After hearing that the LDS church recommended this book to the producers of the video "The Lost Book of Abraham", I decided to purchase it. It turned out to be little more than a pretty pamphlet. Gee says in the introduction that "references have been kept to an absolute minimum," as if that excuses the lack of real scholarship that I hoped to find in the book.

He does present many of the perceived problems of the Book of Abraham, but glosses over the solutions to these problems. There are also significant problems that Gee fails to address. For example, the inclusion of incorrect hieratic text in the border of the upper right quadrant of Facsimile No. 2 is a real issue. It is completely out of context with the other text in the outer rim, yet Joseph Smith never offered any explanation for it. For someone with Gee's education and experience, I expected far more.

The book does contain some nice color pictures of the papyrus fragments. However, you can get the same pictures in a more scholarly book, "By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus", by Charles M. Larson. If you want to know where Mormon apologists stand on the problems with the Book of Abraham, this is an ok primer. But you will need to dig a lot deeper to develop a true understanding of the issues.

John Gee received his PhD in Egyptology at Yale University. As an Egyptologist and long-time believer in the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, he is perhaps the best qualified scholar to discuss the history and meaning of the Book of Abraham. He is co-author with John A. Tvedtnes and Brian Hauglid of another book entitled Traditions About the Early Life of Abraham, which is a must-read for those interested in digging beneath the surface.

This is a must-read for anybody who wants to converse intelligently about questions relating to the authorship and historical authenticity of the Book of Abraham.

With the release of the movie 'Eleven Days' and the holding of Al Queda prisoners at Cuba's Gauntanamo Bay, this story is very timely, despite being 40 years old.

Robert Thompson Smith pieces together the story of how the Cuban missile crisis unfolded and how it became resolved and the resolution may not be the way many of us understand it to be. Thompson Smith uses reports from the time and also official U.S. Government documents released in 1992 to give as true an account as possible about the secretive meetings between politicians, diplomats and bureaucrats. What I found most interesting was the decline of the relationship between the U.S., U.S.S.R and Cuba post WW2, which explains why the crisis developed in the first place. It also gives an excellen history of U.S./Cuban relations.

His writing style is humorous, if at times a little disjointed, and he's not afraid to make quips about a public figure's weight, personality or sexual activity (JFK in particular). It's one of those stories where even though you know what happens in the end you still are held in suspense, a credit to the authors ability to maintain the intrigue. There are comments and interpretations which have to be questioned given that we, nor the author, were there, but on the whole the author keeps an objective view on the situation. The aggressive nature of some of the military heirarchy and their willingness to go to war is astounding. No matter what you may think of Kennedy his ability to resist these advisors is admirable.

The only down side is that he seems to drag the early part of the crisis out, where the reader is keen to get into the nitty gritty we're still in the preliminaries at page 200. As a reader I was running out of steam by the end as there are so many names, places, dates and times it's hard not to be confused.

I will hand it to Thompson Smith as he finishes the story of the crisis with JFK landing in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Without any comment he leaves us with that and given all that was presented before we're left to think there were plenty of people who had motives to take part in Kennedy's assassination.

In Robert Smith Thompson's recounting of the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Missiles of October, the
whole story of the tense standoff between the United States, Russia, and Cuba unfolds into a
suspenseful, detailed, yet sometimes confusing story. Although reading the book's jacket cover,
or having some knowledge of world history, lets the reader know how the story ends, The
Missiles of October still reads more like a suspense novel than a non-fiction history book.
Thompson leaves no details out, and makes sure that readers are well informed of all the events
that led up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book starts in 1945, as the United States is dropping
the atomic bomb on Japan, and ends on November 22, 1963, the day JFK is assassinated. The
material in between covers the missile crisis in its entirety, and brings new details to light that the
public was not aware of.
While The Missiles of October is chock-full of information, it sometimes feels as if too
much of it is given. For instance, on page 344, Thompson writes, "On Sunday afternoon,
television viewers watched their beloved Washington Redskins up in Yankee Stadium, receiving a
49 to 34 shellacking at the hands of the New York Giants." Information like this is littered
throughout the book, but it does not really enhance the story, or the reading experience.
Furthermore, at some points, so much information is given that it is not only an annoyance, but
also confusing for the reader. Another problem is that Thompson alludes semi-frequently to the
"TFX Scandal" only to touch on it briefly at the end of the book. Despite these shortcomings,
though, The Missiles of October is a very enjoyable, well researched piece of work.
What will probably strike any reader of this book the most is how close the United States
came to an all out invasion of Cuba, and possibly a nuclear war. Thompson knows this, and
focuses much of the book on that topic. He even contends that the U.S. was within hours of
launching a strike at Cuba at one point. Thompson also shows that President Kennedy's rejection
of advice from many of his trusted advisors is what kept a war from erupting. Thompson is also
aware that many readers may not know some of the history that led up to the Cuban Missile
Crisis, and he goes out of his way to let readers know what happened.
When the book ends, readers will have to seriously reconsider what they thought they
knew about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thompson's writing and overall accounting of the crisis
leads the reader to believe that no one really won the tense standoff; both sides had to make
concessions. The people that Thompson writes about also provide a interesting list of characters,
some of whom may have had a motive in the assassination of JFK. Overall, The Missiles of
October is a good read for anyone with patience and a yearning for a suspenseful, amazing, and
truthful tale of American History.

This book is so good because it is very action packed and has good facts

A biography of one of the pioneer physique photographers of the 1940s-1960s. Contains a number of photos of the photographer and his models. Readers may also want to look at Kouros, a collection of Barrington's photographic work.

This is an interesting look at a unique life and personality. Not quite worth the five star rating I have it when I was younger, but still a worthwhile read.

This is a very facinating biography of a very interesting and eccentric man. John S. Barrington was a "pioneer" in the field of physique and male-nude photography. He was also very big on being "showy." This book is well written, interesting, and covers his life well from birth 'til death. It also includes examples of his work and pictures of the artist at various times and ages. This is a must read for those who like to read about interesting lives.

The bane of students of restoration history is that while there is an abundance of primary source material in specialized libraries, there is little straight forward history or biography available. This very readable straight forward bio on Dr. Bennett is an excellent starting place for students of the time and place and events of early Mormonism. I recommend it to those who are interested in taking the measure of Bennett. It remained refreshingly focused on Dr. Bennett and leaves to others the challenge of writing about the other players in these colorful and dramatic events.

Andrew F. Smith's fascinating peek into the wild and crazy life of the 1840's Western Frontier is a valuable piece of historical work. This work is neither pro-Mormon or anti-Mormon and the authors unbiased stance adds credibility to his work.

The author set the story in the greater context of the era which helped this reader conclude that "The Saintly Scoundrel"- John C. Bennett fitted right in with all the other "scoundrels" of the time, including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, James Jesse Strang, Sidney Rigdon, et. al.

Dr. Bennett was indeed a person of questionable morals and ideas, perfect for Mormonism in its Nauvoo, Ill. period. Not well-known in the present Mormon church, he presented quite a thorn in its side after leaving it. First book I've come across that gives a detailed account of his life. His book "History of the Saints" has been torn apart as a book full of lies, but history has proven at least some of it's contents as being factual. Clint Lauricella

This book was good, but you should know before ou buy it that the only picture is on the cover. Classifying it as a travel book was a bit misleading. This book is a collection of stories that various people, you may have never heard of, have written.

This may not be a travel book, but it's one of the best ones I've read about Berlin. Authors like Franz Kakfa, Lillian Hellman or Vladimir Nabokov, between other great ones, show us their feelings and impresions of a city that has been part of so many important moments in world history.

All you want to know about theory of games

With this book, John Maynard Smith initiated a major strand of modern theoretical biology! The book does not require sophisticated mathematical preparation, but it operates on a consistently high level of analytical rigor. It is also very nicely written, with lots of biological examples.

good book. he uses a lot of good quotes directly from john brown. recommended

John Brown, one of the most influential and important people of his time and of ours is captured by soul in this book. He is my great great great great great grandfather, which i know sounds a little off-the-wall, but even though he is so far down the line, i am still very proud of it. Keep his story alive, this man deserves appreciation.

I am not a fan of soap operas but the life of Baby Doe Tabor reads something like one and I found it fascinating. A rags to riches to rags true story that draws you in from start to finish. There is something about the person of Baby Doe that just draws you in and leaves you thinking about her long after the book is finished. I bought this book in 1993 on a trip to Colorado and I still pick it up from time to time and re-read it. The story of Horace and Baby Doe Tabor would make a great movie, and one was made in 1932 called Silver Dollar, sadly it is not available for home video. A good read.

The story of Baby Doe is worth reading. This well written account dramatically tells the story of her rise and fall in wealth and her personal and public lives. Anyone who appreciates stories of the American power mongers of the late 19th century will enjoy this insightful biography

To be taken with a grain of salt. The writing style is vintage 50's complete with slang. Philosophy is good but the author/s have a inflated opinion of themselves. If a quarter of the information is true then there is some merit. Worth reading once for entertainment value.

This book is the sequel to the underground classic "Secret Fighting Arts of the World", and chronicles the further adventures of the Indiana Jones of exotic martial arts. Similar in theme and style to SFAotW, "Way of a Warrior" is also more soulful and in-depth: the fireworks are still there, but we also get a glimpse of the ethical and, yes, spiritual implications of a life-long pursuit of martial esoterica. I'll say it again, this guy is the best writer in the field, bar none: buy this book!

This conference proceeding is quite focussed on fuzzy logic applications and theoretical considerations for applying fuzzy logic for some real applications.