In Richard Hunt's "Murder Benign," an archaeologist's last day seems to be devoted to cultivating suspects for his impending murder. First, he is in an accident when he hits a biker. As it is, the biker belongs to a group that is especially upset about the lack of diligence motorists exhibit with regard bikers. Then the archaeologist upbraids two students on a dig when they find a clay tablet with cuneiform writing--a tablet the archaeologist is certain must be a hoax.

Before long, Detective Chief Inspector Sidney Walsh and his team are investigating the archaeologist's murder and trying to whittle down the list of suspects. A great deal of their job involves setting up several stakeouts, one of which leads to an incredibly funny scene.

"Murder Benign" is very well written, and Hunt keeps the pace moving quickly, dangling enough mysteries to keep the pages turning toward the resolutions (though not all are revealed, unfortunately). In the end, I found myself more interested in the authenticity (or lack of the same) of the tablet than in the killer's identity. Since I have no particular expertise in archaeology, I think that fact stands as some level of praise for the book.

I am a career coach with eight years of experience working with people wanting a new career - a better fit with their talents, more meaningful, a better work environment. If you want to choose a career that will be very fulfilling as well as something you will be successful at, forget about "Parachute". It just doesn't have the depth and wisdom it takes to coach you through this most important life decision.

Another career counselor who reviewed "Parachute" recommended that you get two other books instead. I agree. They are "The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success" by Lore, and "Do What You Are" by Tieger. "The Pathfinder" is the best career decision book ever, the seminal text, the masterpiece on the subject - this is, if you are serious about having a great life and unwilling to put up with less. I also agree with the other reviewer that "Parachute" is a great job hunting book, but only if you know exactly what job you are looking for. Reading "Parachute" takes some of the fear and uncertainty out of job hunting. But if you are trying to decide what to do with your life, forget about "Parachute".

I found this book extremely helpful in evaluating certain criteria that was important to me in terms of a working environment that I didn't realize was so important. You do have to do the excercises for it to have any meaning. It is easy to read and if you really need a starting point, I think it is worth it.

I owned various copies of this book many years ago but was not ready to tap into the potential I sensed it would release in me. Instead I pursued a long path toward education and training as a counselor, but then came to a threshold that I couldn't step over. Job stress prompted me recently to take vacation, and I spent many hours soul searching using this book. The various exercises led me to articulate my vision and renewed my energy to continue on a path I'd spent years pursuing. The result was a confirmation of what I intuitively knew about my vocation and increased confidence to act. The section on networking, researching, interviewing, and negotiating gives practical guidance. Lastly, the section on "finding one's mission in life" provides gentle discourse that accommodates and respects the reader who does not necessarily share the author's religion. Now that I have effectively used this guide, I plan to share the strategies in my new position as an employment specialist working with mentally ill adults. I am grateful to Mr. Bolles for his dedication to this work and for inspiring hope through his pragmatic optimism.

Middleton and Walsh demonstrate a solid knowledge of the postmodern (poststructuralist) critique of truth. And they are correct is asserting that this critique must be dealt with as Christians, not dismissed. I would even join them in agreeing that truth, though it may exist, cannot be known without the uncertainty generated by our contextualized perspectives on truth.

However, I disagree with the step that Middleton and Walsh take in casting the claims of Christianity as therefore preferable over other claims because of the salutary benefits of Christian claims. In other words, the inaccessibility of truth may result in power-backed claims to truth winning out over the truth claims of the weak simply because it's all about power, but I don't agree that Christianity should therefore get positive points because it is the religion of the weak and marginalized.

That's rhetoric, or sophistry. Christianity deserves an audience for its claims because many of its claims reflect the completely legitimate conclusions to be drawn from a real story that began long ago and continues today. That is the story of the relationship between God and man. This story is recounted by many people - by Jewish leaders during Seder meals, by the Biblical authors, by Brian McLaren in his recent book The Story We Find Ourselves In, and so on.

Each of these people bring their perspectives to their retelling of the story, but the story exists in external reality just as much as your computer screen does. The story must be engaged with - to completely deny the story requires doubting consciousness and thereby doubting the presence of reality. And that's a legitimate conclusion, as long as your honest about its implications for your life.

The humility that a poststructuralist brings to discourse over the stories that comprise reality, a humility generated by awareness of one's perspective, is what animates a postmodern approach to Christian theology. Middleton and Walsh's approach is animated by the rhetorical strategies of those who seek to capitalize on the newfound inaccesibility of truth by portraying their truth claim as more beneficial or salutary than others.

Walsh and Middleton, famed for their work on The Transforming Vision, have continued in their endeavor to wrestle with Christian faith in light of our present culture.

By starting off with an excellent overview of how we came to be in the state we now know as "postmodernity", Walsh and Middleton write a scathing attack on modernity. The reader becomes relived when we can appreciate that in fact there are many good things to which we may bid farewell in modernity. The concept of the autonomous, objective self is replaced by cultural and worldview lenses. Here is where Walsh and Middleton are strongest and where this is in many ways a continuation of The Transforming Vision - they employ the concept of the "Wordview" to show that Christianity is also one among many worldviews.

How this worldview is enacted in culture is the second part of the book. Ultimately, it is not just a "view" but a perspective that is told through stories - narratives. The Christian story is a narrative through which we continue to live out.

This is where the more dubious idea of the "biblical metanarrative" is described in the book. Postmodernity is precisely a rejection of ANY metanarrative, particularly the modern metanarrative of the objective, autonomous human who can manipulate nature and know truth objectively. And it is a metanarrative that has often co-opted Christian faith over the past few hundred years. While Walsh and Middleton acknowledge that this is true, they nonetheless make a case that the best way to express the Christian faith is to live out the biblical metanarrative of the faith in our culture. I find their argument that a maetanarrative can be proclamed as normative to not be entirely convincing. They argue that by its nature of being an inclusive, non-human centred narrative that it can appeal to the postmodern mind. I do not see how this is going to be convincing as a normative claim.

With that said, it is one of the better books to wrestle with the philosophies of our age. And I applaud them for it.

I loved reading this book. It begins with a review of modernity, and explains how it is based on "the progress myth." Essentially the notion that science will win out. It accepts the pitfals of this position and then develops the postmodern response. The authors then point out that postmodernity is also based on a flawed myth. Orthodox christianity is developed as an alternative- based on a true myth. Much better than a call to return to the good old days.

This book is about 70 pages of recruiting information and 125 pages of addresses and phone numbers of schools. Given the fact that 25 pages are made available with the "look inside" feature, you can read 1/3 of the book online and get the names, phone numbers, and addresses of schools using the web or at the library.

The book provided some decent information at best, but when I got to page 80? and realized the book was over, I didn't feel very good and I certainly didnt need 125+ pages of addresses of schools I have no need to call or no desire to call..

"Everything you need to know about college sports recruiting" is a very thorough presentation of the college sports recruiting process. The chapters are ordered in a logical and easy-to-read format.The pages are filled with invaluable information to help the prospective recruit make sense in an often tumultuous process. However, this book is not just a descriptive analysis of the reruiting process. The author, Jim Walsh, shows the importance of planning the whole recruiting experience. The author challenges the reader to set goals, and to realistically evaluate these goals. Co-inciding with this, Walsh offers many insights into what standards coaches at various colleges use to determine a successful recruit. Another major appeal of the book is the emphasis Walsh places on academic performance relating to the recruiting process.The author shows that academic performance will likely be a determining factor in the quality of the school that is attained.In fact,Jim Walsh shows that strong academic performance will open many doors not otherwise possible with mediocre athletic performance. Emphatically, the author embraces the "student-athlete" philosophy. The "student-athlete" philosophy make this book an ideal purchase for both the prospective high school recruit and the parents of the prospect!Additionally, the book offers a number of insights for parents to be aware of during the sports recruiting process. Finally, the author does an excellent job in

matching a player's talent with a particular school program. He encourages readers not to overlook the Division two and three schools, offering a number of personal stories of players who went on to have successful professional careers. This is a comprehensive book that offers many insights for the prospective college sports recruit.It is highly recommended for the prospective high school recruit and to the parents of the recruit.