I have found this book absolutely fascinating. Whichever side of the Presbyterian / Congregational debate on church government that you may take, you will find new angles, new insights and new information to broaden your understanding of this critical phase of Church History. Even if you don't agree with all of R.S. Paul's conclusions, you will greatly profit from reading the detailed, day-to-day tussles of these godly, scholarly and completely earnest men of God in the Westminster Assembly. This work was obviously a labour of love - I highly recommend it for all interested in this period.

This is a very comprehensive review of the Battle of Britain, the campaign which saved Europe from an indefinite period of darkness, oppression, and inhumanity. Without the courage and resilience of the British people and the courage, competence, and sacrifice of the young pilots and crews of the RAF from whom so much was demanded Hitler's legions would have stood triumphant over a defeated Europe. The level of detail about the technological and tactical development of aerial combat and strategic bombing from WWI to WWII, including radar, propellers, engines, gasoline, machine guns, gunsights, will attract aviation 'wonks' and the address of the broader political imperatives which led to war will attract the historian and political scientist. Mr. Jacobs' unbelievable sketches throughout add very helpful imagery of the aircraft which fought the campaign. I was intrigued, too, by the description of the influence of American aviation developments in the building of the German and British airfleets. I wish, though, the authors had addressed in more detail the effect of the early British breaking of German communication codes. A good read!

A number of books out there look at Visual Basic for Applications, but this is the only one so far that focuses on the newest version of Access. I found this book to be invaluable in cutting through the clutter and getting me straight to the practical applications of VBA. The authors take you through basic programming tenants but don't dwell on them. Rather they jump into examples that are very interactive and instructive. Their examples are clear and are good starting points to expand from on your own. It is not an exhaustive reference, but you benefit from it more if you have some decent Access experience. If you don't know a database, you are not going to learn here. But in just a few weeks after reading this book, I find myself going again and again into the examples as starting points for my own projects. And it is amazing how a little bit of programming will impress the users.

There are a couple of mistakes in the book that can inhibit your code from running. In addition, the database supplied has dates of 1998 and 99, but the book uses dates in 2001, so you have to adjust your code in order to get results. And unfortunately WROX has shut down its errata area so you can't really get help with these problems. So don't assume if your code doesn't work, it is your fault. This is where the code on the CD can be helpful - if it doesn't run right it's the program, not the programmer.

Overall with a little patience and work, you can get a huge amount of help from this book.

My nine-year-old son loves this book. He says, "I like it because you can learn about monsters from different countries. It has real information that scientists have found." I am buying it because we checked it out of the library and he wanted to re-type all of the stories so he could read them over and over again.

Truly, a brilliant work by one of the leading minds of our era. Concise, witty and subtle, and only a tad too far "out there", the author brings to light a wealth of insight concerning British missteps leading up to the outbreak of WWII. A scholarly work to be treasured.

This is an important book for future generations. The revolutionary work done by Pinochet and his advisors, copied not only in Latin America but the world at large.

It is also important that this book calls Pinochet by his real name, a Capitalist. These days anybody that doesn't agree with marxists-liberals is a fascist.

I'm still waiting to see how fascists implement free-market reforms like Pinochet did.

In summary: Pinochet is a Capitalist, fundamentalist if you will, who allied with the U-S during the Cold War, which was the fight between Capitalism and Communism. For a Latin American fascist look at Peron.

Wether you are in favor or against Pinochet it is important to get your facts straight.

THis work comes out of the "Braaten/Jenson Ecumenical Center" which has provided so many great books on Christian reunion. The center isn't called that, but those two untiring Christians have done so much that it should be named after them!

Now this book doesn't solve any problems per se, but it does put them into context and it avoids the unhelpful, silly, and unscholarly straw man arguments that the cheaper scholarship throws out as to why we should be Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox or "Protholidox"! WHile it is a great book for those interested in reunion, it is certainly a must-read for those who have read Ut Unum Sint, "that all may be one".

See my review of Brian Tierney's "Origins of Papal Infallibility" for a great selection of books that deal indepth with the subject of reunion between east and west as it relates to the papacy. Enjoy!

This book is about nuclear winter, and what scientists have determined it will probably be like. Before I say anything else, let me state as clearly as possible that I am not an expert in this topic. Sometimes it isn't always clear, reading Amazon.com reviews, whether the writer is an expert or just someone who read the book. I am in the second of those categories. Let me quickly mention that I have also read Lydia Dotto's "Planet Earth in Jeopardy: Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War," and I found that to be quite helpful as well. I put some more helpful commenst on my Amazon.com review of that book.

This book is one of the scariest things I've ever read. It clued me in on entirely new things over which people should be losing sleep. Did you know that one of the major threats of nuclear war is the threat of strikes on oil refineries? Such strikes can release unbelievably quantities of sun-blocking smog into the air. Did you know that radiation caused directly by nuclear bombs is relatively insignificant, compared to the radiation that would be released if such bombs fell on reactors? Reactors have fuel rods and waste which will remain lethally radioactive for DECADES after the radiation from a nuclear war reached tolerable levels. This book is full of information like this. It is all presented quite accessibly. Also, there is a fantastic question and answer section at the end, which includes back and forth sessions between eminent scientists in related fields. This section alone is worth the price of the book.

Let me point out that the main author listed for this book is only one of many cotributors. Paul Ehrlich has a lot to say here, but it is always made clear when he is writing, or when it's someone else, e.g. Carl Sagan or Lewis Thomas. I make this point here because I wouldn't want anyone to decide against buying this valuable book, because of Ehrlich's old reputation for being an alarmist. In the 1970s, as a member of the "Club of Rome," Ehrlich made some irresponsible statements about the dangers of population growth and energy shortages. Time has shown that he actually wasn't entirely wrong, but his timetables for his predictions were often overly pessimistic. Be that as it may, Stanford University has seen fit to keep him on their faculty, so he can't be seen as wholly out to lunch.

At any rate, this book is certainly worth wrestling with. Ehrlich bends over backwards, to be as conservative and non-alarmist as possible, in his writings here. Carl Sagan, Lewis Thomas, and other contributors take the same approach. Nevertheless, as cool-headed as they are, the underlying horror of their message is unmistakable. Nuclear winter would be an unprecedentedly horrific experience, and there's basically zero chance that anyone reading this would survive it. Please buy this book, get copies for all your friends, and find a way to get involved.

As a new teacher I find this book to a wonderful inspiartion to teach out of the box. I want to teach Spanish and A.S.L. but wasn't sure how. When I saw this book, it got me even more excited about teaching than I already was. I immediately came up with ideas to intergrate Spanish, A.S.L., and everyday speaking. It may seem silly to some because it was so simple, but the idea to tech them together had not come to me in such a complete form until I saw this book. these are ideas that can be adapted to any topic and cirriculum. Great for new teacher and the veteran trying somthing new or expanded.

This is what every economics textbook should aspire to be: detailed, clear and compelling to read. Perhaps the greatest resource is the notes and extensive suggested readings after each chapter (grouped by topic).
There is however one downside. Since this is such an extraordinary text you may not find too many used editions to purchase. This one's a keeper!