I originally intended to give this book to my uncle for his 65th birthday, but when I started leafing through it, I found myself completely drawn in. An incredible lineup of wine writers have contributed to this book, making for some truly fascinating reading on the history of wine. I kept a copy for myself, and bought another one for my uncle (who told me he much preferred it to the ties and golf paraphrenalia he received...!)

This is a superb presentation of civizational analysis and world system theory for a study of the history of the last 5,000 years. Civilizations are conceived as large scale social groups with shared common cultural characteristics, such as religious, philosophical, linguistic and technological. Civilizations generally have a life cycle of genesis, growth, breakdown, and disentegration. World system analysis examines societies in the broadest possible terms. Here you are able to compare and contrast the process of analysis of these two approaches to long term social and historical evolution on a global basis.

Walter Stephens points out, in _Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief_ (University of Chicago Press) that the notoriety of the misogyny of witch hunters of centuries ago is misplaced. He has read extensively in the _Malleus Maleficarum_ and similar documents, and has written a scholarly, large, comprehensive, and well referenced work demonstrating that such books were written to prove that demons were real, and by so doing prove that God, Jesus, and the other articles of faith were inarguably true. Stephens has turned customary reasoning about the _Malleus_ and other writings about witchcraft on its head, but lucidly provides enough evidence to prove his case.

"Witch theorists" wanted some sort of physical demonstration of the existence of demons, but had no recourse but to rely on the testimony of experts. Unfortunately, the experts were witches. Their testimony was inherently unreliable, not only because it was often obtained under torture, but because they were, well, witches. The most material manifestation of demons would be not just that they appeared to witches, nor flew them through the air, but that they actually had physical sex with them. "If demonic copulation had been an obvious and axiomatic fact of life, it would not have received the minute, voluminous exposition and vehement defense that these writers devoted to it." The enquiries about demonic sex were not an ethical effort, but rather a scientific one, although the science was rudimentary and full of error. Pope Innocent VIII had issued a bull which proclaimed the naughtiness of those who "...transgressed with incubus and succubus demons," and so the witch theorists were therefore on firm ground in maintaining that demonic sex was happening, and happening often. There is a wealth of curious detail in this book, about the nature of souls, exorcisms, how witches flew, and why they stole men's penises.

What is not to be found here, despite its amusingly lurid title, is much in the way of titillation. Even the illustrated section wittily called "Filthy Pictures" is composed mostly of weirdly comic artistic visions of demons. Casual curiosity will not do, as this is a massive and serious study by an author with extensive erudition. (It does not keep him from writing amusingly at times, which is welcome in such weird subject matter; he writes, for instance, that confronting demons with such sacramentals as holy water or signs of the cross represents resorting to a sort of "demonic pest control.") Although this book deals with issues of centuries ago, they are still active issues. Stephens doesn't mention all the modern parallels, but shows how adepts of creation "science" make similar attempts to force the physical world to follow a spiritual belief. He also demonstrates that UFO believers and abductees are still flying through the air and being sexually violated just as much as their predecessors were, and with as little physical evidence. He does not mention the millions of people who are convinced that they are watched by angels, or the demons one can see cast out daily on religious television programs, or the witches recently killed in Africa for stealing men's penises. We may no longer look for demons in exactly the same way that churchmen did six centuries ago, but people are still the same, and demons still afflict us.

I'm a student of the Great War, not a scholar. The text is terse yet totally complete. The style is never intimidating and the content stays pertinent to the subject being defined. If an expanded definition is required, just look up one of the CAPITALIZED words in the text, and you will find that word listed as well. Thank you.

My boys...were immediately inspired by the fascinating
projects in this book! However, they are not able to make
the projects independently. I would highly recommend this
book for parents of kids who are willing to get their hands
dirty and for parent of kids who like multi-day projects.
We had a blast building a full model Stegasarous and T-rex,
but we spent many hours building them.

You will need to go to other resources for full details
about how/when/where the dinos lived. This is mostly a project
book and less of a reference book. But the projects are so
fun and interesting, it will make you want to learn more.

Stephen Hastings, war hero, secret agent, Member of Parliament, painter, sculptor, public speaker, Master of Foxhounds, raconteur, etc., etc. would be a fit subject for either a novelist like Ian Fleming, or a great biographer. His autobiography is both engaging and informative, and gives the reader a picture of a reanaissance man of his times. As the late Ouida Huxley (Aldou's sister-in-law) once said, "They don't make men today like they did in the '30s." Buy this book. It's a great read.

This work contains key names, battles, and machinery of the second world war. It gives the reader more than just "the basics". The biographical sketches of various characters of the war are informative. It gives the significance of various battles and weaponry as well. All in all, a very thorough work.

FACING DEATH is well-written, with an economy of words and a plethora of wisdom. Stephen Knapp has given us a book to give to people about to make the transition. In this reviewer's opinion though, FACING DEATH is a must-read for us, now...to prepare for the ultimate adventure. Without a doubt, one of the most misunderstood and feared aspects of life is death. In our Western culture, we generally do not think of death (we're afraid to?) until the time comes for someone close...or our time is near. Author and seer Stephen Knapp points out that if we allow ourselves to recognize that death is a part of life...life becomes different...more valuable and more meaningful. For instance, we'd have fewer quarrels, we'd be more giving and understanding, and we'd appreciate many things that we now take for granted. FACING DEATH, therefore, is a must-read to diminish our fears of death while expanding the pleasures of life. Stephen Knapp offers both sage advice as well as spiritual insight. "Each life is meant for us to learn more about ourselves, and about who we are." Nearing death, "...let go and let God put you where you will make the most progress." FACING DEATH teaches that, "...death is essentially the shedding of the body." What remains, forever, is the soul. Thus, "...death can be looked at as a great opportunity...the ultimate healing...the start of a [life] someplace else." Stephen Knapp divines that, "Preparing for death is looking into the truth of yourself. By doing this you also learn how to live." If we start preparing sooner, we learn, we have a greater opportunity to appreciate our life, and attain a high level of consciousness for the final transition.

The participant's guide is designed to be used in tandem with the video;however, it is so comprehensive that you learn a great deal of background just from going through the lessons. It was one of the best workbooks I have ever used to gain a perspective on what life was like in Jesus's time and how actual archeological findings link the truth Jesus portrayed 2,000 years ago and how we can apply this today. Read it and increase your faith. Give it to others.

My 2-year-old loves all the stories in thisseries. The stories are simple and charming,the illustrations are fun.