Amazon.com
Joseph O'Connor's impressive historical novel, Star of the Sea, examines the unsettled personal tragedies among a group of interrelated characters and their difficulties in disregarding the past. Lord Merridith and his family board the titular ship in 1847, bound for New York, leaving behind an Ireland devastated by famine and strife. The family's beautiful nanny, Mary Duane, is with them, having fled a life of poverty, prostitution, and extreme tragedy. Another passenger, American journalist Grantley Dixon, is lured to America by business and his thinly veiled affair with Lady Merridith. Mary Duane discovers that Pius Mulvey, her former fiancé and the brother of her deceased husband, is among the overcrowded group of disease-ridden steerage passengers. A renowned thief and murderer, Mulvey abandoned Duane, only to return and sabotage her life in Ireland. Despised by his countrymen, Mulvey has been ordered by a group of steerage thugs to assassinate the demonized Merridith or face his own death.
Conflict is inevitable, but O'Connor is more interested in the complexity of history and relationships and how each makes reinvention and resolution impossible. O'Connor presents the story as a work of journalism written by Dixon, composed in the era's tabloid style, even including passages from the captain's register and crew interviews. These devices lend the work a sense of authenticity, reinforced by the author's intimate knowledge of the period and his evocative, realistic prose: "At night one sensed the ship as absurdly out of its element, a creaking, leaking, incompetent concoction of oak and pitch and nails and faith, bobbing on a wilderness of viciously black water which could explode at the slightest provocation." O'Connor conveys a sense of immediacy and dimension in his ambitious story, providing this uncertain voyage with an ultimate sense of direction. --Ross Doll
Book Description
In the bitter winter of 1847, from an Ireland torn by famine and injustice, the Star of the Sea sets sail for NewYork. On board are hundreds of refugees, some optimistic, many more desperate. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt Lord Merridith, his wife and children, and a killer stalking the decks, hungry for the vengeance that will bring absolution.
This journey will see many lives end, others begin anew. Passionate loves are tenderly recalled, shirked responsibilities regretted too late, and profound relationships shockingly revealed. In this spellbinding tale of tragedy and mercy, love and healing, the farther the ship sails toward the Promised Land, the more her passengers seem moored to a past that will never let them go.
As urgently contemporary as it is historical, this exciting and compassionate novel builds with the pace of a thriller to a stunning conclusion.
Customer Reviews:
Absorbing History Lesson.......2007-09-09
Star of the Sea is a fast-paced, well-crafted novel about the impact of the 19th century Irish potato famines. The backstories of the ship's passengers are all riveting, and present views from both the impoverished and the privileged. This is an excellent book; hard to put down!
Wish I could give it 3 1/2 stars..........2007-09-01
"Star of the Sea" is a beautifully written and powerful book. The setting in a ship of starved Irish emigrating to America could hardly be more dramatic. My "favorite" parts - and the favorite goes in quotes because these parts are often horrific - are the descriptions provided by the Captain of the conditions of the steerage passengers. These parts are incredibly moving and all the more so for the realism and precision of O'Connor`s prose.
But three things bugged me about the book and preclude the 4 or 5 stars it probably should have deserved. First and foremost were the inconsistency of some of the main characters, which go from the utterly despicable and immoral to the heroic. This is the case for at least two of the central protagonists. The second were the Dickensian coincidences that set up the meeting of the protagonists on the ship, which bely the realism of much of the novel. And the third was the rather flat ending.
Despite these "flaws", I did much enjoy this book and will look forward to more by O'Connor.
Great history lesson.......2007-07-27
This one is a great insight into the lives of peopl during the Irish famine. A great read, though a little hard to follow unless you understand some Irish.
Clarification for NLP readers.......2007-04-29
This Joseph O'Connor is an Irish novelist, NOT the NLP trainer and author of the same name.
All Over the Place.......2007-03-26
"Dead men tale no tales," is an old saying having to do with the criminal intent of disposing of those who would testify against one, but it also serves as an apt metaphor for this novel, which has, as its historical aspect, the terrible famine of Ireland in 1847, and the hundreds of thousands of lost souls who perished during it. None of their stories will ever be told and many did not live long enough to even have a story. This novel is very successful in that it gives one a very thorough understanding of this famine and its effects, but it is somewhat less successful in its characterizations and plot.
The story is structured around the journey of the Star of the Sea, a steamer making its way from Ireland to New York, and focuses on several of the passengers on it, whose lives leading up to its departure are told in flashback. Primarily, they are David Meredith, a landowner fallen on hard times; Mary Duane, maid to his children; and Pius Mulvey, a thief and murderer. The tale is told through various artificial devices, such as the ship captain's log and letters from Meredith, but the bulk of it is narrated by a character in the story who does not reveal himself until very near the end of the novel.
As mentioned, the historical aspect is detailed and compelling. The problem is with the two main characters, Mulvey and Meredith, neither of whom is fully realized. Mulvey starts off as a mysterious, tragic figure, is then revealed as a clever, resourceful thief, and then undergoes another transformation into a contemptible, cowardly brute. Worse, motivations for his actions remain mostly unclear. Meredith starts off as rather jaunty and confident, then he undergoes a number of bizarre transformations as well, including that of a midnight skulker and sexual deviant among other things, and for no apparent reason we discover that he has emotionally abandoned his loving wife. The result of these contrived actions is that the reader loses any empathy he may have had initially for these characters in that he simply can not believe in them as real-life human beings. Wading through their stories therefore becomes a bit of a chore, if not a bore.
A secondary thread has to do with a shipboard murder plot and its ultimate resolution comes completely out of the blue and is utterly ridiculous.
Unfortunately, these flaws overwhelm the novel's good points: a very fluid, literate style; and a convincing portrayal of the famished, devastated Ireland of the mid-nineteenth century.
Book Description
For decades the Soviet Union and now Russia have held leading positions in the development of a special class of vehicles which are neither aircraft nor ships . . . or both at once. Known as wing-in-ground effect (WIGE) craft or by their Russian name of Ekranoplan, these vehicles combined the best of both worlds, operating on the borderline between the sky and the sea, offering the speed of an aircraft coupled with better operating economics and the ability to operate pretty much anywhere on the world's waterways. As such, they promptly attracted the attention of the military and thus have been veiled in secrecy until recently.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!!.......2007-09-12
"Russia's Ekranoplans" is a great book. The history of the projects and the photos were terrific.
Book Description
This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multivolume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .
After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyberworld where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.
But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . .
Customer Reviews:
FANTASTIC.......2005-08-05
Must read the other Well World Series by Jack Chalker to appreciate this book. I think this series is one of the greatest works in the Sci Fi field. Unfortunately, Jack Chalker has passed away so there will not be anymore books in this series. If you liked the Well World series you will enjoy this one also.
Deja Vu.......2001-02-25
An interesting variation of the same original well world series. The first book is only an introduction to the second book. The characters are well disguised remakes of his previous characters. Almost all Well World series have Drug Lords with their planet fortresses, Evil Conquerors ( and their guilt ridden proteges ), body swapping and its psychological repercussions. But then thats what we all like about the well world series. So if you are a fan, go ahead and make your day.
His Best In Years!.......2000-05-28
I have been Chalker fan since the publication of the first Well World novels, and have read every book he has ever written. That being said, I have found the recent attempts to revive the Well World to be sorely lacking. Until The Sea Is Full Of Stars, that is. I have found this to be the most enjoyable book that Chalker has written in years (I found Watchers At The Well to be less than satisfying). This book, however, seems to capture the spirit and adventure of the original novels. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that the second book does not live up to its potential
WELL WORLD!.......2000-03-20
If for no other reason, Jack Chalker deserves his place in science fiction for having invented the Well World. [Side note: I'd never write a Star Wars or Star Trek novel, but if Chalker ever asked me to write a Well World novel, he wouldn't have to ask twice.] Every Well novel has been brilliant; the last three were superior, but read much like variations on the original theme. Now he has integrated new scientific & technological knowledge into the Well mythos AND done something completely new with the concept. Besides that, virtually no one besides Chalker of whom I know has done so well in making aliens both understandable to us and at the same time so clearly not like us at all. I am awaiting the sequel.
Classic Well-World Novel, But..........2000-03-05
This is classic Chalker at his best. If you enjoyed the original Well World series then you have to read this.
My only disappointments are that it takes the whole book to get to know the characters and to get to the Well World, and the final couple of chapters are all that's left to wind up the novel -- a bit of an anti-climax. In fact, you will have to buy the next one to find out how the story really ends as this is just an episode in a bigger plot. So, it is not really a stand alone novel at all.
Book Description
A compact field guide to the commonly encountered echinoderms of the Galapagos Islands, an exotic and coloful group that includes sea stars, brittle stars, sea urchins, heart urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers. With full color illustrations and complete, diagnostic descriptions, this book is intended for visitors and scientists to the Galapagos.
Average customer rating:
- Sea Monsters and Parallel Worlds
- Parallel universes, a lost Earth and wandering souls.
- From Sea to the Stars
- reprint
- Good books Incomplete listing
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From the Sea to the Stars
Andre Norton
Manufacturer: Baen
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1416521224 |
Customer Reviews:
Sea Monsters and Parallel Worlds.......2007-09-20
From the Sea to the Stars (2007) is an omnibus edition of two SF novels: Sea Siege and Star Gate. These early works by the author have long been available only in used mass market paperbacks. This new softbound edition is a welcome addition to the canon.
In Sea Siege (1957), twenty-five years after the end of World War II, the threat of war is coming to a peak. East and West have been fighting a covert war for decades, with occasional flare ups into hot war. Now the red plague is killing fish throughout the globe and something strange is happening in the ocean depths.
In this novel, Griff Gunston is very upset with his father's lack of attention and casual distrust. Since his mother died, Griff has lived with his aunt while his father worked on projects in the East Indies. Recently, his father returned and took Griff to live with him on San Isadore in the West Indies.
Dr. Gunston is investigating the changes in the seas under in a joint American-British project. Griff would rather be studying at the Air Force Academy, but his father lacks time to listen to his dreams. Griff is frustrated, but diverts himself by working with the islanders.
Angus Murdock is the captain of the Island Queen, an interisland sloop that carries equipment and supplies between San Isadore and Santa Maria on a regular basis. Chris Waite is mate of the sloop and Rob Fletcher is the crewman. These three islanders have adopted Griff as an unofficial crewmate.
Griff is discussing the war news with Chris and Rob when Captain Murdock rows to the ship. He brings the latest information about the St. John -- another small interisland ship -- which had been found drifting without crew. Then Mosely Peeks, a conch fisherman, brings word of a dupee grounded on the island.
Captain Murdock and Griff discover the dupee buried under sea birds and surrounded by crabs. They are amazed at the sight, for the large sea creature looks like a storybook dragon. Dr. Gunston, and his assistant Frank Hughes, recover the remains and take them back to their lab.
In Star Gate (1958), Terrans had landed their ships on Gorth almost five centuries past. The Terrans were a long-lived breed, some having lived from before the first coming. But the Terrans produced few offsprings. Even when they bred with the Gorthians, few children were born.
Now the Terrans have determined that their presence was not good for the natives and decided to depart Gorth. The summons had gone out to all Terrans and their offspring to gather at the ships. But some did not want to venture into space, so they devised a way to cross timelines.
In this novel, Kincar s'Rud is Daughter's Son and heir by blood to Styr's Holding. Yet his uncle Jord s'Wurd opposed Kincar's inheritance of the lands. With the departure of the Terran Star Lords, Wurd conceived of another destiny for his daughter's son that would not result in kin war within the Holding.
Wurd bestows upon Kincar a scale shirt, sword and surcoat of finest make, but he also directs the boy to leave the Holding before he takes his last breath. He has Regen -- his guardsman -- dress Kincar in the finery and take him down to the courtyard where his mount is ready for travel. Kincar seats himself on Cim -- the pick of the Holding's larngs -- and whistles for his mord Vorken, then leaves for the pass to the northeast with Vorken flying overhead.
At his first stop, Kincar takes inventory of his possessions. Regen has provided all the equipment and supplies necessary for his journey. Yet he has also packed a surprise: a Tie. This gem is dedicated to the Three and holds great powers. Jord might gain the Holding, but Kincar has Wurd's full trust.
In his journey, Kincar comes upon a camp with six travelers. Three are women, which is very unusual in this wasteland. As he is observing the camp, Vorken gives a startling scream and the sound of a hand drum blares forth. A seventh traveler dashes up and the others mount their larngs. The women ride onward, with one man as guardian, and the other men wait for the returning rider.
When ragged outlaws attack the travelers, Kincar dashes down the slope with his sword ready. Vorken gets the first strike, sending one outlaw down clutching his head. Kincar takes down another outlaw and then loses himself in the battle.
After the outlaws flee, Kincar learns that the large man dressed in silver is Dillan and the other two are Jonathal s'Kinston and Vulth s'Marc. Kincar suspects that Dillan is a Star Lord, but the man is hidden behind his travel mask and encompassing clothes. Dillan asks Kincar's name and repeats "s'Rud" with a strange intonation.
In this story, Kincar follows the other seven through the wasteland to a deep valley. There they find more travelers and mounts, as well as a couple of blue pillars with a shimmering web suspended between them. He observes a Star Lord and a Gorthian lead strings of larng between the pillars and disappear in a surround of rainbow lines. Then comes his turn.
The first tale is not one of the author's best SF works, mostly because it is too mainstream. The second tale, however, shows the typical mix of action and mystery that invests her best SF stories and the early Witch World stories. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of abrupt changes, competent responses, and high adventure.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Parallel universes, a lost Earth and wandering souls........2007-09-03
Her FROM THE SEA TO THE STARS also provides two complete classics under one cover: SEA SIEGE and STAR GATE. SEA SIEGE tells of scientists who survive nuclear war only to find a strange set of sea creatures - intelligent - have been released to threaten the remainder of Mankind; STAR GATE tells of Star Lords, parallel universes, a lost Earth and wandering souls.
From Sea to the Stars.......2007-06-27
Once again Andre Norton combines science fiction with interpersonal dynamics and social issues. It is hard to put her books down once reading has begun.
reprint.......2007-06-08
This is a reprint of books she wrote a long time ago. I still have a copy of each as I can't throw away books. If you are younger than 50, Like Andre Norton, You'll find these stories about half way to her best. I liked them. Claudene
Good books Incomplete listing.......2007-05-01
I assumed this title would be a reprint of some of the Grand Master's earlier books, but I wish somewhere in the listing it would have said that the books were SEA SIEGE and STAR LORDS. I enjoyed reading both stories when I first found Andre Norton's books while I was in high school and look forward to reading them again.
Average customer rating:
- OUTSTANDING!
- Great illustrations!
- FRESH, FUN, & ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE
- Adorable, funny book!
- This beach adventure is especially great for 3-4 yr. olds.
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Stella, Star of the Sea (Stella)
Manufacturer: Groundwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0888993374 |
Amazon.com
Marie-Louise Gay's squat, snub-nosed children with their frenzied locks are as familiar to under-fives as the wild things of Maurice Sendak. In Stella, Star of the Sea (which won a Governor General's Award for illustration), the gifted picture-book artist introduces the irresistible duo of Sam and his spirited older sister, Stella. "Stella and Sam were spending a day at the sea shore," Gay begins this playful celebration of summer, adding, "It was Sam's very first time." Stella is an adventurer, eager to dive to the ocean floor, tame sea horses, and dig a hole to China, but her little brother, Sam, is made of more cautious stuff. When Stella, looking out at the sea from the top of a delightfully round sand dune, exclaims, "Isn't it beautiful, Sam?" he observes with a characteristic deadpan, "It's very big... and noisy."
Gay humorously contrasts the children's impressions of the sea in pictures and dialogue that capture Sam's experience of its frightening enormity, as well as Stella's joy in its secret treasures. To fend off the prospect of a swim, Sam keeps asking Stella anxious questions like "Does a sea horse gallop?" Stella's replies are as authoritative as they are imaginative: "'Yes!' cried Stella. 'And you can ride a sea horse bareback.'" Gay's whimsical watercolors show Stella swimming alongside tropical fish and holding onto the back of a child-sized pink sea horse, while Sam hangs behind, a tiny speck in a water ring on the distant shore. Ultimately, of course, Stella's irrepressible enthusiasm wins over Sam's sober hesitancy, and in the final image of this charming picture book the two of them float happily in a luminous blue green sea. (Baby to age 4) --Lisa Alward
Book Description
Stella and her little brother are spending the day at the beach. Stella has been to the seashore before and knows all its secrets, but Sam still has a lot of questions. Does a moonsnail come from the moon? What can you buy with a sand dollar? Stella has answers for them all. The only thing she's not sure about is whether Sam will ever come into the water. Through exquisite watercolors, this book brings to life a perfect summer day and the sweet and funny relationship between an older sister and her baby brother.
Customer Reviews:
OUTSTANDING!.......2005-11-28
I was introduced to the 'Stella' books by a friend, and what a find they are! The pictures are beautiful to look at, and the little details are wonderful - It's so much fun to find Stella and Sam's pet dog and see what he may be up to. Stella is a 'wise' little girl, her logic is creative and it's really just plain fun to read! (...even more fun because our daughter's name is Stella...She loves to hear these books read out loud!)
Great illustrations!.......2003-08-29
This is one of my favorites! The artwork is gorgeous and little brother Sam's inquisitive nature is funny. Stella's answers are also quite creative. My daughters really enjoy this one.
FRESH, FUN, & ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE.......2000-09-20
I just discovered Stella and Sam this weekend and they are now officially my favorite children's characters ever! The brother and sister relationship has never been explored with such sweet simplicity. A worried Sam asks the truly stellar Stella question after question after question, and she answers with pizazz and panache, until Sam can't help but be influenced by her infectious enthusiasm. Their paunchy little-kid stomachs and Stella's flame-red hair are sooooo cute that the book would be worth the buy even for the pictures. Luckily you don't have to compromise - the dialogue makes it difficult to read without laughing aloud and the story flows with a fresh feeling that is completely enjoyable.
Adorable, funny book!.......2000-03-04
Stella aquaints her little brother, Sam, to "The Sea"--a world to which she is an expert and which adults do not seem to inhabit. He is testing the waters, obviously timid about his first ocean adventure. She is an avid explorer--unafraid to share her waters with fallen stars (starfish) and galloping sea horses. It's worth buying this book just to see the picture of the two fishing off of the pier. Absolutely Adorable!
This beach adventure is especially great for 3-4 yr. olds........1999-07-23
The illistrations are beautiful. The story with all of sams questions and stellas imagination are right out of a preschoolers mouth. Fun summer reading.
Customer Reviews:
Great, satirical detective story of post Franco Barcelona.......2003-07-13
Highly recommended hard-boiled detective novel that looks at the cultural malaise of Spain in general and Barcelona in particular coming out of thirty years of Fascist dictatorship. Every character in this book has a serious political past and agenda, and they recite their political evolution and handily give the details of which party they recently voted for and why in the same fashion that Law & Order interviewees cynically give the details of their professional pitfalls. The hero Pepe Carvalho is so wacked out he burns books (but why is the question,) and he seems to be an overweight balding alcoholic with gourmand tendencies, but he's still a hit with the ladies. And the story is excellently written, and at once amusing and sad.
PEPE CARVALHO'S FINEST.......2000-02-08
Once again Montalban hypnotizes us with his great story-telling ability, his poetry, his stunning metaphores and unforgettable characters. Detective literature never aimed this high. Winner of many prestigious awards including "The Raymond Chandler Award", Southern Seas introduces us to the figure of Pepe Carvalho, detective, gourmet, wine-expert, philosopher, lover, former member of the Communist Party and the CIA. The setting is Barcelona, Spain, in the post-Franco era. Images of rare beauty and impressive power alternate in this atypical "who done it?" story. Montalban succeeds in elevating the genre to a higher level and, perhaps, creates a genre on its own. More Montalban, please!
Book Description
The first and only book to explore the concept of the Messiah in light of the radical new evidence just discovered in the recently released Dead Sea Scrolls. Recent figures in the news, such as the self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, and the prophetic Orthodox Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, are confounding reminders of the forceful vitality of messianism in the modern world. They are also sobering indicators that contemporary society needs to take seriously and understand the messianic mind set. In The Scepter And The Star, biblical scholar John J. Collins unearths the seeds of messianic thought in the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other ancient literature.Many of Collins's conclusions hinge on his recent discovery of profoundly important material in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1991, nearly fifty years after they were originally folind, the entire collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls was finally released to the public. Collins was one of the first scholars to examine the scrolls and realized that they contained enormously significant messianic texts. The Scepter And The Star Will be the first scholarly work to explore fully the impact this new evidence has on our understanding of Jewish apocalypticism and messianism. In addition, Collins examines the crucial links and similarities between Jewish and Christian models of the messiah. How did Jewish communities, living in the turbulent century before the birth of Christ, envision the end of time? Did Jewish messianic figures influence the development of the Christian Messiah? Here, in careful detail and cogerit, accessible analysis, Collins explains the birth of messianic thought and its repercussions for Jews and Christians alike in ancient--as well as modern-times.
Customer Reviews:
Second Temple Messianism.......2005-06-12
This is a well researched, scholarly book that examines the messianic movements of the second temple period. It basically examines the various phrases (e.g. son of man) associated with the messiah(s) that were expected throughout this period. It certainly was written from a research standpoint to be used for research and not intented as a casual reading.
This book gives a fair review of the various expectations such as a warrior type messiah, a suffering servant, as well as some lesser known movements such as the two messiah movement and even the Christianized returning messiah dogma.
For the most part, the author is not identifying the messiah as any particular individual, but is trying to provide a broad scope look at the many movements and possible reasons as to how they developed and evolved from one type to another.
Drawing heavily upon the Dead Sea Scrolls, the author examines the various Bible texts that imply messianism and attempts to place these messiahs in their proper context. I believe that any serious student of this period would do well to have a copy of this book handy as it should prove to be a well used and well cited text as the research and debate about messianism thrives and grows.
an in-depth study of a complex problem.......2000-12-29
The Scepter and the Star by John Joseph Collins is an in-depth study of the complex problem of messianism and the varied messianic expectation(s) and speculation(s) during the time of Second Temple Judaism. The subtitle of the book, "The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature" is important because Collins does not restrict his study to the Dead Sea Scrolls. He goes through the Pseudepigrapha (a large, open-ended collection of biblically-related and biblically-dependant literature that is not a part of the Bible), the Apocrypha, the Hebrew Bible/Tanak/Old Testament and the messianic ideas contained within those works. Collins also deals with Jesus and the New Testament in this work, although it is on the side that these discussions take place.
Collins' knowledge of the Hebrew Bible is extensive on both theological and historical levels. His knowledge is also useful because in the Hebrew Bible are the roots of the problems with messianic interpretation - the scriptures themselves. Once Collins places particular scriptures in their historical context, he then goes on to show their influence(s) and interpretation(s) in various post- and extra-biblical works of literature. We find a pre-existent, heavenly messiah, a priestly messiah, a kingly messiah, and a militant messiah in the works Collins analyzes. At least one messiah was expected and possibly and two, depending on who wrote the work. Collins also deals with the history of the word "messiah" and its various uses in the Hebrew Bible.
In reading the book, the reader will gain some insights as to how and why the writers of the New Testament understood Jesus the way that they did, but the goal of the book is not to connect these works to Jesus. The book is, in many ways, a survey of the messianic thought during and before Jesus' time.
This book is not an introduction by any means. It is an in-depth study; some previous knowledge of the Scrolls, the Pseudepigrapha, and Second Temple history will be useful to the reader. A glossary would have been nice and helpful and would have opened the doors for less knowledgeable readers to read and understand the book. Overall, this is an excellect read. However, previous knowledge will enable - and perhaps even be necessary - for reader to grasp the many insights in Collins' work.
Excellent Book!!!.......2000-08-21
The Scepter and the Star is an excellent and indepth study of the controversy between Judaism and Christianity. In this book we find substantial support for the reasons that many Jews did not accept Jesus as their Messiah. The Jews were looking for two Messiahs- not one. There is scriptural support, which is well documented by John Collins that points to two Messiah figures of the Apocalypse. Collins also references Dead Sea Scroll material that specifically points out two figures- a Davidic and a Priestly Messiah . This book explains how two diverse religions came and stayed- Judaism and Christianity- over these differences. It shows how the Bible was more than a religious book, but a history book as well. This is an excellent, well written book that should get people to look again at the Bible and perhaps read it with insight instead of letting others TELL you what it says!!
Book Description
Each book: - Helps children identify different species. - Features detailed true-to-life illustrations. - Has fun activities and projects.
Customer Reviews:
Great for class or family fun!.......2004-12-31
This is a terrific book to take along to the beach, or use for discussions before or after a trip.Also very useful for identifying shells you find, and telling fascinating details about the creatures that lived inside.
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- Passionate Slugs & Hollywood Frogs: An Uncommon Field Guide to Northwest Backyards
- Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940
- Handbook of Heavy Tailed Distributions in Finance
- A Ship Made of Paper: A Novel
Amongst Women
Redemption Falls: A Novel
Ireland : A Novel
The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse (Oxford Books of Verse)
The Master and Margarita
