Even though the book was hard to read it contains some material(s) good for conducting an in depth binle study

This is volume 1 of a 3 volume set, covering Matthew, Mark, Luke, and apparently also James and Jude. It appears that amazon.com doesn't have the other two volumes, so unless you are interested only in the first part of the Gospels, you may find this volume a problem. Fortunately, amazon.co.uk carries all three volumes. Look for author first word = Calvin, title word = Harmony It won't be immediately obvious that the first volume is the same as this book, because the set is jointly published by Eerdmans and Paternoster. This is volume 1 from Eerdmans; amazon UK has all three volumes from Paternoster.

This book is great if you are interested in only the negotiation process between several of the Arab countries and Israel, but it fails to describe how they got into the situation they are in. To be able to appreciate this book fully, you must already possess a good background in the conflict itself, as well as know who lost/gained what in which war. The book glosses over the wars that were intermittant with the negotiations and you need to figure out for yourself what land had already been taken and what land had just been taken in the last war.

Parker sets out to explain the identity of Chinese young people in Britain. He does this through extensive interviews and an analysis of various art forms. The book can be broken into three main sections. The first deals with the history of the Chinese in Britain. The key argument here is that you cannot understand discrimination against the Chinese without first analysing the historical circumstances that led to immigration. Second, Parker analyses the lives of young Chinese in takeaways. He suggests the "across the counter" experience is a metaphor for the Chinese experience in Britain. The third section deals with how young Chinese construct their identity. Parker outlines six identity types. The crux of his argument is this: identity should not be seen as something static and exclusive; it changes and can take on new meanings in different contexts. The most common form of Chinese identity was the 'segmented identity', where Chinese young people are British in public life and Chinese in private life.

This is a valuable contribution to cultural studies. There are some fresh new insights that serve to challenge many misgivings of extant cultural theory. It also provides a useful vehicle for future research. The chapter on 'takeaway lives' is exceptional. But sadly, it makes every other chapter look substandard. Overall, the book suffers from a disjointed structuring. It is also wrecked by its overly pedantic and clumsy style. It just doesn't flow. In short, the book presents great ideas in shabby clothes.