yes the DBI as it is called in the Wilhoit house is the bestest book ever (after the Bible of coarse!). i have been meandering arround his office and old students have come in and told him what a great book this was!!! Buy it!! I come in like a billion languages (Korean, Chinese, and English)
~Juliana Wilhoit

This is a very extensive, yet concise topical dictionary that explores the countless metaphors and images so prevelant in the Bible. It is amazing how much God used symbolism to represent Himself or His promises, and most people (including the OT Jews) never caught it.

One point of interest to me was the meaning behind the lampstand God had Moses contruct. Most people overlook the details God gave concerning it's construction and what it referred to, but not this book...

If you are a fan of the IVP series that includes such volumes as "Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels," "Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments," "Dictionary of Paul and His Letters," you will thoroughly enjoy this reference book.

I really had no clue as to how important biblical imagery was before i read many parts of this dictionary. Biblical imagery isn't just for Catholics anymore! Biblical imagery is so important to the bible because the bible is wrapped up in imagery.

Why does God refer to His followers as sheep? What was the significance of the prodigal son getting a robe, ring and sandals when he returned home? How are various metaphors used in scriptures? How does Old Testament imagery relate to New Testament writings? All these are questions that many of us have entertained and are answered in great depth in this dictionary. I don't remember what course this book was necessary for in bible school, but I am sure glad that I got my hands on it.

If you are a preacher, pastor or a leader in the church you need to get your hands on this book too. Biblical imagery is too important for us to be ignorant of. God uses imagery to emphasize points or principles and we need to know what He is saying instead of being confused at why such a figure would be used to tell a parable or story.

Reading Lessons from the Fighting Commandos helped crystallize my own fighting experience. The neighborhood where I grew up was rough and tough, so my brothers and I learned early to use boxing in a street fight. As a teenager, I hung around a boxing gym. In the process, I learned a lot about boxing and picked up tips on street fighting. In high school, I was on the wrestling team. I later studied at a local school that emphasized a gung-ho attitude coupled with the use of open hand blows. The abrupt open hand attacks were easily countered by what I had earlier learned in boxing and wrestling. Sparring with the others in class was too easy, because I had no real problem defeating them using a combination of boxing and wrestling. I switched to a combat jujitsu school where the instructor told me that the toughest guys he had ever known had boxing experience. He went on to relate how during WWI and WWII some countries trained commandos for warfare through a combination of boxing, wrestling and other moves drawn from various sources. Now this brings me to Fred Neff's book on commando strategy that is by far the best book on fighting I have ever seen. He tells it the way it is, not how others fancifully want to hear it. His book combines boxing, wrestling and jujitsu to make a person ready for the street. My considerable experience tells me that this is an effective combination. I especially like the way he teaches to manipulate the adversary into being hit or open for a takedown. Face it, no street fighter is going to stand there and let you hit him with a series of open hand blows. The reality is that you had better learn to figure out a winning strategy and be ready to improvise along the way. Such a strategy often involves moving in and out with blows like in boxing, while being ready to use other techniques and tactics as needed. The strategy section near the end of the commmando book encourages the reader to learn to think, adapt to the opponent and to be prepared for an all-out fracas. This book is necessary to read for anyone who is serious about learning real self-defense.

The balanced presentation on self defense in Lessons From the Fighting Commandos makes it an excellent book for children and adults alike. After my husband's death, I noticed my son's depression and withdrawal from activities. His schoolwork greatly suffered and I found that it was nearly impossible to get him to read. Finally, I bought Fred Neff's book on Lessons From the Fighting Commandos for my son hoping it might at least get him reading again. At first he looked at the pictures, but within a short time he was reading the text. A few days later I came home and saw him standing in front of the mirror practicing lessons from the book. As time went on, it became clear that the book had a profound effect on my boy. He started taking an interest in athletics and reading as well. Lessons from the Fighting Commandos is a book any parent would love because it not only gets children interested in reading, but teaches other valuable lessons as well. It avoids the irresponsible approach used by other books that tell children that self defense involves a kill mentality or that one simple blow will defeat any attacker. Instead, Lessons From the Fighting Commandos teaches that to be good at self defense, like any other discipline, requires learning its principles, hard work, persistence, conditioning and developing the ability to think analytically. These life teachings transcend self defense and transfer to other important endeavors as well. I love the book for what it has done for my boy and strongly suggest its purchase for children and adults.

I have been involved in studying combat related fighting tactics for many years. The combat techniques and tactics taught in Fred Neff's book on Lessons from the Fighting Commandos is what I know from experience works. This book gets right down to business in teaching real fighting. There are a lot of armchair theorists that ignore the effectiveness of boxing and wrestling for street combat. These sports are based on hundreds of years of experience of what works. In a real fight, I have seen the effectiveness of boxing and wrestling. There are times where hitting someone with an open hand will do nothing more than hurt your hand. Anyone who thinks that you can simply move in on a good street fighter and take him out with open hand blows every time is living in a fantasy world. What it takes to win out in a no holds barred fight is the type of knowledge imparted in Lessons from the Fighting Commandos. Other books often ignore the fact that in a real fight you cannot always rely on blows to end the fight. What often happens in a fight is that you end up wrestling with your adversary. Fred Neff's book gives some good wrestling moves that from my experience work in a fight. You cannot prepare to defend in a fight without having both hitting and wrestling skills. To me Lessons from the Fighting Commandos is a five star book, that anyone who wants to learn real fighting will enjoy reading.