Written as a response to sladerous accusations of lying and insincerity, Cardinal Newman composed one of the best autobiographies in the English language. To properly defend himself, he develops the history of his religous opinions from his earliest memories, through Oxford movement and finally to his conversion to the Catholic Church. Along the way he gives the reader some of the best prose that has been employed to descrbe religious experience. The book concludes with a point-by-point refutation to the arguments of Rev. Kingsley, that incidentally contains some of the best arguments against Sola Scriptura and other guiding principles behind Protestantism.

After publication, Newman's Apologia helped raise the esteem of Catholics in the eyes of the English people and helped make him a Cardinal. I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone looking for a moving spiritual autobiography.

There are few autobiographies as moving and eloquent as Newman's "Apologia." This is his "defense" of his life's choice to leave the Church of England and "go home to Rome." It's a moving testament to an individual's struggle with spiritual issues and theological dogmas and how they inform our lives. I know of no other spiritual autobiography of such importance other than Augustine's "Confessions."

Yet, for all these superb reasons to read this spiritual autobiography, perhaps there is one "secular" reason to read Newman: His command of the English language. Newman has an excellent command of rhetoric, logic, and exposition that makes him a stellar example of Victorian belle letters.

I'd recommend the Norton Critical Edition over the Penguin edition, obviously, not for the "translation," but for the criticism that helps put the issues involved in context for the 20th century reader.

since the "Confessions" of St. Augustine of Hippo 1600 years earlier.

In this book, John Henry Newman, in order to defend himself from (rather unfair) charges of insincerity, outlines the history of his spiritual development, from his beginnings as a liberal thinker, to his conversion to the Evangelical wing of the Church of England, to his ordination as an Anglican priest, to his gradual move toward Catholic thought, practice and worship in the Church of England, to his leadership in the so-called "Oxford Movement" and its call to holiness and Catholicity in the Church of England, and finally to his ultimate submission to Rome.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Cardinal Newman theologically; whether one can accept his particular conclusions is not important to the enjoyment of this book. It is an honest account of a spiritual journey, written by an articulate man, which should prove inspirational to all persons of faith, and to all on a spiritual pilgrimage.

this book is not what i expected. i is a great book if you live in michigan. i live in california so the requirements arent the same as over there. the book does give some insight on the daily live and sacrifices of a law enforcement officer. i do recomend reading it if you are interested in law enforcement just to give you an idea

This is an excellent book for people who know they are interested in criminology, but are still trying to discover which particular area and want to know more about job opportunities. You'll get a few tips on job requirements and resume preparation, but it is very secondary to the purpose of having people tell stories about how they got involved with the criminal justice job they have.

Stuart Henry taught at Eastern Michigan University and had students write about how they became interested in a job and what they like - and don't - about what they are doing. Students are from Detroit, the suburbs and more rural areas, but most of what they say generalizes to other law enforcement jobs, private security positions, law schools, legal positions, correctional worker, treatment service, grad school and academe or a federal agent. The second edition has updates from many people discussing why they stayed or moved on (and to what).

There's a good distribution of urban and rural jurisdictions, and the authors include a good distribution of women and minority experiences. If you've decided you want to be with FBI, this book will not help you [see the Guide to Federal Law Enforcement Jobs]. If you are trying to prepare resumes and research specifics of a job posting, you're beyond what this book does [see Harr and Hass].

Careers in Criminal Justice is for people who want to work in CJ, but don't yet know what. This is the book if you want to get a feel for a variety of possible options. There's 40 chapters, essays are less than 10 pages each, so it can be enjoyed in short blocks of time when you have a few minutes.

This book is an absolute must-have for criminal justice students especially those in Michigan, the midwest or even anywhere else in the US!! It has many personal accounts of men & WOMEN (wow!). It details their career paths, their ups & downs during the application process, on the job, and through the vigorous training. People even tell you about the rookie discrimination they faced, and what not to do in the oral board interviews. It covers stories from police officers to a female paralegal. You'll get info weighing the pro's and con's of small & large law enforcement departments, even what to expect physically during the training academy. I am only halfway through this book, and can't wait to see what other helpful information it has for me as a CJ student looking for all the inside info I can get before obtaining my degree.

Although this was a good book in itself, it covered too much of the French and Indian War to just have a title of Fort William Henry and the "Massacre". The book was interesting up to the point of the siege and massacre then it became very vague. It lacked details to the point of disappointment. It did not say what specific Indian tribes did most of the massacre, nor did it have a thorough account of actually what was happening! It told about some injured being killed in the fort , then it jumped to militia killed on the road to Ft Edward, then to the English officers dining with the French officers and chasing away Indians from their personal effects. In addition the author downplayed the massacre! Every time the word was used it was in quotation marks,making it seem the massacre was overplayed. But if 10 people are massacred instead of 200 does that make a difference? The book did inform the reader about the Canadien slave trade which was going on between them and some tribes, which other books clearly never bring up. Many English suffered because of it. It also made it clear that because of the French's terms at Ft. William Henry, many Indians then refused to help the French in the future. Sealing their fate in the French and Indian War.

The title of this perceptive book tells the gist of Professor Steele's investigation into the seige and subsequent murder or kidnapping of prisoners after the British garrison surrendered to Montcalm in 1757. In essence, the English prisoners were betrayed by the French by letting their Indian allies seek scalps, prisoners and plunder after being given parole to march to a British force on the Hudson. On a larger scale, the French betrayed the Indians by not allowing them to take what Indians assumed were rightfully theirs as a part of 18th century warfare: prisoners to replace tribal members killed in combat, plunder of European materials, and scalps. Steele asserts that the losses suffered by the British garrison were smaller than previously claimed (including a number of men who were forced to travel home with Indians from the Great Lakes)and that the incident was not the bloodbath of popular legend. The men taken to the Lakes kept turning up for years afterward. Many of the scalps taken were from the corpses in the fort's cemetery-the Indians who took these scalps therefore brought smallpox back home with them and might have inadvertently destroyed whole tribes. Steele tries to count the men killed during the "massacre" and I think he is successful in his enumeration. He does not overlook the wounded who were murdered in their beds, the man boiled and eaten by his captors, and the soldiers knocked out of line and killed because they resisted being plundered. I agree that Montcalm was not complicit in directing the massacre, but set up the conditions that caused it to happen.

The Massacre lives on in popular imagination, but so does the Boston Massacre, certainly one of the most non-massacres in American history.

On a personal note, my 7th generation great-grandfather Bernardus Bratt commanded the New York troops at Fort William Henry in the summer of 1756 and came out as a company commander in Sir William Johnson's regiment after the 1757 massacre.

Well-written and well-documented modern accounts of the French and Indian War are few and far between. Steele's book should remain the final word for some time to come.

Steele presents the reader with a masterful treatment of the events surrounding the "massacre" so familiar to viewers of the latest cinematic incarnation of Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans." As a teacher, I can tell you it's a bit of a surprise for students to find out that Colonel Munro survived Magua's knife. Steele puts the events in historical and cultural context. A fine piece of work, one which should be of interest to a broader audience than the book will probably get.

In this Henry Huggin's book, Henry is trying to get a bike. So, he tries to save his money up to buy one. Also, Ribsy gets into lots of trouble. Some of the parts are very funny. I would reccommend the book to anyone 8 and up.

On a scale of one to ten Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary is a twenty. That is why I am going to try to persuade you to read this wonderful book. The first reason you should read this book is because once you pick it up you just cannot put it down. It has so many funny things that happen to Henry, Beezus, and Ramona that you cannot wait to read what happens next. Now I am going to tell you a little about this book. It is about a boy, Henry, who wants a new bicycle. His parents cannot afford to buy him one so he decides to find a way to get the money himself. If you want to know how he gets the money you will have to read the book. But don't think that reading a book about a boy that gets money to get a bike is boring. In this book Beverly Cleary makes it so much more interesting. So if you want a book that you can read that will bring the kid side out of you again, read Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary.

In a time when kids had to work hard to get what they wanted, Henry wanted a bike, and got it...in a most unusual and creative way. This is a charming book that portrays a humorous, realistic, unsentimental friendship between a boy and a girl.

If you want instruction on defensive revolver techniques, this is the book for you. No nonsense, no fluff, just good hard information on how to do it. Not for pistol owners, this book applies to revolvers. Methods in this book are used and referred to by instructors at a well-known firearms academy in Paulden, Arizona.

This book is extremely informative and extremely well written. The fast draw photo sequencing is invaluable. Despite being written some 40 years ago, it is NOT outdated, even in reference to the equipment used. This book is worth every penny.

I love this book because i am a revolver aficianado (probably rare for a 27 year old today) with a CCW who has an affinity for the "men's guns". ie- no nonsense, get the job done workhorses. This description aptly fits Jordan's writing style as well. I like it and wish all instructional books were this well written. He even interjects exciting and humorous anecdotes (although not quite "PC") about his career as a lawman with the Border Patrol and otherwise. This is a forum from a Type-A who has been there and done that in an *** kicking manner, and is a good read for any sports enthusiast needing the perspective of a never-say-die fighter. One quote stands out clearly, and that is, "with enough determination you can win even when you appear to be losing--just keep shooting!" I could not have said it better! Enjoy this book if you can find it--- I special ordered my copy at Batnes & Noble.

The compiler, "a very senior figure in ... Thoreauvian studies," as another reviewer refers to him, has simply changed the title of his 1982 Farrar, Straus, Giroux book of excerpts from Thoreau's writings (relating to Thoreau in the mountains) and republished it with Beacon Press. There's nothing new here at all, just republished stuff from almost twenty years ago! One would think that this fellow of "impeccable" scholarship would have had the decency to at least mention somewhere in this compilation that it is, in fact, nothing more than a reprint.

I wish that the anonymous reviewer from Lincoln who is a Thoreauvian scholar in his own right had "faith in a deed" and had indeed placed his name here as he was willing to do in other reviews.

Henry David Thoreau is perhaps the most famous of the nineteenth century American naturalists and left behind a large body of work that is still very much read and appreciated today. Walking With Thoreau comprises Thoreau's writings about his own hikes up nine New England mountains including the Wachusett and Greylock in Massachusetts; Kathahdin and Kineo in Maine; Wantastiquet, Fall Mountain, Washington, Lafayette, and Monadnock in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. Thoreau expert William Howarth enhanced Walking With Thoreau with insightful commentaries for the contemporary reader replete with historical facts and anecdotes on Thoreau that are relevant to his tales of mountain experiences. Replete with specially drawn sate maps and day-by-day itineraries, Walking With Thoreau readily lends itself to anyone wishing to hike the same routes as were once taken by Thoreau. Walking With Thoreau is a "must" for all students of his work and writings, outdoor enthusiasts seeking to retrace the great man's steps, as well as armchair travelers with an appreciation for observant essays on hiking mountains in a bygone era.

Overall, it is good, but the second volume covering late 19th century and 20th century really lacks clarity and objectivity. Though, I rather enjoyed the first volume, which covers American history from colonial times to the Civil War. However, it too is tainted by the authors offering too much perspective on who they think the heroes and villians are. I think the founding founders should be understood on their own terms and not subjected to so much hyperbole and conjecture as to their motives and beliefs. I do, however, find this work to be quite informative and a valuable reference overall. Though, I find the second volume lacking and full of ideological conjecture regarding public policies. (These historians aren't the most astute economists in the world. They find little wrong in FDR's paying farmers to destroy their crops and his grand strategy of bringing America out of the Depression by cutting producitivity and channeling the bulk of stimulative investment capital through government channels. They extol his policies too much.) Furthermore, the second volume is far too patronizing of FDR and Wilson.

I am a high school student and i have enroled in the AP American History course for my junior year. It was quite intimidating to recieve this book and another one on my first day while being told that i had to read 7 chapters in 9 days. The burden of reading almost 190 pages of this book in such a short period of time was no little thing. However the great style and " followablility" of the book helped a lot. normaly i would have just stopped reading, but this book kept me interested. It is what i would say the history book to read, whether it's for personal knowledge or school.

We used Volumes I and II of this book in my AP US History class this year. I found these books to be more interesting and easier to enjoy than the general textbook. They go more in depth and offer a greater understanding. At times they are a little hard to follow - but that may have been a result of not really paying attention while I was reading... oops. Hey it's homework, give me a break. Anyway, they're good books - ROCK ON COMMAGER!

"Dangerous if read too late in life", Hemmingway.

This is an excellent book if you can find it.

I have just read this book and I think I could place it among the ones I liked the most (together with Gerald Durrell's ones): what I prefered was the poetic that filled the whole book , in the descriptions of landscapes, and people, that poetic you can't find in modern writers.

Hudson is a wonderful writer, and this is a first hand account of his childhood in gaucho land, with invaluable glimpses of Buenos Aires at the setting of Rosas dictatorship and after.

We badly need to have this book once more available. Full of insights into the meaning of human life in nature, it also chronicles the passing of a virgin landscape in S.America with the coming of a predatory civilization. Hudson came of age with little schooling but endless hours of observing life (especially birds) and reading. His friends in England, where he went in his 30s, often wondered why he was habitually sad. This profound reminiscence explains why.

"When I hear people say they have not found the world and life so agreeable or interesting as to be in love with it...I am apt to think they have never been properly alive nor seen with clear vision the world they think so meanly of...".

The author says it all. I picked up this book in a little Gloucester bookshop a few years ago, but I've finally just had a chance to read it in its entirety. What a Joy! It reminded me that the stresses and travails we encounter in our daily lives are so trivial at best, compared to the world we pass by everyday. The author's recollection of his boyhood on the Argentinian pampas and his adventures with snakes and birds and vizcachas made his words come alive, and I felt I was there with him. A treasure and one I would read to kids who have the gift of spirit in them, and to remind them that all of what he wrote is disappearing.

THIS BOOK IS TYPICAL OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PRESS PRESIDENTIAL SERIES. GREAT INSITE OF THE GROWING UNITED STATES DURING OUR POLITCAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE UGLY SIDE OF PERSONAL POLITICS. INTRIGUE REACHED A FEVERED PITCH WITH LESSOR KNOWN INDIVIDUALS ELECTED AS PRESIDENT WHILE THE ICONS, CLAY, BENTON, WEBSTER AND CALHOUN HELD OUR COUNTRY IN THE SENATE.

This book reads more like a novel than the Polk book in this series (which I found to be very informative). This book is well documented. There is a sense that the author is generally sympathetic to and sometimes apologetic for Tyler and Webster - However I am not informed enough to know if this is a bias or a valid conclusion on the part of the author. With Tyler becoming the first VP to 'inherit' the presidency after the death of Harrison, our country was still navigating in the dark waters of our constitution and a world of threats (Mexico and England). Major players such as Clay, Webster, and Calhoon dominate the scene. Tyler's presidency would make a fine fiction drama. Misplaced trust, overwhelming ambition, and the drumbeat of sectionalism. I very much enjoyed this book.

This book fairly and vividly relates the "accidential" presidency of John Tyler. The author conveys the unique difficulties faced by Tyler as he assumes the presidency from W. H. Harrison. In fact, Tyler was most courageous in standing firm against Henry Clay and his Whig cohorts, who tried extremely hard to bully Tyler into submission. Norma Peterson, the author, provides credit where it is due, be it with Tyler or his equally courageous Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. The story in total flows extremely well, and maintains the interest of the reader throughout. The author's stance overall is pro-Tyler, and she bases this on clear reasoning and factual analysis. In total I agree with her position, that Tyler has received far less credit for his accomplishments and strength of presidential character than most historians have given him.