Read how Jen the Gelfling saves his planet from being ruled forever by the cruel Skekies. Learn how He Meets Kira, Augrah,and a fuzzball with teeth called Fizzgig. See how he sayes the Pod people! This book is hard to find, but it's worth it!

Thank You Jim Henson were ever you are

Delightful, enthralling fantasy based on the cinematic creativity of the late Jim Henson, this book proves much deeper than mere action-oriented adventure--of which there is plenty. Almost a psychological novel, THE DARK CRYSTAL reveals the coming-of-age of the last male Gelfling on the planet of Thra. From his quiet, dreamy existence in the secluded valley with the ponderous but cerebral urRu, Jen must suddenly depart on a Quest whose details are not fully explained to him. This gentle boy leaves his comfort zone in a desperate attempt to save his planet from another miillenium of destructive rule.

Jen's goal is to find a special crystal shard and reunite it with the mother crystal--now dark with grief and anger at the senseless destruction. This crystal is coveted and guarded in the Dark Castle by the vicious race of Skeksis, who terrorize the planet with their bat spies and insect zombies. Our unlikely hero has only his flute and his wits to guide him, but several surprise friends offer help and advice along his dangerous odyssey--including the last girl Gelfling. Together they race against celestial time, as the Great Conjunction of the triple suns is imminent.

I must admit that I picked up the book because I had seen the mesmerizing movie, in which no human face is seen, yet the characters express and inspire human emotions. But this novel stands proudly on its own merit, just as the Dark Cyrstal hangs mysteriously suspended in mid-air. This is high adventure at its best, coupled with penetrating psychological drama, as the author reveals the various nefarious schemes and motivations of the evil characters. Also the vacillations and maturation of the innocent Gelfling pair, driven by ancient Prophecy. Fear no Hollywood hack job, but settle back to enjoy a wonderful read--for kids of All ages!

This is a really useful book for those who are approaching death and those who are critically ill and don't know what the outcome will be. I'm not Episcopalian, but felt really supported in terms of ethical and spiritual help when my father was dying and I read it.

When confronted by potentially controversial ethical issues, such as those surrounding death and dying, churches rarely distinguish themselves. There are a number of pitfalls. Knowing that they cannot please anyone, they may simply remain silent, abdicating their responsibility to provide moral guidance. Worse, they may make pious-sounding, but vague, pronouncemnts that address issues without actually saying anything. When take clear positions, they may have a hard time making a convincing connection to their own tradition. This work avoids all those pitfalls. The Episcopal Church's End of Life Task Force addresses issues such as assisted suicide clearly and concisely even as they respect the human anguish and moral ambiguities involved.

Although specifically Anglican in perspective, the early chapters offer an understanding of death and its place in human life--including theologically appropriate uses of medical treatment/resources--that will be of value to all Christians (and others interested in what religious traditions have to say). After discussions of mourning, the church's role, and social policy issues like access to health care and the importance of palliative care, the book provides several very helpful resources for use in local parishes. This book by a distinguished panel of clergy, ethicists, physicians, and attorneys (not to imply that any of those categories excludes any of the others!) can serve as a useful resource for all who want to make the end of life a more faithful experience, both for themselves and for others.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this anthology, but I found myself enthralled from beginning to end. Nnedi Okorafor's "Crossroads", Seth Lindberg's "Atropos", and James Dorr's "Madness" were special delights.

A great mix of chilling, horrifying, and otherwise entertaining stories.

This is a great compilation of magic, madness, culture and creativity. All of the stories were pretty satisfying, some of them terrifying! There are some writers here that are going to go places. Watch for the authors of the two longest pieces, Nnedi Okorafor (her story is called Crossroads) and James S. Dorr (he wrote a story called Madness).

A wonderful book I enjoyed it very much I thought it was a happy spin on such a trajic life. Much better than the movie.

This book is perfect! I wouldn't change a thing about it. Find a copy and by it!

I'm a tax attorney and I have this book as a desk resource. It is a great general text on a variety of tax issues. This book has helped me find the quick answers to countless "simple" tax questions.

This textbook has a counterpart INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX, also published by West's Federal Taxation that is used extensively by business schools as well as accounting classes covering all the aspects of taxation.

The book is written in an easy to understand manner, which follows the most important codes that are used in tax today. The only drawback of these books are the fact that since the tax codes are constantly changing, the books are updated about every year.

A very useful compilation of most of Darwin's notebooks. Essential for any serious Darwin student. Expensive but good value. Entertaining in parts! Best read in small instalments.

This is the eleventh book in Chaosium's Cthulhu Cycle series. This volume features tales of Lovecraft's most well-known creation, the octopus-headed entity, Cthulhu. Included are the foundational stories (i.e. "The Call Of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft and "The Black Island" by August W. Derleth), some rare reprints (i.e. "Some Notes Concerning A Green Box" by Alan Dean Foster) and some interesting new stories of Cthulhu in the modern world (i.e. "Rude Awakening" by Will Murray). In any collection the stories are of varied quality but I enoyed the majority of the works collected. If you are a reader of Lovecraft's Mythos fiction then this is a must for your library.

This has to be my personal favorite collection of poems. I discovered the author not long ago from a friend who is an aquaintance of his, and I have since been captivated by his expressive language and beautiful rendering of the essence of Midwestern life. A brilliant volume of poetry, as are his other published collections, "The Monon Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" and "White Collar Ballads."

What makes Schooling Choices so helpful is that it approaches the same topic from several different angles. Proponents of public school, private school and homeschool all respond to the same battery of questions. Then they respond to each others' responses. The book is specifically aimed at giving insight to Christians deciding on the best place to educate their children. The tone is respectful yet forthright.

I,thankfully, first read this book when our oldest child was in preschool. My spouce and I, both being educated in private schools, planned to follow the same route with our own children. When I read the first section of Schooling Choices, about public schools, I took notes, thinking some very good points were brought up. When I read the next section, on private schools, I felt confirmation for our plans to school that way. Then, when I read the final section, on homeschooling, I became convinced that this was the method for us.

It was assuring to know that this change of plans was not brought about by some convincing speaker or group dynamic, but by a careful assessment of the issues. Five years later, I am as convinced as ever that the decision was the right one for us, and was greatly aided by Schooling Choices. I also believe that different people could come away from reading the book with other decisions that would be just as right for them.

H. Wayne House has done parents a great service by researching and editing Schooling Choices.

This book was published in 1868, but was actually written around 1860, before the U.S. Civil War, just prior to Abraham Lincoln's first term in the White House. Tension was building up between the North and South - the abolition movement was gaining support in the North, while the Southern economy depended on slave labor. White Supremacy is a response to these abolitionists.

Van Evrie's central theme is that white Caucasians are superior to every other form of life on this planet, and that God created other races of men, particularly black Africans, to serve whites. Because blacks are naturally inferior to whites, Van Evrie says, it is the natural order of things to force them to work, and what is called "slavery" in the United States is not slavery at all. Rather, because blacks are naturally subordinate, they are only free when put to such labor.

In support of this, Van Evrie includes a comparison of the white Caucasian and the black African, detailing the superiority of the white man's hair ("there is certainly no physical or outward quality that so imposingly impresses itself on the senses as a mark of superiority, or evidence of supremacy, as a full and flowing beard"), color ("color is the standard and exact admeasurement of the specific character"), features, language, senses, and the brain. This is all accompanied by hideous caricatures of the races, showing the tall and strong Caucasian, and the slouching, lazy Negro ("the anatomical formation ... forbids an erect position"), and all the races in between the most superior and most inferior.

Blacks all look alike, says Van Evrie - this is because, aside from age and sex, they are alike. They have no likes and dislikes, or at least not on the same level as whites. They cannot express emotions as whites can, and therefore do not have emotions at the same level. They do not learn like whites, and in fact peak mentally at about the age of fifteen.

Because of these things, it is ridiculous to want equality for blacks in the sense of treating them as whites. Rather, it is our God-given right, and even obligation, to use the "mud races" to our advantage.

It is a thoroughly disgusting work, but also an extremely important work, as it illustrates some popular beliefs during one of the darker periods in American history.