Book Description
The terrorists who brought death to thousands said they did it in God's name. Thousands of Christians around the world gathered in churches to pray for peace, while others blamed the very idea of God for the tragedy. Ravi Zacharias deals with five of the major questions on people's minds after September 11: - Is this true Islam or a fanatical counterfeit? - In what ways does the relation of church and state change a nation's view of religion and affect its culture? - Is this Islam or a pollution of it? Is religion dangerous to a culture? - Was there a prophecy that this would happen? - Where does this leave the future?"If we find those answers," writes Zacharias, "they will spell life, steadying the soul even though the heart still aches."
Customer Reviews:
Not what I expected..........2006-05-14
I thought this was going to take more of a stand against Muslims and Islam. But what I found is really a fight against evil and really against what the "extremists" believe in Islam. If I hadn't read or listened more of Ravi than just this book I would think he was partial to the "peaceful" Muslims. He did talk about the Islamic countries in bits and about their oppression but never really came down on the crux of this religion that, based on their own Koran, they are told to be "killing machines" to all those who are not Muslim, to wait in the bushes to ambush the infidels. So what happened on 9/11 shouldn't have been a shock to those educated on what Islam stands for.
The book was good in parts but left me wanting more arguments for why Christianity is based on love and Islam is based on a vengeful and hateful allah to even his own people. Instead all you get is more generalities and universal arguments from a worldview standpoint instead of a point by point argument or discussion on basically "Why Christianity and Why not Islam"
Because truly Christ is the only Light in any shadow.
I was left wanting, and there was no message at the end that pointed people to Christ, just very vague.
I did like the read and found some interesting points on topics and discussions I wasn't expecting so for that I give it 3 stars.
Not clear.......2006-05-04
I had to read this book for a critical review in a religion class that I took. I thought this book was awful. The author is never really clear on what points he is trying to make throughout the book. He jumps from one subject to another and never gives a good transistion from one subject to another. It appears to me that this author was just saying that God existed and Islam is abusing their religion against us because they dislike the Americans moral system. No, maybe it was that he was glad to be an American, because he ends his book with a story of somebody recognizing that his home was in the United States. I'm not exactly sure is the point I am trying to make. I wouldn't recommend anybody to read this book. I only gave this book two stars because the author gave a good description of how the Islamic people believe.
Man made disaster, God, and You........2006-03-05
Page 10
Is this Islam or is it its abuse?
Is this inevitable result of religion?
These are two questions Ravi Zacharias gives in the introduction of the book about the event that happened in New York City on 9/11.
John Lennon wrote the song Imagine. The ethic in this in this song is that religion is the root of all evil. That man could live peaceably with each other if he just give up on the concept of God and all the hangups that result from God base philosophy. Similar thought pattern is used by those who argue all religion and world perspectives are relative to the usefulness to the individual who holds them. It does not matter what is the truth as long as you do not argue about it. You may believe what you believe as long as one does not insult, discourage or try to convert someone who does not agree with you.
Ravi Zacharias does not use the word tolerance, he does make the argument for free religious discussion. Expression of religious Faith is what makes this country strong. He does speak specifically about Christian Heritage in this country and does discuss that Christians have to put up with others poking fun at Jesus and other truths presented in the Bible. Tolerance of expression about God and Faith is what made this country great. The theme of this book is about the United States after 9/11. This book does not go deep into theology: very little quoting from the bible, Koran, of other religious resources. He tries to express how three different type of people perceive the world. These are Christians in the United States, Moslem's in the Middle East, and Moslem's now residing in the United States. That people need to be more open to explain their religious perspective among those of the same Faith and outside the Faith. Why the concept of religious relativeness and its definition of tolerance builds walls instead of being an aid to coexistence. It actually not tolerant of diverse faith.
Illuminating and comforting.......2006-02-20
This engaging book looks at 9/11 from a Christian perspective, seeking to make sense of the tragedy while placing world events in historical context. In chapter one: Hand From The Rubble, the author lays out the questions relating to 9/11 by analogy with Genelle Guzman who was the last person rescued from the rubble of Ground Zero. He discusses religion in public life, the categories of good and evil, mentions author Peggy Noonan and comes to the conclusion that America's moral strength and spiritual commitment will determine the future of the nation in the war on terror and the unfolding of history.
Chapter 2: The Struggle Between Good & Evil investigates relativism with reference to Alan Dershowitz amongst others. The author looks at the arguments of atheists like Richard Dawkins, Bertrand Russell and Kai Nielsen and shows from their own words that reason alone cannot lead to morality. America functions within the moral framework of Judeo-Christian assumptions: Life is intrinsically sacred because God created and sustains it. He discusses George Washington's farewell address and two major points in it: morality cannot be maintained without religion and if religion is excluded, reason and experience forbid us to expect morality to prevail.
In Chapter 3: The Struggle Between Truth & Falsehood, he looks at the history of Islam including the Sunni/Shia split, the sources of authority in Islam like the Qur'an, the Hadith, Sira and Tafsir, the doctrine of abrogation and the persecution of Islamic scholars questioning the primary sources. Recent history of the religion is explored with reference to Hasan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Farag and his book The Missing Religious Precept, and intolerance in Muslim countries.
Chapter 4 deals with prophecy as the author recounts the story of Daniel and in particular the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. He contrasts the goals of Islam and Christianity: the one aims at world domination through geographical extension and the other seeks to bring the rule of God into the human heart. He then points to the root of the conflict in the story of Abraham and the contest between Isaac and Ishmael. Events in the Middle East are being played out on an ancient historical template centred on the city of Jerusalem. The prophecies about the nation of Israel are being fulfilled with the establishment of independent Israel in 1948 representing the dawning of the world's salvation.
The problem of the "hiddenness of God" or divine hiding is discussed in chapter 5. There is a purpose behind God's visibility or invisibility, based on the fact that mankind is not only mind/intellect but spiritual essence too. Here the author refers to Blaise Pascal, Anthony Bloom and CS Lewis in identifying the importance of communion with God. The only real safety is found in the presence of God.
Chapter 6 includes discussions of God and culture, culture and country, and country and history. He dissects and criticises the author Andrew Sullivan's failure of logic and equivocating statements expressed in the article This Is A Religious War in the New York Times Magazine of October 7th, 2001 where Moslem extremists and Christian fundamentalists are indiscriminately lobbed together. This is the Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle. It explains that just because 2 things have one thing in common, it doesn't mean that they have everything in common. This chapter closes with a discussion of God's hand in history and some comforting words from Isaiah.
In the Appendix the author recounts his personal experiences upon getting the news of 9/11 and how the supportive words and actions of various individuals meant so much to him in that dark hour. He observes here that democracy and Christianity share a fundamental tenet: that of self-determination. The beautiful Psalm 74 is reproduced here and this section concludes with a moving poem based upon the comforting words of Isaiah 4:10.
Life In The Shadow Of Jihad is a beautifully written, informative and measured look at the issues confronting us at the start of the 21st century. For further reading, I recommend The West And The Rest by Roger Scruton, The Dream Palace Of The Arabs by Fouad Ajami and Oriana Fallaci's furious screed The Rage And The Pride. These three books explore the same issues from different angles and complement this inspiring and informative work by Ravi Zacharias.
A short thought provoking read.......2003-10-01
This is a good short book that highlights some of the fundamental strengths of Christianity as they relate to September 11th. It provide a good philosophical view of how we as Christians can help bridge the gap. Warning, Mr. Zacharias is an intellectual and you'll need to bring your A game to truly absorb the philosophy behind his thoughts.
Customer Reviews:
The most realistic and enjoyable I've read in almost 20 years.......2006-04-05
I have read, or tried to read, dozens and dozens of books about all aspects of Paganism and this was by far the easiest to relate to. It was as if I were sitting in my living room discussing these things with the author over a cup of coffee. I'm not saying that everything in it is 'gospel' (a point she makes early on in the book) but you would be hard-pressed to find a book better written. I liken her to the Hemingway of Pagans ... she's able to say a lot without having to use the volume of words so many others feel necessary. (It's almost as if so many other Pagan authors are just filling up pages to hear themselves speak.)
This is the book I gave my husband to help him understand what I believe and why. I have also shared it with friends who were interested. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Overall an excellent book, with a bad chapter on the gods..........2005-07-15
I thought this book was great--smart, funny, with savy advice. But I had a really big problem with chapter 3, titled "Deities" and subtitled "If you read only one chapter, read this one"--which i think is unfortunate--since the rest of the book is so good, and that particular chapter is full of misinformation.The problem starts when the author describes Kali as "dancing on the body of the half-dead Krishna" (p48). Kali never dances on Krishna but on Shiva (whose name sounds like the word for corpse). She warns against working with Kali because she is "terrifying" (p48). McLelland doesn't really have an understanding of how Kali is worshipped in India and focuses on the Kali of the tantric path, as apposed to say the Kali that Ramprasad loved.McLelland also warns us against Lilith because she "destroyed her children in order to fight her battles" (p49). I could be wrong, but I believe that in Jewish folklore, it was Yaweh who kills a hundred of Lilith's demon children a day as punishment. (Lilith kills other peoples babies) She also says not invoke her if you want to keep your image as a "sexpot"--but in Jewish folklore that is exactly what Lilith is--she suduces men in their sleep.The author also has some mixed up ideas about the Celtic Deities. She Calls Brigit a form of Dana (she's not, and its actually Danu). She says the Morrigan is three goddesses "the mother goddess Ana, the mother Babd, and the crone Macha". How many crones do you know who can beat a horse in a race while she is nine months pregnant? Sources are inconsistent about what three goddess make up the Morrigu--but one thing is for sure--the Irish did not divide the goddess into maiden, mother, and crone (that was a falacy perpetrated by Robert Graves). Their triple goddesses were made up of either three maidens, three mothers or three crones. and crones could always turn into maidens. Lugh is not a sun god (but everyone makes that mistake, can't fault McLelland here), the sun is a goddess in Ireland--Grian. Also she says that Gwydion is the son of Dana and associated with the Tuatha de Dannan--he isn't he is Welsh, and a son of the goddess Don. Then she goes on to say the Lleu LLaw Gyffes is another son of Dana--he's not nor is he son of Don, he is Arianrhod's son.Well maybe you think i am nitpicking, but since McLelland warns us about getting all our information from Wiccan books--I thought I should mention that this is not the book to learn about pagan Deities. I suggest you leave the new age section and head towards the mythology section.The beginning of the chapter on Deities is actually quite good, and the rest of the book is excellent--so I recommend it highly--just take the information on the gods with a grain of salt.
A Realistic Look At The Modern Movement............2004-07-14
I'll admit I'm a bit disenchanted with most of the books I find on Wicca. I'm very skeptical that once again, I'll hear the same information rehashed with slightly different wording. Sound familiar?
So when I sat down to read this book, I found myself pleasantly surprised! McLelland does an excellent job of being honest about the strengths and truths of the modern craft movement in the US. I feel that perhaps a little more nationwide focus would have helped, but she's from Salem and it's one of those witchy hot spots, so I can understand her focus on it.
I like the fact that she does bring up the stereotypes, with but with a slightly different twist. We're not talking about point hats and black cloaks here-this is sexual predators posing as High Priests and egotistical High Priestesses that she's talking about. Granted, most of us have met someone who fits one of those descriptions. One reviewer here states that we don't need to talk about those things, again. I disagree! Of course we need to talk about them!
They are out there, and people need to know. If you've lived in small town "x" all of your life and never connected with anyone who claims to be a HPS of 20 years with a successful coven under her belt....then that's going to sound amazing and interesting to you. And I'd hate to see you end up scrubbing that woman's floors in return for her "magickal knowledge" because you didn't know better.
I've seen it happen within my own circle, so I know those people are out there. And besides, isn't knowledge the best defense?
There is some very solid information in this book, both for the beginner and the more advanced Pagan. As someone who runs the only public circle in my hometown, her tips on meeting with the media (what to say and what not to wear!) were wonderful. There is some great information on how to safeguard your wallet by learning how to tell legitimate Pagan charities and non-profit organizations (those to whom contributions are tax deductible) and those with questionable backgrounds and missions.
Then of course, the things that mark you as a beginner. I had to smile at those, because they are very common amongst the persons who come to my circle. I've heard them all (and was guilty of a few myself in my starting days)!
I loved the fact that McLelland was not afraid to clean out her own broom closet about certain things, like witch wars. We've had taken part in things like that when we really should have minded our own business. Big props to her for being so honest about it! This book is filled with anecdotes about McLelland's years in the Pagan community, and that makes it very easy to read. You feel a connection with her as you learn about the mistakes she'd made (while reliving some of your own, perhaps?).
This is one of the best books I've found recently. It's a no frills, honest look at the modern Pagan movement. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know a little more than what the correspondences for the color magenta are, and the new way to cast a circle.
Bravo to Ms. McLelland for what has become one of my most recommended reads and references!
Focus on Salem, MA.......2004-05-04
I thought McLelland is much to focused on Salem, MA, for a book of nationwide interest. Yes, it's a "Witch City" tourist trap, and yes, it does get a lot of media attention on Halloween, but no, her local gossip is not relevant to 98% of American Wicca. Her advice to Wiccans not to go to Salem on Halloween and parade for cameras is good. There is a lot to like in the "Out of the Shadows" too. There is advice on how to meet the media, what to say and wear. Another chapter deals with legal issues that a Wiccan might face at work, and considerations about church deductions and the IRS. One chapter identifies 3 things that Wiccan beginners say which immediately identify them as beginners. One was not to say that your ancestor was burned for witchcraft in Salem. The other 2 beginner identifiers she lists, "grandmother witch" and "shaman training" are indeed wide spread beginner faux pas. The chapter on witch wars was a little shallow, although kudos to McLelland for fessing up and admitting her own part in one some years ago.
Overall it's a pretty good book, and will be useful to someone who wants an overall survey about Wicca. It is good too that some of the skeletons in the closet are hung out to wither away in the sunshine of public knowledge.
Perhaps a little trite.......2004-05-04
First the negatives: McLelland's descriptions of modern Wicca include many of the stereotypes she says she is trying to dispel. Well, hers are not the stereotypes of black robes and pointy hats, but they include priests demanding sex for rituals and arrogant priestesses. Sure, there is some truth in all stereotypes, but do we really need another rehash of the worst ones about Wicca? In addition she is much to focused on Salem, MA, for a book of nationwide interest. Yes, it's a "Witch City" tourist trap, and yes, it does get a lot of media attention on Halloween, but no, her local gossip is not relevant to 99% of American Wicca. Her advice to Wiccans not to go to Salem on Halloween and parade for cameras is good. One page included a mistaken lecture on the Old English pronunciation of "Wicca." She apparently read it somewhere, because I've seen the same mistaken rant elsewhere recently.
There is a lot to like in the "Out of the Shadows" too. There is advice on how to meet the media, what to say and wear. Another chapter deals with legal issues that a Wiccan might face at work, and considerations about church deductions and the IRS. One chapter identifies 3 things that Wiccan beginners say which immediately identify them as beginners. One was not to say that your ancestor was burned for witchcraft in Salem. It is my personal gripe that she goes along with the current Salem Chamber of Commerce denial that there were any actual Witches who were victims at the Salem trials. Several of those convicted admitted that they were "witches," but their names have been scrubbed from the current CofC denials. She escapes with a quibble over the definition of "witch." She's probably right though, that living in Salem she probably hears it a lot more than is credible. That again is more applicable to her local area than the rest of America. The other 2 beginner identifiers she lists, "grandmother witch" and "shaman training" are indeed wide spread beginner faux pas.
The chapter on witch wars was a little shallow, although kudos to McLelland for fessing up and admitting her own part in one some years ago.
Overall it's a pretty good book, and will be useful to someone who wants an overall survey about Wicca. It is good too that some of the skeletons in the closet are hung out to wither away in the sunshine of public knowledge.
Book Description
Only one thing could bring DEA agent Micah McLeod back to Carbondale, Colorado: Rachel Neesham being in danger.
Months before, Rachel's antique shop had been a front for crime, and she'd been a suspect. Micah went undercover to seek the truth and found out Rachel was innocent—but not before casting a veil of suspicion that destroyed her reputation. Yet in the process, he'd fallen for her.
Now, with her business ruined and her faith shattered, the real criminals were after her and her two children. Micah vowed to keep them safe at any cost. Would Rachel forgive and forget?
Her life depended on it.
Customer Reviews:
Shades of Truth, Partial Truth, Some of the Truth..........2007-07-31
This one has a relentless villain, a predictor who plays head games. Shadows of Truths, heroine, Rachel Neesham feels completely victimized, terrified for herself and for her small children and her aging minister father.
She's being threatened, is also in danger of losing her house, and to make matters worse, the man who she believes betrayed her, the man she's in love with, DEA agent Micah McLeod has come back. Will he cast suspicion onto her again, further ruining an already damaged reputation. With all this going on Rachel has lost her faith.
Can Rachel get herself to trust God again? Can she trust McLeod, who seems to never say quite the truth? This is ultimately a story about trust, about love casting out fear. The novel is well written and fast paced. I didn't want to put it down and was sorry when it ended to say good-bye to the characters.
An issue of trust.......2007-04-23
If you've never felt God just wasn't listening, good for you. The rest of us can relate to Rachel, who has reason to be worried and afraid. She is losing her home, her family is in danger, and she believes she was betrayed by the man she loves.
Now she has trouble trusting God, but when she turns to Him, He is there.
Heartwarming and poignant, Mignerey tells a story of love and forgiveness. It's not surprising this book won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times.
Book Description
Shiina and Akira are awkward, self-conscious teenagers, struggling with school and self-esteem whose lives change forever when they encounter and bond with small, cuddly extraterrestrial creatures, two of a menagerie of spaceborn entities now on Earth, including terrifying Shadow Dragons, flying beasts of vast and lethal powers. But Shiina and Akira are not the only ones with such unearthly familiars, and an underground network exists of such Earthling/alien mates - but is their aim to protect the planet or destroy it? And will a trigger-happy Earth military care one way or the other?
Customer Reviews:
Kitoh does it again.......2007-05-10
I've said this a million times before, and I'll say it again: Mohiro Kitoh's Shadow Star series is one of the best manga I've ever read. From one of the most unique and haunting plots imaginable to beautiful artwork and emotionally wrecked characters you grow attached to, the whole series is one wild ride that no self-respecting manga fan will want to miss.
After the death of Komori Tomonori, one of the many malicious youths controlling deadly aliens called shadow dragons, and the arrival of a mysterious new being who attacked local jet pilots, there's obviously a pretty grandoise story weaving itself. Just when you thought there couldn't be any more twists and turns, Takeo Tsurumaru, one of the two older teenage boys who disappeared from heroine Shiina Tamai's summertime plane flight, shows up at the local hospital in volume 3. Determined to chase him down and find out his plans, headstrong Shiina and her reclusive friend Akira Sakura, both of whom possess shadow dragons, follow him and meet up with Norio Koga, the other boy suspected missing. After Shiina tells them not to do anything "bad" or they'll regret it, another new character is introduced. Behold 18-year-old Sudo Naozumi, a stoic dragon bearer and friend of the late Komori who rescues Akira from a skirmish with the cops by means of shameless grand theft auto.
These three new characters had been shown in a few brief scenes before, but now we see more of their personalities and, in the case of Takeo and Norio, the possibility that they may have something to do with the origin of the dragons themselves--for tons of puppets and parts of unearthly creatures are scattered about their warehouse home, including a figure that looks oddly similar to the angel creature introduced in volume 3. The mystery just keeps getting deeper, and while you may wonder how it can all be resolved, there are eight more volumes to go, so kicking back and simply enjoying becomes an easy task.
These three separate groups of dragon bearers (Sudo, Komori, and two other high schoolers from book 2 named Satomi and Kazuyuki; Takeo and Norio; Shiina and Akira) finally start to converge in this volume, and when they find themselves packed tight with insightful writing and fresh artwork, there's a horizon for Shadow Star that shines brighter and brighter no matter how gruesome its content becomes.
WOW!.......2003-05-19
One of the best manga's I've ever read! It's a great one! The characters are well created and I love the dragons! So kawaii! It does get a little confusing at times, so if you're just starting to get into manga, don't get this one (unless you can understand complex plots!). I would recommend this to people who like creatures, sci-fi, and heros/heroines that never give up! :)
Book Description
Anastasia Kerensky and her Steel Wolves tried to take the planet Northwind once before and failed. Kerensky doesn't take defeat lightly and won't give up until she holds this pivotal world in her grasp. Now Countess Tara Campbell must marshall her Highlander troops for a new fight. She'll depend upon Paladin Ezekiel Crow for help, but what she discovers is that her greatest ally may yet prove to be her worst enemy. Book 2 in The Proving Grounds Trilogy, Truth and Shadows by Martin Delrio is the fifth novel set in the universe of MechWarrior: Dark Age.
Customer Reviews:
So, so book--better if taken as part of the trilogy........2005-07-21
Battlemechs CANNOT knock each other over by doing a running forward handstand into a flip. Nor can they roll around on the ground clenching each other like lovers.
Delrio obviously didn't research his topic.
Other than the glaring lack of knowledge of the game universe that this series is based on, I felt that the book was okay. It worked as part of the larger trilogy. Let the buyer decide whether or not they can suspend their disbelief.
I really dislike this new series.......2003-12-20
I understand that the old world of battletech is dead and buried, but this new series is crap. It is poorly writen with little to no action and predictable plot twists. I hate the fact that they have thrown loyal readers into the battletech universe 50 or so years in the future with no explaining what happened to the main charaters from the civil war/clan era. Victor is brought up in Ghost War and has never been brought up again. What happened to Vlad and Katrina, Phalen Kell and the Wolves in Exile, the Clans themesleves, Kai Allard-Lao and so on. People invested years in getting to know these characters and now they are forgotten.
My biggest problem is the lack of action in these books. I don't care about retrofitted agromechs and VTOL's and groundpounders. I want 100 ton mechs blowing each other up and vicious political fighting going on in the background.
Suspension of disbelief.......2003-10-16
Uh, did anyone find it a little wierd how Anastasia got away from Paladin Crow in the first novel. Apparently after their climatic duel, in which Crow overloaded her Ryoken by stroking it with lightning, he let her go free. Picture this, Crow brings the Ryoken crashing down, and does not come to Tara's aid against the IndustrialMech's because he's guarding the Ryoken. Tara finally gets out of her predicament, and Crow tells her to come see what he's caught. THEN, suddenly the Steel Wolves are leaving the planet, and we are supposed to just ASSUME that the DEACTIVATED Ryoken just got back up, said adieu to the Paladin and joined her buddies off planet? Talk about wierd! Other than that little quirk, the second book is pretty good, and if you can handle a little suspension of disbelief, you'll be fine.
Tangled Web of Betrayal.......2003-08-16
Truth and Shadows is the second book of the "Proving Grounds Trilogy" and follows "A Silence in the Heavens." I liked "Silence" very much. I was glad to see that Truth and Shadows carries forward the plot very well. More battles take place in a campaign by the Steel Wolves to conquer Northwind, but this time the war undergoes some original and unexpected turns. For example, you will be surprised to discover where the Wolves have hidden their dropships-- but I won't spoil the story by telling you.
Characters are very interesting. We learn a lot more about Ezekiel Crow. He turns out to be more complex than he seemed at first-- not just a "boy scout" type of straight arrow. In fact, he acts decisively in Truth and Shadows -- to find out whether he is a good guy or a villain, or how to interpret his actions, we will need the third and final novel of the trilogy-- not yet published.
The three motley "ground pounders" have now been promoted to sergeants, but still function wonderfully to bring us the dust and noise of battle from a grassroots view. All in all, author Delrio is to be commended for flowing the second book naturally from the first-- using the larger canvas to brush in more enriching details.
The Prefect, Duchess Tara Campbell, never comes alive for me too well, but her aide-de-camp, Captain Tara Bishop, emerges as a very interesting and important character. Another well-drawn character is the civilian medic who is taken as a bondsman by Anastasia Kerensky. This character, Ian Murchison, promises to have a major part in the coming third and final novel.
Anastasia Kerensky is her evil and sexy best-- her rock-star leathers display a figure that could cause a bishop to kick out a stained glass window. She's tougher, crueler, and lovelier than any of the other Steel Wolves she rules. She doesn't get as much play as in "Silence," but where she does appear she really steals the spotlight. Part angel, part devil, she both kills and loves without mercy and without regret. Truly a classic femme fatale. Mr. Delrio, give us more of her!
One quirk of the book that struck me is the abrupt way it ends. Many trilogies end each separate volume with some sort of reconciliation, some semi- or tentative conclusion. This book just slams on the brakes with little logic. Suddenly, one of the combatants just states, "okay, back off, cease hostilities." We know this is just a pause in the war, and it seems unmotivated. Possibly Mr. Delrio checked the word count of the manuscript, figured out he had penned the necessary 280 pages or so, and said, "hey-- time to go fishing." I wish he had shaped the ending of this book more skillfully. Especially since the third book -- which will clear up all the dangling loose ends-- is almost certainly some months away.
The way Delrio writes, one gets a real sense of the mud, the pain, the laser smoke, the fatigue of a major battle. Delrio may have some military background, or, if not, he has certainly done his homework. He makes the battlefield seem very real and very gripping.
I have read all but one of the new MechWarrior Dark Age series of novels. A couple of the others were pretty good-- and, alas, a couple were simply awful. Delrio's efforts are definitely right up there with the very best. With Delrio and Coleman writing more novels in the new series, I have hopes some good reading is in store for us.
An excellent entertainment, and I highly recommend it.
NorthWind Highlanders in a jam.......2003-08-05
After reading this book the Northwind Highlanders are stuck into a big jam as a true-blood clanner gets [mad]and a missing Paldian goes somewhere not knowing wether he is coming back or not. The Galaxy Commander is bent on teaching a lesson to Countess Cambell, she as lost the sight the true clanner. Even though it doesn't show the GC in true clan format, it does show what has happened to the clanner after years of peace. Great twists. Mr. Delrio keep up the great writing.
Book Description
Light in Shadow:
Zoe Luce is a successful interior designer who's developed an unusual specialty - helping recently divorced clients redesign their homes. When she senses that one of her clients may be hiding a dark secret, she enlists P.I. Ethan Truax to find the truth. They solve the mystery…and barely escape with their lives. But Zoe's own past starts to shadow her every step…
Truth or Dare:
Zoe Luce is settling into newlywed life with private investigator Ethan Truax. Very few people know of her uncanny ability to sense the dark secrets hidden within the walls of a house, and she wants to keep it that way, even from Ethan. As a private investigator, Ethan is paid to find the truth, yet he has secrets of his own that are better left buried. Is the truth a bigger burden than their still-fragile relationship can handle?
Falling Awake:
Isabel Wright spends her days at the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research analyzing the dreams of others. One of her anonymous subjects captures her imagination through his compelling dream narratives. His real name is Ellis Cutler, he works for a highly classified government agency, and he has just been ordered by his boss to make contact with Isabel. But when they meet in the flesh, the dream becomes real enough to touch. And a waking nightmare begins…
Book Description
Winner of the Pearson Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize, the inaugural Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for political writing, and the Dorothy Shoichet Prize for History from the Canadian Jewish Book Awards.
One of the most urgent issues facing the world today is how countries shape historical memory in the aftermath of calamity, making decisions that cast long shadows into the future. Combining gripping storytelling with sharp observation, Erna Paris takes us on an extraordinary journey through four continents to explore how nations reinvent themselves after cataclysmic events. She travels through the United States, with its long-buried memory of slavery; to South Africa, where the Truth and Reconciliation Commission struggles to heal the wounds left by apartheid; to Japan, France, and Germany, where the unresolved pain of Hiroshima and the Holocaust still resonate; and to the former Yugoslavia, where she exposes the cynical shaping of historical memory. Through its insightful analysis, Long Shadows compels us to question where we stand as individuals in relation to our own collective histories.
Customer Reviews:
Not quite what it purports to be.......2006-04-23
My initial impression was that this was going to be a serious work about historiography. Instead, it is more of a personal journey to confront the issues of guilt, memory, and reconciliation. Yes, there are many thought-provoking interviews and recollections, but the author is clearly too close to the subject and it affects her objectivity at times. I was hoping for a more serious study. It's not bad for what it is, however, its just more of an Oprah's Book Cub book and less of a book you might want for, say, a graduate school course.
Confronting the Wrenching , and Doing It Very Well Indeed.......2002-07-18
Ms. Paris writes with the immediacy of a novelist and the analytical qualities of a philosopher. She is clearly enormously intelligent, well-read, introspective, synthetic in the best sense, and probing. I would not call her analysis of the experiences of memory and history optimistic; on many levels, it is starkly cynical. I would call it fascinating and deep, not only from the many interviews she did but from the background research that informs them. Her treatments of Germany, Japan, South Africa, the United States, the Balkans, and the issues of UN tribunals and international criminal jurisprudence are balanced, percipient, and compelling. She is a voice for dogged determination in the process of incrementally improving our species and its approach to conflict, against the culture of silence and looking the other way, against atrocity with impunity. Read her. Find motivation in her stories. Then act as best you can to further a better and different world. Humanity is, and always will be, a work in progress. Ms. Paris contributes mightily to an appreciation of the costs, tradeoffs, and nuances that entails.
A Book For Our Times.......2001-09-25
Erna Paris has done something very important: gone behind the scenes of the usual historical process, and met with people directly affected by the horrid events in Nazi Germany, Hirohito's Japan, apartheid-era South Africa, Vichy France and the disintegrated Yugoslavia. It's a personal history, but it works perfectly, because she asks the right questions and pursues the truth among the legends and fairy tales we have been told about these homicidal, genocidal regimes.
If you're fed up with the usual 'names and dates' types of history, and the 'just so' stories they convey, dig into this book. You're sure to be surprised at every turn. Seriously, you can't go wrong, if you're looking for an insight into how history is rewritten to fool us.
probing analysis of how nations cope with past tragedies.......2001-07-23
Having just caught the author on C-SPan2, I was motivated to comment on this very important book. Paris, a Canadian, has made a career out of examining, often with great inisght and sensitivity, the impact of tragic historical events on future generations within afflicted generations and she doles out her compassion equally to the children of victims as well as to the children of oppressors who seem to carry a blood-guilt down through the generations. Her specialty has been covering and analyzing the impact of WWII but this book covers that ground and more in the area of Slavery, Apartheid, The Rape of Nanking and more. Her conclusions are much what you'd expect but that's no reason to avoid this book. The strength in her writing is conveying a very personal involvement with her subjects, permitting us as readers to get to "know their pain" (to use an overemployed but apt phrase) and see all the survivors as human in their frailty and in their need to find some way to live with the past. She shows us that there is an entire range of coping mechanisms in dealing with atrocities from total official denial as in Japan to spasms of grief as in Germany. In between are nations just beginning to acknowledge their painful pasts and trying to find their own way of putting those memories to rest while still keeping the message of past lessons. She stresses the need for a system of Justice to bring out the truth or nontruth of events so that groups of people can know and accept the truth. I feel she makes an accurate case that where this no accounting, there is very little healing. I found most fascinating her description of her meeting with a Hiroshima survivor and what that revealed about a specific culture predicting how a nation might choose to react to discussions of the past. This is a fine effort and one worth handing to any Highschool age student who is far too young to have experienced any fallout from the tragedies discussed. In light of all the World War II Revivalism going on and with HBO's upcoming BAND OF BROTHERS dealing with the European theater, this work would make a nice supplemental reading requirement.
Memory and Justice.......2001-06-13
Erna Paris has produced an excellent summary of the current understanding of the way people in various socieities use memory to come to terms with past traumas. She addresses memories of historical wrongs in Germany, France, Japan, South Africa and the United States. She takes off from the abundant current literature on how societies remember. Her princicpal contribution, however, are the many interviews she conducted in the various countries under consideration. She has an excellent eye for the telling detail and the dramaitc quote. This is one of the most accessbile books on memory and justice I have read.
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Old Tales and New Truths: Charting the Bright Shadow World
James Roy King
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Folklore & Mythology
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Folklore
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ASIN: 0791408531 |
Product Description
copyright 1973, second printing 1974
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