Not only would I highly recommend this novel to all Fantastic Four fans, I would also strongly recommend it to those who are fans of Mr. Fantastic. This book proved how he could pull off having his own solo limited or ongoing comic series. Also worth mentioning was how the characterizations of all members of the F4 were done right, unlike in their current comic series. If you have only to buy one Fantastic Four novel in your lifetime, make this one it.

I think for the last several years now, the Fantastic Four novels have been better written then the comic. Case in point is this novel by Pierce Askegren. This writer makes good use of many leading FF characters that first appeared in the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby FF issues. The mad thinker is a complex villain here, Black Bolt and the Inhumans play important roles in the story, and the Fantastic Four are presented as the human heroes that they are. No fancy gimmicks here. It's a straight forward story from start to finish, and I'm very grateful for that.

Michael Jan Friedman's _Redemption of the Silver Surfer_ has been getting all the attention, but I think Pierce Askegren's _Countdown to Chaos_ is even better. The characterizations are all perfect, especially the Thing, and the plot is _much_ more interesting (and complicated!) than the usual villain-takes-over-the-world kind of stuff. Plus, it's much better than the comic book has been in about fifteen years. Don't let this great book pass you by!

From the cover one is in for a treat, both to the eye and palate. The photography in this cookbook is simply gorgeous. How can one take a shot of a man holding a rooster in front of a bin of corn and make it look like a million dollars? It's here.

The recipes are the best of the tradition which the French are world famous for. Here are stressed the best in ingredients, cooked lovingly with patience and care and technique to bring out their succulence from French Regions.

Feast on such as "Cod and Vegetables with Garlic Mayonnaise" "Stuffed Breast of Veal" "Lyon Style Onion Soup" "Veal Stew" "Pears in Beaujolais."

Truly Bon Appetit.

Bravo Monsieur Bocuse. Finally, an authentic French Cuisine Book. The recipes are simple and truly traditional. The ingredients are available at your corner grocery store and THAT is a refreshing change. The only French Cookbook you will ever need.

After reading Reinventing Public Education, I believe that the only really hope for the future of American education lies in the contracting approach to public education that the authors describe. This is one of the only books on education I have ever read that understands that the problems with public education in this country have less to do with a lack of standards, poor teaching methods, or inequitable funding, than a system which fails to understand that schools are organizations that can only be successful through organic growth rather than government regulation. This book will appeal to both voucher supporters and ardent defenders of a public education system that is committed to educating all its students

I hesitated buying this because I'm skeptical of "end time" books. Boy am I glad I changed my mind. Kelly describes a series of dreams he had and gives an interpretation. Timely yet timeless. I read it in a day yet will be thinking about it for the rest of my life. I hope more people read this and that God ignites more people to think with a generational perspective.

Heat after heat, the enemy is looking out for a crack on the wall. But what emerges will be the finest texture in the House of the Lord call warriors. This is a book of hope !

"End time warrior" presents to readers like a revelation kiosk, highlighting common objectives, direction, integrity and perseverance which the church must seriously take heed. Overall, the message contains gripping revelation with exclamation truth.

Living in a time of distress where the shadow of great uncertainty is casting on planet earth, there must arise an answer powerful enough to bring hope and life. The apostolic army, John Kelly saw in his vision, is unquestionably the visible topsoil prepared to fit that dire need. Coming to the fore shall be these people with flaming answers. Where they are placed, light will abound and darkness will diminishes into a blip.

From the account of Kelly's vision, there will come some of the most engaging periods the church would need to go through. The church has don some many titles in the past. Each title leaves a trail of revelation of the Lord. We have the Body, House of the Lord, Bride, and now Warrior.

After reading this book, some of us will probably be musing over the portal of opportunities awaiting for us. In his book, the author beckons us to prepare for encouraging results. Great harvest will unfold before our eyes. Resources will be returning. New grounds will be won. Old grounds will be claimed. What is even more glaring will be the fact that the prophesied church will be at the height of her maturity and beauty. Yes! It will take maturity to wrestle against the unseen forces. Anything less or compromising will cause us to fall under the duplicity of today's increasing false signs and wonders.

It will take unity to change today's spiritual climate. The greatest unity will spin out from the spread of diversity. Denominations lines are thinning, as the Spirit is drawing all of us for a common purpose. Even the very marginal differences among us will be offset by the love of the Spirit upon all of us.

This book also emphasizes the importance of spiritual fathers. Every warrior sent into the spiritual battlefield has a signature of his spiritual father on his heart. The quality of a warrior is formed on the anvils of a fatherhood ministry. In tandem with this emphases, the author also promotes the power of mentoring. Substantial quality in a spiritual life is developed out from a mentoring relationship, which should be today's primary focus in any ministry.

I believe Kelly's ministry is a personal offering to see the growth of God's Church. God has set him apart to be a pacesetter. In his anointing, he knows the speed of the Spirit and determines to train others to catch up. Read this book, it unfurls the motive of his heart.

End Time Warriors is a clear trumpet call to the contemporary church. Using prophetic imagery, biblical insight and many real life examples, Kelly & Costa pull the blinders off of the modern masquerade of ministry. They propose that much anointing is currently wasted and point us to some hopeful solutions. Although the message is essentially hard hitting there is also a refreshing sense of hope that shines through. Like a cool drink of water, this book is just the medicine that Dr. Jesus ordered.

The recipes in this book are easy to use and wonderful. They cover every topic, as a basic cookbook, without going into technique. I had been hoping to have the same format as the columns had been; a complete menu idea, but that is the only disappointment in the book. It is "one more" basic cookbook for my shelf, but certainly a good o ne.

When in doubt about a particular recipe, I always turn to this book. Litterally a thousand classic recipes that always turn out to perfection. A must have.

It takes a ... what? It takes more than this book recognizes to improve education. The rhetoric here implies that the so-called "reform" movement is the way to cure school ills. To most teachers, however, this is simply another year's bureaucratic fad to morph educators into paper pushers. Although I found several insights here, and detailed information on six inner-city school districts, I was somewhat amazed by two important omissions: teachers and students. Teacher unions were trivialized by the suggestion that each little school decide, on their own, if they want to unionize.The writer recommends "hiring halls" for teachers, putting us on a level with farm workers and factory hands. This writing shows absolutely no understanding about why teachers need unions or how such organizations originated.

This writer clearly identifies a target audience -- mayors, civic leaders and school board members. By decision, it excludes teachers and students. It's sad to think -- and I've seen this happen -- that ivory tower bureaucrarts actually make decisions based on this type of dubious theory rather than getting down in the trenches with the reality of the classroom.

Content here is peppered with educratic jargon which twists other terminology into bastardized educational theories. School "incubators" make me think of premature babies."Real dollar budgets" make me wonder if bureaucrats are playing Monopoly with our taxes. "CEO Strong Schools strategy" pretends that a principal, who is middle management, is a CEO. Get real. The only CEO in the school district is the superintendent who is hired by an elected school board.

This book, to it's credit, recognizes the inability of reform to reform anything (last paragraph, page 84). Any good book offers new insights and "policy churn" gets my prize here. Teachers are jaded by bandwagon bureaucrats who recycle new versions of old ideas, one after another, never saying, "stop this" or "drop that."

Hillary Clinton quotes the African proverb, "It Takes a Village." This book spins the idea into, "a city." I'm waiting for the next trendy realization for someone to discover that, "It takes a teacher."