If someone every told you that funerals were mainly for family members and not friends, this is the book for you. The clergy often fail to recognize the importance of a grief among friends of the deceased. In this small but powerfully written book, Harold Ivan Smith addresses head on the issues surrounding friendgrief in our society.

Although the book appears to have been primarily written with christians in mind, readers from other faiths will find "When Your Friend Dies" helpful when coping with their own grief. Examples from Smith's own life, from the bible, and from American history all make the reality of friendgrief more understandable.

This book is very readable. It would be the perfect gift for someone who has just lost a friend or who is only now revisiting a loss that occurred years ago. "When Your Friend Dies" would also be a valuable addition to every church library.

I've enjoyed this delightful book more than once. Doig writes a travel narrative as he retraces the life and journeys of a fellow named Swan who left detailed daily diaries of life on Washington's Olympic Peninsula during the 1850s. This book provides an insightful look at the Pacific Northwest and the early interaction between settlers and the native Northwest Coast Makah tribes at Neah Bay and Cape Alava. This book is a must-read, just like Doig's "The Sea Runners" and Annie Dillard's "The Living," if you are to understand the Pacific Northwest of the past or present. Doig (via Swan's experiences living on the reservation as an English teacher to Makah children) discusses Haida native art and mythology as well as whale-hunting and potlatches. Just an awesome and insightful read, especially for a cold winter evening by the fire. Makes me want to pull out my copy and read it again, and again, and again.

This book was so helpfull in validating what I saw as relational issues between my feiance' and his parrents. The book gives people real examples of things that parrents do to maintain a controling/parental relationship using guilt, manipulation and your fear of thier death to get what they want. The chapters are organized and easy to read. There is an additional bonus of scripure used to substantiate that this problem has been going on forever. The book is also well researched.

This book is a "must" source if you want to learn about the former-Yugoslavia's history, economic system, and its recent war (and related Balkan crisis). I found it indispensible to use during a course study, and an easy-to-follow, knowledge-packed source for a paper related to the recent Bosnian war.

Who knew fly fishing could be so close to a religious experience? Actually, I might be doing Maclean a disservice...Who knew fly fishing could be a religious experience? Well, through Maclean's beautifully written novella the lines between religion and this peaceful pastime are blurred. But don't let your disinterest in fishing push you away from Maclean's artful exposition; instead embrace the work and the tale of two brothers who find peace and companionship in the rivers of western Montana.

A River Runs Through It is a mere 104 'chapterless' pages that flow as quickly and gracefully as those waters where the boys find their peace. Maclean's exposition of the beautiful country is absolutely mesmerizing, painting wondrous landscapes in your mind with his poetically picked language. Sometimes authors can delve too far into that created world, leaving their characters unpolished in a world of realistic, splendid beauty, however, Maclean's efforts only further your understanding of his characters as they are so greatly influenced by their natural world. The landscape acts almost like another character, influencing the lives and actions of the other characters, and rightfully necessitating its major development. Yet the major development does not end with the vast landscape. Norm and Paul are both dynamic creations who draw the reader in and hold him tight as you get a glimpse into their lives, relationship, and religion.

Fly fishing holds all of the key elements of life for the boys. It is religious in that it serves as a guide and anchor in their lives, yet it also spurs competition, challenge, and solidifies battered relationships. No matter the harsh realities of life, the alcoholism that plagues Paul, or the inadequacy that eats away at Norm, fly fishing provides guidance, simplicity, and peace in their lives.

I never would have guessed that a fishing story could apply itself so well to the trials of life, letting the reader come away with a greater appreciation for the simple things while opening his/her eyes to the complicated bonds of brotherhood, family, and love. Enjoy this beautiful novella for its exemplary exposition and touching glimpse into the lives of two brothers, two disciples of the rod and water. You owe it to yourself and to Maclean to broaden your spiritual boundaries, not to mention really enjoy a wonderful story.

It seems many of the reviewers have misread this wonderful book. "A River Runs Through It" is not about fly-fishing and Montana any more than "Romeo and Juliet" is about Italy. MacLean uses fly-fishing as a back drop for his story about family, time, and love. If it could be summarized in a sentence (and it cannot) it would be about loving completely without complete understanding. The scope of the book expands far beyond the confines of fly-fishing. I think that is why so many readers, even the ones who think it's about fly-fishing, see themselves and their families in this book.

I only write all this because I'm afraid readers who would truly enjoy this book may be turned away, not wanting to read a book about fishing. It's a beautiful story, beautifully told.

A River Runs Through It...

"Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

Norman Maclean captivates the reader using turbulent and smooth recollection, which flows as peaceful as the story setting. Maclean describes a romantic notation, which could compare to Twain's writings, of floating down a river and observing life as it passes by. Maclean keeps the river as the median of the story, and all life revolves around it. Living life and writing about it later gave Maclean more understanding and an advantage to tell his tale. Maclean uses proverbs and lessons of life make the story easy to understand and relate to. Never before have I been so black in the face and ecstatic to get back into fly-fishing. Maclean uses such vivid images in his writings; it makes the reader believe they are at the graceful Blackfoot River of Montana. The story has the same simple solitude and loneliness of life that Hawthorne places on Hester in The Scarlet Letter. Both stories have a loss of innocence in realizing that life still perseveres, no matter what they do. A River Runs through it, is a book for all, not just fly fisherman. Maclean's visions and thoughts will astound any person who enjoys the beauty and glory of life. Growing up, under the reign of Presbyterian minister, made the meaning of life much more difficult to grasp. Maclean's uses ironic literature to create a world outside of everyday life as in The Catcher and the Rye. Maclean would be considered, one of the greatest writers of his time but had he not wrote the story until he reached his biblical allotment of seventy years. Coinciding with watching the movie, this book easily places far more dramatized images, than one filmmaker could ever imagine. I truly believe that Norman Maclean is haunted by waters.

Assuming you never heard of the Church of the SubGenius, and their horrible, discordian, and nerdish beliefs...I'd say it's about time you did. BUY THIS BOOK.

A true remedy for all the [junk] that clouds the minds of modern man. You might think you think, but you WON'T think the same after this thought provoking 'reveal all' tale. Life begins AFTER you look at this book for the first time. A true mind opener. Ever felt the popular, and organized religions are missing the boat, or that TV ad media are hiding the facts, or maybe that people are just looking at you weird because THEY just don't GET IT? The answers are here. This is truely a guide to fill in every missing crack, especially yours. Stang and Drummond (with the help of Bob Dobbs) have burst open the doors to a unique INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH CHURCH that will clear the cobwebbs from your eyes so you can replace them with a wool of your own choosing.

Filled with passages fusing together the histories and religions of mankind's blatantly pointless path, the SubGenius detail how you can be freed from the bounds of this horrible present life style of common possession and launch yourself headlong into THEIR HELLISH HEAVEN of individual, spastic, self expression. Filled with plenty of illustration, clip art collages and snappy sayings meant to confuse the unworthy! You can read it in bits, or all the way through; it doesn't matter because you can't go back from this experience.

A great organization, a ground breaking book, I still won't pay MY [money] to these guys. It might be TOO much Slack, but I'd just call it laziness, or prudent money management.

One word: brilliant! Many words: This book is equal parts scathing indictment of conformist thought, a sincere exhortation for the free-thinking individualist to not lose faith in himself/herself, an amusing cosmogony filled with sundry gods, demons, yetis, aliens and more, a free-spirited religious/philosophical treatise on the merits of self-indulgence, an ego-maniacal, self-aggrandizing rant and a blatant attempt to "cash in" by Ivan Stang, a satire on mainstream American culture AND seemingly "counter culture" types (cults, hippies, punks...; in short any "followers" of any stripe or creed), and one long, self-satirizing, not-at-all-to-be-taken-seriously joke.
If all this sounds like essential reading for any sane person in an insane world, then...your right! If all this sounds like a stupid, rambling, jerk-yer-chain-jape, then...your right!
Based on all that, if you cannot conceive how this book could could be so ESSENTIAL, then you're *SO PINK* you can't think straight anyways.

If you don't own it, most especially if you've never heard of it, you pinkos seriously need a copy. (And if you HAVE heard of it, what the heck are you waiting for?)

If you already own a copy, buy another and GIVE it to that special friend in need of serious help. Use its pages for toilet paper, or bury it in the backyard and watch it REAPPEAR on your front porch ad infinitum. (And it'll be just dandy for propping up the short leg of your TV set.)

It's real simple: everyone needs more [fill in the blank]. This book'll show you how to get it, with easy step-by-step assembly instructions that even the most awkward glue-sniffing yooth can follow. With Dobbs's patented Eurorotorvated Dance Steps and Preprogrammed Learning Materials you can NEVER GO WRONG. (Ok, Dobbs (...) up and the saucers haven't shown up yet. Tough.)

Trust me, it really works, as I can testify from personal experience.

Once you've read the book, send in your (money) and all PRAISE to the mighty Dobbs!!! You and your life will be better for it. Just click on the little button up there...c'mon, you know you want to free yourself from the slavery of JHVH-1 and his many demons... You MUST get SLACK.

I highly recommend this book for a successful affluent professional who was once blessed with a nice education, nice position, nice family, nice home, nice car, blah, blah, blah, but was suddenly robbed of them all due to being stricken by an unexpected and a terminal illness. This book gives a powerful account of Ivan Ilyich and the things that go through his mind as he, towards the end of his life, has not only to give up his extremely prestigious position due to a terminal illness, but to also watch life "pass him by" by observing people around him live their lives as they always had.

...so I could read this story in the original. This novella is an absolute masterpiece. It made me think about things my jaded self had long since given up on, like God, purpose of life, death, fear. Tolstoy has an absolute deadpan sense of humor, which was so subtle it took me a while to catch on (for example, Ivan's fatal injury occurs while he is hanging expensive drapery out to impress his friends--what a beautifully ironic, even funny way to point out the meaninglessness of his life?).

If you're like me, and don't have the time to slog through "War and Peace" but are interested in Tolstoy, try this book. It's outstanding.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich was a wonderful book that dove deep in to the realities of the death of Ivan. The character in the book named Ivan faces the fact that his life is going to be cut short, and he realizes that he never had the good life he wanted. I thought that this book gave a good realization on what death could be like, and what a person could truly go through. This book had a wonderful plot hat really left a person thinking, and wondering what would be in store for them. The book gave the reader a good sense of what Ivan was going through. Through out the book Ivan was denying the fact that he was going to die, and was in a sense going insane form all of his thoughts. In the end of the book, the author showed us how Ivan got over that insanity and how he accepted his fate.

This was required reading for my Russian literature class because it is considered a classic. My favorite part of this book is the fact that it gives the reader a glimpse of what life was like for the average nobleman of the day...(in the 1850's) It has some interesting descriptions of Russian family life, the life of the peasantry and how the younger generation interacted with the older generation (hence the title, "Fathers and Sons" although the original Russian is called "Fathers and Children"). One of the main characters, Bazarov, is a self proclaimed nihilist who rejects all forms of authority, causing problems for the older generations (his parents & his friend's parents), but attracting the attention of the people of his (the younger) generation. This book has no real plot...it is merely the story of how one man brings his nihilist ideas into other peoples' lives & it gives accounts of everybody else's reactions to these nihilist ideas. It is an interesting book & a pretty quick read, but it can drag in places...especially if the reader is waiting for something interesting to happen. All in all, I believe this book is worth reading, if just to get a taste of "Old Russia", but if you are looking for an exciting "can't-put-it-down-sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat-page-turner", you won't find it in this book.

This book is known mostly, perhaps, for the character of Bazarov, widely considered the vanguard of nihilism in literature, especially in Russia. Bazarov is a significant fact of fiction, a sketch of the young middle class intellegentsia developing in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Brash, self-confident, iconoclastic, educated young men like Bazarov were popping up all over Russia. Turgenev finds a way to tie this into a rich tapestry of love, familial relationships, and simplicity that Arkady and Bazarov, the young men, succumb to. Even in his determination to change the world by destroying it so it can be rebuilt, Bazarov does not overcome the strong bonds of family. Love and family has the sort of redemptive power found so often in War and Peace, and indeed, Turgenev writes from a similar perspective and on a similar wavelength as Tolstoy. This book, while not big on plot, is to be appreciated for blending its simple prose with a poetic passion in showing how love between fathers and sons is ageless, and love between men and women occurs. I found the last passage very moving.

One of the most eloquent works in Russian literature, Fathers and Sons has had a major influence on subsequent Russian writers. Turgenev weaves so much into this short novel. As the title suggests he is dealing principally with generational differences, but ultimately this is a book about finding yourself in the world. In Bazarov, we have the ultimate nihilist, someone who renounces all societal conventions, which his peers utterly fail to understand. As a young doctor he has turned his back on noble society. We see some of his old feelings briefly rise to the surface in a romance which he pursues, but Bazarov chooses to extinguish those feelings, and return to his paternal home, where he ultimately seals his fate.

Turgenev is the bridge between the Russian writers of the early 19th century and the later 19th century. In many ways, Fathers and Sons reminded me of the theme which Lermontov explored in "A Hero of Our Time," and Turgenev appears in Dostoevsky's work, even if deliberately as a caricature.

The entirety of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's short novel "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" takes place on a winter day in 1951 in a Siberian labor camp. The title character, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, has been a prisoner there for the past eight years and has two more to go, provided his sentence isn't extended even longer for no reason at all. As a Soviet soldier in World War II, he was imprisoned after being accused of spying for the Germans, but the novel is concerned more with his daily routine at the camp than with the politics behind his imprisonment.

Like anybody who's been in a highly structured and disciplined environment for a long time, Shukhov has developed his own individualized way of living day to day, bending the rules, avoiding punishment, and making life a little more bearable under the circumstances. Temperatures are commonly well below zero and the food is barely nutritional enough to keep the prisoners alive, but Shukhov has adapted well enough to know how to stay warm and make the most out of his meals. On this particular day, Shukhov's squad is forced to work construction; the novel describes how well Shukhov has honed his masonry skills as he expertly lays blocks and mortar building a wall for a building that will be used to hold future prisoners. Life at the camp has made him tough and independent; his only weakness is tobacco, for which he will beg, borrow, or steal.

The novel is based on Solzhenitsyn's own experience as a labor camp prisoner under Stalin's reign, and therefore it has a sincere, natural, brutal quality that not even someone like Orwell could imitate. More than anything, though, it portrays a man whose spirit is strong enough to triumph over the most extreme adversity. Case in point: There is another prisoner named Fetiukov, a sniveling weasel who cries about his harsh treatment. Shukhov observes that Fetuikov won't survive his imprisonment because he has the wrong attitude, which is why he can't help but feel a little sorry for the guy. This work is not only an indictment of the machinations of one of the twentieth century's most oppressive political systems; it also succeeds as a concise study in humanism.

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is just that - a detailed description of one day in the gulag: the humiliation, the struggle to survive the elements, the mindless labour, the petty indignities one suffers and the mistrust one has for your fellow inmates. It is a quick read - it really only takes an hour or two, but the mental and psychological toll it takes is tremendous - especially after you realize that what you have read is only one day of many, one day of perhaps years that will be spent in an identical manner. After reading the book, you are literally drained emotionally; this above anything else makes it a masterpiece. There are no riveting characters, the plot is simply survival. Yet you empathize with Ivan and his fellows, as you empathize with Solzhenitsyn, who wrote this book largly based on personal experience. While I heartily recommend this book, I caution you not to read it if you are in a sunny disposition.

This book is an excellent example of the horrors of the Stalinist work camps (Gulag) that were in existence for most of Russia's modern history. Alexander Solzhenitsyn masterfully weaves descriptions of minute details, which, surprisingly, do not become tedious, but provide a better understanding of the task or action that the main character performs, with a universal theme that all people can relate to - survival. The title accurately describes the setting of the book; its entirety occurs in one day of the life of Ivan Denisovich, a prisoner. This may confuse some in that everyday tasks and unique events around this main character provoke flashbacks more often than not, and provide a complete picture of this man's life before he was imprisoned and since he has been serving his ten-year sentence. All in all, this book has a superior edge to most other books on this same subject in that its author, ALexander Solzhenitsyn, went through the same struggles as the main character of the novel, providing valuable insights, thoughts, and emotions that tie the novel together. An excellent read - one that I would recommend to anyone.

I have found this guide to be a great help in selecting classical music recordings. Reading this is like having an erudite friend helping you select cds. I used to take previous versions to the music store with me just to browse. It's also interesting to read. I've learned a lot about classical music from reading it, and the authors have introduced me to many obscure composers that I now love. It has broadened my musical taste.
It's true that this guide goes out of date quickly, but it's not too expensive, considering its size, and if it saves you from just one regrettable cd purchase it will have paid for itself. I strongly recommend this book.

Contrary to the opinion of a previous reviewer rapid obsolesence is not one of the failings of this fine series in my opinion. In this latest incarnation it continues to live up to the indispensible reputation of it's predecessors. New recordings (or re-issues) are picked up in the year books (and it takes a special one to dislodge well regarded older recordings of well worn repetoire so you are pretty safe using this guide right up until the next one comes out in 2 years). The guide remains unashamedly opinionated but the passion (and the prose) of the reviewers makes it a pleasure to read in it's own right. In addition to the usual great depth given to well established works, the reviewers continue to champion fine recordings of little-known composers and repetoire they feel are unfairly ignored or under represented. I can remember reading in a previous edition a review of a lone CD of a composer (Jan Zelenka) whose music I had at the time never heard but who I knew was a direct contemporary of JS Bach. It was such a passionate and well argued review I went right out and ordered the CD. Zelenka is now one of my favourite Baroque composers. I'm sure such reviews have actually influenced the choice of content of some new recordings (because conductors must read the guide too). The historical and social context of composers or compositions that sometimes accompanies reviews is also an added bonus. Still the definitive guide complete with all it's quirks.

If sometimes you have been encountered by the dilema of chosing between several interpretations of a certain work and finally take the risk of spend your money in one... that did not suit your tastes; then, you will find this book very useful to get more certainity at those moments.

First of all, it is virtually impossible to have the same tastes of the editors of this book, but this is not its objective neither.

It presents perpectives of the sound, interpretation and general quality of the recordings and the people who wrote this has listened to a HUGE amount of selections, between versions of a work and other ones. So you can rely on them as they actually can be consider as experts in the matter.

They have a special qualification for the recordings and gives you a reference based on their personal tastes. The rosette is the highest ranking of a recording and then you have three to one "*s" which means that more is better.

You can actually buy your recordings based on their references and get at least 95% of probability for high satisfaction.

It is a nice way to get you informed before running to the CD store...!