I was not familiar with all of the vocabulary but my heart was familiar with the stirred longing to experience the Presence of the Lord that came as I read. The changed lives of people from varied backgrounds who have been drawn by Love to these healing exercises were shared in a candid and moving interchange with the author. Theory and practice of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises required more than one reading. I participated in short Ignatian retreats loving the use of Scripture to guide me to His Healing Presence. After reading Father John's "Mystical Healing" I scheduled the 30 residential retreat. If you love the Lord, this is a book and an experience you cannot ignor. The hope of change and the promise of a strengthened and renewed relationship with God are a cry of the soul that can be met here regardless of your denominational affiliation. This book may have been intended for the priest, minister, spiritual director, the college educated. However, those of us who sometimes need a dictionary to read but hunger for more of God will find this worth the effort. Knowing we can experience the Love and Healing power of Jesus is the gift Father John presents to us.

I agree with the previous reviewer in that the book seems a bit too sophisticated for a child to enjoy on his/her own. I bought it so I could read it to my 4 year old daughter. She loves books & is starting to read on her own. She was more interested in the poems than the illustrations. The colours arent bright enough for a child to be able to pick out all the details. I did like the language that the poems use, they flow well & the rhymes work well too.

ISBN: 1886910472. As a collector of children's illustrated books, I always keep an eye out for books that feature interesting and unusual artwork. Well, CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS definitely fits the bill for me since it offers some amusing and quirkly pictures to go along with the absurd poetry. Piet Grobler is an artist from South Africa, and this appears to be his first book offered in the United States. (He has another book coming out in September according to Amazon.com, DOCTOR ME DI CIN.) My only complaint is that I wish the illustrations were reproduced a little larger so you could enjoy the details more. This book is probably more for the collectors of children's books rather than children, although kids might enjoy some of the poems. Overall, a nice addition to my collection.

It is amazing to see Philip Kerr's talent dimishing so rapidly. Every new book brings more disappointment. Wish he could get the Russian names right at least!

Phillip Kerr is starting to look like the Robert DeNiro of writing. In his previous book, he immersed himself in every possible detail of pre- and post-war Germany, with his mysteries unfolding within the thread of Nazism. Now, in Dead Meat, he dissects post-Soviet Russia, with the optimism, fatalism and corruption that riddle the society. Kerr has captured the Russian psyche perfectly, while winding the plot around the killing of a crusading journalist. How does a Brit learn so much about what hides within the heart of today's Russia? I recommend this book for both the mystery and the sociology behind it.

Philip Kerr writes a great detective novel. In "Red Meat", Kerr weaves an interesting yarn of modern day Russia with all the intrigue of the new Russian Mafia. Kerr has obviously done his homework on current conditions in Russia, particularly St. Petersuburg (Lenningrad) and is very accurate in his description of the city and region. If you like detective stories set in Eastern-Europe/Russia along the lines of Martin Cruz-Smith's "Gorky Park" series, you'll love "Red Meat". I hope he writes many more novels of this genre set in the Commonwealth of Independent States

I feel that the authors of these books may, or may not start with good intentions. Books of this kind are part fact, part spin, and all biased. Just look at the title, no objective look into scriptural evidences would sensationalize itself on the front cover that way. Is this a tabloid, or does the author really have something to say?
All that said, take your own opinion of the mormon doctrine, but don't believe this one source. If you really want to be equipped with all facts, try finding them out for your self, the book of mormon is free.

I am now a Catholic after being a life-long Mormon. This book hits the major inconsistencies between Mormonism and Christianity and points out the serious changes to doctrines found in the Book of Mormon and early recorded revelations as compared with what Joseph Smith was preaching and living at the time of his death. The book could have made a better case about the Mormon view of Adam and Eve using quotes and sources tied back to Brigham Young. The book has a strong Protestant flavor which is unfortunate since much of Mormonism can be best understood in the light of Roman Catholicism including the Mormon temple, the importance of works, purgatory, works by the living to benefit the dead, church authority and hierarchy, and the necessary nature of the Fall just to name a few. Most of the "Witnessing Points" at the end of each chapter, while a good summarization, provide very little that can be effectively used in witnessing to a Mormon. This book would be best given to someone investigating Mormonism rather than to a person who has already been deceived.

Also recommended: Emma Smith, a Mormon Enigma and From Mission to Madness: concerning the life David Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith, Jr's youngest son.

Trying to reason out of scripture is a difficult task with mormons, as many are familiar with just enough of the Bible to be able to agree with much of Christian thought. The average mormon will tell you: they believe in God, they believe in Jesus, that He is the only way to salvation, they can agree with the BASIC terminology of grace and faith. This work gives you a deeper understanding of what comes next. For the Christian, it seems that we agree on an awful lot, but it is harder to pry out of mormons their belief in the need for a number of works, all centered on the mormon church, to ensure the "highest" level of heaven. Despite some typical reviews below, you CANNOT learn what mormons believe by reading the book of mormon. The ideas of mormon/Masonic temple worship, polygamy as a "new and everlasting" covenant, plurality of gods, man's potential to become a god, the word of wisdom, the "restored" priesthood, etc are nowhere to be found in the book of mormon, and are in many ways refuted by Joseph Smith's writings in the book of mormon before he started his ever-shifting changes in doctrine. Modern mormons try hard to pass themselves off as just another Christian church, albeit with some unique modern doctrine. If mormons are going to send missionaries to our doors, they should have no objections to this book. The characterization of the questions raised in this book as being rehashed ignores the reality of the issues they raise and the lack of credible response by mormons. This is not the best work on the subject out there, but it is valuable as a resource tool.