A well-told tale of a young boy's struggle with abuse and religion, 'Tainted' focuses an unflinching eye on it's subject matter. Jimmy Burman is abused as a young boy and his first instinct is to thank God for saving him, supposing it could have been worse. As Jimmy gets older, he devotes himself to God, eventually going to Notre Dame, studying to be a priest. While there he starts to question God's role as a savior in his life and starts facing the effects of the abuse he suffered. Once Jimmy gets into the real world, he starts putting things together, figuring out where God and love and his one-time abuser fit into his life. The author treats Jimmy with sensitivity without ever taking the easy way out. Some sections of this novel in connected stories were difficult for me to read; I cringed early on in the first two stories. The subject matter is painful at times in the first stories, but they are essential to the understanding of the character and the writing is always stunning. Some of the stories are funny while still remaining thoughtful and true to the theme--I thought 'Mr. Mann' was wonderful and especially appealing to anyone who's ever worked in retail--while others show a beautiful depth of longing--'Wherever You and Father Are Going.' 'Tainted' is a wonderful second novel from the tremendously talented Mr. Weedman.

This is an excellent story to read to children who are just beginning to decipher the code of letters, sounds and words. I read it to my primary classroom every year, and they always ask to hear more!

My three-year old son is an avid Thomas fan and this book so closely mimics the videos that sometimes I can hardly tear him away from the book! It is a great "learn to read" book for preschoolers. Even my 16-month old daughter easily recognizes the characters in the books from those that are in the videos. My son also likes the fact that there are several short stories in this book (great for bedtime! ) For any die-hard Thomas fan this book is a keeper!

This is clearly the definitive biography of Thomas Mann ...by perhaps this era's leading biographer .....to be sure there are several bios out there ....but having read the most recent two ....i must say they were merely an excursus compared to Mr. Heymans outstanding effort ! his is both comprehensive and perspicuous ....not an easy task when being an exegete of Mann's life and works ....Mann was both an accomplished author and prescient political analyst .....and led a long and complicated life .....which Mr. Heyman documents with unusual clarity and verve!.. of the three major biographies on T.Mann recently published ....his (heymans) is the best of the trio ....the other two being discursive and garbled thus confusing to the common reader by all means read this edition if you have any interest in T. Mann's work and life...it's COMPLEAT ! thankyou Mr. Heyman !

First of all, the first posted review under Reed's THOMAS MANN: THE USES OF TRADITION (2nd ed.) is not of Reed at all, but of Prater's recent biography. Reed himself has brought his now 20-year-old study up to date, and it is by far the most aesthetically, politically judicious critique of Mann's career I know of--and written by a scholar who has made significant contributions to an Anglophonic audience's understanding of Goethe, Schiller, and the Weimar classical period generally. One may regret that Oxford books cost so much (!), but in this instance the investment is well worthwhile

This book successfully presents the importance of the work of Thomas Reid to those who are familiar with the Western philosophical tradition, or, as Reid likes to call it, the Way of Ideas. In particular, the explanations of Reid's arguments against the philosophical theses of the British empiricists (Locke, Hume and Berkeley) is particularly well-done, and are helpful in revealing assumptions of their outlooks. See especially the sections on indirect vs. direct perception and the chapter "Reid's Way with the Skeptic."
The only warning that I would issue concerning this book is that the section on the doctrine of common sense may be difficult for those with little background in the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, especially his "On Certainty," since Wolterstorff explains Reid's doctrine by way of Wittgenstein. However, he does a fairly good job of explaining both, so that this characteristic ought not to be a stumbling block for the sufficiently patient reader.

Raymond Paul, as far as I know, wrote three books. I have read two: The Tragedy at Tiverton and The Thomas Street Horror. Both are based on true crimes which took place in New York in the early/mid 19th century and both, unfortunately, are out of print though you should be able to find them in most libraries.

I recently reread The Thomas Street Horror because I had finally finished a book about the crime that this novel was based on: The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cohen. Helen Jewett (AKA Dorcas Doyen and many other pseudonyms) was a young popular prostitute working in New York City. Early on the morning of April 10, 1836 she was discovered murdered in her smouldering bed. Suspicion fell on one of her clients, a young clerk, who was eventually tried for the murder. Cohen's book deals not just with the crime and trial but also the attitudes toward prostitution, tabloid journalism (the murder became a nationwide sensation) and the criminal justice system. While the book is very interesting, it is also hard going at times because the author would pause the narrative to delve into the fine points of various aspects of life during the period-- for instance I learned a lot more about the state of Maine than I would normally be interested in. I actually put it down for several months before I finished it.

The Thomas Street Horror is a much livelier, if fictionalized, account of the murder. The veiwpoint character is a young reporter who has just arrived in New York City in November 1835 with a letter of introduction to the proprieter of the journal, the Sun, Benjamin Day. New York journalism at the time was not concerned as much with reporting the news as garnering readers by any method available including elaborate hoaxes and pandering to mob mentality. And the competition between the papers becomes red hot, as they choose up sides as to whether or not Helen Jewett was a wronged woman driven into her way of life or a degraded harpy who preyed on her young clients and was the young clerk accused of her murder guilty or not? David Cordor (the journalist) is caught up in the center of events, both reporting on and participating in what was happening. The fictional investigation into the events surrounding the murder is lead by Lon Quincannon, Paul's Irish attorney-detective who first made his appearance in The Tragedy at Tiverton. Quincannon finds himself not just defending his client against the state, whose minions have no qualms about manufacturing evidence to support their case, but also against public opinion.

If you enjoy 19th century mayhem then I would definitely urge you to try this book.

Kids are ofthen taught about moral values with a set of guidelines and measures. In my opinion, moral can only be taught with real life examples that calls for deeper thinker after reading it. This story, though of biblical origin, sure reflects a great deal of day-to-day human thinkings and should be used as a great learning tool and I assure you, this story will be a milestone of your life after you've learned about 'Faith'

This book is great. You have to pay close attention to solve this mystery. Try it!

Thomas Hoving wrote a great book. He made you feel like you were in the tomb with Howard Carter spectating. His discriptions of the events that happened kept you on the edge. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to know the truth about the events that happened surrounding the discovery of Tut's tomb and the scandalous behavior of those involved.