Christian Focus books claims that it publishes "biblically-accurate books" and while this fictional retelling of Paul's letter to Philemon may be true to the New Testament account, it is not true to the historical reality of its time. It isn't that St. John doesn't grasp the horror of slavery, in fact she plays it down a bit but this is more for children and teenagers than adults. But the period, 1st century not long after the death of Jesus, is too early for so many Christians, especially among the middle and upper classes of Rome, to be running around everywhere. The character of Onesiumus though is well done and shows complexity and conflict where it should -- other characters too are fairly done. Its a good book to preach with, just not a good both to teach history from.

Though authored by Philip A. St. John, what makes this book truly unique is that 60 of its 144 pages were written by men and officers who actually served in the Big E: Dusty Kleiss, Will Norberg, W. E. Roberts, Mark Roses, Jack Long (a CPO in my dad's division, V-5), Norm Zafft and many others. Some men -- like Kleiss and Roberts -- can be found in the history books; many others are "ordinary" sailors whose efforts made Enterprise the most successful and feared warship in US naval history.

The first 70 pages review the Big E's leading role in the Pacific War. Arnold Olson, Public Affairs Officer for the Enterprise CV-6 Association, fact-checked this section of the book for historical accuracy -- I can personally attest that he is a sticklier for detail -- and his efforts show.

As of October 2001, two books about the Big E are in print: this one and Steve Ewing's "Pictorial History" (isbn 0933126247). Both deserve a place on the bookshelf. Ewing's book includes more information on Enterprise's pre- and post-war story, a little more in-depth history, and an interesting section on the Enterprise CV-6 Association. Both books contain many photos, not all the same.

Philip's "History", however, is worth the premium price because of the many first-hand accounts it contains, and the personal involvement of the Big E's veterans in its production.

Required reading for anyone interested in Church teaching on sexuality and gender. Rather than the usual re-interpretation of Holy Tradition according to an agenda of feminist liberation or sexual revolution, in Ford's book the Church speaks for herself. Contemporary secular interpretation of the Fathers, even in its passionate concern for avoiding sexism, is hopelessly biased. Just as with Scripture, Patristic teaching must be approached according to its original contexts: ecclesiastical (not sociological), Middle Eastern (not Western or European), of Antiquity (not of the Information or Industrial Age), and according to a respective context linguistically (as opposed to "chronocentrically," as the feminists and popular-culture apologists tend to see things). The only "agenda" of the Church is the sanctification and salvation of her faithful; Ford demonstrates, simply by addressing these indigenous, authentic contexts for St. John Chrysostom's writing, that her teaching on sexuality and gender are correctly understood only from this perspective.

"The Women in Black" are the black-clad female employees of F.G.Goode's--an upscale department store in Sydney, Australia. The employees that this slim novella centres on are: Patty Williams married to the ever-predictable Frank, Fay Baines--a single girl who longs to meet a decent man for a change, Lesley (Lisa)Miles--a schoolgirl hired for the Xmas holidays, and Magda--the sophisicated "continental" who presides over the Model Gowns Department.

The novella is well-written, all the characters were well-developed, and presented in strong contrast to one another. I have read all of Ms St John's books, and this one was probably my least favourite, but I would recommend it nonetheless. Madeleine St John possesses a unique subtlety to her writing. Her books resonate long after the final cover is closed.

I picked this up at the library because the cover was interesting and intriquing. It is story of Nell and her half sister, Camille, who is 9 years older and more like a Mother as their Mother died shortly after Nell's birth. Nell is in school in England in the early 1860's and Camille is in Charleston, SC where she is engaged to Martin, who is in the Army. Camille is summoned to England after Nell mysteriously falls out a window of the boarding school, survives, but is quite severly injured. Lady Kersey, a distant relative, has recently died, leaving the old house of Wychwood to them if they can live there a year and find the treasure. If they do, it is theirs forever. They travel to the small village, isolated in the English Countryside where they begin meeting suspicious, witchy people. Everybody seems to be against them and Camille is suspected as a witch since strange things begin happening. There is a handsome male neighbor who is suspected to be wanting to find the treasure and inherit the house. Her lawyer is suspect but one would never believe what happens to him. Lady Margaret, her children, Amy and Phyllip play a nice role in the tale and The Copper Maid, an old tale, begins to roam again. Sheep are mysteriously poisoned with suspicion pointing to Camille. She doesn't know who she can trust. Tied in with their story is the story of Katherine Parr, Thomas Seymore, Henry V111, and Queen Elizabeth The First. The ending is a thriller as the culprit is the least likely suspect. Worth a good gothic read. This was my first book by this author.

This book provides very basic information on St. Thomas and limited information on St. John. The 1st timer to these islands may find this information helpful, however, most of what is included can be found in other sources which are readily available elsewhere. Other than the beautiful picture of Trunk Bay on the cover, the book provides no other pictures. Which, in my opinion, is a shame because the real magnificence of these islands would be better conveyed through some select pictures and not just text alone.

This book needs to be updated. The St. John Inn was hardly an elegant, intimate little inn. We were so disappointed we hunted down alternature accommodations. However, the "Inn" still charged us.

This book helped me find several great LOCAL bars and restaurants, which really made my trip more fun! If you use Fodor's or Frommer's to plan your trip to the Virgin Islands, you should definitely supplement your research with this smaller, more personal book. You'll find that it contains different descriptions and insider tips on hotels and restaurants than the larger guides.

You'll also find that almost all of the information is still up-to-date in 2002, especially for St. John (things don't change as fast there as they do in other places). Have a great trip!

Must read for any game developer. Exposes the secret history of one of the best things Microsoft has done in the last ten years (DirectX) - a technology that has truly made life better for everyone, itself, game developers and especially customers. DirectX is the very definition of "Not Re-Inventing the wheel"

Yes the book is a little disjointed in places, but if you are familiar with the industry you'll find a lot that rings true in here. If you've read "Microsoft Secrets" which details the order then read this book which details the chaos.

My only real criticism is that the book is told solely from the perspective of the renegades and doesn't go into as much depth as I'd like on the part of the poor managers who had to "herd these cats".

If for no other reason, buy this book for the some of the funny anecdotes. I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this.

Bottom Line: Not a classic but still a darn good read.

This book is a fascinating read, especially for anyone in the fast-growing and ultra-competitive computer game industry. If you've ever used DirectX, you owe it to yourself to buy this book.

It's all here: the creation of the wildly successful DirectX software platform; the humiliating WinG fiasco; Alex St. John's outrageous publicity stunts to promote DirectX (including the crisis with the cancelled alien spacecraft, or when he convinced several game industry executives to streak through Seattle GameWorks); the obnoxious coders who began the OpenGL wars; and St. John's raucous but ultimately career-limiting final letter to Gates & Co.

Although the book reads at times like an Alex St. John biography, the book's mix of wild stunts, software eccentrics, and high technology is enough to keep any reader thoroughly entertained.

Perhaps the most astonishing and terrifying revelation of all is how long it took Microsoft to take the multi-billion-dollar computer game industry seriously, even after the conception of DirectX . . . a mistake the company surely won't make again.

Michael Drummond takes us on an unbiased look inside Microsoft, not from the perspective of its battles with competitors, but its own internal political structure. Unlike the many books on the "browser" wars, or the anti-trust battles, this one shows the development of two products - DirectX and Chrome. DirectX changed how games were made, giving Windows a leg up as a game platform. Chrome was the cutting edge technology that Microsoft hoped would jazz up the Internet and compell people to view it exclusively on Wintel machines. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in computers and technology. It was a refreshing change of pace from the other books trying to analyse the Microsoft mystique.

Madeline St John's "The Essence Of The Thing" tells the story of how Nicola copes in the aftermath of an unexpected breakup with her live-in boyfriend Jonathan. The premise of the plot is so basic in terms of human experience that anybody reading it is going to instantly relate to the personal trauma and the feeling of pain and incomprehension that take hold of Nicola and yes, even Jonathan. The novel's main strengths lie in the honesty and simplicity of St John's writing. Except for those who might dismiss it as a mildly feminist tinged "woman's book" in which the male characters are either cads or morons (not counting the gay Philip), readers might derive casual reading pleasure from this very small book about a commonplace experience of the heart. But as serious literature, it doesn't quite stack up. The insights offered by St John aren't particularly deep or enlightening. Structurally, the novel is also one-dimensional, making no attempt to raise or explore more complex issues on life and love. I am amazed that such a small novel was even considered deserving of a Booker Prize nomination. The selection committee must have seen something special in it which I didn't. Either that or 1997 was a year which spawned a poor crop.

Sometimes I want to read a book that I can finish in one sitting, books that are long enough to allow me to disappear for a few hours in another's life, but don't have to ever have their covers closed until the end. This was one of those books. Beatifully written, succinct, yet filled with rich characterizations, this novel perfectly captures the feeling of being broken up with while also suprisingly giving perspective to the agonies sometimes endured by those doing the deed. Also, it is believable and rooted in everyday life, there is a bit of this story in everyone. Although the subject matter is a bit sad, this book is far from depressing, and is filled with moments of humor and delight. I am not a huge fan of contemporary fiction (often too fantastical or depressing), but books like this one could make me change my mind.

I'm sure that whoever reads the book will want to encounter Ms. St John in person. She's great in depicting character's psychology - so much as we think it's our best friend(s) she's writing about. Certainly great book to read - truthful, sincere and catching...

read this boys life or bevvy of other books dealing with coming of age in a sincere and relevent manner.

you'll love this book. . .
A long meditative piece on the coming of age of artist Linda St. John this book never really produced a true feeling of empathy from me and instead made me feel I was listening to someone paint a picture of exagerated victimization. Her family is abusive poor white trash but some how it escapes that both her and her father are PhDs. In my opinion most people have messed up families but it takes an artists ego to write an extended whine about it and think that half of america doesn't live some version of that . . .

Linda St. John is a wonderful talent and tells her remarkable story of surviving a stark upbringing with wit and insight in the package of a really good read. The story moves along. Her characters are tremendously vivid and orginal.

...Primarily, the Map is wrong. Azad Kashmir is such a beautiful part of Pakistan, and they cokmpletely miss it. They go on to show that Entire Kashmir is a part of india.
The book is also missing insiders scoop. Perhaps just using this book aas a reference, and Using other guide would be better. The authors also give a fake image of Pakistans politics, and its intolerance, as a matter of fact its very tolerant...As long as you aren't calling for trouble, you're all right!

The book is written very well. Gives all the information a traveller could possibly use. The only thing wrong with is the map of Pakistan and Kashmir. Kashmir is shown to be a part of India which is totally wrong. One part of Kashmir - Azad Kashmir is independant whereas the other half is occupied by India. The map of Kashmir should be corrected to earn the fifth star.

Without bringing my political affiliations and leanings into this review (...), I can safely vouch for this travel guide to Pakistan. Informative, thorough, honest and highly enjoyable, Lonely Planet has come through again! I utilized their travel books throughout my recent trip to India and Pakistan and was never led wrong (infact they have saved my behind a few times, especially in Pak), but overall enhanced my experience as they encouraged me to try new and different things while there and also gave me some pointers on how to interact with the locals. One negative point to mention: Lonely Planet Pakistan doesn't stress and/or inform about the heckling, whistling, and unwanted male attention foreign girls (even those who are of Indian origin) have to suffer through, enough.