An enlightening book presenting detailed, yet concise answers to essential questions that Catholics are asked by those who desire to understand the Catholic faith or challenge it. The answers to the questions are rooted in sacred scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Early Church Fathers.

A great book for Catholics to have on hand to be able to effectively respond to questions asked by "door to door" evangelists who try to point out faults in Catholic Doctrine based upon their interpretation of scripture.

Catechumens, who come from other faith traditions, will find this book most helpful, for it explains the things that they were taught about the Catholic Church as not being necessary or erroneous, are in fact part of God's salvific plan.

I also like to use this book as a resource for gathering information and "topics to consider" for teaching Conformation and RCIA classes.

Why Catholic? is a must read for those seeking to grow in their Catholic identity and for those who are seeking to understand the way Catholics live out that identity. It answers the most common questions that non-Catholics ask Catholics. For example: Why do Catholics have more books in the in the Old Testament? Was Christ or Constantine the founder of the Catholic Church? Was Peter the first pope? What do Catholics mean by being "born again" and why do they baptize children? Where do Catholics find the sacraments of Confirmation and the Anointing of the Sick in the Bible? Why do Catholics believe in the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ? Why do we need priests to forgive serious sins and where is this found in the Bible? What are indulgences and why are they needed? How are ordained priest distinct from the priesthood of all the faithful? Where can we find in the Bible priest being referred to as "Father" ? Do Catholics worship saints or honor them? What is the communion of saints? Did Jesus have brothers and sisters? Was Mary assumed into heaven? Is there a purgatory? Is there a rapture? Is salvation assured? Are we justified by faith alone, or by faith and works? Besides being a fascinating read, all who pick up this book will be strengthened in their Catholic faith and those who are not Catholic will learn to respect that which they perhaps previously did not understand.

When I first stumbled onto this impressive book in the store, I could not put it down! John Cody's paintings are masterful. They are full of the most delicate brilliant colors and light. Page after page features the loveliest images of these wonderful creatures from around the World. Attention to detail is second to none, his accurate and perceptive portrayals demonstrate an intimate knowledge of these ethereal insects in a spectacular fashion.
My brothers and I avidly collected these moths at night, in the rural North Carolina mountains. It was thrilling to see them dart around the street lamps like fiery jewels. Unfortunately, most books on this subject feature photos of pinned, faded samples. I've always felt it was a shame people couldn't experience their enchanting magic like we did. John Cody's book does that.

The paintings by John Cody are wonderfully realistic, lively portrayals of some of our most beautiful insects. The moths are not shown pinned but in flight or real poses with real and appropriate plants and flowers. A must for any admirer of Lepidoptera!

I wrote this review originally in Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Yor Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia;

The title page reads: "A simple, straightforward job-search book for people who would rather be working than reading a book" It is 88 pages long and is packed with creative pointers. It begins by disucssing your attitude and ends by telling you how to handle a job offer. Included are sections on identifying your skills, researching the job, doing well on interviews, finding leads, and managing your time. One section covers disability issues.

This book is a comprehensive and easy to read manual for job seekers. It covers not only the standards of job search (resumes, cover letters, etc.), but also the more elusive points of a successful search: networking, interviewing, and using the telephone. It offers some creative ideas to set you apart from the crowd.

Equally important, it is designed to be a reference manual with easy to find sections and lots of tables and charts.

As a career coach, I have read hundreds of books on resumes and job search and can tell you that this is by far the bible of job search. It is truly a must-have for all job seekers.

Women and Warriors of the Plains features the pioneer photography of Julia E. Tuell, whose black and white photos documented Native American women's lives and times. The Tuells lived among the Sioux from 1912 to 1929, with Julia using her photography to document their rapidly-changing way of life. Her photos are both artistic and historically important documents of early Sioux women's lives.

An excellent pick, Dan Aadland's Women And Warriors Of The Plains provides a review of the early photography of Julia Tuell, whose black and white portraits of Native American women are accompanied by fine accounts of life with the Northern Cheyenne and others.

The most stunning photography of warblers you will ever see, bar none. The pictures are worth the price alone. The author lives on the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico and setup a blind with strobes near water in his backyard during migration. If you love warblers, buy this book.

Schorre has taken some of the finest photographs of warblers ever seen. Unlike some of the other bird photographers, he has pictures of wild birds, not mist-netted or aviary warblers. A stunning achievement. Warblers are, next to rails, the hardest birds in North America to photograph, and Schorre has superb photographs of them including the rarest, most secretive warblers. When reading this book, you can sense Schorre's passion for these most-beautiful of birds and for photography.

The photographs are accompanied by some introductory information on each warbler and this book would serve as a richly illustrated guide to these birds.

"The Works of John Bunyan", edited by George Offor

This review intends to inform readers of the contents of these three volumes so they may buy these books without the risk of guessing. Fortunately for me I guessed correctly!

To answer your first question, reader: Yes, "Pilgrim's Progress" IS INCLUDED in volume 3! Part I, Christian's journey, begins on page 89 after an 88 page introduction by the editor. Part II, Christiana's journey begins on page 168. And part III, The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, begins later in the volume on page 586. All parts are included. (Note that the latter is not commonly included as a part of "Pilgrim's Progress" in most books.)

Having said the above, if you are *only* looking for "Pilgrim's Progress", especially parts I and II, then these collected works are not for you. These books are physically HEAVY to hold, much too heavy for comfortable reading; you will need a stand, table or desk to avoid cramping your hands while reading.

The print, while quite legible, is small; some sections seem 6pt or smaller, especially the footnotes. As is common with many reprints of early editions, a few letters per page are faint, and a few have slight blotches such as a filled "e" center or a slightly thicker "t" crossbar, etc. As mentioned before, the print is still quite legible; if you are looking for the collected works please do not let the print deter you!

The sturdy binding and covers on the volumes handles the unexpectedly heavy contents well. I suppose the dimensions are roughly 9x7x1.125".

The copyright information says "Reprinted from the edition of 1854 published by W.G Blackie and Son, Glasgow". Reprints from the middle of the 19th century somehow seem appropriate for the writings of Bunyan; it gives one a feeling of history. And I *DO* love old books!

The editor describes the difficulty of obtaining 1st edition prints of Bunyan, especially since most editions were cheaply and badly printed "for the poor". Another interesting editorial comment is that Bunyan was somewhat of a misogynist.

As expected from a 1854 reprint, there are many woodcuts throughout the volumes, and they are excellent.

The 19th century compiler and editor, George Offor, supplies many footnotes. The footnotes, especially in the "Pilgrim's Progress", are often of a devotional nature such as "Take heed reader!", etc. But there are also many other footnotes clarifying rare words, doctrinal points, cross references, circumstances of writing, etc. Many of the footnotes have initials next to them, presumably indicating selected editorial comments of other commentators. (I was unable to find a clear list relating the initials to full names.)

Volumes I & II are entitled "Experimental, Doctrinal and Practical". Volume III is titled "Allegorical, Figurative and Symbolical".

To help you decide for yourself whether to purchase these books, here are the contents:

Volume I: "Experimental, Doctrinal And Practical" (771 pages)

- Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners (his personal testimony)

- Bunyan's Prison Meditations

- The Jerusalem Sinner Saved

- The Greatness Of The Soul

- The Work Of Jesus Christ As An Advocate

- Christ: A Complete Saviour

- Come And Welcome To Jesus Christ

- Of Justification By An Imputed Righteousness

- Saved By Grace

- The Strait Gate

- Light For Them That Sit In Darkness

- A Treatise On The Fear Of God

- The Doctrine Of The Law And Grace Unfolded

- Israel's Hope Encouraged

- A Discourse Touching Prayer

- The Saint's Privilege And Profit

- The Acceptable Sacrifice

- Paul's Departure And Crown

- The Desire Of The Righteous Granted

Volume II: "Experimental, Doctrinal And Practical" (758 pages)

- The Saints' Knowledge Of Christ's Love

- Of Antichrist And His Ruin

- The Resurrection Of The Dead, And Eternal Judgement

- Some Gospel Truths Opened According To The Scriptures

- A Vindication Of Gospel Truths Opened According To The Scriptures

- A Discourse On The Pharisee And The Publican

- A Defence Of The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith In Jesus Christ

- Reprobation Asserted

- Questions About The Nature And Perpetuity Of The Seventh-Day Sabbath

- Of The Trinity And A Christian

- Of The Law And A Christian

- Scriptural Poems

- An Exposition On The First Ten Chapters Of Genesis

- A Holy Life: The Beauty Of Christianity

- Christian Behaviour

- A Caution To Stir Up To Watch Against Sin

- A Discourse Of The Building, NaTure, Excellecy, And Government Of The House Of God

- Bunyan On The Terms Of Communion, And Fellowship Of Christians, At The Table Of The Lord

- A Confession Of My Faith, And A Reason Of My Practice

- Differences In Judgement About Water Baptism No Bar To Communion

- Peaceable Principles And True

- On The Love Of Christ

- A Case Of Conscience Resolved

- John Bunyan's Catechism (called "Instruction For The Ignorant")

- Seasonable Counsel

- An Exhortation To Peace And Unity

- Bunyan's Last Sermon

Volume III: "Allegorical, Figurative And Symbolical" (790 pages)

(Note: the first 88 pages of this volume, called chapters I-IX, comprise an introduction written by the editor describing the writing of "Pilgrim's Progress" itself. That which you and I know as "Pilgrim's Progress", the journey of Christian begins on page 89 and is labeled "First Part" in the volume's table of contents. The "Second Part", the story of Christiana, begins on page 168. The third part appears later in the volume, beginning on page 586, and is labeled as "The Life And Death Of Mr. Badman.")

The editor writes the following introduction:

- The Pilgrim's Progress From This World To That Which Is To Come

- Chapter I: Life A Pilgrimage ...

- Chapter II: ... having been written in prison ...

- Chapter III: Bunyan's Extraordinary Qualifications To Write The Progress

- Chapter IV: Bunyan's release from jail ...

- Chapter V: The inquiry "Was Bunyan assisted in writing?" ... No.

- Chapter VI: A bibliographical account of the Progress' editions ...

- Chapter VII: An account of the versions, commentaries, ...

- Chapter VIII:The opinions of learned men ...

- Chapter IX: Obervations upon ... some prominent parts

- First Part (this is the actual "Pilgrim's Progress")

- Second Part

- The Holy War Made By Shaddai Upon Diabolus, For The Regaining Of The Metropolis Of The World

- The Heavenly Footman

- The Holy City (Or "The New Jerusalem")

- Solomon's Temple Spiritualized

- Discourse On The House Of The Forest Of Lebanon

- The Water Of Life

- The Barren Fig-Tree

- The Life And Death Of Mr. Badman (This May Be Considered The Third Part Of The "Pilgrim's Progress")

- A Few Sighs From Hell

- One Thing Is Needful

- Ebal And Gerizim

- A Book For Boys And Girls

To date I have read many of John Bunyan's writings including P-Progress, Mr. Bad man, Heavenly footman, Grace Abounding, The ruin of Antichrist, The barren figtree, The Holy War, many poems, and many more writings. I can tell you this much, any money you would spend to puchase any of Bunyan's writings will be money very ell spent. Just make sure they are Bunyan's writings and not a writing ABOUT his writings.

The World Within the World written by John D. Barrow is a book about the laws of Nature and explains why things are as they are. This book presents a wide-ranging interdisciplinary study of the evolving concept of the laws of Nature. Chaos, black holes, inflation and superstrings are just some of the subjects that are given attention to in this book. Also, mathematical topics are discussed and why this is important to philosophers and scientists, but ever mindful that the reader may not have a serious science background, the author discuses these new ideas in a serious but nontechnical style.

In this book the aim is not simply to pick again upon one of these esoteric fields at the frontiers of fundamental science and attempt to expalin it in simple terms. Rather, it is to pick upon the traitional unspoken assumptions to which we owe all these abstract and pragmatic developments: that the Universe is ordered, that it is logical, that it is mathematical, that it is predictable, that it is governed by something outside ourselves which is the same everywhere, but which has a deep resonance with the workings of our own minds: to explore something of the origin and possible meanings of the idea that there exist "laws of Nature" and some of the unsuspected realms that such an idea has led us.

So, with this being said, I found that unless you have some science background you will not get much use from this book as it is. Also, there is a message in the book, although laws of Nature may be necessary for such grand explanations, broken symmetries, organizing principles, selection effects, and human categories of thought all play essential and irreductible role in augmenting any law of Nature to determine a picture of the Universe in which we live.

This book has seven parts and each of these has various topics that are discussed in detail, giving the reader a dose of historical context along with cutting edge science. From inner space to outer space, there are mathematical laws of Nature that explain what nature is. A changeless world of order and certainty, impartial to our actions and desires.

I found the book can get difficult at times and I had to stop and ruminate, contemplate, and engage in serious thought... not that that wasn't a good thing. This is a book that will make you think.

The World Within the World is a rich and engaging exploration of the concept of laws of nature. Combining cosmology, relativity, quantum mechanics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mathematics, Barrow asks fundamental questions about the nature of reality and the limits of human understanding: Are there really laws of nature existing independently of us that have been discovered by scientific method, or are the laws we've developed simply the result of order being imposed on the chaotic phenomena of experience by our categories of thought and perception? Why are the laws of nature written in the language of mathematics? Are mathematical laws merely the best approximations we can come up with of a deeper underlying reality which may be non-mathematical? What limits on our understanding of the universe does the mathematical nature of such laws present? For example, do there exist laws of nature which are expressed in terms of non-computable equations whose complexity is so great that they cannot be solved within the lifetime of the universe? If such non-computable laws do exist, we could never discover them due to their inherent complexity.

The World Within the World also addresses some other interesting philosophical questions that have been inspired by developments in modern physics. For example, within the infamously counter-intuitive world of quantum mechanics we find that when neutrons are fired at a screen with two openings, even when fired one at a time, they arrive at a target screen behind the double-slit screen like particles would be expected to, making distinct hits on the target screen, yet creating an overall interference pattern which is exhibited in wave phenomena such as water or sound waves. When golf balls are 'fired' in this way through a double-slit screen they do not create an interference pattern. This wave-particle duality is often taught to be a characteristic of light, but it applies to all elementary particles on the subatomic scale. Water and sound waves are waves of a medium--of water and air, respectively. But what does it mean to say that light or a neutron is a wave when these can exist in a vacuum? They are not waves of a medium; rather, they are waves of probability--of information--telling us the probability of finding a photon or a neutron in a particular place when we make a measurement. Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle also tells us that when we try to measure both the position and momentum of a particle, not only are we incapable of measuring both simultaneously, but, far more incomprehensibly, both the position and momentum cannot exist at the same time! This implies that such properties, which we are inclined to think of as inherent properties of the particles, do not exist until they are measured. This is known as the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, which holds that particles are really nothing more than probability wave functions that expand infinitely across the universe and simply have a far higher likelihood of being measured at a certain spot; in other words, the actual location of a particle does not exist until it is measured! In the terminology of quantum mechanics, the act of measurement collapses the wave function.

There is one way out of this dilemma which is consistent with quantum mechanics and allows the position of a particle to be a real property of the particle and not merely a measured property existing only when a measurement takes place. However, while the alternative keeps the observer separate from the observed, it is equally troubling: The Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that every time the measurement of a particle's position or momentum is made, all possible results obtain--the result we measure obtains in our world, and all the other possible results obtain in an infinite number of worlds for that single act of measurement. This implies that there are an infinite number of versions of you existing in these parallel worlds making these measurements! And you thought science fiction was strange! Perhaps at this point the best option is to maintain that--despite its unprecedented success in explaining the physical world--quantum mechanics is incomplete and therefore neither of the two interpretations adequately characterize the real world. The fact that we have yet to develop a successful quantum theory of gravity suggests that either general relativity or quantum mechanics is incomplete, if not both.

Barrow addresses other interesting issues in modern physics in this book: the categorization of the hundreds of particles that have been discovered into three basic types based on their interactions with the four forces of nature; the possibility of the existence of 10 or 26 dimensions and why only 3 dimensions of space grew larger than microscopic size; the attempt to unify the four forces of nature into a 'Theory of Everything' (TOE); a brief overview of superstrings, a possible candidate for a TOE; some practical diffulties in actually finding a TOE; features of cosmology that make it uniquely different from other sciences; whether the universe is infinite or finite in extent; the evidence that the universe began with the Big Bang; the difficulties in determining whether the universe with expand forever and die a 'Heat Death' or whether it will collapse to a 'Big Crunch'; and the different 'arrows of time' that cosmologists employ. There is also a very interesting dialogue debate in chapter 5 (p. 247-254 in the paperback edition) about whether abstract objects such as numbers exist independently of the mind in some Platonic realm outside of the physical universe, outlining the arguments for and against Platonic abstract objects.

I'm a therapist and lend this book out to clients who come for help with their depression. When a copy gets "lost" I buy another. Too many clients are feeling hopeless and wouldn't buy it for themselves on my recommendation, but reading just a few pages of this well written gem will convince them that there is much to learn and there is a path to getting well and feeling better. It maps out the steps to take. It's an easy read. It makes the process move much faster. Hats off to you John!

Clinical psychologist John Preston reveals that clinical depression differs from normal sadness in five distinct ways: depression is more intensely painful, last longer, interferes with normal day-to-day functioning, is destructive, and is often a cluster of symptoms involving problems in social interaction, behavior, thinking, and biological functioning. In You Can Beat Depression: A Guide To Prevention & Recover: 3rd Edition, Dr. Preston recommends a series of self- help actions to promote emotional healing when afflicted by clinical depression: accept that it is normal to have painful feelings; express your feelings to at least one other person; stay in contact with supportive friends and/or relatives; maintain a realistic perception of your life and yourself; engaging in problem solving which promotes growth. This guide will enable readers to recognize when and how to help themselves (and when to turn to professionals for treatment). Also offered is an up-to-date consumer guide to medications; material on the prevention of depression; brief therapy interventions, exercise, and other non-medical approaches. If you suffer from clinical depression, or know of someone who does, then give a careful reading to John Preston's You Can Beat Depression.

My husband didn't like "the work" of wading through the information his company provided when it came to choosing a health plan, so he left the decision to me. I was overwhelmed by the information and jargon in the company packet so I was desperate for help in sorting through it. This book was the answer to my prayers. It provides the most thorough, objective information on managed care I've found without resorting to the scare tactics in most other books or articles on the subject that I've read. It really helped me understand what I was doing in choosing from the options given to us by my husband's employer. The section on comparing benefits was especially a great help. I highly recommend this book to anyone who plans to join an HMO and wants to make a good choice; or even to those who already belong to one who want to understand their plan better.

Frequently forgotten or misjudged, this book provides one of the most hilarious plots ever written. The "common sense" of Huck is always fighting for bring Tom's lunacies to Earth, but the question is, why should we do that? Tom's reveries are the key for happy travel with a sane state of mind, providing the key which erase the nuance between what should be and possibly, what actually is. A delightful book.