this is an excellent textbook. I am a student studying civil engineering and used this book as required for a class. the book was very inciteful and full of useful information. it was presented in a logical manner and was easy to read and understand. all in all a good textbook.

Dear sir:
please give this book to me. Thanks!
ZHOUHAIBIN
2002/18/01

Don't read this book. If you're looking for a good, solid entertaining mystery, don't read this book. It definitely has the standard ingredients : murdered girl(s), detectives but that is where it stops being standard. So be forewarned. The book is not standard; it is superlative.

Following on the shirttails of The Great Depression in the 1930s, we are introduced to St. Paul, Minnesota, in the middle of the farming country which the Depression hit pretty hard. Money is still very tight and the Second World War has captured most of the headlines. The United States is not yet involved but the war is heating up. It is a time in the life of the world when a great amnesia has fallen on the world. Just a short while ago, the War to end all Wars was fought and now the only way to deal with the conlficts seems to be to fight another world war.

A young woman is found murdered. St. Paul city detectives begin to investigate and Detective Wesley Horner heads the investigation. A broken man, late middle age, having lost his wife to cancer and his daughter to love, he is adrift on a flood of missed opportunities and memories. His home is filled with phantoms and ghosts who belabour his every hour. The case provides a welcome focus and he quickly finds a plausible suspect for the killing in an eccentric clerk by the name of Herbert White. But there is one major problem with Herbert White -- he has a memory problem. Long-term memory is fine and so is short-term but not the middle ground. Yesterday is a fog. He can only assert that he believes he would not do such a thing. But when the second woman is killed and Herbert White not only knows her but knows her well, Detective Horner believes that he is the murderer and looks no further. With the aid of a police associate from Vice, a confession is extracted which seals Mr. White's fate.

It is during the course of this investigation that the Detective has met a girl who brings him back from the dead. She cares for him, loves him, feeds him, breathes life into his home and exorcises the ghosts which have haunted his house. His career takes an upswing and life seems worth living. But there is one drawback to her ministrations. As long as he works at forgetting the problem, the fantasy continues. But when the girl reads Herbert White's journal, she motivates Detective Horner to re-examine the case. And in so doing, Detective Horner has to re-evaluate himself and his life and the current problems in his life. And it is to this vulnerable point that one of his fellow officers gravitates attempting to use it for his own ends.

It is this framework that is used to deliver Mr. Herbert White's thoughtful, philosophical discourse and ruminations. Without the glue of memory, the fabric of truth and falsehood, the definition of one's life and self falls apart. For in the end, if one cannot remember the details of one's life, then who is that self? Do you accept other people's definitions of your self? If so, what if the definition is one of monster?

Mr. White rebuilds his self in the utter solitary of mind and body. Ultimately, for the detective, there is no way for him to remember himself but to risk everything he has gained to free the convicted murderer, Mr. Herbert White, who he now believes is innocent. And what of the third participant, the cop from Vice? Is is left untouched?

After all the baggage of society has been stripped away; after the illusions are gone, after the maya is recognized for what it is, we have men who remember themselves, drastically changed by the experience.

I am not fan of the mystery novel genre but the article about Mr. White's Confession in last month's Esquire made me curious - I was not disapponited. Mr White is sort of a cross between Ignatius J. Riley and the Rainman. The characters in the book are all well developed and it is interesting to watch their personal lives become intertwined with the main question of the plot. The ending -although a good idea to bring things together with the passing of years - is a little choppy. This is a minor flaw,though. This is a book that is hard to put down. The suspense provided in the description of a scene between the book's creep and young Maggie are a narrative marvel.

This is the finest novel I've read in some time.

I'm not going to do 1,000 words about this book. It will only take a few well chosen words to describe Robert Clark's most recent book. From plot to subplot, from character to character, from dialogue to narrative, from style to style (you'll know what I mean when you, lucky reader, take up this tale), Mr. White's Confession is so well plotted, the characters so very original, believable, and beautifully drawn, the dialogue so true to the ear and to its characters' point of view, and personality, the narrative so descriptive with nary a filler or wasted word, the characters so utterly fascinating you want to know them all, the style of writing so absolutely gorgeous, I can only say that this is by far the best novel I have read in years. Mr. Clark, clearly, is an exceedingly deep thinker, the fact of which is illustrated in Mr. White's diaries, which are, I think, the most deeply moving part of the book. One of the comments I made to a friend to whom I lent the book was, "He writes as if he were a Jesuit, the work is so spiritual and sensitive, while at the same time so well reasoned." I recommend that you purchase this book and read it at once. By the way, it's a real page-turner, so don't start it at 8PM on a week night. I guarantee you won't be able to pry it from your hand once you begin.

Barbara Hendryson, Poet and Writer, Menlo Park, CA

This book could have really been great!
Great storyline.
For the most part, well-developed characters.
But, the writing is NOT vintage Ludlum.
I do not have any insight into the history of this particular writing. However, I do know that the author of this story (or at least the final chapters) must have written steamy romance novels in a past life.

The protagonist, Paul Janson, is all man for 2/3's of this story. Then, without warning, he becomes a melodramatic sap. For instance, in a closing chapter, he rants and shouts at the remaining members of a secret US power-sect [a group that includes the President of the US] like a forsaken lover in a sappy love-novel.

There are hints of a slowly-weakening character change throughout the story. As I venture further into the plot I hope I'm proven wrong in my assessments .
Instead, I end up disappointed.

What of our Protagonist? Not only is Paul Janson weak; he's a raving, feminized fool. He stares down the bad guy in what should be a mind-shattering climactic explosion of student vs. mentor. Instead, Janson blanks out and goes shopping for yesterday's memories. It sunk to the point where I started to reach for a tissue to hand to the dear boy.
Sorry, but I don't like my spy-heroes sounding like refugees from a pulp love novel.

As stated earlier, Great story with nice plotting. Lukewarm character development of Paul Janson. This guy goes from ruthless protector of the USA to a whiny fool towards the latter stage of the story.
I couldn't wait to finish it.

**Want vintage Ludlum (with help from Gayle Linds)? Read 'The Paris Option'. Now, that's great writing in the Ludlum style!

While it's probably not a surprise that Ludlum didn't write this book (at least not in its entirety), The Janson Directive is a fast-paced international thriller that -- in typical Ludlum fashion --will keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. It's very fast-paced and loaded with action and suspense. Further, based on writing style and characterization, "this" Ludlum often surpasses the "real" Ludlum. The Janson Directive is a big book (547 pages) and lots of fun to read (although I think it might have been even better if it been 50-100 pages shorter,which kept me from giving it a 5-star rating). Hopefully, there will be more books by "this" Ludlum. I think you'll find that once you start The Janson Directive you'll agree that your in for an exciting reading experience that will allow you to escape far from reality. Enjoy!

Suspense - Action - Intricate Plotting - Wonderful Intrigue - All the things which Robert Ludlum provided the reader in his most successful books are contained in THE JANSON DIRECTIVE. This is an action adventure thriller to rival the Jason Bourne trilogy, and fans will hope that a sequel for Paul Janson was also conceptualized before Ludlum's death.

Paul Janson, a retired field operative from the covert agency Consular Ops is clandestinely recruited to attempt an exfiltration of Peter Novak, a billionaire and Nobel Peace Prize winner who has been kidnapped by nationalist rebels on the island kingdom of Anura and is to be executed in three days time. After being informed of the details of the mission by Marta Lang (head of Novak's philanthropy - the Liberty Foundation), when Lang thanked him for providing she and her associates with hope Janson remained silent but concluded that "perhaps false hope was better than none at all". And indeed, on the verge of apparent success a terrible tragedy occurs as Part One ends. For reasons totally unknown to Janson or the reader, a "beyond salvage" is then issued by Janson's former agency and he is targeted for death.

The remaining eighty percent of the book involves unraveling the intertwined mysteries of the life of Peter Novak, the Vietnam wartime experiences of Paul Janson, the role of the secret ops of the U.S. government, the disappearance of Marta Lang, and the continuing role of the masterful Anuran rebel leader, the Caliph, who has also a fateful link with Janson's past.

The intricate nature of the conspiracy as it unfolds rivals the best books of this nature that I have read, and the characters are well drawn, especialy Jessica Kincaid, the young sharpshooter of unbelievable ability (literally, her achievements were a bit too good) who is on the team chosen to pursue Janson, but also several of the bit characters as well including the Russian Grigori Berman. I was especially intrigued by Peter Novak, who Ludlum clearly seemed to model on George Soros in many details. However, Novak chooses to achieve his goals through an activist "directed democracy" rather than Soros' methodology of simply promoting "Open Society". Nevertheless, the existence of Soros as a real life model for the accumulation of such vast wealth makes Novak's character more believeable.

As most of Ludlum's books, this displays deep cynicism regarding the actions of our government, and great understanding of the arrogance of power. I found Janson's contempt for "the best and the brighest" and his analysis of their faults truly refreshing. Several things argue against this being written (rather than plotted) by Ludlum. Most noticably, the contemporary idiom relative to his other books, as well as the more graphic and detailed violence. I was repulsed by a few of the descriptions of torture, as was undoubtedly the intent given their context. However, the fact Ludlum stepped out of character to write THE ROAD TO GANDOLFO and THE ROAD TO OMAHA keep me from reaching a firm conclusion regarding the extent of his role in the preparation of this manuscript. But is is good enough so that the publisher should have informed its readers concerning whatever collaboration occurred in its preparation and provided appropriate credit, as this would not have detracted from its appeal.

A timeless classic, written by Robert Louis Stevenson was a great book for those of us who like adventure. The book begins at the Admiral Benbow Inn, which Jim Hawkins, the main character works. Suddenly, from out of the blue a rough sea faring man appears named Billy. That is when the real adventure begins!! Jim and his mother find a treasure map in a dead customers sea trunk. Jim got a couple of respectable people together and they bought a ship named the Hispaniola and set of sail for Treasure Island, not knowing the problems that lay before them. I think the author wanted the them to be, be careful whom you trust. I fully enjoyed this book and I think you will too. To find out the rest read, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

"Treasure Island," written by the 19th century novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, is the timeless story about life on the high seas with pirates, treasure, murder, and treachery.

When young and naive Jim Hawkins is given a treasure map from the mysterious old pirate, Billy Bones, adventure and trouble are not far behind. Soon Jim finds himself aboard a ship with a villainous crew led by the cunning and mendacious pirate, Long John Silver. Greed and the lust for gold driving the pirates, they have murder in mind when they reach the dubious Treasure Island.

Skillfully yet simply written, Robert Louis Stevenson gives us an alluring tale that sparks the imagination. With its dastardly plot and mothly crew of rogues and villains, it entrances the reader, and keeps them wanting more. "Treausure Island" is the perfect read for anyone just wanting a good, exciting story.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is by far one of the best adventure stories I have ever read. This book deserves all five stars, it has everything you could ask for such as, suspense, comedy, action, drama and a great plot line. R.L. Stevenson puts a lot of detail into his main characters such as Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins just to name a few. He describes the scenes with such great detail that at times I had to remind myself that it is only a book. I spent more than 2 months reading this book and I enjoyed every part of it. I could RARELY find a paragraph that was dull, the book was very exciting overall. This book is fairly easy to read and I would recommend it to adults and children of all ages. The book moves at a very good pace, not too fast, not too slow. This book is anything but boring, something new happens in every chapter for instance, when Jim witnesses a murder and when he gets into bar fights, those are just some of the many things that happened. I was very surprised myself when I read this book because it seems a little childish but in fact it's quite the contrary. I highly recommend that you go out and read this book!

THIS BOOK BY FAR IS INCREDIBLE. GENE LEBELL THROWS ALOT OF HUMOR INTO THIS BOOK AND SOME RATHER FUNNY LOOKING HUMOROUS TECHNIQUES TO TAKE UP SPACE BUT HE DOES INCLUDE A BIZARRE AMOUNT OF HOLDS IN THIS BOOK. FROM BASICS LIKE HOW TO GRAB TO LEG LOCKS(AWESOME SECTION BY THE WAY) TO EVEN SOME PRO WRESTLING HOLDS YOU'D SEE ON MONDAY NIGHT. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN GRAPPLING. THE FORMAT IS VERY EASY TO LEARN AND HE SHOWS SEVERAL TECHNIQUES IN VARIOUS ANGLES AND VARIATIONS. ITS OFF THE HOOK!

Gene LeBell makes learning fun with his humerous approach to grappling in all its forms. This volume includes techniques commonly found in Judo, wrestling, and a host of other martial arts from Asia to South America. Author LeBell commences with grips and handles, with gi (jacket) and without-after all the base of grappling is holding on to something (anything!). He moves on to slap and catch, and then a huge array of arm locks, shoulder locks, writst, hip, leg locks, chokes, strangles, cranks, counters against a boxer, and LeBell's own wide range of special tricks, many which are not commonly found anywhere else. This volume contains a wealth of information, probably easiest to assimilate for someone who already has a background in wrestling, judo, BJJ or some other art with a lot of ground practice--I had no trouble understanding most of the techniques illustrated within. You won't find much on judo-like throws here, but then this book isn't geared towards that. There are plenty of other ways to get your opponent to the ground illustrated in this tome.

This is a big, heavy book--a work this complete has never been undertaken before to my knowledge (with the possible exception of the "Fighter's Notebook"). There are many practical techniques, many "forgotten" techniques, and everything from the practical to the incredibly difficult in here. For the conoisseur of grappling or martial arts in general, you will enjoy yourself!

LeBell was probably born wearing a pair of wrestling tights and boots. He was the national AAU Judo Champion in 1954 and 1955. Gene won both the heavyweight and openweight divisions at a bodyweight of 160 pounds. Gene LeBell became a professional wrestler in 1955 and won the NWA World's Heavyweight title. Judo Gene is one of the greatest submission grapplers in the world today. He is a master of over 1,000 holds in the art of submission grappling. All of the holds that Gene knows were proven and tested on the mats, arenas and in the streets around the world. LeBell's legacy to the grappling world is in this encyclopedia. This book has over a thousand submission grappling techniques. LeBell is no ordinary mortal when it comes to grappling and fighting. I am certain that he is related in some way to the ancient Greek gods of antiquity. Probably Hercules was his Godfather and the mighty Milo of Croton - the greatest wrestler who ever lived - was his grappling mentor. For those of you who do not have the book -- buy it, it will be the best investment you will ever make and keep in mind that it is the best book on finishing holds that has ever been published. I have seen many other books on submission grappling from all over the world and none can compare with this book. Years ago I searched high and low for such a book but always came up empty handed. Submission grappling techniques have always been guarded jealously by the grapplers of the world. The art of finishing holds is a secretive and esoteric art. Judo Gene LeBell has revealed to the grappling world many of these secret and esoteric holds. LeBell is the first one to do so. Many professional wrestlers were angry with Gene for doing so, but Gene wants to share his knowledge with all the martial artists and grapplers of good will. This manual has an enormous amount of information, knowledge and techniques that one can learn from. If you own such a book then no other grappling book is necessary to buy. It is the whole nine yards. Gene once told me that if you can learn one good technique from a book then it is worth the purchase price. If that is so, then this book is equal to a hundred books (assuming you learn only 10% of the techniques it contains).

This book falls squarely into the category of a wonderfully developed "best of class", for it faces the issue of Robert McNamara complicity and lasting culpability for the debacle and aftermath associated with Vietnam. Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, it is only fair to mention my own antipathy for McNamara, and my own belief he (as well as Henry Kissinger and a number of notable others) should have been indicted for crimes against humanity in association with the war in Vietnam. Nonetheless, this book is truly amazing at a number of levels, but most certainly because it puts the lie to the lingering neo-conservative notion that Vietnam was a necessary and winnable war that the nattering nabobs of negativity (read liberals here) and anti-war protestors inadvertently lost for America. Of course, such nonsense has more to do with wishful thinking then it does the reality of the times, as author Paul Hendrickson quickly illustrates.

This is a fascinating character study, one that poses McNamara as an isolated, antisocial figure more at home with the comfortable fictions of number crunching than with the quicksilver facts of everyday reality. His rise from Harvard to the Air Force to Ford won him wide acclaim as a "no-nonsense can-do" kind of guy, and this reputation for being the best and the brightest resulted in him being named Secretary of Defense by Jack Kennedy in what was likely the most disastrous public appointments of the last half of the 20th century. He force-fit his own conceptual perceptions onto the way the Department of Defense assessed itself and its engagements, so that quantitative measures came to supplant local experience and field judgment in the conduct of day-to-day operations in Vietnam. Thus, the most venial sorts of bean-counting by way of number of sorties, bomb tonnage dropped, and enemy body counts became the "meaningful measures of merit" (an actual term, not one I am concocting) the "whiz-kids" at the Pentagon used to determine where they stood in terms of the ultimate victory.

Meanwhile, thousands of American boys, as well as countless Vietnamese of every age, sex and description were lost in so-called "collateral damage". Engaged in the circular reasoning only a true believer in quantitative reasoning could marshal, McNamara fought to maintain the perception the war was being won, even when his raging intellect knew otherwise. Yet even after he recognized the reality of the situation, this self-described man of conscience could not bring himself to do the right and honorable thing. Rather than tell the truth and expose the outrageous situation in Vietnam, he remained silent, allowing many more thousand of young Americans and Vietnamese to die. It is this failure of conscience for which he should have been prosecuted, for his willing complicity in the continuing bloodbath long after he knew the war could not be won and that our efforts there would result only in further loss of life.

The book is also singular in its counter position of McNamara's evolution throughout the sixties and early seventies with five others so dramatically linked with the progress of the war in Vietnam; four Americans and a young Vietnamese citizen, all of whom were fatefully affected by McNamara's moral cowardice and abject failure to act or speak out. Most poignant for me was the story of one former Vietnam veteran turned artist who actually went berserk on a ferry when he discovered McNamara to be a fellow passenger. Finally, the author deals quite convincingly with the self-serving arguments McNamara himself has used to deflect criticism from himself, showing how one-sided and inconsistent they are with the public record. This is a terrific book, and one that provocatively revisits the painful and mind-numbing consequences that the terrible events of the sixties had for so many ordinary Americans. I recommend this book, although I must caution that reading it is hardly for the squeamish or faint of heart. It cuts deep into the heart of darkness that was so central to our venture in Vietnam, and faithfully recalls the depths of heartache and tragedy that piteous, misadventured action caused.

I was moved to read this book when I saw the author on C-SPAN's "Booknotes" program a few years ago. I immediately bought the book on the basis of this interview and I wasn't disappointed. As one other reviewer here has stated - Who can forget the incident on the Martha's Vineyard ferry? The opening of the book is like that of a thriller; it entices you and pulls you into the story immediately. And what a thriller! This was a defining period of my life. The Vietnam War and its affect on the young people of the United States, of whom I was one, has seldom been written about so personally and with such fervor. Hendrikson brilliantly revives the feelings of those of us here at home about the unwinnable war and the waste of lives - both of our own people and (in even larger numbers) the Vietnamese. I remember the self-immolation of the Quaker man at the Pentagon. This horrific event was described by the press at the time as the act of a madman. But it was one of the purest acts of contrition on behalf of humanity in my young experience and is rendered in this book with compassion and and enlightenment. For those who are too young to remember the Vietnam War, the demonstrations and other efforts against it, and the personal cost for ALL - both those in the killing fields and those here at home - I say to you: READ THIS BOOK.

For those too young to remember the Vietnam conflict, author Hendrickson has provided a valuable service. This finely etched book details the bizarrely detached way that one of the war's founders approached his bloody work; he viewed it as a math problem. And Hendrickson goes farther, illustrating the tragic ways McNamara's death-dealing equations affected specific human lives.

It is precisely that detachment -- a certain soulless vacancy which corrupted America's conduct of the war and prevented us from either winning or leaving -- that threatened to drive America mad.

I have read no better book on the American obsession that was the Vietnam War. In 1963, nobody knew where Vietnam was. Now, more than 25 years after we left, many of us cannot forget.

I cried more than once when I read this book the first time -- for those whose stories are told here, for the men I knew who died without ever having experienced the love of wives or children, for my country and for myself.

I have read it twice since. It has, I am sorry to say, lost no degree of impact.

Paul W. Roberts has written a thoroughly engaging book about the Magi's quest for the infant Jesus. The ill tempered Iranian guide was all too real. Having actually traveled this route myself, I have to say Roberts has captured the mood and atmosphere very accurately. The other book that I recently read which also captured the accuracy of this time and place is the wonderful and controversial "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. Both these books evoke a forgotten and magical route. If your taste is present commentary on historic times, your choice should be "In the search of Jesus". If you want a riveting and original account of the man, choose "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years". For the best of all worlds, buy both these remarkable books.

Paul W. Roberts has written a thoroughly engaging book about the Magi's quest for the infant Jesus. The ill tempered Iranian guide was all too real. Having actually traveled this route myself, I have to say Roberts has captured the mood and atmosphere very accurately. The other book that I recently read which also captured the accuracy of this time and place is the wonderful and controversial "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. Both these books evoke a forgotten and magical route. If your taste is present commentary on historic times, your choice should be "In the search of Jesus". If you want a riveting and original account of the man, choose "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years". For the best of all worlds, buy both these remarkable books.

Just finished "In Search of the Birth of Jesus". I'm a layman with a casual interest in the subject, and I was intrigued by the book. Paul is an excellent writer, but boy oh boy, his editor didn't help any. Major shortcomings: the book desperately needs a map, or maps, showing Paul's route (deduct 1 mark); also, how about a bibliography or list of references, 'cause Paul quotes numerous sources (deduct 1/2 mark); and pictures-you know, a picture's worth a thousand words, and in spite of Paul's admirable descriptive passages, hey, it's the 20th century, soon to be the 21st (deduct 1/2 mark); and finally, a glossary would have been useful, e.g., some background on Zoroaster, and the myriad of other historical figures mentioned throughout the book. So much for constructive criticism. So what's good about the book? Paul's a good story teller, and has done his research. For the amateur religious historian there is lots of new perspective provided on old questions. As a travelogue there are many amusing passages, as well as interesting revelations, particularly about Iran. A good read in spite of the book's shortcomings.

This is a great book! Not for novices in C++, but if you already know the fundamentals of the language, this book will be great to learn data structures. Excellent book, indeed.

If you want to learn about data structures, then get this book; you won't find a better one. But you'll need a good grip on the C++ language to take full advantage of this book. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this book will also teach you C++. The book is written to teach you data structures; and hopefully you'll pickup some good design habits along the way.

The materials in this book are very well organized and easy to understand; Enough for most programmers.

Most people today are truly ignorant of many of the key events of first century Palestine, in spite of its importance to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Eisenman considers all available documents from this time, including many which have not been discussed outside of academic circles. It has long been observed that "the victors write the histories." Not until I read this book did I have any real feeling for what this meant in terms of our understanding of the first century. Eisenman describes the many groups of this era in terms of those which survived (the Romans, the Christians, and the Jews who were philosophically Pharisees) and those which did not (any of the other branches of Judaism, including that of Jesus and his true successor, James). Once you understand the true dimensions of this historical divide, the schism described in the second chapter of Galatians will never be the same for you. I cannot recommend more strongly that you make the effort to read this book, although I agree with the others that it is a difficult book to read.

I am now reading "James the Brother of Jesus." It is challenging and dense. Dr. Eisneman makes many tangential remarks (even in the middle of long complex sentences!) and I find myself re-reading and parsing sentences on every page. But despite this, I feel there is much to praise in this book. On the simplest level, it has allowed me to break free from my conventional understanding of early Christianity.

I wonder how I could have spent years not giving a second thought to: (1) the veiled (and not so veiled) power struggle between Paul and the leaders in Jerusalem, (2) the fact that the leadership in Jerusalem surely had a far more intimate knowledge of Jesus than did Paul, and (3) the astonishing inconsistency between the Gospels' portrayal of occupied Palestine and what we actually know about that period. As one reviewer said (above), "There is nothing new here". If that's true, Eisenman has done me a wonderful service: showing me this "old" information in a new way.

Some readers complain that Eisenman's Book is too long, con-fused and not edited correctly. I disagree. This book clarifies, synthesizes and produces wonder at the pass of almost every sentence. Given the importance of his huge task, Eisenman's sentences and sections are usually crisp and minimal which only heightens the full impact of his evidence and implications.

Most of what I find in `James Brother of Jesus' I have read in bits and pieces in other extremely speculative and much less respected works like `Holy Blood, Holy Grail', `Dead Sea Scrolls Deception,' `The Hiram Key' and Barbara Thiering's work. These works have been ignored and dismissed by the Christian establishment for a long time on the basis of weak evidence and wild leaps of imagination. They had a point.

But Eisenman's work towers over anything that has gone before it in its breadth and depth of internal historical research. He brings the Christian tradition, with its shadowlands of history and myth, to a critical point with monumental power. That is, never before has the dichotomy between the historical Jesus via James and the Myth of Jesus via Paul been drawn so clearly, carefully and exhaustively. If you are a `thinking Christian', as opposed to a dogmatic apologist, read this book. The confusion in the Christian soul between the historical reality of Jesus and the existential reality of the spirit or myth of Jesus `the Christ' must be confronted. With `James The Brother Of Jesus' Christian Ostrich time is over.

My only argument with Eisenman is theological and teleological. 1)Theological - by implying that the Pauline `myth' of Jesus Christ is shattered by the revelations about the real history of James, he, like many other iconoclasts, misses the point. Christianity, like all religions, is a myth that structures social relations, psychological perception, ethics, behaviours and history itself. No more, and certainly no less than any other religion. The origins of Christianity's anti-Semitism is well taken and is vitally important given the recent revelations about `Hitler's Pope'. But there has been much Good as well in this myth. 2) Which leads to the teleological question `Why write this? To what end?' Is it to rub Christian noses in the cesspool of history, as if other traditions, didn't have them? Or is it a Jack Nicholson `You Can't Handle The Truth' kind of throwing down the gauntlet challenge to Christians? Some of us can handle it, and have struggled with the dichotomy between the existential myth and empirical facts of Christianity to be able to accomodate the `twin' Jesus.

In sum. - Read It!