I found this book looking for a personal way to participate in the Roman Catholic Liturgy begun with attendance of the Sunday's Eucharist. It is a condensed easily accessed Office similarily patterned to that found in "The Book of Common Praayer" though identified as being in the Catholic tradition.

It's Office is organized around a seven day calendar, including both morning and evening prayer and a common night prayer, with additions for special times of the church year, ie. Advent, Easter, Lent, Pentecost. This Office is ordered in such a way that it could easily be used in a communal setting. Also it contains prayers for times of special need from authors such as Thomas Merton and Lucien Deiss.

This is not a how-to-book but fills the need for those of us who are looking for a companion along the journey of private prayer.

Loud and Clear is an outstanding resource for producing an effective presentation. The emphasis on audience analysis, which is so often overlooked, is excellent and will lead you to focus on the things that matter for your presentation. I especially liked the exercises suggested by the authors. Do them; you will learn more about your style of communication and your ability to connect with audiences than you had ever imagined. This book is probably most effective for newer presenters who need a foundation in the building blocks of assembling an effective presentation. But, it will also be instructional and valuable to check the effectiveness of more experienced presenters. Overall Loud and Clear is a concise, well-written recipe for effective presentations

For a man of whom Gen MacArthur stated "I believe that no, repeat, no officer suggested for promotion to General has rendered more outstanding and brilliant service than Kenney... Nothing that Spaatz or any other air officer has accomplished in the war compares to what Kenney has contributed and none in my opinion is his equal in ability", surprisingly little has been written about this innovative and charismatic air power proponent. Griffith changes that with this well written, fast-paced biography. While not a comprehensive biography, Griffith focuses on Kenney's leadership in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. Taking command of a weary, demoralized group of flyers in which MacArthur had lost confidence, and turning them into an offensive-minded, hard-charging unit was perhaps Kenney's greatest victory. Griffith clearly explores Kenney's philosophy of how to train and treat his men as well as the five point of his air power formula. Over and over again Griffith points out how Kenney stuck to his formula with resultant success against the Japanese war machine. While lacking the depth and completeness of an exhaustive biography, Griffith's book is nonetheless the best and most balanced account of General George Kenney's life to date; especially regarding his role as air component commander in the Southwest Pacific. The rather abrupt ending of the book at the conclusion of WW II leaves the reader wanting more and perhaps some future writer will examine Kenney's post-war life. Regardless, MacArthur's Airman is an excellent place for one to start any research on this superb, somewhat neglected air commander who was instrumental in turning the tide against the Japanese in World War II.

Extremely detailed description of military life and protocol. Insider knowledge (reminiscent of Tom Clancy) of Special Operations selection process and operational methods. Very timely topic as public interest in the U.S. anti-terrorist campaign is peaking.

Preamble: "The Other Balkan Wars" is a reprint of the Report of the International Commission To Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). It was published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in May-June of 1993, under the presidentship of Morton Abramovitz.

Professor George F. Kennan has written the Introduction only for this book -date unavailable.

Quite a long time ago, almost twenty years before CEIP president, Morton Abramowitz, has brushed this book from the shelf, I have had the original in my hands, and this with the greatest care. My father, as a volunteer telegraphist was in the midst of the first book's subject.

Giving an opinion of the first and the second edition in English -I have no knowledge of any translation- is a task of the utmost seriousness. Let Good Lord help me to condense my view in less then a thousand words. At that point I will more than gladly respond to your kind offer and continue along this lines.

Sincerely, DJGB Popadich

This quaint but charming tale is by the beloved and respected Scottish storyteller, George MacDonald (At the back of the North Wind.) Originally titled, "My Uncle Peter" this Victorian Christmas story was published in 1870 and recounts the heart-tugging adventures of a badly-abused street urchin who is adopted by a kindly gentlemen, then viciously, greedily kidnapped.

MacDonald 's literature (mainly for adults) exerted a great influence on subsequent writers, who freely admit the importance of his literary legacy. C.S. Lewis regards him as his master, claiming to have quoted from him in almost all his books. JRR Tolkien used his work as a measuring stick for his own writitng in Lord of the Rings. MacDonald himself claims that he writes not for children, but for the childlike.

Named Little Christmas this pitiful waif is a character out of Dickens; she inspires both evil and generous reactions in those she meets, while suffering great injustice with stocisim. This story transports the reader back into violent times, with an ingenuous heroine and a tender benefactor. A delightful book to remind us of Christian charity and rekindle the flame of Christmas generosity.

The Vinland Map purports to be a 15th century map depicting Vikingexploration of North America centuries before Columbus. If genuine,the Vinland map is one of the great documents of Westerncivilization; if fake, it's an astoundingly clever forgery and Yale University has egg on its face. The first edition of the book in question, The Vinland Map and Tartar Relation, announced the discovery to the world in 1965. To commemorate the thirtieth anniversary, YUP published a second edition, adding a few new essays in support of the map's authenticity.

Of the controversy over its authenticity little more can be said in this review. The book itself covers some of the important objections (e.g. the presence of titanium in the ink), but slights or ignores much of the philological and historical criticism of recent years. (The web contains a certain amount of such criticism.) Lay readers may come away with the impression that the academic world is solidly behind the map, although this is far from the case.

Nevertheless, if you're interested in the Vinland Map this is the one essential book to own. It includes high-quality black and white plates of the map, together with text and translation of the legends and suchnot. The map was at one point bound with a manuscript known as the Tartar Relation (Historia Tartorum), itself a fascinating specimen of medieval geographical knowledge. As the circumstances of its production and replication are critical to the authenticity of the map, a full text and translation is also included.

Missing Joseph is testimony to Elizabeth George's ability to take the reader through the complex web of relations that constitute social life in an English community while keeping him/her enthralled with the mystery at hand. Missing Joseph is the story of the death of a small town priest. George has Lynley and St. James together with the indubitable Havers solve the problem of who killed the priest while conducting a very complex sub narrative about Deborah St. James' struggle with her preoccupation with having a child of her own. I read George's novels because I am a dedicated mystery buff and she is among the best. However, I also read her because of her downright honest sometimes brutal portrayals of women. To the already initiated, this book is a must read, for those new to the author or to the genre, it is a masterful introduction

I couldn't put Elizabeth George's "Missing Joseph" down. This is the first of this author's novels I have read, and I don't think it will be the last. In the tradition of P.D James, George is a master of fully developing all her characters, whether they be suspects or detectives. Yet George spends less time on description and more on action than James does, and so her book moves a bit faster than James's do. The characters are complex, moving, and three-dimensional. I found myself on the verge of tears several times at the plights of Polly Yarkin and Maggie Spence, and even the rather scheming and unsympathetic village constable manages to arouse my pity more than once. Deborah and Simon St. James have come to Lancashire, a small British village, for a holiday. However, the vicar Deborah had hoped to visit while there has died under suspicious circumstances. Simon summons Inspector Thomas Lynley, a British aristocrat turned CID agent, to unofficially investigate. The plots and subplots are complex and intricately woven, but in such a deft and craftsmanlike way that I never lost track of the goings-on, nor did I become bored with any of the plot lines. The obligatory red herrings are dragged across the reader's path, and the solution to the mystery comes as a shocking surprise. Unexpected though it is, the dénouement is my one complaint with this otherwise excellent book. After the fascinating character studies and excellent plotting, the solution to the mystery seems contrived and artificial; it is a "rabbit out of a hat" solution which relies on revelations which are simply narrated. The reader had no real chance to deduce them from clues hidden throughout the book. Nevertheless, it was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages to find out what happened next. An excellent yarn to curl up with on a rainy weekend!

This is definitely one of Elizabeth George's best! The character development in this book envelopes the reader in a carefully constructed storyline that keeps the reader guessing. The complicated relationships between Juliet and Colin, Juliet and her daughter Maggie, Maggie and her boyfriend, Polly & Colin etc. were fascinating (sometimes disturbing as well). George's descriptions of the countryside in England always make you feel as if you are right there with the characters. I've read 5 of her novels to date and this one is just behind In the Presence of the Enemy (which was my favourite). The only thing wrong with this book is that we didn't get to see much of Havers.

his great novel, written in 1771, is one of those books that is written so much in the present moment of its own time that it becomes a valuable and fascinating time capsule for future generations. There is no more entertaining way to visit another time and place. There is no need for you to come to the novel already knowing anything about the eighteenth century, because Smollett has his sharp observant mind and all five of his senses open to his world for you--here you will read all of the sights, sounds, tastes, touches, and most memorably of all (for better and for worse) the *smells* of what surrounds him.

The grumpy-old-man-with-a-heart-of-gold Matthew Bramble takes his family and assorted hangers-on for a tour of Great Britain, visiting Bath, London, and many other places along the way. For lovers of Scotland, you are in for a treat here, as Smollett writes this novel as an important "P.R." job for his homeland to his skeptical English readers. The descriptions of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Hebrides make you want to book your airline tickets right away; Smollett has an eye for those aspects of the Scottish landscape and Scottish people that haven't really changed in the last 250 years.

This is an epistolary novel, written entirely in the form of letters with no central narrator.
The strength of this format is that it allows the reader to see the same places and events from the (sometimes radically different) perspective of more than one person. As a result, you get comedy, tragedy, farce, romance, satire, and a good adventure story all in one enjoyable package.

One word of caution, though: because of the epistolary format and the travelogue format, you shouldn't really approach "Humphry Clinker" with the expectations of finding a strong unified plot. This is something that we get mostly from the novels of the late eighteenth century and certainly the Victorian novels of the nineteenth century. There IS a plot--a good one--but just don't expect the plot to be the star of the show. If you read it as a series of memorable and sharply drawn sketches and characters and places, and for how well it captures what is unique to the time and place in which it is written, I think you will enjoy it a great deal.

One of the great things about these Amazon customer reviews is that they can alert you to wonderful books that you would otherwise not consider reading. "Humphry Clinker" is a prime example. An eighteenth-century epistolary novel may not sound too enticing and I would guess that few people other than students whose courses oblige them to, would read it these days. Well, I am here to tell you that you should! It is social satire at its brilliant best. Smollett satirized English society mercilessly, but was even harder on his fellow Scots. The result is a novel that is a continual and wicked joy to read.

The characters are finely drawn and their correspondence is written in very individual voices. We follow their adventures as they journey through England and Scotland in the years before revolution in America and France changed the world forever. It is a world obsessed with social class, money and advantageous marriage (so why did I say it changed for ever!). There is plenty of sharp humor and a deal of profound insight into human nature. Smollett's last and best novel, it is a wise and mature journal of Mankind's folly.

Incidentally, the graphic description of the spa town of Bath will make you never want to drink spa water again. Reading that particular chapter requires a strong stomach.

Full of social satire. A comedy with pathos. Insightful verbal blunders. This picaresque book of travel letters is a hoot with a most satisfying conclusion as the characters get their come-uppance and rewards. I love the distinct and lively images that shine through the puns, word games, and allusions.

This is the second Elizabeth George book I have read. [A GREAT DELIVERENCE was the first, fortunately.] Had I read this first I would not have bought any more of her books. The first third of the book is way too long. Usually, I love descriptions of characters and they, become people I get to know and like. If I look forward to "being with" the characters, I buy more of the series. Always, I try to read a series in order, letting the author build the characters. Here, I knew several characters and still had trouble following who was talking, walking, acting, etc. On more than one occasion I was forced to go back a few pages to find out who was who. I seldom put down a book unfinished and came close here. It took me a month to read it, having stopped to read several others. In the last third, the book picked up and she seemed (to me) to return to her original style and I liked the plot. It explained a great deal more about the characters and I have ordered two more of the series to be fair. However, I still think this could have just as well been a short story!

I absolutely love Elizabeth George's writing and her characters. This book was interesting because it told us about the earlier life of Lynley, St. James, Lady Helen and Deb. We got bits and pieces of the whole situation in her previous books, but never the whole story. It helps explain a number of things and different character traits and undercurrents from previous books. And Ms. George can write! Her novels are so much more complex than simple little "who-dunits". The story takes the reader along on Ms. George's own little Magic Carpet ride, and nothing exists for us except Lynley and his friends. We even get a short preliminary look at Barbara Havers in this book. She is by far my favourite character, and I miss her absence, but realize that she wasn't part of Lynley's life during the time setting of this book. I look forward now to continuing with the storyline in subsequent books, and feel that I have a better understanding now of why Tommy thinks and acts the way he does.

This is exactly the sort of story that keeps me coming back to read more of George's "mysteries." Since her first novel in the series, A Great Deliverance, I have been fascinated by the story of Deborah and Simon St. James. Previous books have given glimpses into their past, but never told the whole story until now. Ms. George weaves her murder mysteries skillfully and the perpetrator is often a surprise, but it is her ability to combine the personal stories of her main characters with her mysteries that makes her books so engaging. If you like cut and dried murder mysteries, you won't find one here. But if you like a bit of romance, angst, and some family troubles thrown in with your mystery novels, Elizabeth George won't disappoint!