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Book reviews for "Ryskamp,_John_Michael" sorted by average review score:

John Wesley's Class Meeting
Published in Paperback by Evangel Publishing House (1997)
Authors: D. Michael Henderson and D. Michael Henderso
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Getting to the Heart of Class Meetings
Henderson gives us the finest book on the theological and practical underpinnings for this institution that became to hallmark of early Methodism. Church leaders and scholars often point to the Wesleyan class meeting as the best model for how small group discipleship can be done. But, almost as often, key points of Wesley's purpose and method are overlooked (or ignored), causing people in the church to miss some of the most significant elements of genius in what Wesley put into practice.

D. Michael Henderson's book is about going back to the roots of the class meeting in order to genuinely understand what the early Methodists were doing and why. This book would be of particular use to those interested in contemporary small group ministry -- or those with an interest in Wesley or early Methodism.

Superb. This book gets my highest recommendation.

Excellent explanation of John Wesley's use of small groups.
Henderson's book gives real insight as to how John Wesley used small groups and community groups in giving England and the world back to their Creator. Must read for pastors and church workers.


The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
Published in Hardcover by Johns Hopkins Univ Pr (1994)
Authors: Michael Groden and Martin Kreiswirth
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The Literary Reference Guide
I'm going back into a Masters Program and plan to teach English for a living. Already this book has proved to be a valuable resource when surveying various schools of criticism. The cross-referenced index is a bit confusing, but this is a nice book that you may want to sit down with and read for awhile anyway. I've found some wonderful items in here, and it's fun to flip through, looking for previously unknown literary schools that may catch my interest. It's a great reference book, but also a compelling source of information and direction. I laid out the bucks for this book because I know it will be a handy reference for the next thirty years. Already it's directed me to some outside reading that has proved quite profitable. I'll keep this guide close by as long as I am a student of Literature.

Highly recommended to get your theoretical bearings
Provides a consise, and yet sufficiently nuanced and complex, summary of theoretical schools, practitioners, terms, and trends. Hefty and yet readable reference material -- cross-indexed with more thorough bibliographies for each entry.


Lament for a maker
Published in Unknown Binding by Penguin ()
Author: Michael Innes
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Fantastic Plot, Less Fantasy Than Most Innes
There is one major problem with the works of Michael Innes: his love of fantasy, which either gives strength to the story in the eccentricities of the convoluted plot (see Gladys Mitchell), or it ruins the story completely, especially in his later works.

His third novel is set in Scotland - a Scotland of miserly Lairds, of rat-infested castles, of unpleasant retainers, of scarecrows, and of snow and religion. The plot concerns the death of the miserly Ranald Guthrie, who falls to his death from the tower of Glen Erchany, Kinkeig, on Christmas Eve. Was it murder, suicide or accident? Enter Inspector John Appleby of Scotland Yard in order to investigate the death - he sifts through the rumours of handless corpses and arsenical poisoning, and pries into one of the most extraordinary cases of murder in crime fiction.

The denouement is one of the most ingenious and dazzling ever done, making it one of the ten best detective stories ever written, ranking with the best of John Dickson Carr and Gladys Mitchell. Well-written and a dazzling tour de force.

Remarkable tour-de-force plotting and writing!
This is an excellent and atmospheric piece of light mystery fiction. The plot is gradually revealed through the narratives of different characters (an old Scottish shoemaker, a young socialite, an observant young man, Inspector Appleby, and others), persuasively written by Innes. The writing is superbly witty (the Scottish laird who's the subject of the tale is described by a group of psychiatrists determining his mental fitness as "having a warm and affectionate nature fatally warped by the trauma of birth."). Considering that the book was written before WWII, it has a remarkably contemporary feel. If I had to take one mystery with me for a stay on a desert island, this would be it because of the quality of the characters and the writing, and its tolerance for being repeatedly read with delight.


Living Heart Diet
Published in Hardcover by Raven Press (1984)
Authors: Michael E. Debakey, Antonio M. Gotto, Lynne W. Scott, and John P. Foreyt
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Excellent book for everyone ....
This review is for the book: Living Heart Diet
by Dr. William Debakey, et al.

This is an excellent book for those who have had heart problems and for those who do not want to develop heart problems. Poor diet (high fat/cholesterol) is one of the main risk factors for heart disease -- excess cholesterol lays a foundation of plaque in your arteries that can eventually cause heart attacks and/or necessitate heart surgery. This book was developed to help us all eat right and help avoide disease. This book contains recipes, education about heart disease, and nutrition and sodium tables for most of the foods you eat. This is an excellent resource! Use it in good health!

Most complete book on the subject.
I'm a diabetic and recently had a quadruple bypass. After being introduced to this book, I devoured it and now live it.


The Louisville Slugger Complete Book of Women's Fast-Pitch Softball
Published in Paperback by Henry Holt & Company, Inc. (1999)
Authors: John Monteleone, Deborah Crisfield, and Michael Plunkett
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THE CHAMPIONSHIP SOFT BALL HITTING SYSTEM/ LOU. SLUG FASTPIT
THE BOOK I WOULD RATE AS EXCELLENT. THE VIDEO AS LISTED IN YOUR ,(WAS ALSO BOUGHT BY )LISTING MISLED US TO BELIEVE THIS WAS A FASTPITCH HITTING VIDEO. IT IS NOT AND THEREFORE A WASTE OF MY MONEY.

Terrific book for any youth, high school, or beginning coach
Very comprehensive book. I learned something new EVERY chapter! It will be on my desk and passed along to my players for years to come.


Michael a Smith: A Visual Journey: Photographs from Twenty-Five Years
Published in Hardcover by Lodima Press (1993)
Authors: Michael A. Smith, John P. Bratnober, and Marianne Fulton
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Visual Journey review
I took the time to review this book because I feel strongly that it contains excellent photographs which deserve a wider audience. Michael Smith is one of the best living photographers and a national treasure of the US. He is known well in the photographic community but remains fairly obscure outside this group. I recommend this book to anyone interested in excellent photography.

A stunning collection of outstanding photographs
Michael A. Smith has traveled many miles photographing the land, the cities, and the people across America, and is possibly the greatest photographer of our time. Not only is his subject matter interesting, every picture in this publication reveals his mastery of seeing, composition, and print quality. An excellent book.


Organizational Behavior & Management with PowerWeb
Published in Hardcover by McGraw-Hill/Irwin (02 May, 2002)
Authors: John M. Ivancevich and Michael T. Matteson
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A First-Rate Text That Challenges As Well As Informs
Milkovich and Newman's text is sets the standard for Compensation and Human Resources texts,period. From its strategic decisions framework it clearly illustrates that compensation policy can be a key to unlocking an organization's capabilities (and the ever elusive sustainable competitive advantage).

The strength of the book is that it extracts and builds on key research findings in a way that advances the body of compensation knowledge (in a way pleasing to academics) and is relevant to practitioners. Chapter 2 on Strategic Perspectives and Chapters 9 & 10 on Pay for Performance best exemplify the confluence of research relevance and tactical usefulness.

It is absolutely a must read for anyone who is a student of organizations or who attempts to manage one (not just compensation managers).

Uses superb strategic model to supply decision-making tools
A 5++ - the best BUSINESS text i've read. This is the first book i've read where i both grew intellectually and in tactical/application skills. This compensation text is quite unusual in that it effectively reduces huge bodies of research in business strategy, economics, organizational behavior and compensation to provide a holistic business model to analyze compensation decisions - all in the first three chapters. The Milkovich/Newman approach creatively blends a conceptual underpining (the why) with tactical details (the what and how). This blending allows them to supply enormous value by reducing the myriad of compensation decisions to 4 major pieces. The utility of this elegance is that long after reading the book or taking a course using this book, you'll still remember the framework and steps to both build from scratch and to adjust a compensation system - not just the what, but the why. i personally felt quite empowered and ready to take on compensation work after reading this text.

This text is really designed for those compensation practioners that want to understand how compensation might be used to supply a sustainable competitive advantage. The authors' deep reading and involvement in both research and consulting with business shows here. They worked very hard to allow us to absorb the research implication and to use the tools, without our having to read the full body of research or to invent the tools.

The authors balance the research perspective by developing a working model and applying it to real world cases where they have consulted. The reader is then challenged to apply the model to case situations presented in the book and to their work practice.

Lastly, some things i've learned from this book:

1. you get what you pay for ... -- the research clearly shows that pay is a key motivator and that people will behave as they're incentivized by their pay systems. -- the implication is that EVERY compensation system, no matter whether it's planned or evolves, supplies a network of incentives that in part direct employee behavior and business outcomes.

2. compensation systems can be designed to support a sustainable competitive advantage. -- through understanding the motivational incentives and how they tie into business strategy. -- a "universalistic" compensation approach that says there's one right answer supplies some good practices, but doesn't fully explain observed motivational differences.

3. Compensation must tie tightly to the work process (work flow) or it will surely fail in it's objectives. -- how many companies talk about changing their cultures while they don't change or even understand the motivational impacts of their pay plans?

4. There's no right answer, only a good model to help. -- is a tournament pay system (tied to an individual / hierachical workflow) better than an egalitarian system (tied to a team workflow)? it depends ... and that's where Milkovich/Newman fill in the blanks.

A M-U-S-T read for anyone participating in making compensation decisions - whether you're in school or already a compensation vice president.


Pop People: Aaron Carter
Published in Paperback by Scholastic (2000)
Authors: Michael-Anne Johns and Inc Scholastic
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Great for beginners
This book is great for beginning readers- not people who have been following him since 1997. Also, 2-3 chapters have nothing to do with him, just the BSB. Then again what AC book doesn't name the BSB, but 3 chapters is over-kill. This book has the basics and then somefun stuff like astrology and numerology and stuff like that. It has 8 pictures whihc are probably the highlight of the book. I enjoyed reading it but I already knew everything in there. If youdecide the pics are worth it, get it, but if you want to read something new pick up Aaron Carter: Little Prince Of Pop by jis mom/manager Jane Carter.

Cool book!
This book is about one of the most hottest young singers of our century. Of course this is must-have for all of his fans (like any information about him). And for sure for everyone who want to know about how Aaron in his young age - now with all his success. He made it with hard work all the way, not just luck. So, what else - buy this book without a doubt.


Pope John's Council
Published in Unknown Binding by Augustine Pub. Co. ()
Author: Michael Davies
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Must reading for every fair minded Catholic!
Pope John's Council is an unbiased examination of the procedure, work, documents, and friuts of the Second Vatican Council by the President of the International Una Voce Federation. Its fair, even-handed approach is to use large quotations from Popes, bishops, theologians, and Protestant observers who participated in the council.

Mr. Davies cogently argues that it is the ambiguity in the conciliar documents themselves, not the "Spirit of Vatican II" alone, that has lead to so much confusion. Pope John's Council goes a long way towards explaining causes of the devastation in the Catholic Church that Cardinal Ratziger has commented on extensively the last few years.

Description in Detail: The Revolution in the Church
This is an outstanding account of the events that revolutionized Catholicism. The fruits of the revolution abound around us. Millions of Catholics lost their religion, and the larger society has changed irreversilby since the Council of the mid 1960's. How did this happen? Why did the traditions of nearly 2000 years get jettisoned in an apparently mindless quest for "relevance". This book details what may be the most significant event of the twentieth century. It is certainly the most underappreciated event. It is written from an unabashedly traditionalist viewpoint and describes the revolution within the Church and how it was executed. Pope John's Council is the second book in Davies' trilogy and is the most accessible of the three. Anyone curious about what has happened to either Roman Catholicism or Western Civilization over the past 30 years needs to read this book.


Poverty Row Horrors!: Monogram Prc and Republic Horror Films of the Forties
Published in Hardcover by McFarland & Company (1992)
Authors: Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas, and John Brunas
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Weaving Gold from Poverty
Tom Weaver does good horror history. Fifty years hence, anyone doing a history of the Horror Film will find himself resorting agan and again to the ouvre of Thomas Weaver. Besides his numerous and valuable Interview books as well as his groundbreaking work in UNIVERSAL HORRORS, Weaver has undertaken an important task in writing about the Poverty Row Horror films produced by Republic, Monogram and PRC. As usual for Weaver, the book is methodical and well written. While also an entertaining and informative read, the book will probably be the definitive research tool for the films covered and the studios discussed for the foreseeable future. As "poverty row" productions, there was some danger of these films "falling through the cracks" and vanishing into the mists of time but, through the auspices of Weaver, the films have not merely been saved but canonized. And, with Weaver, one knows that POVERTY ROW HORRORS is accurate. An excellent book with the only flaws being the brevity that Weaver handles such important films like NABONGA and WHITE PONGO.

It is the book that inspired my name!
That this book should be out of print is a travesty. Synposis of 31 "horror" films from PRC, Monogram and Republic are mixed with behind the scenes info, anectdotes and factoids that make this a true necessity for the low budget 40's horror fan. Additional appendices provide info on music, filmographies, "borderline" films and "experts" ranking of the major Monogram entries.


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