Dave Dravecky wrote an inspiring book after his first bout with cancer and amazing comeback to professional baseball. The writing is better than in most athlete-authored books. Most sports fans know that the cancer returned, and Dave lost an arm to it. The follow-up story is revealed in subsequent books authored by Dave Dravecky and his wife Jan Dravecky. I think readers will be uplifted by any of these books.

A must read for every athlete - both Christian and non-Christian. Dave is an inspriation. I have read the book six times over the years and have never found a book by an athlete better. To top it off, Dave is as nice of a guy in person as he is in his book.

A very uplifting book about Mr Dravecky's battle with cancer. More than just an athlete centered book, this details his struggles and triumphs with this very debilitating disease.

With an atlas, index, three reading plans, and topical inserts this is a good resource for any Bible reader not just students. However, without a concordance I can not give it 5 stars.

This bible is a good place for anyone in the world to start learning about the christian religeon.

For christians, its absolutely an excellent resource. Aside from being an easy to read New International Version of the bible, it includes advice on how to deal with day to day events, excellent interpretations of certain passages, and helpful ways of getting you through reading the entire bible, or even certain books of it, without feeling bogged down.

For non-christians, who are simply interested in learning more about christianity, or maybe just the old testament (the history of Judaism, and the beginning of christianity, through prophets), this bible gives you excellent background information. The bible also features maps of the different settings in the bible (excellent for anyone), timelines of the prophets (excellent for anyone as well...), and an index that allows you to look up a certain topic quickly!

Before purchasing this bible, I had little interest in reading the bible atall. I would recommend this version to anyone in need of a little "drive" to get going!

Each one of us, by design is created to be connected to the living, loving God. No matter where you are, God longs to hear from you! This book talks about how we search for fulfillment and only find it, by finding the truth within. John 10:10 for instance promises an abundant life, and when we stop to think of it, that's all any of us ever really want. This book can be read over and over and there can still be found new revelations as time goes by. Awesome!

I bought this book hoping to learn more about Christianity. I won`t lie, it was very informative and obviously we all know that the Bible is very important.

The bone I have with this is that Christ doesn`t even come into the picture until you`ve read well more than half of the book!

It`s a difficult read. It goes from very easy stories at the beginning to very boring geneaologies of people that go on for pages and pages. I don`t think it`s so important to know the names of 50 consecutive generations of father-son, going down the family tree to finally get to someone who is only a minor character..

Some of the songs are quite interesting, especially when you think of how old they are and how they have been encorporated and revised into modern songs.

Reading over some of the stories I learnt as a kid (Noah`s ark) for example, are much better in this book than the vague remembrances I have.

It`s a difficult book with a lot of contradictions. Lots of killing and war, then on the other hand you`ll have anti-war messages.

The Old Testament comes across as a kind of chronology of events, most of them mythical.

The New Testament seems to speak more to the reader, yet the same events are told over again, sometimes several times. The "Revelations" part is quite interesting in its imagery yet it can be frightening knowing that some people take this as fact. I wouldn`t want to run into some of the things mentioned in this chapter nor people that are convinced that this is a literal description of our destined future.

I agree with Jesus` underlying message, and for that I recommend the book, but on the other hand this book leads people to really believe in certain things with uncontrolled zeal which I think is dangerous.

This book helped me get through some tough times in high school, knowing that other people too have stepped back and viewed life from a participating, yet distant perspective.

Take it as you will.

If your inclined to read this sort of book, I would also suggest meditation, a good starter being "The Relaxation Response." Meditation in combination with reading this book would be much better than simply just reading this book due to some sort of obligation.

Enjoy!

I would rate this book 5 stars. The notes (written by Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford) are very understandable to students (anywhere from middle-school up). The notes within the text relate the scripture to things younger students deal with, but things a lot of adults deal with, too. The character sketches contained within the pages are excellent, well thought out, and well written. If you want to understand and apply the Word of God well, this Bible is for you.

Regardless of some people who make airy arguments about what bible to choose, I chose this.

I was born and convent-bred Catholic, but I truly haven't read the fullness of God's words. I was not encouraged to do so.
Then I met some Christians who believe in Jesus and uphold the God-breathed word of God. Now, I can see things learly.

This book transformed my life. Changing the inner me to seeking more about Jesus. It made me understood the characters in the old and in the new testament.

Do not let anyone fool or confuse you. If the the Word of god can make you walk into the light of his path, then seek him through his words.

This book is absolutely great for students like me who seeks the truth. The bible is inspired by God. It answers all questions of life. All you have to do is open your heart and find it.

May our hearts and mind open to His infinite wisdom. May we not depend on our own limited and passing knowledge and understanding. May we put our faith in Jesus alone as it is written in the Scriptures. May he follow His examples and appear blameless before the Heavenly father. May peace, love, joy, faith and hope fill our every step on this world.

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:17

The Stamp of Glory is Tim Stafford's finely researched novel about the abolitionist movement in America, covering the years 1824-1863. Starting with the startling portrait of slavery in the deep South, Stafford traces the lives of those in the Nichols family, along the way painting a fine historical portrait of the issues, divisions, fights (verbal or - as in the case of John Brown and his sons - physical), events (such as the slave revolt led by Nat Turner), prominent people (like Garrison, the Tappans, or Frederic Douglas), and victories of slavery abolition in 19th century America. The bonus of this book is that it is a novel - read for entertainment - yet the reader receives history lessons for free. Stafford obviously did his homework for this and the result is a realistic rendering of abolition in America. Chapter titles contain topics and dates to help keep the reader oriented. Stafford's work allows the reader to feel that s/he is sharing in the experience.

I don't want to fault Mr. Stafford on his book. Overall, it was well done, well researched, and very accurate. I found the whole premise very believeable, and there were characters I was able to care about, mainly Catherine, Thomas Nichols, and Tommy. I had a very hard time finishing this book, though, and that is extremely unusual for me. While I appreciate how much was occuring during the time span of Stamp of Glory, and the very important political and religious figures that were relevant to the story line, there was just too much going on between chapters on main characters. I went long stretches wondering where Catherine and Tommy were, and spent long minutes skimming through speeches and sermons. Toward the latter part of the book, Catherine and Tommy disappear altogether until he is grown. There were too many characters I didn't care anything about, too many speeches and sermons, that (although I'm sure are very important and relevant) bored me to tears. Toward the end I didn't find the novel gripping -- I found myself skimming entire chapters looking for anything of interest. My dislike for Thomas Nichols merely grew throughout the book, and then resolution wasn't particularly redeeming for me.

I guess I just expected more. I started my historical fiction reading with authors like Gilbert Morris, and next to those, this book just doesn't cut it. It's okay for a read if you need something to do, but I can't reccommend it otherwise. Sorry.

Tim Stafford has written the truly historical novel. He transports you into an era bursting with profound spiritual and social battles, with brother against brother, Christian against Christian, injustice, bigotry, hatred, violence, in other words an era not unlike our own. Here is a story of the events preceding the Civil War from the perspective of a family from the deep south, and from an educated slave who is granted her freedom, but who remains a slave to injustice, as her former master remains a slave to his guilt.

The book offers compelling story-telling, and builds to a page-turning climax. Highly recommended.

Usually when I read celebrity biographies, I don't know a whole lot about the person and want to know more. With this book, I bought it simply because I am a big fan of Russell Crowe's but wasn't expecting many new facts about someone I already feel I know quite a bit about. I found this to be true but it was an enjoyable read, nonetheless.
This book covers Crowe's life from his childhood in New Zealand and Australia, all the way through to his recent Academy Award victory and his most recent film, the Ron Howard-directed "A Beautiful Mind". I did like the authors' format of devoting an entire chapter to a single film or an aspect of Russell's life. If you're looking for information on a specific film, you can find the appropriate chapter immediately.
As a longtime fan who reads and collects articles and videotaped interviews from all over the world, my one main criticism is that the authors seemed to take most of their information and quotes directly from previous print and visual media. Now, I know this is an unauthorized biography; still, it would have been more interesting if they had possibly interviewed friends and co-stars themselves.
Still, they have painted what I feel is a fair, interesting portrait of a complex, intense man and a dedicated, talented actor. If you are a new Russell Crowe fan, this book will give you a lot of information, basic facts you'll want to know about him. If you're a longtime admirer, like myself, it won't tell you a whole lot you don't already know, but will be a good addition to your Crowe collection, anyway.

Book is very informative,ejoyable to read and made me want to see more of him in movies. I would love to know him. He has a depth, intelligence and sensitivity to his soul.Most celebrities don't effect me that way.

It's disturbing that the activities of Keane are dressed up into something that in other circumstances would be described as thuggery. AVOID.

Roy Keane is undoubtably one of the greatest football players currently playing, and his life outside the game is equally enjoyable to follow. His intensity and larger-than-life persona on and off the pitch make any bio of Keano worth a read.

This is the best book I've ever read. It tells all about Captain Tightness. This is a more choice novel than Catcher in the rye. Roy Keane is a better role model than Holden Caulfield ever was. Captain Tightness will teach you and your kids how to cleat the opponent without getting caught (or carded ha ha ha).

...i didn't like the book.. Lets just say I didn't get a feel for what it was supposed to mean.Im a straight A Student and i didn't like END

... I liked the book. Let's just say I got the feel for whatit is supposed to mean: God can turn bad things happening to you intogood. I am not a straight-A student ... END