AS

Well, not all of the literature, but this book is by far the best encapsulation of all of the literature of the period in one place. Other works, such as those by Charlesworth, present the actual writings but I have not encountered a work that summarizes thematically the various beliefs of the period so concisely.

Kugel's book delves into the Pentateuch primarily, dealing with various themes from these books. But from here come multitudes of other themes shooting off from these main themes, taken us on a journey through the massive amounts of writings of this time.

This volume is a hefty price but if you like footnotes and references and other sorts of bibliographic material, it's a dream come true and worth the investment as you can revisit it at your convenience. This version also contains sections following each particular theme called 'Other Readings' which contains elaborations on the main theme thus broadening the scope (and thus embracing even more of this literature) of understanding.

This information is vital to understanding the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity out of the milieu of Second Temple Judaism and neither can truly be understood without this valuable information. Such things as fallen angels, resurrection and life after death, the Messiah/Savior/Son of Man and other such themes all underwent great development during this period of turmoil and the unfolding of their development can be found in this literature.

Kugel does not so much as explain in scholarly fashion the details of this development but highlights the ideas and themes and presents the particular verses chronologically by quoting the various writings.

In the index are all of the writings with a brief history of them and their importance in the history of each faith. This book contains The Bible As It Was and then some. In my opinion, as I've become hooked on the incredible diversity of exegesis (and some flights of fancy) from the Pentateuch, the difference in price is worth it (my only complaint would be that, whereas The Bible As It Was can be obtained relatively inexpensively through various outlets, this one still commands top dollar).

All in all, this is a tremendous and vital resource for anyone seeking to really understand the origins of the split between Judaism and Christianity, the historical development of the beliefs of what became Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism and anyone interested in the historical underpinnings of theological ideas that ultimately affect our worldviews.

This is an expanded addition of Kugel's excellent work "The Bible As It Was." It contains the same introductory material and the discussion of all the "exegetical motifs" from the smaller version plus a lot more. The question for all potential buyers is whether the addtions are worth the price. With "Traditions of the Bible" you will get about 50% more material for about three times the price. The full list of motifs is available in the lenthy table of contents on the Amazon page. Thus, readers can examine the list to decide if the extra material is what they need and, therefore, worth the price. Beyond the pure fascination of encountering the ways in which ancient interpreters addressed the exegetical difficulties of the Torah, both volumes serve, in the long term, as reference works. Anyone working on specific texts from the Torah will not want to be without all of the resources that Kugel has pulled together in these books. For some, these resources will be ample for the task. For other, they will be a great starting point for further research. If the text you are working on is not in "The Bible As It Was," that can be frustrating. If your intent is to have a reference work in your library to use for years to come while working on a wide variety of passages from the Torah, then "Traditions" may be a good buy on a cost-per-use basis. Certainly, any library will want to purchase the larger volume.

Yikes! What were the Boys in Brussels thinking?!

Bravo, Mr. Middleton!

NIck Middleton as usual delivers the goods. He carries on where he left off delivering a humorous account of the current EEC. His political and economic insight to the region is witty and informative, but as usual he writes with a subtle sarcasm, never shying away from providing the reader with an informative view of the European continent. I would also thoroughly recommend trying to get hold of his earlier work "Last Disco in Outer Mongolia".

This is one of the most unique, practical, and encouraging books I've ever read on parenting. It's a dangerous world for our kids--dangerous physically, emotionally, and morally. How can parents nurture their children into well-adjusted, responsible adults when negative peer pressures constantly pull them in opposite directions? In Trusting Enough to Parent, Wayne Hastings demonstrates, in highly doable ways, how parents can replace fear with trust--and positive action. He provides practical methods and true stories demonstrating the real-life effectiveness of those methods. I especially like how he helps parents identify, appreciate, and work constructively with the unique personality temperament of each individual child. If I could give this book SIX stars, I would!

I found the book Trusting Enough to Parent to be quite enlightening. I read the book with few expectations, just hoping that I could gain some wisdom about raising children in this chaotic and unpredictable world in which we live. Mr. Hastings has the rare ability to teach through scripture, life experience, and acquired wisdom and knowledge. He uses his own life experiences to set the stage for each chapter and then draws upon scripture as he backs up his main points. He, in no way, makes the reader feel guilty or like he/she is "doing it all wrong." Rather, he spells out his points and uses examples (both biblical and lay) to bring home his ideas. The topics he addresses include: trusting enough to trust, to enable, to prepare, to love, to listen, to know your children, to understand your children, to confront your children, to discipline your children, to pray for your children, to let go of your children, and to get started. I love the way each chapter is based in scripture but keeps one foot firmly grounded in the realities of daily life. Lastly, I found the "Think and Talk About It" section at the end of each chapter to be especially helpful as I continually attempt to assimilate and integrate his ideas into my parenting style. This is a book that I will refer to often as my children continue to grow and mature and new issues evolve for both them and myself.

Newbigin brings a solid grasp of the history of thought to his insightful analysis of the contemporary scene. This book is written in an extremely clear manner and is a pleasure to read. Newbigin takes the ideas of Michael Polanyi, a philosopher of science whose thinking had tremendous theological implications, and shows how we can benefit greatly from his philosophical approach. Newbigin analyzes typical arguments from both liberals and conservatives and shows that at many times they both rest on similar flawed assumption. Newbigin also maintains a high view of truth and a strong focus on Christ. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in communicating the gospel clearly in a postmodern culture.

Newbigin gives a daunting challenge in this work for the Christian church. As a church leader I found in this book a provocative challenge to speak the truth in the face of a pluralistic culture that holds up relativism and humanism as gods to be honored. Newbigin calls us to speak the truth which is Jesus the Christ and also warns of aligning ourselves with the political agendas of the right or the left but to remain centered on the truth. This is a must read for all who are unsure what the church is to be and what message it needs to speak to our society.

I discovered this little gem of a book while exploring the stacks in the library when I was attending a local junior college back in the 80's. The author uses Logo's turtle graphics as a way of exploring the properties of geometric space. From very simple beginnings drawing regular polygons and other simple shapes, the book gradually works its way to more and more complicated scenarios. After exploring the properties of ordinary turtle graphics, turtle graphics are tried on the surfaces of spheres and cubes, then on more complicated surfaces. Little by little, concepts of non-Euclidean geometry are introduced, until the final chapters in which the turtle is used to demonstrate the geometric nature of gravity in Einstein's general theory of relativity.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone with interests in computer programming, geometry and physics. The unusual approach this book takes to the understanding of curved space is deceptively simple and surprisingly powerful.

Anyone interested in logo from beginners to advanced users will benefit from reading this book. It has very easy and simple to understand examples, along with a review, and questions at the end of every chapter. Some solutions are provided at the end of the book, (and their even correct, as opposed to many other text books I've read). The pace of the book gets gradually more difficulst, yet more interesting as you reach the climax at the end. A must read for anyone interested in Mathematics.

fue como si mi esposa hubiera muerto para mi...
Yo no le habìa causado ninguna pena, pero me lanzò al abandono y a la soledad.
Me hizo sentirme como un extraño que solo tenìa la obligaciòn de llevar a casa el dinero para los pañales y el pediatra...
Estuvimos al borde de la separaciòn,hasta que ESTE LIBRO LA HIZO VER LA REALIDAD...

Hemos vuelto a ser felices y ya no tengo celos del bebè..¡Lo adoro !

mi matrimonio no hubiera fracasado...
¿Què sucediò?
Que en cuanto me convertì en madre, DEJÈ DE SER ESPOSA, PAREJA, AMIGA Y COMPAÑERA !
Jamàs pensè que Luis y yo tambièn tenìamos derechos ni que un dia, el niño, ya adulto, iba a hacer su vida y nos dejarìa...

Ahora, ya no hay remedio:El niño se volviò hombre y Luis, al verse abandonado, carente de ateciòn, de vida sexual y amocional..con toda justicia, se marchò para siempre !

evìtalo, amiga ! estàs a tiempo !

I first read this book right after law school, when I went to work in the criminal courts as a clerk and bailiff. At that time, in a metropolitan area of over one million, there were no security screeners at the entrances. Gang types were active in the halls. I had to "face up" with the most alpha-dominant types you have ever imagined. Oh, you have to deal with them ever day. Understood. These were people who enjoy, and even get off, on pure evil. This book taught me to actually take their "macho" and add it to my power over them. You probably don't leave home without your kevlar. If you are, or wish you could, absorb this book into the very fabric of your being... because next to kevlar it can save your life. Then give it to your partner. And then to your spouse take a look at - you will gain a whole new receptivity to your daily activities. Be proud, be professional - and become a master in the incredibly effective martial art of verbal judo.

Many in the " Law Enforcement / Security " Field would greatly improve their chances of survival and become better communicators by mastering the material in this easy to read manual for learning how to " Talk & Deal " with your fellow man & woman. This book has probably saved me from Past Mistakes that would surely have resulted in physical confrontations,...to re-hash an old saying " WINNING THE HEARTS & MINDS ". So save yourself a " LAWSUIT"... Dont be ignorant... buy this book !.

This book covers everything from wood selection to finish. Includes full size plans for molds. The author also gives specifications of select Stradivarius violins. A must for any builders library!

This volume certainly qualifies as one of those rare gems which holds a special place in your bookcase or shop. Heron-Allen manages to give complete detail to all facets of preparation and construction, in addition to holding the reader's attention through numerous footnotes and sidelines. A detailed technical book written in a very enjoyable fashion, and with a style no longer seen. I've been known to read this book on several occasions for pure joy.

An excellent book on several levels. I highly recommend it for all of those interested in American History, Cultural Studies and Sociology.

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate the development of the American myth of the "Garden of the World". Smith argues (persuaively) that the idea of the American continent as a garden: fertile, lush and tamed(or tameable), deeply influenced the course of American history.

As Leo Marx said in his similarly awesome "The Machine in the Garden", the brillance of this book lies in how Smith demonstrates how ideology drives action (or, alternatively: how ideas drive behavior).

Smith divides "Virgin Land" into three parts. Part One "Passage to India" describes the initial path westward and the philosophy of the individuals who pushed for westward expansion (Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Hart Benton, Asa WHitney, William Gilpin and Walt Whitman). By way of a prologue, Smith notes that the idea of "Manifest Destiny" did not develop as soon as the settlers arrived, but rather was developed by American Philosophers and Politicans (and land speculators). In the first Part, Smith describes how the initial push westward was justified via the idea that a passage west would increase trade with the Orient. Smith notes that this idea dervied from 18th century Mercantilist economic theory and was therefore "archaic" (a favorite term of Smith's in this book) from the very beginning.

The Second part of the book ("The Sons of Leatherstocking") uses the literary character of Leatherstocking as an entry point for a discussion of the development of the western hero figure in literature.

A highlight of the book comes in Chapter Ten when Smith discusses the "Dime Novel Heroine". I found his discussion illuminating.

In the third and final part of the book, Smith lays out the characterstics of American Agarianism which would come to define westward expansion after the Civil War. Smith outlines the conflict between Southern Pastoralism and Nort/Western "Yeoman" Agarianism and notes how the Homestead Act was singularly influenced by this second conception of American settlement. He also documents how this same philosophy of agarianism prevented later reform of the Homestead Act even after it became clear to many that the Homestead Act had failed miserably in its goals.

Smith also discusses the struggle by authors to develop authentic western "characters" and relates that struggle to the emegerence of the "Garden of the World" symbol.

This really isn't the forum to tease out all the different issues presented, thoughtfully, in this classic book. I recommend it highly.

Smith is clearly an academian yet tackles some rather fun topics like Wild Bill Cody and the prototype American spaghetti western plot. Alongside in this book he recounts the many historical perspectives flawed in their historical accounts by the most famous writers of their time through the period of manifest destiny. Lastly, he takes on the romatic images of the homesteaders in a re-worked story of their evolution as pioneers showing the earliest prejudices from the east.

Ian Currie studied and researched reported incidents of life after death. His book is well written and easily understood. This book confirms ,to those who already believe, that death is not the end of our being. It serves to ease the fears of those who are not sure, and are fearful of dying. There is no sensationalism just facts presented in a comfortable, easy to read manner. It is unfortunate the Ian Currie has passed on, I am sure he would have written more books.

It will change your views on life, death and afterlife. After you read this book (and several times in between) you'll just pause, and ponder the ramifications....