So say the signs on the back of the locker room door at Gampel Pavilion. These are the last words that the Lady Huskies see before playing home games.

Author/sports writer John Walters spent a season with the University of Connecticut's women's basketball team, the UConn Huskies. Not only did he go into the specifics of the games, he also delved into the personalities of all the players and of Coach Geno Auriemma. We learn their nuances, and how their difference work with each other to create a winning team.

This book does not describe a winning season. Nonetheless, it talks about a team of winners. As a new fan of Women's College Basketball, I found this book to be informative and fun to read. I really enjoyed it, and I hope that Walters gets the opportunity to spend another year with the Huskies to write another book!

As an avid fan of women's basketball, I get frustrated with the lack of access. TV networks show games at odd times -- when they show them at all -- and we don't get pregame and postgame shows to give us insights into the players. Therefore, I really enjoyed this glimpse behind the scenes of a top team, written by a seasoned sports writer.

We can learn all about Tennessee's teams from Pat Summitt's excellent books. Here we get a look at UT's chief rival and a coach whose style differs in style, but who is demanding nevertheless. And because we view the season through the eyes of a reporter, we get a more objective view of the team. This is the first book that talks about practice and drills. I'd read that Geno is a tough coach but also that he jokes a lot in practice -- and Waters explains how this happens.

The best part of the book (for me, anyway) was the insight into the individual team members. Diana Taurasi, dazed by the New England winter, bought three winter coats; her teammate who grew up there just had one. Perhaps the most sympathetic player is Svetlana ("Sveta") Abrosimova, who gets injured just before her parents finally make the trip from Russia. And at least one of the players is described fondly as "high maintenance."

I'd definitely recommend reading this book along with the Pat Summitt duo and the recent Nice Girls Finish First. Each team has a unique personality and each coach brings a different stle to winning. The world will be different as these competitive young women take their places in business and in the professions.

Same River Twice reads like a novel. Waters delivers high-quality journalism, creating a book that's a "must" for fans. I just wish this book were more widely distributed (why don't more libraries own copies?). When will publishers realize there's a growing market of fans of the women's teams?

As a huge UCONN fan it's not a surprise I loved this book, but you don't need to be a UCONN fan to enjoy it. I watched the 2000-2001 season unfold on television and and in newspaper reports but this book gives you the inside story. The story you can't get from television or articles. You are taken on an emotional journey through the persepective of the players, coaches, and fans. For anyone who thinks women's basketball doesn't make for a compelling story read this book...it's the story of blowout wins, heartbreaking losses, cruel injuries, and a lost chance to defend the national championship. This book is obviously a must read for any die hard UCONN fan (but by now they've already read it) so instead I reccomend it for anyone whose heard the names Sue Bird, Shea Ralph, Diana Taurasi, or Geno Auriemma and wondered why the ESPN guys mentioned them. You'll be glad you took the time to get to know them and the UCONN women's basketball program.

The Heart of Success is an intriguing book for any of us who are fascinated with success and achievement. The book takes an honest look at how a select group of incredibly gifted individuals have triumphed in the arts, athletics, business, and politics. Forty short success stories about the likes of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, NBA coach Red Auerbach, kidney dialysis inventor Belding Scribner, and the six-time Grammy-nominated opera star Frederica von Stade. While the individuals hail extremely different success stories, it is the underlying themes of will, discipline, intuitiveness, perserverence, and risk that ties these people together and makes thier stories cohesive. The Heart of Success is an easy read and one that answers questions for those of us who look at the great "achievers" in life and have always wondered how they did it.

As a teacher, I found this work to be particularly illuminating and inspiring. Often young people equate success with fame. Dr. Tripps' book is instrumental in upsetting the balance of that equation. Through his conversations with people from all walks of life, we learn that success comes from hard work, determination, dedication, talent, and, frequently, goals that extend beyond self-gratification to humanity in general. It had not occurred to me that success could have a spiritual connection, but a strong and beautiful spiritual thread ties many of these stories together. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is questioning whether success is present in his/her own life. While most of us may not achieve fame, The Heart of Success will help you evaluate the real measure of success in your own life and provide insights for understanding exactly what success can be. Read this book for information, inspiration, and guidance.

If you want to be successful, you need to associate with people who already are successful.

Through Dan Tripps' book, "The Heart of Success" you can "associate" with a number of notable achievers in all walks of life.

Part of the success I have achieved in my own life is a result of some very important associations I have formed with people who are in life where I want to be.

I found "The Heart of Success" to be an invaluable addition to my list of important associations.

.... ...to tell the truth - when I picked it up, that's what I thoughtit was [just another book on him.] The pictures in this book make it much more than that. After reading it, I can say that the pictures are wonderful, and the text compliments them well. It is not a heavy-reading book - more of a coffee-table book, but wonderful none the less. Anyone who has visited an Aikido dojo has probably seen pictures of a serious O'Sensei staring out at them from the shrine. This book has wonderful pictures of O'Sensei late in his life, "at the summit of his career as a spiritual seeker." as the book describes him. The pictures showed me a side of O'Sensei's spirit that I hadn't experienced before in other books. In these pictures, O'Sensei seems to glow, looking at time like a Taoist sage, and at other times like a playful imp (this written with the utmost respect for O'Sensei). The pictures of him smiling are a delight to see. I would encourage anyone interested in Aikido to look at this book.

As a new student to Aikido I espically enjoyed the many pictures of the master. Since I cannot meet the master, this is a beautiful collection of photos of which to know him by. One can't help but love his warm and genuine smile. There are many inspirational sayings at the end of this book, which lead the reader to aspire to leading a peaceful and constructive life.

Straight from the master. It doesn't get better than this. An outstanding book that gives you the background for learning Aikido. This book can save you many hours of dojo time in your advancement through Aikido.

Christian Mythmakers is a good overview of some of the thoughts and ideas of various Christian fantasy writers. While the chapter on John Bunyan is basically little more than a summary of Pilgrim's Progress, the rest of the book is interesting and thought provoking. The chapter on Charles Williams is a "must read" for anyone interested in or confused by Williams' work.

This book is a fascinating look at ten Christian mythmakers, that is authors who have used the power of myth to convey Christian truths in a new way. The narrative begins with John Bunyan and his seminal Pilgrim's Progress, continues through George Macdonald, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and finishes up with Madeleine L'Engle, Walter Wangerin, Robert Siegel, and Hannah Hurnard.

Professor Hein begins with a short biography of the author, and then proceeds to explain the author's work, examining its theology and significance. I found this book to be quite fascinating, with the author giving me a look at these masterpieces of Christian literature in a way that I had never thought of before. If you are a fan of any of the authors above, then I highly recommend that you get this book!

I had the privilege of taking courses under Dr Hein in the early 90's at Wheaton. He is a very knowledgeable teacher and has great affection for the people he is writing about in this book. If you have any interest in these authors, this book is a must read. I wasn't aware that he had written this book when I came across it looking for books on George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis. As an Economics major, I somehow ended up taking four Lit. classes from Dr Hein because he is such a good instructor and passionate about his subject matter.

The NASB Study Bible is simply the NIV Study Bible adapted for those who prefer the translation of the NASB to the NIV. It therefore includes all the strengths of the NIV study Bible: copious notes, cross-references, concordances, and maps, et al. Few would dispute that in a world of competitive Study Bibles, the NIV Study Bible is perhaps the finest produced by evangelicals.

Why then am I less enthusiastic about the NASB Study Bible? One simple reason: The NIV Study Bible works because the translators of the NIV produced all the notes. Many of the comments focus on the translation of the NIV itself and provide justification for difficult decisions in translation made by the translators. Adapting the notes for another translation almost seems pointless.

Admittedly, Kenneth Boa has admirably adapted the new edition for use with the NASB. Yet doubts remain. Why use notes principally designed for use with another translation? I suppose the obvious answer is that the market lacked a critical study Bible that uses the text of the NASB and that this was the cheapest route. But that raises another question: Must a Study Bible be made available in every translation to cater to everyone's diverse tastes?

Bottom line: If you want the NIV Study Bible, I recommend the NIV edition. If you absolutely must have the NASB then this compromise is certainly acceptable, even excellent, but not ideal. The NASB is one of the few translations that actually works well on its own, without an accompanying study notes because the footnotes and additional readings are so extensive.

I was glad to see Zondervan match the NIV study notes with the more accurate NASB translation. While the NIV is more readable, the NASB is more literal and therefore more helpful for study. The notes in this Bible can be trusted primarily for historical accurracy and for accurate protrayal of the various doctrinal viewpoints. The outlines and references to other passages within the study notes are very helpful also. The only drawback with these notes is that in fine points of doctrinal differences, they are somewhat ambiguous in an effort to appeal to all the different camps. All in all, a fine combination.

If you love the NASB, and are a serious student of the Word, this is the bible for you. It has the award-winning study notes of the NIV Study Bible plus the reliable New American Standard Bible translation with the 1995 update, hailed the most accurate word-for-word (while extremely readable) bible on the market. It has exhaustive center-column references. Charts on almost every bible subject possible are included. Introductions to every book of the bible are extensive and include information on the following: Style, Date, Author, Subject Matter, Cultural Information, and very indepth outlines. There are hundreds of intext maps and a very extensive chronology of the bible included at the beginning of the bible. The best thing about the study notes is that they are not biased to any particular denomination. When more than one view exists on a subject, generally at least three views are presented. Information from all kinds of archaeological and historical sources offers much needed insight to difficult passages. This is your one-stop for cultural, historical and theological information for almost every verse in scripture. I'm a youth minister and this bible is my main source of study and lesson preparation. I find that I don't need much more than this. If you're a minister or just a student of the Word, then you can't go wrong with the NASB Study Bible.

Having grown up in a small town much like Joyce's Dublin, this book has a special significance for me. I've seen so many people from my town graduating from high school without really understanding that there is an entire world outside the place they grew up and lacking the ambition to go explore it. I fear many of them will spend their lives "getting by" in a job they hate, raising children who will inevitably do the same thing. Joyce's "Dubliners" depicts this cycle with as much complexity and compassion as any author I've read.

In an age where the most publicized fiction tends to be simple-minded and genre-bound, it's refreshing to come across a writer with Joyce's complexity. "Dubliners" is so rich in its intellectual and symbolic atmosphere that many readers may be put off by the overall weight of the prose. The writing is so thick with metaphorical contexts that the literal content of the story occasionally becomes obscured, which can be frustrating for those not used to reading Joyce. Yet, while difficult, "Dubliners" is far from impossible to decipher, and although these stories function well as a whole, they are also more or less self-contained, which makes "Dubliners" easier to get through than Joyce's other works(it's a lot easier to take on a ten page short story than a 600+ page novel like "Ulysses" or "Finnegan's Wake"). For readers who are new to Joyce, this would be a good place to start.

A final note: since this book is old enough to be considered a "classic," there are a plethora of editions available from various publishers. I own the Vintage edition (ISBN: 0679739904). Not only is it a quality printing (not that cheap newspaper ink that rubs off on your fingers), it also contains about a hundred pages of criticism at the end that help shed light on Joyce's often illusive themes. Normally I shun forewards and afterwards (I like to think I've read enough to discover a story's theme on my own), but in the case of Joyce I found that a push in right direction can mean the difference between enjoyment and frustration.

The Dubliners is a collection of short stories which open the windows into the lives of the citizens of Dublin in the beginning of the twentieth century. The stories are depressing as well as uplifting. It just depends on the conclusions the reader draws from the open endings of the stories. The opportunity to finish the stories myself was actually one of the features I liked most about the entire book, but especially about the last and longest story-the Dead. The Dead sums up all the concerns and issues raised time and time again throughout the Dubliners - religion, alcohol addiction, immorality, and political instability of Ireland. In my opinion, The Dead is the key to the entire book. For me, the last sentence of The Dead as well as of the entire book, " His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow was falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead," was as much of a mystery as of a hint. It really got me thinking, because there so many ways to take it. First, did Gabriel die or not? Was just Joyce describing the last moments of Gabriel's life or was he describing the first moments of Gabriel's new life? I have always been an optimist, so many might consider my opinion biased, but I personally think that the sentence marks new beginning and new life for Gabriel. Of course, I have to admit that Gabriel had a good reason to commit suicide after realizing that his beloved wife had been in love with her dead lover for all this time, but, honestly, I do not see Gabriel as a hopeless man who would simply give up his life and future. I see him more as a man who was taught a hard lesson and learned it well. I see him more as a man whose eyes were open. I see new Gabriel as man who wants to do and not only talk about doing. Then there is the description of snow falling which is another important clue/mystery the Dead gives the reader to help him to figure out for himself if the book is truly uplifting or depressing. I personally the snow is a pointer that the ending is truly an optimistic one and that somewhere there is brighter future for everybody . Why do I think that? It is the gentle way the snow is described. It covers the world and all its problem like a white blanket. It makes everything seem so pure and clean. I cannot help thinking that Joyce used snow on purpose to help the reader draw such conclusion. But, I am sure that many other readers came to just an opposite conclusion that the snow represents a deep and abiding human truth: the essential loneliness of the soul. But that is just right because the diversity of the conclusions is the beauty of the book.

James Joyce's Dubliners is a fantastic novel. Not only is his mastery of the English language amazing but his subtle tone and format create an evoking suspense. I found my self pulled into the twisted and emotional world of Dublin and its people. Once I started one of the short stories I couldn't put it down. Each story gave great detail about it characters and its setting. Amazingly enough Joyce never left out a detail. I found myself transported to Dublin in the early 1900s. I became an intimate observer of the people and their actions. I came to know them and their thoughts or at least I thought I did. At the very end of each short story Joyce and his characters seemed to turn on me. They weren't who I thought they were and they revealed a side I didn't know existed. This side was awkward and scary but familiar. These twists gave me a brief insight into the true character of these people. I saw their human qualities; all of them especially the ones we don't want to see. The qualities even we hide from others. Each character in this novel introduces us or reminds us of unique human experiences. From the young to the old each one a new experience that evoke such emotion that its hard for even the strongest of hearts not to be effected. These experiences may not have been all that pleasant but neither was the life in Dublin. Joyce certainly shows that in his stories. But one must remember that the bad experiences are part of life. How are we to know the good unless we experience the bad? In the end some still might find this book to be dull and boring. I know a few and I can only tell them they need to look at it in another light. James Joyce himself said one of the purposes of this novel was to give the Dubliners "one good look at themselves." So in essence Joyce was not only writing a story for entertainment but a documentary for education. All documentaries have three main purposes. The first is to seek to exalt ordinary people in their ordinary experiences. Joyce showed us they were ordinary and sometimes less. Yet he brought them our level or us to theirs' and showed us their human experiences. By doing this we see how they truly are and they also give us insight into our own lives. The second purpose is to give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless. Joyce gave the people of Dublin power by giving them a voice. Through this novel the people of Dublin were able to speak out to the world and to show them how life really is for them and perhaps how to avoid such drama in our own lives. The third and final objective of documentaries is more of an idea. The idea that through tribulation we receive transcendence. The characters of this novel certainly did go through tribulation and now that we have record of it and of their humanistic experiences they will never die. We will forever have a record of these people and what they went through. This novel was a masterpiece not only for its writing but also for its insight. I found it to be provocative and suspenseful. I would suggest reading and keeping such a novel forever. So if anyone out there is looking for enlightenment Dubliners is your vessel.

This book was very concise, helpful, and to-the-point about each topic in its content list. The items are (for the most part) helpful tips that are boiled down from more complex strategies for the games discussed. A few of the items are redundant and/or are just too common sense to be part of the numbered title. But most are appropriate, important, and well described. I would have liked more general detail on money management and casino details, but it's a good beginner's primer on many games and a good supplement to other more thorough books.

Walter Thomason who wrote the excellent "21st Century Blackjack" has assembled a who's who of gambling writers to give tips on all the games. The book works! Anyone interested in a quick-hit course in casino gaming will do well to buy this book. A very good job.

Walter Thomason and other experts such as Frank Scoblete, Henry Tamburin, and John Grochowski have written a very good book. Each piece of advice is short and to the point. The book is very well designed and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get a good grounding in most of the games.

This TPB reprints Uncanny X-Men #168-176. It tells of Angel's kidnapping by the underground mutant outcast group known as the Morloks, Cyclops meets Madelyne Pyor (who is a clone of Jean Grey created by Sinister), Wolverine's marriage in Japan with Mariko and introduces Rogue into the X-Men.

This collection of stories is pretty good and the art is the standard of the time, which was in the early '80s. I still think Marvel charges way too much for their TPBs, but it doesn't really make your wallet bleed anywayz. But it's a pretty good read if you want to know some more background info on the X-Men.

A grieving Scott Summers lost his true love Jean Grey, when she killed herself to save the world from the overpowering Phoenix. Now he's met Madeline Pryor, who has an uncanny likeness to his former love...very uncanny!

Meanwhile, Wolverine prepares for his marriage to the Japanese beauty, Mariko; Storm gets a new look and becomes the leader of a unlikely group of mutants; Kitty starts exploring her love for Peter/Colossus; and an enemy seeks help from the X-Men.

I enjoy "From the Ashes." The artwork is classic and the story is entertaining and adventurous. And this is a highlight in Claremont storytelling.

If you're an X-Men fan, you'll like this.

I've been a fan of the X-Men for years and years now, and I have to say, this is one of my all time favorite X-Men graphic novels. It chronicles some truly great moments from X-Men history. The two chapters concerning the X-Men's visit to Japan, the tragic, failed wedding of Logan to Mariko, and Wolverine's ultimate battle with the Silver Samuraii, is the stuff that made X-Men one of the greatest dramatic-action comic book series of all time.

The younger generation of comics fans who got hooked during the wacky 1990's/Jim Lee/Rob Liefield/Image years will probably overlook the simplistic beauty of Paul Smith's artwork. But his subtle handling of facial expressions, his accuracy with human anatomy, and his technique for panel-to-panel storytelling is flawless. As a kid of the 80's who is now a working professional artist, I learned more about the basic craft of drawing comics from looking at Paul Smith's work in these stories than I did from "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way."

Claremont's writing here is also superb, with a good balance between the everyday, normal lives of the X-Men, to their crazy, violent adventures, to their mixed-up, emotionally turbulant personal relationships. And of course, his interweaving of many tangled subplots. X-Men books became unnecessarily talky in later years, with dialogue and captions crowding the art, but this volume presents stories from the classic era when Claremont preferred to keep the chatter to a minimum and occasionally even shut up altogether and let the artwork tell the story by itself.

And finally, the fun front-and-back cover illustrations by Art Adams, are just the icing on the cake. This one is worth every nickel.

If your swing is wild or anemic the first six lessons are worth the price of the book. Walter Ostroske takes you through a series of steps that will help you build a repeatable, reliable swing that has some oomph. His step by step approach has been a big help to me. I've taken lessons and could hit the ball well while the pro was watching, but we'd cover so much that I would quickly get it all muddled. Ostroske has a bunch of things to learn, but by learning and practicing them a few at a time I've been able to remember them and review them during my warm-up.

The remaining lessons are also useful, focusing on different aspects of the game. Some are strategic. Others describe basic techniques, such as how to get out of a sand trap. You'll find yourself coming back to the lessons several times.

With this book and "The One Minute Golfer" I've cut about a dozen strokes out of my game in the past 8 weeks.

I didn't follow the instructions in this book completely. Instead of following the 21 day program I read the book in one sitting. I was able to take several ideas from it however, and applied it during my next round of golf. I hit further and straighter. Some basic info that really works.

Based on the idea that the golf swing is similar for all clubs, this book sets out to simplify the game of golf.

This is its first plus- most books make golf so complicated that duffers like me dispair of ever breaking 100. The authors give us real hope, because the ideas work.

Each of the 21 chapters in the book is a lesson, and to get the most out of it you really need to be able to practice for up to half an hour each day for 21 days.

Don't dispair if you don't have half an hour a day. The lessons will still help you, because the book is written for the weekend golfer. It will just take longer.

Topics covered include all the usual basics, like swing, stance, grip, short game, long game, etc.

The appeal of this book is that it approaches these topics from a point which lets the 100+ golfer see simple ways to improve.

It also accepts the fact that if you are a 100+ golfer now, you will never realistically be able to out drive Long John Daley, or any other big hitter. So it teaches you to develop an intelligent, controlled game, rather than trying to blast "the little white rascal" out of sight.

I thoroughly recommend this as a golf "primer". But even if you regularly go round in under 100, you will find tips here which will lower your score even further.

There are a lot of good study Bibles and several reliable modern translations to choose from. I've settled with the NIV study Bible because I find that it possesses the best mix of all the features that make a study Bible useful. It may be debatable whether the NIV is the most accurate translation, but it is certainly a reliable and responsible translation while being the easy to read. The notes do not interpret the Scripture but instead provide observational data such as definitions of words, background information about people, places, and events, and point to other related passages. Multiple explanations or views are provided in the notes on tricky or controversial passages. It comes with a large concordance plus a subject index for both the Bible and the notes. The timelines, many maps, charts, introductions, and outlines are also very helpful. I also appreciate the blank pages in back for my own notes. When traveling without any Bible study resources other than this study Bible I have been amazed at how much I can rely on it. Whichever Bible you choose, may you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you and assist in learning more about our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The NIV Study Bible is of outstanding value for providing readers a greatly enhanced understanding of The Bible.

1. GENERAL EVALUATION: There are many Study Bibles on the market. Including the NIV Study Bible [Zondervan Press], I own and use three. While my two other versions, one is the older RSV and the other the newer NRSV, give some information to explain the more difficult to understand passages and add commentaries, none go into the depth that the NIV does. The commentaries and explanations in the NIV Study Bible are, to say the least, profuse. Yet, not overwhelming in long elucidations that tend to make you forget what you just read. Rather, the commentaries are brief, to the point and very well develop understanding. The commentaries are not biased toward any single religious canon. They are simply information. Commentaries are cross-referenced, thus allowing the reader to gain further insight from related passages.

2. FORMAT: The page format is exceptionally well planned and implemented. The design is the traditional two-column format with references in a column between the texts. The commentaries are located at the bottom of the page to which they refer. The type font is large enough to easily read and is crisp.

Icons are used to quickly identify to what the commentary refers. These icons are: Character Profile, Archeology and Personal Application.

Maps relating to the particular text are on the same page as are diagrams. The four-color maps, located at the back of the book, are excellent. There are also time lines to assist the reader in grasping the time frames.

3. SUGGETSIONS: The following comments/suggestions may only apply to those who embark on an in depth study of the Bible. Since The New Testament documents were originally in Greek, a wise choice of a companion Bible to further augment the NIV Study Bible would be the NSRV-NIV Interlinear Greek and English Bible. The NRSV and the NIV texts are on either side of the Greek text in three columns. Under the Greek, is a word for word translation. Greek of New Testament times was a rich, scholarly language and some words, like English, had varying meanings and implications. A Greek Lexicon would be helpful to understand those shades of meaning.

4. CONCLUSION: No matter for what reason(s) any person cares to study The Bible, the NIV Study Bible, in my opinion, is the most readable and understandable on today's market. For those of you who may wonder about my qualifications to comment on this Bible, my minor was theology. My studies included Greek and Hebrew; I base my opinions on those studies and having read many-many works on the Bible, the culture of the times and recent archeological finds.

I think many evangelicals know the Bible only in terms of life application. They don't know the difference between God and God the one and Only (see John 1:18 NIV), nor concern themselves with theological or historical aspects of the Bible. The NIV study Bible should help change this. Its notes are concise, numerous, and very informative. When I got this Bible, it opened up a whole new area of fascinating biblical study that perviously I had overlooked. The translation of the NIV is readable and for the most part accurate (though they sacrifice literalness for the sake of readability a lot). The notes represent the conservative side of theology and I agree with most of what they say, though I always have other versions on hand to broaden the depth of study. My only real big complaint is the lack of the deuterocanon. Though I do not consider the books to be 'inspired' scripture, I do believe for a complete study of the Bible they should be consulted. Maybe in a future addition they will be included. If people ask me which Bible to buy, I usually say this one.