Easter Books

I've always had dificulty understanding the situation in Ireland, but Mr. Ward's slender book does an excellent job of summarizing the history that has led to so much conflict. He explains briefly the history of Ireland, from the earliest Norman settlers and the colonialism of England, and it's attempts to gain greater control through settlement and land reform, and how Catholicism and Protestantism play into that mix. He also discusses the various forms of nationalism - Constitutional, Revolutionary, and Romantic - and how each has contributed to the political makeup over the years. Mr. Ward sees the 1916 Easter Rising, although not especially successful at the time, as a pivotal point in Ireland's history, galvanizing those in the Catholic south to push for their independence, and fortifying those in the Protestant north in their allegiance to the British crown. He also explains the consequences of the Rising and how it has shaped conditions since then. Especially interesting was learning how America and the many Irish who immigrated have had such a profound effect on the situation in Ireland.

Although the actual discussion of the Rising itself is cursory, the history discussed is very enlightening in helping to understand such a complex situation. My initial impulse to read this book came from listening to U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (particularly the "Rattle & Hum" DVD version) and to better understand the sentiments expressed. But I immediately found myself fascinated with the complex history of Ireland and started digging back into my family genealogy to find which counties my few Irish ancestors came from, giving me a greater feeling of connection to their lives. But mostly, it gave me a greater understanding of the reasons behind the conflicts I remember hearing about on the news when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s. The book is perhaps a bit too academic and scholarly in it's focus to be considered casual reading, but it's short and not difficult.

EDIT: After discussing this book with others more knowledgeable of Irish history I've learned that Mr. Ward greatly minimizes the extent of British culpability for the problems in Ireland. By sanitizing the history in this way, I feel that it can't possibly provide an accurate understanding of the reasons behind the violence and conflicts.

This is a "revisionist" view of Irish history. This book was first published in 1980 at the height of the "revisionist" wars in Irish history. Some historians at that time were fearful that the violence in NI was being fed by nationalists interpretations of Irish history and a toning down was needed. This revisionist movement led to a slue of books which sought to minimize the British presence in Ireland but especially their culpability in the situation that was then out of control.

If you read the intro Ward actually says that Irish history has not been "interpreted" the correct way and has therefore got to be reinterpreted. Ward is therefore going to put a different "spin" on things - and he does. He refers to the Elizabethan wars as "rebellions" in Ireland. Well, what was actually going on was Elizabeth I sent in huge armies into Ireland to dispossess the native Irish. The native Irish were forced off their traditional lands by force of these armies. Ward completes glosses over this and refers to O'Neill and O'Donnell as "rebels". Rebels who were trying to keep their own lands! But he fails to say this.

As to 1916 - Ward gives as the reason why the British sent in a huge army to put down the Rising - hold secret trials and shoot the leaders and arrest thousands - was a fear the Brits had of a German landing because of WWI. That is a huge stretch but one that Ward had to make to "explain" the atrocities that the Brits committed during the Rising including the random shooting of civilians on Dublin streets. But how does this "threat" of a German landing explain what continued to be a brutal British reaction after the Rising? The Black and Tan slaughter of civilians and the burning of towns throughout Ireland that followed was the worse period in all of this - all of which Ward again glosses over. The Black and Tans arrived in Ireland two years after WWI so trying to claim that the reason why the British reacted so violently in Ireland was because of concerns from Germany is a completely false assertion.


Ward also claims that Sinn Fein did not win a mandate from the Irish people in the 1918 elections. Nonsense. This is another false claim by Ward. In fact, Sinn Fein won 73 out of a possible 100 seats and set up a parliament in Dublin on a firm mandate from the Irish people - the present Dublin Dail is a direct descendant of this electoral mandate. So what is Ward talking about?

One typical aspect of the revisionists view was to claim that most of the egregious laws passed by the British in Ireland over their 800 year presence on the island were "not enforced" and to soft peddle them this way. Ward does this over and over again in this book. This argument has not held water - the anti-Catholic laws were quite effective in fact - and since the late 1990s another wave of historians are re-claiming the high ground and the "revisionists" view has been discredited to a large extent.

I don't recommend this book.

This book does a great job explaining the politics before and after the Easter Rising of 1916. When I first saw the book, I though it was going to be a book about the events of those days in 1916. But only the first chapter really talks about the actual Easter Rising. So, if you are looking for a book that only does the chronology of Easter 1916, you will be disappointed. But Ward does a great job explaining the difference between Constitutional Nationalist and the militant republican movement. He also does a great job in explaining the cultural differences, and how the Irish republicans used these cultural tools to their advantage. Finally, he ends the book by talking about the increase in Sinn Fein's political participation, due to the events of 1916.

Again, if you are looking for a book purely on Easter 1916, this isn't it (I wish the book did go more in depth into Easter 1916, Pearse, Connolly, and others, that is why I only gave it four stars). But if you are looking for a book that tells the cause and effect of Easter 1916, this is a great book.

This book is much more than just the Easter Rising. The first chapter explains the Rising rather simply, making it easy to follow along. The following chapters explain everything from the causes of the Rising (Unionists, Republicans, Consititutionalists, Home Rulers, Romantics). It goes back more than a hundred year, giving a quick overview of Irish Colonialism by the English and focusing on the 19th century after the Act of Union in 1800. It includes political, popular, literary, and even sporting movements. Then it explains the imediate events of the Risings and goes on to explain the after effects, including Sinn Finn, etc. This book is really a short history of Anglo-Irish relations. It's written in a manner that anyone can pick it up and set it back down with a well rounded knowledge of the events. It even includes a chapter that explains the effects of Americans on Irish relations. This is a wonderful secondary source sutable for anyone wanted to gain some basic knowledge of the problems in Ireland or wanting to just get a solid background before going on to do any more reading.

Flenley and Bahn have created an incredibly comprehensive reconstruction of Easter Island's history. They cover the origins, flora, fauna, tides, culture, language, stone carving, etc. In fact, for a layman such as myself, the sheer volume of details is a bit overwhelming, and I frequently found myself skimming. (I really didn't want to know that much about Chilean palm tree nuts or pollen samples.)

The authors make their very plausible (and exhaustive) case that the Easter Islanders doomed themselves by invoking an ecological disaster, possibly compounded by drought, which led to starvation and internecine warfare.

The stone giants are the embodiment of some sort of archetypal figure from the human subconscious and have fascinated generations. I came away from the reading most impressed by the fact that every scientist, archaeologist, doctor, engineer, or assorted wing-nut who had seen the stones was compelled to try and figure out how they were carved or moved. The megaliths seem to cast a spell over the most sane and rational people. (I found myself telling my husband we should go there for our next vacation)

While somewhat compelling, this book was really not what I expected. I found it to be basically a reiteration of the first edition published in 1992. Have the authors nothing new to say? I would skip this book- not worth the read- there is so much wonderful material out there on Easter Island. This seemed like a waste of good time. Next!

This is an excellent, up-to date (2003), fairly easy read of an astounding place, Rapa Nui, the island in the South Pacific better known as Easter Island. This is in fact an updated edition of an earlier 1992 edition, that has been revised to incorporate new ideas and developments in research into a place which has seen quite a deal of academic interest and debate over the last few decades.

It is, as the title suggests, mostly a discussion of some of the more enigmatic and mysterious aspects of this small island at the 'edge of the world', so to speak. Discussions include how the Polynesians got there in the first place (several thousand kilometres from just about anywhere), what happened to the island's original flora and fauna, why there are now virtually no trees on the island, why and how they built and transported the enormous statues, why their culture seemingly underwent several periods of cultural implosion, and how they came to have their own system of rudimentary symbolic writing-no small thing incidentally- since it is only one of a handful of societies where a form of writing is thought to have arisen independently (although this is debated for Easter Island).

Rest assured, once one delves into the detail and human richness of the history and culture on Easter Island, (past what one hears via the grapevine or via populist travel articles), one begins to find things one did not quite expect. Put simply, it becomes a kind of mirror of the human psyche, of humans in close interaction with their primeval environment, with all its ghastliness and beauty, and their myriad inclinations towards both the tragic and the beautiful.

Take for example, the extreme feeling of isolation that a seafaring culture must have felt, of being stranded, once all the original tree species had been cut down and driven to extinction, and they couldn't make any more sea craft (something a number of environmentalists have pointed out). Imagine the keen loss of traditional values that must have been felt, once the statues were thrown down (in a probable revolution of some sort), or the desperate alternative worship of man-like birds, who could fly away into the sea and escape their lonely, now barren, isle. And what about the island's trees in the first place-there was a highly prized native palm on the island, that could be sourced to transport statues, make ropes, make sea craft, and provide an alcoholic sap amongst other things, which was driven to extinction by the islanders-whether by over-exploitation, neglect, or through an inability to adapt and change, or all of them. And there are even suggestions that is was in the making and transporting of the statues themselves which at least partially caused the islander's ultimate cultural downfall-the transport of the statues required the felling of timber, and if one of these two practices had to cease or change, it probably wasn't the felling of timber.

It is difficult to know for certain what variety of factors were responsible for the extinction of the prized trees, but no doubt isolation, neglect, and an inability to change must have been major factors. In addition, the Polynesian rat evidently had a big appetite for native palm nuts (teeth marks in nuts). Without the timber from the trees, soil erosion and degradation set in, and most importantly they couldn't make wooden boats to fish, and so they began to starve. Archaeological evidence also indicates an outbreak of warfare at about the same time as the trees became extinct. There is indeed a myriad of archaeological evidence here to delight anyone interested in the rise and fall of nations and cultures to be sure, scattered in caves, swamps, dwellings, quarries and various other places on the island.

Another interesting discovery is the preserved fossilised roots of native palm trees, which are almost identical to the modern day, very versatile Chilean species. Also of interest to me was the subtle development from religious ritual and symbolism, to depiction of the same on favourable rock outcrops, ultimately to communication of the same on wooden articles-the Rongorongo script. In short-'religious ritual' to 'writing'. Writing originating as art inspired by cultural isolation? There are suggestions here that it was the Spanish who influenced this trend towards writing, but after reading the debate here, I'm not convinced. The extreme isolation to me suggests a kind of inspired artistic innovation or expression. Readers might also be surprised to learn that the origin of the Polynesians themselves is from Taiwan in about 4000 BC-an island nation, that has frequent political troubles, and I presume also may have had, around 4000 BC??.

There are various other discussions on the geology, geography, climate, the infamous Kon Tiki expedition, genetic research into islander origins, Polynesian dispersal and seafaring, archaeological excavations (of course), agriculture, general ecology, statues and ceremonies, food issues, the western human impact from the 18th century onwards, the introduction of smallpox, western religion, slave trading from Peru in the 19th century, and revised views on issues concerning resource sustainability, and ultimate parallels with the rest of the world. It is worth mentioning here that the first edition received some criticism for failing to note differences in resource availability with continental landmasses (which have a larger degree of alternative resources, and further discoveries of eg minerals), and these issues have been incorporated in this revised edition. Comparisons are also made with two other pacific islands, although in somewhat limited detail, Mangaia and Tikopia, which experienced similar ecological and cultural crises, but apparently managed to 'see them through'. There are also a number of black and white and colour plates, and quite a few diagrams which provide good support to the discussions.

An excellent overview of a thoroughly fascinating, and always surprising place.

This is likely the most comprehensive and authoritative work available on the mysteries of Easter Island, concerning its unique culture and its famous statues. The writing here is rather dry, with only occasional glimmers of personality, though the knowledge presented is robust and is usually entirely readable for the interested layperson. The book gets off to a pretty slow start as Flenley and Bahn unnecessarily debunk the discredited theories of Thor Heyerdahl, while they seem to have a colonialist-style disdain for the memories of the present Easter Islanders. The book eventually improves, presenting a general history of the island and an overview of its isolated brand of Polynesian culture. Utilizing archeology, linguistics, botany, anthropology and other disciplines, we learn here that the Easter Island culture evolved out of a likely total isolation from their Polynesian kin (it's one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth), adapted to specific environmental challenges, and developed a highly unique society focused on building giant statues and monuments. But at some point the closed cultural and environmental system collapsed, probably with deforestation and soil erosion as the root causes, and the rich island culture broke down into mayhem and anarchy. This is a chilling lesson for humankind, though Flenley and Bahn wrap up the book with a pretty weak and predictable environmental message for the world. [~doomsdayer520~]

"Image of the Risen Christ" provides a reasonably thorough overview of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Shroud of Turin. The book suffers, however, from a few flaws. First, it would have benefited from better proof-reading and copy-editing; the text contains quite a few errors of syntax and punctuation. Second, Stevenson does not deal with some of the more persuasive arguments in favor of the "pious fraud" theory, especially the impressive photonegative image produced by Nicholas Allen, an image that has most of the characteristics of the Shroud and was produced using materials available in the Middle Ages. (Whether or not the know-how to use those materials was available at that time is another question.) Third, the last part of the book contains some Christian apologetics that undermine the dispassionate tone Stevenson is striving for. The apologetics also call the author's objectivity into some doubt; he says, for instance, that there is strong extrabiblical evidence for the Resurrection, a dubious claim that makes one wonder how loosely he defines "evidence." Personally, I would recommend Ian Wilson's "The Blood and the Shroud" over this book; Wilson is a much more polished writer, and his overview is more complete and, I think, more evenhanded. Stevenson's book does have the advantage of being slightly more recent, and Stevenson's "insider" status on the STURP team may make his views more authoritative.

Twenty-three years ago, I was asked to be the spokesman and editor for a research team that came to be known as STURP(The Shroud of Turin Research Project. Thus began for me an advocation that continues as fervently for me now as then: the study of the Shroud of Turin. While my first book on the subject, Verdict on the Shroud, became an international bestseller, it was not without its problems. Image of the Risen Christ is for me what I trust will prove to be a fair, balanced yet comprehensive study of all the evidence to date: both pro and con.My desire is that the reader be able to reach his/her own conclusion based upon the facts and nothing else. The publisher, Grant Jeffrey and Frontier Research Publications have an excellent reputation for their numerous scholarly works in the vast field of Biblical Studies and Apologetics. With their help, guidance and editorial expertise, I trust that this work will be for the audience a most readable yet thorough and fair presentation of what may argueably be the most exciting Archaeological find of all time. Not to mention a scientifically challenging piece of evidence in support of the Gospel record of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Dr Kenneth Stevenson, Author

The sections of the book that cover the shroud are interesting, but too much of the book is about the internal politics and decision making of the STURP project. I purchased the book to learn more about the shroud, not the bickering surrounding it.

Dr. Stevenson has done an excellent job presenting history, facts, and new scientific evidence on the Shroud of Turin. He presents the pros and cons and allows the reader to form their own opinion. And after reading this book, you will have an opinion...

Dr. Stevenson was the official spokesman for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) in the late 70s. He brings the findings of his research and expertise to this book. Having read his two former books on the Shroud back in the 80's, (The Shroud and the Controversy and Verdict on the Shroud), I was eager for a recap and an update on new research. This book will not disappoint you. Whether you have been following the research on the Shroud for years or you are new to the study, you will find this book well-written and very interesting.

Dr. Stevenson's latest book will provoke you to intense thought about Jesus, who He was, and the price He paid.

This is a great book to keep children remembering the true reason for the Easter Holiday. My boys LOVE these books! They are beautiful. Someone had mentioned in a review that it was not fact, well no, it is not. But are most Legends? (Isn't that way it is called a legend?!) So if you are looking for a book to celebrate Easter and heartwarming, this is an amazing book!!

The tradition of the Easter Bunny and the Easer Egg are PAGAN! Christianity absorbed it into its religious practices. Don't pretend the past did not exist... not a good way to honor Christ's memory. Do your research and tell your kids the truth. Many Christian practices come from pagan traditions.

This is one of several Easter-themed books our family owns, and it is one we return to again and again no matter what time of year. It contains many of the various elements of Lent/Holy Week, and weaves them into a lovely children's story. The illustrations are outstanding, particularly the one of the angel outside the empty tomb on Easter morning. Currently we have the board book version (which is of course abbreviated) and like it so much that we want to buy the full-length version. I'm confused as to why a previous reviewer gave it only 3 stars but had no criticism of it. It's a 5-star book in my opinion and highly recommended.

In this historical fiction story about Easter, a young man learns the legend of the Easter egg and about his faith in Jesus.

Thomas asks his sister about the legend of the Easter egg while they do their chores. Unfortunately she doesn't get a chance to answer him before she gets Scarlet Fever. While staying with friends, he asks about Easter eggs. Thomas finds his answer and prays for the first time.

This endearing story is a great way to explain some of the symbols used to celebrate Easter to young children. A great book to add to the other collectable legend stories like The Legend of the Candy Cane.

and therefore the most dangerous, as is the soporific lotus, or the bewitching poppy.

Hello, people! GK is not a Catholic theologian! He is a popular author of quaint detective stories! Yet something called the Center for Studies of CS Lewis and Friends presents him as a Catholic Theologian through the mildly Catholic Liguori Press, and we remain deceived. Lewis himself was a mere popular author, and yet we hold our breathe at his alleged brilliance and devious depth. Get a grip, people! Hello! Read our Roman Catholic theologians, especially now the greart and Reverend Father John Dear, SJ, especially now his Disarming the Heart: Toward a Vow of Nonviolence, his Jesus the Rebel: Bearer of God's Peace and Justice, or his Jean Donovan; The Call to Discipleship.

For timely meditations on Lent and Easter let us turn not to anglicans but to our practitioners and teachers of Catholic theology such as Bishop Bossuet's Oeuvres choisies de Bossuet, évêque de Meaux: Tome 2 and Solesmes' Abbot Gueranger Liturgical Year: Lent and The Liturgical Year: Passiontide And Holy Week and The Liturgical Year: Paschal Time (Book II), this last one of three books on the Paschaltide.

We might also do very well in our time of Lenten reading as ordered by Our Holy Father Saint Benedict to review the passion and death of our many martyrs of the Americas, including Archbishop Romero: Memories and Reflections, or Companions of Jesus: The Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador, and The Same Fate As the Poor.

Appropriate Lenten meditation may also be found in such examinations of true Catholic theology as Unbroken Communion: The Place and Meaning of Suffering in the Theology of Edward Schillebeeckx and Suffering And Salvation: The Salvific Meaning of Suffering in the Later Theology of Edward Schillebeeckx (Louvain Theological & Pastoral Monographs, 33) (Louvain Theological & Pastoral Monographs, 33).

We may also deeply consider in our Lenten lectio divina reading from the great Catholic theologian the Reverend Father Gustavo Gutierrez on On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent and on the same exegetical subject the great Jesuit and American Catholic, the Reverend Father Daniel Berrigan in Job: And Death No Dominion as well as the other works of these great, well-trained, well-respected, profound and truly Catholic theologians.

So why deceive ourselves with the jovial and deceptively comforting and amateur words of the cloaked Chesterton? Because we Catholics prefer pretentious ease to the great Catholic truth of the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ Incarnate in our Church today.

Come on, all we Catholics! Get a life! Leave behind the false comforts of the armchair adventures of Lewis and Chesterton and come to know and live our integral and infinite Faith. Read the real books which bring life, not those which bring a shallow and lotus-like sleep.

I've enjoyed this book. G.K. Chesterton is someone I've not read much. The devotions are thought provoking, prayers insightful, daily action plan varied and beneficial. Each day's devotion could be a bit longer. I'd recommend this to friends.

I have been reading this book daily during this year's Lenten season. Each selection includes an excerpt from G.K. Chesterton's writing, a verse, a prayer and something to think about or do to apply the teaching during the day. My favorite so far: Windows are meant to be cleaned and forgotten. Sins are like that. When you see a window today, think about these things. Is that cool or what?!! I love the idea of booklets that help us focus on the meaning of Lent, Advent and such. Our busy world seeks to claim all our attention. We can just say, "No!" Blessed Easter to all!

THE GOOD: Chesterton. Aphoristic, brilliant, timeless. Today's entry on the "double benefit" of Becket's hair shirt, for instance. The format -- an excerpt from Chesterton, a verse from Scripture, a prayer, and a Lenten action -- is sound.

THE BAD: The New Revised Standard Version. Graceless, sexless, ugly.

THE ODD: Ligouri is a Catholic publisher. The book's authors are Protestant. One is the director of The Center for C.S. Lewis and Friends, the other an elder in the United Methodist Church. It shows up in the Lenten actions, which encourage prayer but are bereft of the other two works of piety familiar to most Catholics (almsgiving and fasting.) There's also an element of pop psychology. I simply will not "draw two parallel horizontal lines across the page" this Lent.

This is a book that tells the story of Jesus as though he were just a very good man. While inspiring and feel good human stories are valuble in their own right, I think it is misleading to to advertise this as a retelling of the story of Jesus. The core of Jesus' teaching is that He was the Son of God, and any story that does not acknowlege this is not an accurate retelling of the message. I think that my biggest complaint is that this book is advertised as a "retelling drawn from the Gospels" and therefore raises the expectation that it will be faithfull to the Messianic message. However, it's downplaying of Christ's divinity becomes obvious only as you read it, and frankly, I was offended by the dishonesty.

Whether or not it was intended as such, this book is a subtle attack on the fundamental teachings of Christianity. While there was obviously a sincere effort to focus on what Jesus taught about love, the ommissions rendered the story incomplete and the message about love distorted. An example is at the passover supper where, in the Gospels, Jesus prophesies Judas' betrayal. In this story, Jesus says "For soon, I fear, one of you will betray me," and no mention is made of Jesus' statements directly to Judas. The effect is to suggest that Jesus just made a very good guess, not to mention the implicit contradiction with His teaching that we are to fear nothing but God.

I am sorry to be so critical, but this book has very subtle theological distortions and should not be read to Christian children.

A wonderful, accessible retelling of the story of Holy Week for elementary-aged children. It is especially rare and special in that it is not based on the doctrine of substitutionary atonement ("Jesus died for our sins"), which is not synonymous with Christianity. It doesn't explicitly deny that belief, but places its emphasis on Jesus's charge to his followers to find redemption through love and forgiveness, no matter how difficult that may be.
For those who want their children to have an understanding of the Crucifixion in the context of Jesus's life and teaching, and who want the lesson that they take away from the story to be positive and constructive, this is a great find.

I see lots of children's stories from our church library, Sunday school, from the Christian bookstores etc. I found this book of all places at the public library. I find it refreshing because its artwork is not the typical cartoony style I usually see. The crucifixion is a serious subject and the artwork reflects that. My 6-yr-old son is a visual learner, and he's attracted to comic books, the art you see in Yu-gi-OH cards, Avitar etc so he's bored with alot of the mild-looking cartoony material he sees in Sunday school, etc. This was different.

Contrary to a prior review, the "off-camera" resurrection was quite effective with my son. I read it to him, and we imagined what Jesus looked like. We added sound effects. In fact, it struck up a 30 minute conversation on Jesus, heaven, the angels, the resurrection etc. I'm buying a copy and adding it to our library!

First, the good: the artwork is excellent, and the comparison to Van Gogh is apt (though my wife thinks it more like Cezanne, FWIW). Very affecting and effective.

The text also has strong points, with its focus on Jesus' message of love and forgiveness. Which leads me to the negative, alas--the focus is exclusive.

Specifically, this exclusive focus effectively makes the narrative incomprehensible--in light of the text, why did Jesus have to die? The text explicitly downplays any messianic aspects of Jesus (he does not ride into Jerusalem, nor does he make any statements about his person). This has the unintentional effect of making the temple leadership unspeakably vile, motivated solely by a grasping jealousy and hatred.

The Resurrection is also downplayed, with the risen Jesus never depicted (a shining, "off-camera" aura appears to the disciples instead). And while the text says "yet he still lived," it also says on the last page "In his love, Jesus lived on." The combined effect of the text and the art is that the Resurrection was a spiritual apparation of Jesus, not a physical reality.

If nothing else, the book is an instructive example of the impossibility of creating a convincing, stripped-down Jesus palatable to a hyper-sensitive secular worldview. A noble effort, but one inevitably doomed to fail.

I bought this book on eBay as I love Halloween and Children's Halloween Poetry. This copy was discarded from a public library, the due date sticker indicated it had only been borrowed three times!
The drawings are HORRIFIC with fangs, ungodly expressions, etc. A previous reviewer said it's for the "Goosebump" crowd. Well, I don't think this is for them or any child. As a retired Children's Librarian I would have sent the book back and gotten something more appropriate such as: "It's Halloween" by Jack Prelutsky. I remember once watching the movie "The Pit and the Pendulum" and having nightmares for weeks afterwards! Okay, maybe I'm squeamish but this book in my opinion will give your child nightmares and I think that's why it was disguarded after only having been borrowed 3 times!

These spooky tales of Halloween night
Are guaranteed to delight

Nineteen tales of fright and fear
Shall be enjoyed throughout the year

These tales are simply great fun
They have something for everyone.

RATING:A-

When reading this to a third grade class, they didn't want me to stop reading. The poems are fun and the illustrations were beautifully done. I highly recommend for personal libraries for children and teachers.

Seymour Simon's 1991 book gives an excellent and terse overview of the important ideas about earthquakes. With key terms defined simply but accurately, all accentuated by large color photographic depictions of the effects of earthquakes, Simon explains the pertinent information: what causes earthquakes, what happens during an earthquake, and the different types of earthquakes.

The book can be read from cover to cover, or bit by bit; each two-page spread stands fairly solidly on its own. The impact of the damage earthquakes can inflict is immediately apparent when the book opens with a stunning photograph of the way an earthquake turned "railroad tracks into twisted ribbons of steel." The most amazing photo in the book shows the way a wooden fence was "broken and offset eight feet" by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Simon takes what could be a very frightening concept for a young child and explains it in such a way as to make earthquakes more logical and less arbitrary. The final page of the book might be the best place for a nervous child to start reading, as Simon gives some suggestions of what to do during an earthquake. The book closes with the calming reassurance that the chances of being hurt in an earthquake are very slim.

This book does not include a great deal of detail, but I think it does a good job of what it is intended to do: introduce a child to the subject of earthquakes. The photographs are my favorite part.

Children living in areas where natural disasters, such as earthquakes, do not occur may not fully understand the true destructive powers of this earth-shaking phenomenon. This book does its best to render earthquakes understandable. To do so, it incorporates full pages of color photographs of destroyed buildings and houses. Having been published in 1991 originally, the book may have originally served as an answer to those children wishing to know more about the notorious 1989 San Francisco quake. I myself was 11 at the time, and curious about this bizarre force of nature. This book does much to show a variety of different quakes from around the world, and its large graphs are very helpful as well. Yet something about the presentation is displeasing to the eye. Full page pictures have no border and seemingly slip off the page. They tend to show houses destroyed by quakes without giving much thought to showing the earthquake-resistant houses being built at the time. Also, there isn't a single footnote or credit at the end of the book. Seymour Simon is notorious for his steadfast refusal to cite his sources in his non-fiction books. There is no denying that this is an interesting topic. I especially liked the informative section in the back that tells the reader how best to survive an earthquake on their own. And this book would read well in class, though perhaps students should look at it personally themselves to better understand the graphs and maps included. However, I urge those wanting a complete earthquake source to search out better cited non-fiction books, if they can.

This is a very good beginning book on the subject for children. It begins with scientific information about how earthquakes occur, and then goes through what may happen during an earthquake, such as buildings falling down, fires, gas leaks, etc. It goes into further particulars, such as how it feels to be in an earthquake, and what safety measures to take.

The illustrations are very simple, and not especially appealing, but they do help illustrate the points well.

All in all, a good book for children ages 8 -12 who live in earthquake prone areas, especially.

I highly recommend this book. It's a very fresh, diverse, and multicultural approach to Christianity and moral ethics in general. It's very easy reading in lay person's terms.

The Episcopal church in the twentieth century took advantage of the general availability of publishing to good advantage, compiling through several auspices different collections and teaching series, the latest of which was only completed a few years ago. There have been 'unofficial' collections of teaching texts, such as the Anglican Studies Series by Morehouse press, put out in the 1980s, as well as an earlier teaching series. However, each generation approaches things anew; the New Church Teaching Series, published by Cowley Publications (a company operated as part of the ministry of the Society of St. John the Evangelist - SSJE - one of the religious/monastic communities in the Episcopal church, based in the Boston area) is the most recent series, and in its thirteen volumes, explores in depth and breadth the theology, history, liturgy, ethics, mission and more of the modern Anglican vision in America.

This ninth volume, 'Ethics after Easter' by Stephen Holmgren, looks at the issues of ethics and morality in an Anglican fashion. The first question Holmgren addresses is what are called to do from our Baptimal covenant? How now should we live? There are questions in this of worship, of theology and of spirituality, but Holmgren specifically addresses the question from the standpoint of moral theology - a high-sounding phrase that really focuses upon the basic question of our vision of God, and how God would want us to live.

There is much discernment to be done, by the individual and by the community. Holmgren addresses topics such as social justice, war and peace, sin, love, and other key issues. He sets out various approaches to ethics - do we look at the issue from the standpoint of human civil laws, or from the standpoint of God's desires for us, or both? Drawing from this, there are three ethical approaches - natural law, the historicist view, and the 'positivist' view, the one where we make a choice based on our own and communal discernment. None of these are guaranteed to give a right or wrong answer (indeed, all may lead to the wrong answer!), and rarely are any used in exclusion of the others.

Holmgren looks the issues of sin, love, law, justification, sanctification and many other 'theological' concepts in application to daily life and work, as well as broader planning and communal living and decision-making. At the end of each chapter, Holmgren sets forth axiomatic statements that build a framework (axioms are basic 'truths' widely accepted as being true, relevant and applicable generally). The system of twenty-two axioms are set out in the conclusion/appendix.

Stephen Holmgren is an Episcopal priest in Wisconsin, having also served in Tennessee. He is a professor of ethics and moral theology at Nashota House, one of the Episcopal seminaries in the church. He also is active in the area of medical ethics, and is a regular conference leader and speaker.

Each of the texts is relatively short (only two of the volumes exceed 200 pages), the print and text of each easy to read, designed not for scholars but for the regular church-goer, but not condescending either - the authors operate on the assumption that the readers are genuinely interested in deepening their faith and practice. Each volume concludes with questions for use in discussion group settings, and with annotated lists of further readings recommended.

I've truly tried to appreciate this book. I really have. I've actually plowed my way through it on two different occasions. But with all due respect to its author, the book is just soooo boring, soooo tedious, and soooo simplistic that it's difficult to work up any enthusiasm for it. This is a shame, because Christian ethics is both an intrinsically exciting field and an excruciatingly important one for those of us who struggle to respond to the world as loyal members of a community of faith.

Perhaps one of the reasons this book is so dissatisfying is that it struggles so hard to play it safe. Author Holmgren provides a very traditional account of moral knowledge derived from reason and from revelation, nods to the very obvious fact that agreement on moral principles doesn't entail agreement about practice, and points out the equally obvious fact that principles are general and moral dilemmas are concrete and situational and that casuistry is the discipline of trying to apply the one to the other. All this is as predictable (and as stimulating) as the Baltimore Catechism. Holmgren only begins to enter into interesting waters when he reflects on the tension between the human desire for the good and human fallenness, but he quickly pulls back by offering the reader a deadly account of the seven deadly vices. Reading his book, one would never suspect that Christian ethics is an incredibly rich, incredibly complex, incredibly diverse, and incredibly rewarding area of investigation that draws on anthropology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy as well as scripture and tradition. There's a certain quaintness to the book that makes it seem as if it written in the mid-nineteenth century before moral theologians such as Rowan Williams, John Macquarrie, Gene Outka or Stanley Hauerwas were born!

I appreciate that the volumes in the New Church's Teaching Series, of which Holmgren's book is one, are intended as popular introductions to lay Anglicans. But the new series, with the notable exception of Margaret Guenther's beautiful book on prayer, tends, like Holmgren's book, to be simplistic, boring, and patronising. My guess is that they are bought and read by Anglicans more out of a sense of duty than joyful eagerness. That's a genuine pity, because the Anglican spiritual, theological, and moral tradition is a beautiful and insightful one. How in the world can the Episcopal Church hope to excite its members about their faith when it feeds them such pablum?!

For those people with little or no investment experience, I think this is an appropriate book. It's fairly comprehensive but doesn't go into detail. I would keep it as a handy reference rather than as an investment guide (not enough investment advice).

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The book gives a good summary of different investment vehicles out there to beginner and somewhat experienced investors. However, the book does push the idea of investing through Dean Witter a little too much especially in the beginning chapters. Not bad as a reference book although the Motley Fool books are a little more amusing.