.

The U.S. knew that Castro was not a communist. But he was opposed to the U.S. presence in Cuba, an attitude common among many Cubans. In spite of this, he was pragmatic and the differences that arose could have been resolved through negotiation. Instead, the U.S. was intransigent and drove him to the Soviets.

Many hostile activities followed. The Bay of Pigs invasion was attempted on the assumption that it would cause the Cubans to rebel against him. It failed. The planners did not seek the advice of those in the State Dept who correctly saw that he was popular with the people and he continued to have their support. It exploited the plight of those dissidents who escaped by boat; but many anti-communists who had languished in prison and were now allowed to leave Cuba were denied visas to enter the U.S. It lied about various supposedly hostile Cuban activities in Central America.

Smith returned to Havana in 1979 and described what he saw. There was no poverty and misery that exists in other Latin American countries. Everyone was provided with food, clothing, shelter, an education and medical care. I recently visited Cuba. It is over 20 years since he made that observation and an awful lot has happened in the interim. But I can attest that the same is true today.

This book was published in 1987 before the Soviet government, a prop for the Cuban economy, collapsed. With that collapse the Cuban economy went into a tail spin. Experts in government and the media predicted the immanent fall of Castro. But over a decade later, although the conditions in the country are quite onerous, he and his government survive.

It is ironic that with a hostile Goliath 90 miles away, he has survived for over four decades, while others whose military, economy and government were supported by the U.S. have been overthrown-the Shah of Iran, Marcos of the Philippines, Suharto of Indonesia, Mobutu of Zaire, Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, Somoza of Nicaragua, 'Baby Doc' of Haiti.

As a former Head of the US Interests Section (USIS) in Havana, Wayne Smith has not just lived the politics of Cuban - US relations, but has actually made some. After representing the US under President Carter in the tiny Caribbean dictatorship, a nation subject to tight US economic sanctions, Wayne Smith has come forward to speak about those sanctions. While he does not support the Cuban regime or its ideology in any way (neither do I), he believes that the embargo is strongly counter-productive, as it ends up helping Castro in his goal of resisting foreign influence and trends towards change. This is an argument most scholars agree with, and is surely not new. Yet, in this book Wayne Smith has been able to put forward the argument in a very particular light, from the point of view of someone who actually represented the embargo-enforcing nation for several years, and then had a sharp change in opinion. The book is extremely well written. As an academic study it is highly rigorous and extremely subjective: the author criticizes diverging views, but does not attack them just out of differences, and he manages to substantiate and argue his own views extremely well. The book is concise and clear, simple to read and even enjoyable. It is an absolute must for anyone approaching the delicate issue of Cuban - US relations in the current period.

This prayer book is the best all around prayer book for daily personal (or even family)use. The Scriptures are addressed back to God and arranged by category (with direction to add certain categories of requests inbetween the sections). This adds structure to ones prayer life and breaks the monotony of "grocery list" praying. This one is a little longer than, "Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth" or the "Simple Prayers" books; in my own personal devotions, it takes me about 7 minutes per daily prayer segment.

Boa has written several prayer books, all great, all solid. This is my favorite to date.

Many times when we pray we don't know where to get started, what to do, many times we just want a deeper prayer life.

This book will scripturally guide you through praying...not only the scriptures, but will guide you in praying for your world around you. It begins with praise and worship of Almighty God, leads you in a confession of Who He is, then guides you through personal renewal, petitions, intercession, and then a prayer of thanksgiving.

One of the things I liked best about this book was that it started out with each section, declaring the Word of God, then it guides you (differently each day) to pray for your leaders one day, your family the next, that you will be a faithful steward of your time and money, for God's wisdom...the list goes on and on.

Both this book and "Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth" are two of the best prayer/devotional books I have ever used. If I could only keep two, these would be the two I would keep. Not only are they easy to follow, they are taken directly from the Word of God.

Face to Face is a wonderful tool to help you pray. Boa has assembled scripture into eight sections for each day. You pray through scripture for Adoration, Confession, Renewal, Petition, Intercession, Affirmation, Thanksgiving and Closing. It helps you focus and it gives a marvelous sense of the completeness of God's word. I do not recommend very many books but this is one that I would recommend to anyone. I have already given away 20 copies.

An exciting story of an investigation of the most powerful man in the world. It has an ending that will make you feel satisfied that justice was done. If you like mystery mixed with politics; read Fatal Impeachment!

An enjoyable read! A timely story that may remind one of actual characters on the national scene in the recent past. The ending leaves you with a feeling that justice was done. If you like mystery and politics, you need to read Fatal Impeachment.

Author Wayne Beyea takes you on a suspense filled journey where a young State Police Investigator working on a cold case of rape and murder meets his own death. Destined to bring justice to this complex investigation, his supervisor, Lieutenant Miranda tirelessly pursues the new leads. The author knows the world of police investigation and what happens in this case is gripping and suspenseful. "Fatal Impeachment" is a must read.

Whether you are an professional ichthyologist, a collector of native fishes or just someone who is curious about the aquatic fauna found in Tennessee, this is the book for you. Tennessee has more species of fishes found within its borders than any other state. This book is extremely well written and should prove an excellent value. It is simply the best available.

One of the most detailed and comprehensive regional ichthyofaunal guides available. A must for the freshwater fisheries biologist.

Anyone interested in the waters and fish fauna of Tennessee will HAVE to procure this book. With complete species and taxonomic descriptions of all native and exotic fish, this book also provides intimate details concerning ecology, behavior, and evolution of the class Osteichthyes. Beautiful color photos of living specimens make identification a pleasant experience using the detailed keying information. Though not inexpensive, its price is less than most other books in its class. For a technical taxonomic work it is very easy to read. I highly recommend it for any naturalist interested in aquatic fauna of the region

The dismanteling of the Soviet Union brought about a fundamental shift in how we analyze the role of a modern nuclear navy. Large fleet to fleet battles between technologically sophisticated opponents is still a remote possibility, however, surface group actions of the future will certainly resemble smaller more tactical battles as well. The idea of skirmishes and close-quarters combat between vessles must be understood. So to the more immense multi-unit combat possibilities.
This is the spectrum "Fleet Tactics" seeks to analyze. It does this remarkabley well. It also explores more intangible factors. Moral and leadership are terms often used but rarely integrated into a coherant strategy towards victory. It seems taken for granted, but the author shows how we must take nothing for granted when restructuring our tactical phillospohy. Re-examining age old ideas and historic battles is only one side of the coin. Here, we have a book that does this but holds up such notions for the purpose of building better tactical thinking.
I have read both the original edition and this newe, updated one... the changes are clear. We have a book that picks up where naval theory as of 1990 left off. While still managing to represent its original content with value towards the tactician in naval warfare.
Read this book is you are interested in more than just bland analyses of age old battles. Read it if you want to develope a strong understanding of how naval conflicts of almost every kind should be fought. Read it if you want to develope a sound understanding of the timeless tactical cornerstones in naval strategy.

Hughes brings the reader through successive eras of Naval Strategy, threading common themes about what has changed and what has remained constant, and how (and why) tactics on the water differ from those on land. His updated edition demonstrates the likely impact of advances in technology and shifting political realities on naval power, with implication on tactics, training, and equipment. The work is refreshing not only because contemporary works on naval strategy are relatively uncommon, but also because he lays out in easy to follow fashion the challenges that our navies will face. This is particularily important in an era of shrinking overseas land presence, as the Navy will be called upon to project power more frequently. His stark description of 'exchange ratios' and their implications serve an important reminder to the West of the perils of the fight. The book will comfortably take its spot on your bookshelf beside the numerous general, land, and air strategy books available. I only wish there was more written on this topic.

Covering the Age of Sail, WW1, WW2 and the Missile Age, Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat examines the trends and constants of warfare in a comprehensive and concise book. Examining the need to mass fire power and the benefit of the first effective strike, this book provides a sound base for tactical though. Updated from Fleet Tactics, Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat includes relevant information to the new arena that the navy will be finding its self in - littoral combat. Many examples and equations are given in this book to illustrate the points Captain Hughes makes. A must read for anyone who is interested in the evolution of naval combat.

I bought this book for a course in classical algebra. I found the book well explained and well done. It contains a lot of exercise and example of differents difficulty. It covers logic, set, relation, induction, function, combinatorial proofs, countable sets and uncountable sets, groups and some calculus. The book has a lot of subject in it and it make it very flexible. If you want to ontroduce yourself to mathematics, I would recommend this book if you want to spend some money.

This book provides an excellent introduction to mathematical logic, set theory, graph theory, number theory, and more -- everything which is "neat" in higher math.

I would strongly recommend this book before any proof-based math class. The authors explain methods of proofs very well, and give some principles universally important in mathematics -- Zermelo's thm., Dirichlet's prin., and such.

The exposition in this book is great. If this is your first exposure to, for instance, the proofs by induction, this probably provides an excellent description of what's going on and how it works, why it works.

The book is slim (at least, the 1992 ed.) and not inexpensive. However, the authors' conversational tone makes it very approachable; at the same time, they are mathematically rigorous and very thorough.

This book is well done. Not only is well done but the explanations are clear and concise. The book offers different approaches. I use it for class and find most revealing. Hope you enjoy too. M.

Let's face it; most travel books are a glance-and-go proposition. Most of them do a passable job providing key information, but they aren't exactly a pleasure to read. Frommer's New England 2003 changes all that. Not only are the cititations clear, correct, and complete, many of them are laugh-out-loud funny or wickedly sly. At the end of a busy day on the road, I actually found myself reading the guide for fun (while happily settled in one of the recommended accommodations).A literate guide obviously written by folks in the know.

Great for a recent trip to Boston and Newport, RI.

The tips on what to see and what to avoid were dead on.

I have never bought a Frommer's Guide Book before, and now after I purchased this one, I am a loyal customer! I found it extremely insightful as to the most quaint New England towns to visit, which are the best routes to get there, practical information on the restaurants in town as well as their price ranges for any type of budgets - as well as advice on the many different bed and breakfasts that are available. This book caters to all travel styles, preferences and budgets. I planned most of my vacation with this book because it had phone numbers, prices, excellent directions... I could probably go on and on. Definitely a must for anyone who is traveling and not familiar with the area. It's like talking to someone who has lived in New England their whole life and is on hand to give you all the practical information you need to have a successful and fun/relaxing vacation. As if the book weren't great enough - they give you a wonderful full-sized pullout map that has all the towns marked on it which are mentioned in the book.

A very well writtin and easy to understand study of postmillenialism theology. I would strongly suggest this book to any premillennialist and fans of the popular Left Behind series. This book will definitely open up your mind and cause you to investigate the reality of this theology.

The title describes this book perfectly. Alot of my questions concerning the "rapture/end times" were answered.

In A Future, A Hope, An Expected End, Pastor Wayne Rohde brings insightful scholarship to the rather contentious subject of dispensational premillennialism. This is the commonly held view that the world is in irreversible decline, leading up to the Rapture of the Church, widely known as the "second coming" of Jesus Christ. He asserts that this theological doctrine, propogated only recently in the nineteenth century by Plymouth Brethren founder John Nelson Darby, is a potential self-fulfilling prophecy of spiritual disenchantment.

Seeing this dangerous trend, Rohde states, "Already we are hearing dates [of the coming Rapture] regularly set and passing unfulfilled." "As a consequence, church attendance may even rise for a time...with fear rather than faith as a motivation." "When the predicted time comes and goes with no Rapture, those new [churchgoers] will leave as quickly as they came in. Worse, they will now have been "innoculated" against the truth of the Church and the Word of God, believing them to be unreliable." Rohde believes that the alternative ideology to embrace is the Biblically taught view established in the 1st century at the beginning of the Christian Church, today referred to as "postmillennialism." This is explained as "...the expected return of Christ [is] only after the Great Commission is fulfilled and all of Christ's enemies are put under His feet by the Holy Spirit empowered Church."

A Future, A Hope, An Expected End studies the contrasts of the opposing doctrines, and presents them in a well organized format, easily accessible through the table of contents pages. Rohde's compelling arguments will challenge the reader to explore their own core belief structure. The book will be an excellent reference tool and is an affordable gift for those interested in dispensational studies.