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.

This guide provides excellent pre-retirement planning suggestions. Has traps, obstacles and helpers outlined for quick review and advice. Has a number of "tools" in the form of worksheets to assist in planning for both before and after retirement events. Presents a number of post-retirement ideas with several suggestions of how to manage and/or increase your income in retirement. Authors are somewhat short on information for the mid 50's retiree concerning how to access 401k and IRA funds without penalty between 55 and 59 1/2. No info on what forms are needed and where they are available, or what needs to be filed and where. Has one slight reference in the appendix on how to accomplish withdrawals without penalty. Having read a number of retirement planning books available on the bookshelf, I found this volume excels in providing useful information not found in similar guide books.

Although this book deals with many aspects of retirement and retirement planning, what distinguishes it from the dozens of similar books I have read is a truly outstanding calculator for determining how much money will be available then and how much needs to be saved or invested to eliminate any shortfall. It includes pensions, social security, and savings and investments. It factors in life expectancy, income sources that will automatically increase with inflation and those that won't, savings and investment growth rates, withdrawl rates that must increase with inflation(which--unbelievably--some calculators don't consider). It allows for early retirement (that is, it doesn't factor in social security until it's available). Similarly, it allows for staggered commencement of retirement income sources (for example, a pension that starts at age 65 while you may start social security at age 62). I've not found another calculator that does ALL of these things! I couldn't recommend it more highly.

This guide really lays out, step by step, how to think and act to plan your retirement. I found this a surprisingly quick read, comprehensive, easy to understand and specific -- from spending, lifestyle, insurance, investing issues. The book makes a great gift for friends or parents because too many of us are not paying attention to the easy "Action Items" that each chapter ends with. Highly recommended!

At the time of William Harvey writing this book he was laughed at and riduculed for his beliefs of circulation of the blood. The people at this time were so intwined with Galenic medicine that there was no way Harvey could have been right with his discovery. If you want to see how the thinking was with this subject at this time of civilizations then this book will be wonderful. If you just want some basic history of medicine then this book will be outstanding to you. I highly recommend it.

A modern reader of Harvey's most famous and important work, "On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals," cannot help but be amazed at the methodical, precise way he goes about demonstrating his thesis. His method is not purely "scientific" in the sense we know it today, but it does represent a great step toward the scientific method. Harvey himself would disagree on this point--he viewed the then-current crop of scientific theorists (Descartes, Bacon, et al.) with disdain. He considered himself a philosopher, and judging by his remarkable adherence to Aristotelian principles, one might be willing to grant him that. History, of course, has judged him to be a scientist and a physician, however, and we have learned to think of him exclusively in those terms. Not that this is a negative or even largely incorrect judgement; it just fails to take into account the full extent of William Harvey the man, and his motivations for inquiry. I think the only proper way to view him is as a transition point between Aristotelian natural philosophy and the scientific method. This book is a remarkable document because it is both a crucial turning point in the history of ideas and proof that those ideas were not so far apart as we have been led to believe.

This softcovered text is an excellent compliment to Tintinalli's reference textbook. This text is also endorsed by ACEP. If you are a resident like me and you are preparing for the boards or if you are an EP practicing in a rural or general ER you will appreciate this book. It has all the in depth pediatric information that you would need without many of the ultra rare diseases that a dedicated pediatric EP needs to know. The set up of the text and it's sections/chapters should be familiar to anyone that owns Tintinalli. The chapters are easy to read and very well referenced. There are several well reproduced images to complement the text. There are no color plates, but the B+W images are adequate (x-rays etc). It would be nice and appropriate if the next edition would have color photos of pediatric rashes, but this is something that I suppose can be seen in many other sources. Nonetheless, a pediatric EM text should have this. The trauma and intoxication sections are particularly well done and provide information information not found in "adult" EM texts, like Rosen and Tintinalli. For the price, it is a very good investment.

The "Pediatric Emergency..." writen by Strange et al. (and
supported by the ACEP, what is not a minor fact) is a very
useful resource for the non-emergency pediatrician. The book
has a concise format and a practical approach for students,
interns, family and emergency phisicians. Very Good.

I will admit that I have not read this book cover to cover, but I have used it rather as a reference tool, and so far, it has never let me down. It contains an even spread of the simple and the technical when descibing all aspects of the human skeletal system, leaving the reader to find the relevant information. It is well illustrated with simple, labelled line-drawings, rather than the highly detailed renderings of some other texts, making memorisation and reproduction easier for the student. Skeletal anatomy is well covered and well ordered, with references provided. The appendix, which contains "Muscle origins, insertions, innervations, blood supplies and principal actions" is, I believe, one of the books strongest aspects, and is well set out; easy for memorisation.
Students will benefit from this book.

I am a chiropractic student and used this book for my spinal anatomy and gross anatomy classes. It made the information easier to understand. My study group and I also used the following which is also on amazon: Spinal Anatomy Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers by Patrick Leonardi
ISBN: 0971999600
The study guide had the type of questions that were asked on my spinal anatomy and gross anatomy tests. We all passed the class. These two books are must buys.

This book documents the friendship and political careers of two of the Confederacy's most important statesmen. Davis does a nice job of providing historical detail while also weaving a readable story. However, at times, the prose is too informal and almost needlessly dramatic. Moreover, much of the history is quite derivative, as I learned very little new information about the men in question or the political tenets of the Confederacy. His previous book, "A Government of Our Own," is a much better historical treatment.

Toombs and Stephen examplify the problems within the Confederate
government. These incredibly close friends of the strong Georgia delegation were powerful national political figures whose bitterness over personal issues, Toombs, and Stephens' strict constitutional views undermined the Davis administration. Stephens never seriously worked with the dominating Davis and was later opposed to the administration over constitutional issues in the face of bigger war emergencies. Toombs loses the opportunity to become the first President by his bellicose enthusiams for the office coupled with drink which lowers his place in the new government and raises Stephens' star. Excellent description of both men including Toombs rise as Secretary of State, his anti-Davis stance and his mercurial and short military career. The author also covers the end of the era of both men including Stephens' attempts to rewite history in a light more favorable to him then his actions were in reality. These two powerful men and closest of friends could not see the big picture of the war seeking their narrow views in spite of the war effort. Together with Governor Brown of Georgia, they represented a crisis of independence within the Confederacy that no doubt contributed to the fall of the Confederate government.

What a delightful little book! And frankly, I don't often use the term "delightful" in a book review. *The Union That Shaped the Confederacy* is a swiftly-paced, lightly written work that details the friendship of a pair of Georgians - Robert Toombs and "Little Alec," Alexander Stephens.

It is very important to know exactly what you are not getting with this book. You will not get a standard biographical treatment of Stephens and Toombs, and author Davis makes this abundantly clear from the outset. You will not receive great insights into the minds and thinking of these two men, but will come to appreciate the antebellum, war-time, and post-bellum periods of American history as these two men saw it.

William C. Davis does not attempt to make his subjects either heroes or villains on the Confederacy's stage. They were what they were - friends who for the most part held similar political beliefs, worked for the same ends, and became, as the war progressed, more and more bitterly opposed to the administration of Jefferson F. Davis.

Because of the nature of the work, the reader receives a slice of Civil War-era history from a perspective he or she would not likely get. Along the way, one receives insights into the functioning (and dysfunction) of the Confederacy's Executive Branch, as well as the building of the "loyal opposition" to Davis's administration. We see the strengths and weaknesses of these two prominent Georgians, as they struggled to establish a new nation out of the old.

Davis's writing style is loose and fast, and almost reads as if a good friend is telling a story of another pair of friends. To some, this may be distracting, but I found it to be just part of the story. *The Union That Shaped the Confederacy* can be read quickly, with a great sense of satisfaction. This book comes highly recommended.

This book is an excellent explanation of the case for Brushy Bill Roberts as Billy the Kid. The authors do a good job of seperating fact from fiction and using all available information to dig to the bottom of Brushy Bill's identity. Before I traveled to Hico, Texas and purchased this book, I didn't beleive the claim of Brushy Bill. Even though I am still not %100 convinced about Brushy Bill, I believe the evidence is heavily on his side. It seems to me that the authors and supporters of Brushy Bill as Billy The Kid have been tormented and shunned by the supporters of Pat Garrett and the New Mexico travel industry. Through all of this torment, the supporters of Brushy Bill have stood firm. You should decide who is on the right side of this battle for yourself. You dont even have to go to Hico, Texas to get it like I did.

BRUSHY BILL DID NOT SEEK ATTENTION TO HIS REAL IDENITY, HE TRIED TO HIDE IT ALL HIS LIFE, ONCE BILL MORRISON CONFRONTED HIM HE ACKNOWLEDGED WHO HE WAS...HE KNEW TO MUCH ABOUT LINCOLN COUNTY WAR TO HAVE NOT BEEN THERE. HIS GENEALOGY HAS ESTABLISHED ALL OF THE SURNAMES HE USED AND ANYBODY THAT HAS READ THIS BOOK AND THE 4 BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM WOULD HAVE TO CONCLUDE THAT HE WAS THE KID. I HAVE READ ALL 5 BOOKS THAT I KNOW OF THAT DEAL WITH BRUSHY BILL AND AFTER READING THE FIRST 4, THAN READING THE RETURN OF THE OUTLAW BILLY THE KID I'M MORE CONVINCED THAN EVER OF WHO HE WAS. TRADITIONAL HISTORY SHOULD BE RE-WRITTEN. POLITICS & MONEY DEMAND THAT THE TRUTH NOT BE KNOWN. LINCOLN NEW MEXICO'S BIGGEST MONEY MAKER IS THE BILLY THE KID LEGEND AND, IF THE TRUTH WERE KNOWN THEY WOULD NO LONGER HAVE THE TOURIST FLOCKING TO LINCOLN. W.C. JAMESON & FREDERIC BEAN DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF PICKING UP WHERE THR OTHER AUTHORS LEFT OFF.

At last, some solid science has been applied to the controversy regarding who was killed by Pat Garrett. William Henry "Bushy Bill" Roberts was Billy the Kid, as shown by the computer comparisons of faces conducted by the University of Texas, making them a statistical "match". This is a noteworthy continuation of the work by Harvard Ph.D. Charles L. Sonnichsen who wrote Alias Billy the Kid in 1955, showing Roberts could quite possibly be the Kid. Now computer science has answered the long-debated question. Garrett shot the wrong man. All these years people have relied on the doubtful word of Ash Upson and his fanciful tale of a Robin Hood-type figure, with no facts to support any of his claims regarding the Kid. This is a compelling book filled with facts and statistically valid comparisons of the two images. Only the die-hards now believe the Kid is buried at Fort Sumner. He lies in a pauper's grave in Hamilton County, Texas, having died peacefully of a heart attack in 1950. Garrett, and his ghost writer Upson, were both frauds, and modern science has given us undeniable proof. A great read for those with an open mind!!

This is generally not considered one of the better plays of Aeschylus; yet, I did enjoy it, even though there is very little action. Perhaps it is because it dealt with a subject of contemporary interest to its original audience. In fact, it is the oldest surviving play based on an event of recent history. The play was first produced in 472 B. C., only eight years after the Battle of Salamis. The speech by the Messenger in the play is the earliest known historical account of that battle. The play takes place in the Persian court and simply presents the arrival of a messenger carrying the news of Persia's defeat and is followed by the entry of a disgraced Xerxes. This play also contains the earliest known appearance by a ghost in a drama.

"The Persians" is a minor work in the extant plays of Aeschylus, but has considerable historical if not dramatic significance. The play is the second and only remaining tragedy from a lost tetralogy that is based on the historical events of the Persians Wars. The play was performed in 472 B.C., eight years after the defeat of the invaders at the Battle of Salamis. The speech by the Messenger is assumed to be a fairly accurate description of the battle, but the focus of the play is on the downfall of the Persian Empire because of the folly of Xerxes. After the ghost of Darius, father of Xerxes and the leader of the first Persian invasion that was defeated at the Battle of Marathon laments the ruin of the great empire he had ruled, Xerxes offers similar histrionics concerning the destruction of his fleet.

The play is interesting because Aeschylus presents Xerxes, a foreign invader, as exhibiting the same sort of hubris that afflicts the greatest of mythological heroes in these Greek tragedies. Laud and honor is given the Athenians for defeating the Persians in battle, but Aeschylus surprisingly provides a look at the Persian king's culpability in the downfall of his empire. There is a reference in the play to the tradition that Xerxes was descended from Perseus (for whom the Persian race was therefore named), but even so it seems quite odd to turn him into a traditional Greek tragic hero. Aeschylus had fought the Persians at the Battles of Marathon and Salamis, which certainly lends authenticity to his description of events.

Aeschylus won the festival of Dionysus in 472 B.C. with the tetralogy of "Phineus," "The Persians," "Glaucus of Potniae," and the satyr play "Prometheus the Fire-Kindler." Phineas was the king who became the victim of the Harpies, while this particular Glaucus was the son of Sisyphus and the father of Bellerophon who was torn to pieces by his own mares. Consequently, this particular tetralogy clearly has the theme of kings brought down by their own folly. But even within that context, the fact that Aeschylus would write of a historical rather than legendary figure, not to mention a Persian rather than a Greek, remains more than a minor historical curiosity.

"Persians" deals with a people trying to exceed mortal limits. The king of persia blinds his people into believing they can accomplish deeds that exceed the laws of the divine and it's natural order. The king invades Greece despite bad omens. The people in Persia are told they are defeated by a messenger and mourn in mad disbelief. Searching for answers they summon the spirit of a once great king who cannot undo what has now been done. Persia's once proud army, security, and young sons are perished. This translation is excellent. The ending of the play through subject matter is sad enough, but the helpless lines delivered by King Xerxes and the chorus through dialogue toward each other at the end of the play is devastating.

Overall a good book, because it covers most topics related to planning and budgeting.

Some chapters need serious updating. For instance Chapter 32: "Computer applications in Budgeting, 'Microcomputer' Overview and needs assessment.." is totally out of date with respect to software applications in budgeting (Who still uses the term "Microcomputer" ?.
I have found this to be unnacceptable for a book with this price tag.

As a new financial manager I was searching for a book which will show me to prepare a budget and understand a budget process. No doubt understanding budget is the most immportant role in this field and this book I found was most helpful. I strongly recommend this to all finaltial professionals.

After picking this book up at the library, I am now purchasing it for our home. I found this book to be very helpful. It is very well organized and is easy to find answers to specific questions. The recipes contained were delicious and easy to prepare. The author uses encouragement instead of guilt to motivate his readers. I think this book is an excellent place to start when searching for a healthier eating style.

This is a well organized book with lots of useful advice and good dietary recommendations. I just have two complaints: 1) There is an assumption that heavy kids are heavy because they eat junk food and don't exercise. I'm living with a heavy kid who rarely eats junk food and has always exercised a lot. This message is frustrating, to say the least. 2) The title is a problem. My daughter is already hyper-sensitive about her weight, were I to buy this book (I read it at the library), the title itself would confirm to her that I find her "fat." In fact, I would purchase this book, were it not for the title because it is among the best of the books covering the subject, and I've read a number of them. I appreciate the books emphasis on physical fitness. I think a person who is physically fit has a better life and feels better in every way. Parents have an obligation to promote such well being as far as I'm concerned.

A life with 50-150 extra pounds is not a very good option. I hope to pass this on to my kids. I've also read don't eat your heart out, which is also a good reference (although I believe heart problems are mostly genetic, up to a point). I was carrying 30 extra pounds which were lost through excercise. I would like to try to teach my kids to not 'eat with the masses'.