"One must live in a state of permanent dissatisfaction with the Church." Wow! (a quote Rohr uses in the book by Italian Monsignor, Richard Guardini, early 20th century) "And one cannot separate Christ from His cross. And one cannot separate Christ from His bloody painful Church." Rohr teaches (to me at least) that we should live Christlike behavior instead of our pompous duality, always joining hands to be against some other "thing/persons/religion/denominations/etc. He set fire to my weakened human condition that I seem to whine about all time to myself. We must suffer to get to the light at the end of the tunnel, but we "must" go through the darkness of the tunnel to get to the light. I loved the book.

I have recently begun exploring Christianity after many years away from the church. Christianity is laden with language that is misunderstood and dog tired. I've been really seeking what all of that language and symbolism is pointing toward. And does any of it dovetail with my own spiritual experience. There were points reading this book where I was truly elated because aspects of the deep heart of Christianity just glowed at me with the lustre of something true.

Rohr's exploration of victimhood and scapegoating seemed so deeply appropriate in the post September 11th world. The notion of transferring our pain, vanquishing it and making ourselves mighty as we assign it to someone else. The challenge is, of course, to be aware of and hold your pain, allowing it to transform you. I'm no Richard Rohr so suffice it that my paraphrase is profoundly anemic.

The book is dense and I'm sure I didn't really "get it" all because truthfully I have no idea how any of the contents relate to the title of the book or the chapter titles for that matter. None of that detracts from the truly profound insights he shares.

Rohr strikes me as someone who has a certain clarity and a desire to convey it, share it, spread it about. I had a moment of suspicion at one point, thinking he was telling me "it's like this". But it passed. While I wouldn't say the book is chock full of humility it leaves plenty of room for a reader to think it through. I really appreciated all of the biblical references and looked them all up. He uses the New Jerusalem Bible. Mine is the New American Standard Bible. It was interesting how far apart some of the translations were.

It amazes me that a person who writes as much as Father Rohr can be as fresh and insightful as he is in each new book. Hope Against Darkness is nothing short of brilliant. As I understand him, Rohr argues that the spiritual searcher of today is caught between the modern and the post-modern worldviews. Both are no longer acceptable, but both contain strengths we ought to retain as best we can. The anxiety that arises from this ambiguous state of homelessness is the dis-ease he treats in this book, and his remedy is a richly creative appeal to Franciscan spirituality. Simply wonderful! A book to read, re-read, and give to others.

Richard's simplicity and "prophetic" voice comes across quite beautifully in this book of daily meditations. His gift for making very difficult subjects into "a-ha" & "of course" experiences for the rest of us is quite remarkable. This all comes together in small daily tidbits via this wonder-full book. He continues to remind us that true spirituality is about simplicity, love(grace), letting go, and "grounded-ness"(Reality is God's greatest ally). His prophetic voice about our personal and societal idols (power, prestige, and possessions) is at the heart of the matter.

I own many, many 'daily meditations' books. If I had to keep just one, this would be it. Richard Rohr packs so much into one paragraph that the short meditations are just right. There is enough in this book to keep you on your journey of faith for years. Your life and thinking will change.

Richard Rohr is a gifted writer, by the looks of this publication. He has distilled the essence of spirituality, something that is difficult to define and pin down, and made it meaningful, relevant and tangible. Although he comes from a Catholic background, his insights apply to anyone who is interested in seeking a deeper level of meaning in our existence. Rohr's ideas challenge us to think for ourselves, rather than simply "following the crowd" in eking out a humdrum existence. Think of this book as a collection of spiritual vitamins - something to keep by your bedside and read a passage from each night.

This book blew my hair back as I was reading it.

It turned my parochial understanding of Christianity on it's head and soothed the cynicism I held in my heart toward Christianity.

If you're already a member of the choir, familiar with Rohr and more modern and adult theology, there's nothing I can say to you.

If, however, you're out of the loop like I was this book will change the terrain for you.

There is a lot of language that seemed rather technical or in the vein of Catholic jargon. However, the notions he introduces of what true faith is, the question of being in or out of the system, the system of the church, seeing the universe as sacred, the great chain of being.

These are rich, ancient and vital topics exposed in a new, refreshing and adult way.

Rohr gives us permission, implores us, actually, to put away our crayons and step into an adult understanding of and responsibility for our faith.

I think this book has changed the course of my life.

John Rohr has put together a short yet insightful book about the origins and evolution of the administrative regulatory state in the United States. Beginning with the Federalist Papers and other writings of the Framers, working his way through the writings of Woodrow Wilson, Frank Goodnow, and Judge Cooley, and finally looking at works of New Dealers such as Kenneth Culp Davis, Rohr superbly traces the intellectual history of administration. Every senior and mid-level government employee ought to read it.

The key theme of this book is legitimacy. Rohr believes (with reason) that while administrative agencies have been found "lega1" by the courts, they are not in fact "legitimate" parts of the American constitutional tradition in the eyes of many citizens. This he blames for the most part on Wilson, Goodnow and other Progressive-Era founders of public administration as an academic discipline because of their preference for British Parliamentary rule over the Constitution. Rohr tries to come up with an alternative history of public administration, one that derives from the Framers themselves.

I subtract 1 star because of an analytical flaw in the argument. In warming to his argument, Rohr characterizes Federal bureaucracy as fulfilling the promise of the Constitution because (1) it acts like the Senate in that it deliberates and develops expertise and (2) it acts like the House of Representatives in that, through its sheer size it is more broadly representative of the people than the House could ever be. I have been a federal employee for seven-odd years and I can tell you that the civil service is not a knightly caste or a senatorial order or a broadly representative swathe of "the People." Rohr does not take into account the possibility that federal employees, however benevolent, can become a self-aware interest group that tries to attain advantages for itself, or that federal employees really do move within a relatively circumscribed sphere of action relative to their political and judicial masters.

All the same, it is a very useful and well-done book concluded by a timely plea for a greater sense of the constitution as a well-spring for action by civil servants in their every day work. I recommend it highly.

John Rohr sets out to demonstrate the legitimacy of the American Administrative State. At the time of the writing, 1986, (and all too often today) both academics and politicans loved to portray Public Administrators as illegitimate actors in our politics. John corrects this error, seeing the roots for an active Public Administration in our Founding in both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists camps. He then develops the notion of legitimacy by examining different stages in the evolution of the Administrative State and how the Administrative State even heals defects in our Constitutional design. The book is well written and not only supports the Administrative State convincingly, but also teaches Administrators how to construct normative arguments about the role of professional Public Administrators. A must read for those who practice Public Service as well as those who want a fuller understanding of our Constitutional system.

As a designer who is getting into web design, I have found this book to be a gem. It will not serve as a replacement for any software "how-to" books. What it will do is give you a solid overview of the web design process. It leads new web designers away from the all too frequently used effects which will make their sites amateurish and slow to load. Although it is a general overview, the authors give some very specific and useful techniques to use in Photoshop, ImageReady, GoLive, Dreamweaver, and other programs. I found it to be very clearly written and well illustrated. The spare layout should not be mistaken for lack of content.

It was a pleasure to read this book from cover to cover and that in itself is rare for a web book!

No matter what software you're using to create web sites, this book is incredible. It shows example web pages, then describes how it was built with tips for both GoLive and Dreamweaver. For me, this book is the perfect complement to the GoLive 5 Bible. Web Design Workshop is the road map, GoLive Bible provides the driving directions and GoLive is the vehicle.

I say that because everyone who reads this book will increase their web deisign skills dramatically resulting in an increase in the competition. If your a web designer or more importantly a web design student you must read and re-read this book. Robin Williams (not Mork from Ork) has written this book in such easy to understand language that you can literally read it from cover to cover and not get bored. Each time I pick it up I get excited knowing I'm going to learn something new and useful. Thanks Robin!

Fr. Rohr is not your Sister Mary from 4th Grade Catechism class. He challenges you with some soul-searching concepts that will mature your relationship with the Lord. Not for the faint-hearted.

G.D.

Richard Rohr is one of the foremost spiritual writers of ourtimes. His extensive theological background and his many years ofinterpersonal experience with many different peoples (from teenagers to Native Americans) and his vast retreat master experiences gives him the wisdom to speak with authority about the Sermon on the Mount...Jesus' plan for our lives. Rohr cuts through political, cultural and religious structural facades and unmasks them for what they are...self serving units which need 'us' to keep them afloat. He shows where the core message of Jesus 'hides' within the Universal religions of the world and sometimes gets missed because of ego serving humans. Just the ones Jesus is looking for to show his compassionate mercy to. Fr. Rohr tells us that Jesus came to be with and encourage those who are suffering, those who have not, those who are regarded as marginal and not accepted in todays society. His liberal bible references helped me to see the deeper meaning in many of the Gospel pasages. He also gives the Jewish background to help me understand why Jesus said what he said and what it meant for the people of 2,000 years ago AND for all of us today in the year 2,000.

I have been with Fr. Rohr on retreats and days of prayer. I've followed his spiritual growth for some 20 years and have read his books on the Enneagram. His clear insight is pure gift from God. And he would be the first to tell you so.

Richard Rohr has a wonderful gift of bringing the truth of the Gospel out in this work.Every word is well chosen & relevant to our human situation.For example the section on the "Three World Views" is so simply expressed & yet so profound in depth.It is a book I have recommended to many of my colleagues in the faith.It's refeshing & challenging theology.