"David Walker's Appeal" was one of the most extraordinary documents of the 19th century United States. The author, David Walker, was a free black man who used this tract to expose and denounce racism. Walker published 3 editions of the pamphlet from 1829 to 1830, the year he was found dead--possibly the victim of a political assassination. The Black Classics Press edition contains an informative introduction by James Turner.

The "Appeal" contains a preamble and four "Articles." Each of the Articles targets a phenomenon that contributes to the oppression of African Americans: slavery, ignorance, the "Preachers of the Religion of Jesus Christ," and the "Colonizing Plan."

Walker's tone is bold, but at times he sounds frenzied, even maniacal. In his more outraged moments, he sounds like a 19th century religious fanatic. Consider this statement from Article III: "O Americans! Americans!! I call God--I call angels--I call men, to witness, that your DESTRUCTION is at hand, and will be speedily consummated unless you REPENT." But if you can read such outbursts in context, you will find the book as a whole to be an incisive, intelligent analysis of a racist societal superstructure.

Particularly important is Walker's harsh condemnation of white Christian preachers and institutions who promoted the oppression of black people. Walker reminds us that the "status quo" forces in American Christianity were key pillars of white supremacy. Overall, "David Walker's Appeal" is a crucial document which deserves a wide contemporary audience.

Intelligent, honest, straightforward, this book actually came close to bringing tears to my eyes on several occasions. Mr. Walker, while a religious man, confirmed a lot of the things I prepondered were true about america. There is nothing "MILITANT" about this book- He candidly points out the EVIL he was exposed to in this country and some of the horrors he witnessed himself. Here are a few quotes

"America is more our country, than it is the whites-we have enriched it with our blood and tears. The greatest riches in all America have arisen from our blood and tears: -- and will they drive us from our property and homes, which we have earned with our blood? They must look sharp or this very thing will bring swift destruction upon them. The Americans have got so fat on our blood and groans, that they have almost forgotten the God of armies. But let the go on."

"Do they think to drive us from our country and homes, after having enriched it with our blood and tears, and keep back millions of our dear brethren, sunk in the most barbarous wretchedness, to dig up gold and silver for them and their children? Surely, the Americans must think that we are brutes, as some of them have represented us to be."

He goes on with ACTUAL MURDERS in Boston- one in the Boston Street Church where an African-american male was murdered. YEs, inside of a Church. To all African-americans, you MUST read this book. He cared. He witnesses the horrible murder and crimes of those people, right around the time of their "great forefathers" LOL. Published 1829.

An early and powerful indictment of racism. One can feel the anger of the author as he relates what white men committed in the name of greed, patriarchy, and race hatred. As a feminist who is also a white woman, I side completely with African Americans who are combatting the continuous tide of racism in this country, which the author singles out in his discourse. An absolutely extraordinary book, one that needs to be read.

Loren D. Estleman has talent to burn and it shows in his first novel featuring private detective Amos Walker (originally published in 1980). Like any good P.I., Walker doesn't work the streets of his native Detroit, he INHABITS them. Also like any good P.I., Walker drinks a little too much despite his cynicism, cares a little too much and his personal life leaves a lot to be desired. The plot is more complex than is the norm with such stories, and perhaps it pushes credibility a bit towards the end. Nevertheless, Estleman has both talent and style to burn. He is among the best at using metaphors to describe the action.

Fans of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder, George Pellaconos's Nick Stefanos and Johnathan Valin's Harry Stoner will love Amos Walker.

if you like it noir, you'll like it Estleman

I am a new reader to this genre. I chose this book because I was looking for a "thriller" with a female heroine. While I did NOT find this book a "thriller," in terms of not being able to put it down, the story did keep moving right along, and I did find it to be a very interesting mystery. While I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in Indian lore and the southwest, I would equally recommend it to readers who aren't particularly interested in this setting, as well. Overall, a very enjoyable book.

I am a new reader to this genre. I chose this book because I was looking for a "thriller" with a female heroine. While I did NOT find this book a "thriller," in terms of not being able to put it down, the story did keep moving right along, and I did find it to be a very interesting mystery. While I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in Indian lore and the southwest, I would equally recommend it to readers who aren't particularly interested in this setting, as well. Overall, a very enjoyable book.

As an avid Tony Hillerman fan, I loved this book. It may even surpass many of his efforts. The story grabs you from the start and makes one want to read it through without stopping. Hopefully, we will now have a more steady flow of Navajo-Rez mysteries and lore with both Hillerman and the Thurlo's churning them out.

These authors are well-established as the premier non-fiction authors of "Doctor Who". Here, we are presented with another familiar book in a familiar format, which works without being outstanding.

The pentultimate volume in the Doctor Who Handbook series contains exhaustive detail about all of the adventures of the Doctor as portrayed by Patrick Troughton. Since so many of this era's episodes are lost, the detailed summaries are invaluable to modern day lovers of sixties' Doctor Who. As with previous Handbooks behind the scenes and production information is presented along with the often diverse opinions of the three authors on each of the stories as televised.

The second Doctor handbook is invaluable to Dr. Who fans. It continues with the way the other volumes in the Dr. Who handbooks have always been. But this one is ever more so different than the others. It's production details of how the second Doctor was concieved is very interesting, because such a thing had never been done before on changing the lead actor in a TV series with a completely different actor, but yet as the same character (with a new persona than the previous Doctor), was completely unheard of. A huge risk at the time for the BBC, unsure if the regular viewers of the show would accept this change. Reading about this is very unique to know. The usual handbook format is here, and this book's story production focus is on the sixth season story "The Mind Robber" (1968).

The one aspect that is very much priceless is the episode story summaries. These are very good, as I could almost imagine that they were on TV again. Also, the fact that almost all of the Patrick Troughton era of Dr. Who episodes was virtually wiped out from the BBC archives, makes these story summaries ever more so good to read about.

Another great book in the Dr. Who handbook series. The author trio of David J. Howe, Mark Stammers, and Stephen James Walker continue with their reputation as the definitive research team on Doctor Who's history. This was the sixth volume in the series, published in 1997.

edville, Louisiana s going through some major changes, changes that will effect their lives. Bob Comeaux, Van Dorn, and Max Gottlieb are heading up a top-secret operation, in the hope of bettering the community. Walker Percy writes The Thanatos Syndrome with the intentions of having the reader contemplate the little contamination of every day life. The aforementioned men head a study that puts heavy doses of sodium in the town's water supply. This causes the drinkers of the water to be set back to a nearly primal stage, but that's not the case. Dr. Tom Moore notices bizarre behavior patterns in his patients, friends, and even his wife. Moore had been is prison for selling drugs to truck drivers to help them stay awake, and had not witnessed the change in people. He finds out that someone has been contaminating the citizens of Fedville with extraordinary amounts of sodium. Moore finds himself in a whir pool of problems, from the strange activity in the town, to a strange ring of child-molesters in the school that his children attend. In the end the Thanatos Syndrome, probes every thing from Euthanasia, to improving society. Ultimately, this book asks, "Can you improve a society from the outside?" Walker Percy's book is witty and insightful, yet slow in some places, the reader should also be aware that it is very graphic. The book probes American culture very well and confronts the reader with the controversial topic, death towards the betterment of society.

Walker Percy, M.D. struck his final blow at utopian social engineers with "The Thanatos Syndrome". He skillfully draws the connection between the population control groups of today and the cultured Germans of the Weimar Republic and their joint enthusiasm for eugenics and abortion solutions. With that theme playing itself out in the background, he pursues the exciting plot that asks the question: If you could put something in the water that would destroy freewill, but provide perfect order to society, should you? Launch yourself into this rare combination of thriller and deep cultural examination for a great read!

The novel The Thanatos Syndrome by Walker Percy is a captivating story about the incredible powers of the human mind, and the destruction that is possible when one manipulates this precious system. Dr. More, fresh from incarceration for illegal drug distribution, challenges a group of his medical collegues who have created a project to alter the mental capabilities of the citizens of the town of Feliciana by adding sodium to the town's drinking water supply. This altering of the mind creates a deep moral conflict. The citizens are unaware of the experiment being perfomed on them, and therefore their rights are being violated. The sodium also causes both positive and negative effects in society, so the ethical benefits must be weighed agains the negative side effects. The twisted finale to the book leaves the reader questioning his or her own beliefs and moral views.

This is a very detailed book covering many years and topics regarding the history of the mainstream Christian church. It does tend to meander back to Catholicism most of the time, but they are the leading Christian group.
Overall, a very worthwhile book if you try not to get bogged down with all the dates and names put forth. From my limited experience, I think this is also a very thorough book which has gone through several revisions to keep it current.
Except for the fact I needed this for a class, I would not have purchased it at full price, or close to full price.

I once heard a taped lecture in which the late church historian John Gerstner recommend Williston Walker's text as the best single volume work on the history of Christian Church that one could find. I have since concluded that Gerstner's assessment is correct. Any single volume work that attempts to cover such a broad and complex field is bound to suffer from gaps and over generalizations, but I must say that Walker, and his later revisers, have nonetheless done a fantastic job with the material covered. One of this book's strengths is the way it successfully ties together both theological issues and the broader historical context as they played a role in shaping the doctrine, life, and practice of the Church. There are a about nine maps scattered throughout, but apart from these there is nothing else in the way of images, just meaty text. An extensive bibliography can be found in the back of the book that is nicely divided up by periods, with each period further divided into various topical categories such as, "Sources and Documents," or "Thought and Theology." It should be noted, however, that this bibliography has not been updated since around 1984.

Despite the fact this is a one volume survey, I do not think this work is for the casual reader looking for a light introduction to church history. I don't mean to suggest that it is difficult reading, because I think it is actually written very well. It just seems to me that this text's appeal and value will be for the serious student who desires a more scholalry survey.

A History of the Christian Church by Williston Walker was first published in 1918 and has gone through significant revision over the years. This is the fourth edition and includes the latest scholarship in the field of Christian history. The book is the major text for many seminary and university courses on the subject and with good reason, it includes quality research and scholarship. If you are a serious student of the subject you will enjoy the book and find it helpful in your own research. If you are a novice or casual inquirer, I recommend you look elsewhere. It does not offer a smooth flow through history like other texts of this nature. On the spectrum of Christian scholarship, the text is on the liberal end. The reading is more difficult than most introductory texts. Also, the book does not seem to give equal print to subjects of equal value to the history of the world wide Church. Yet, for the serious student of church history, it is an outstanding resource.

A really interesting book with some great information. The main problem is the writers begin to think that their 'opinion' of the show really matters. The factual stuff is great but when their opinion of some of the seasons begins to cloud the judgement of some of these facts it becomes a problem- example being their description of why some seasons rated beter than others. Despite this it is better than a lot of DW related stuff. Long live the 5th Doctor!

This is a wonderful book which is complete with just about everything you could ask about Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. The reason it got 4 stars instead of 5? No photos. To be truly complete it needed photos of the Doctor himself and also of his companions.

Nevertheless, this is a fantastic book which is well worth buying if you can get your hands on one. Add it to your collection.

When the hugely popular Tom Baker announced that he was leaving the role and show "Doctor Who", the producers of that show knew that they had a big problem. Both Baker's long tenure and strong personality had resulted in most fans thinking of him as the only Doctor, rather than the 4th. The producers, taking a rather risky move, decided to cast an actor that was the exact opposite of Baker's interpretation. Years later, many are still debating whether or not this was a good idea.

The "Handbook" series provide a detailed behind the scenes view of the Doctor Who show, including many insights into the development of the characters, and the difficulties faced. My favorite section is the scene by scene disectiion of an episode by the show's creative team.

A must for the serious Who fan.

This book has reviews of the concepts in chapter, mathematical help and some guide to solving some of the problems in each chapter. If you think you are not really understanding the material, this book is somewhat useful. It might be more useful to get help from a tutor or a t.a. The student solution guide that wiley also offers was more helpful for me in understanding how to do a lot of the problems.

This has good solutions to the problems, usually of varied type and usually very helpful. The only problem is that on average about 5 or 6 problems are worked out per chapter and it would be nice to have more.

It is simple and objective. It's a book where the reader dosen't need a professor to learn physics. Good ilustrations and great examples of how physics can be usefull in our lives.

This volume is only 59 pages in length, and does not contain nearly enough information about what the kahunas believed and practised.

For a HUNA reading list; please see me HUNA listmania list. Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

THIS BOOK IS SHORT BUT SWEET. IT IS HISTORICAL AND PRICELESS IN MY OPINION SINCE A TRUE KAHUNA WROTE IT. KAHUNA BRAY'S PHILOSOPHY IS OUTLINED BY LOW. IN MY EXTENSIVE READING ON RELIABLE SOURCES OF KAHUNAISM (NANA I KE KUMU,MALO, I'I, KAMAKAU, KUPIHEA, MELVILLE,JOURNALS,ETC), THIS BOOK FILLS IN MANY GAPS AND IS A GREAT ADDITION TO ONE'S KNOWLEDGE ON HAWAIIAN CULTURE AND KAHUNAISM. I AM A NATIVE HAWAIIAN PHYSICIAN PUBLISHED ON TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN MEDICINE AND CONSIDER THIS BOOK A KEEPER.

It helped me a lot with my science project. It was very informative but simple enough for the average person to understand,

For any one with an intrest in infectious diseases this book tells and engaging story of science and discovery.