Future Books

When the University of Alabama's Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies, helmed by luminary Gary Taylor, chose hotshot University of California Professor Bryan Reynolds as one of the "the six most brilliant Renaissance scholars in the world under 40," I begrudgingly decided to read Performing Transversally. I had already heard too much buzz about his book on criminal society, and was confident that his kind of flashy scholarship -- a la his Harvard teacher-thaumaturgists Marjorie Garber and Stephen Greenblatt -- would be of little interest to an old-historicist like me. But now I must confess that I've read both books and found them to be more than impressive.

Reynolds is driven by a desire to mine the subterranean, which leads him to reveal such things as the bogus history of gypsies in Tudor-Stuart England, Shakespeare's anticipation of Stalinism, and the uncanny relationship between Shakespeare and American celebrity killer Charlie Manson. Along the way, Reynolds wrestles with almost every major critical tradition, and explains what he sees as their shortcomings and benefits for future research. His "transversal" approach is enhanced by his wit and chutzpah. In this, he reminds me of Leslie Fielder, or Susan Sontag (God bless them). Reading the work of Reynolds and his collaborators is like revisiting the 60s and 70s when literary theory aspired to ethical ideals and was fun to explore and do.

This book has not only emerged brilliantly out of the new historicism's wake, utilizing everything productive the new historicism had to offer, but it creates a wake in which new historicists -- especially the more myopic ones -- continue to flounder. Reynolds and his fellow transversal movers and shakers launch cogent critique after critique, both implicitly and explicitly, of new historicist criticism (while improving upon the Althusserian and Foucaultian theory behind it), supplanting its often fly-by-night and defeatist rhetoric with optimism, rigor, and relevance to concerns of today the likes of which most new historicists never imagined or cared to imagine possible. Reynolds' performance-oriented and expansive method enables analyses of Shakespeare's plays and adaptations of them -- of the "Shakespace" (one of his many playful coinages) through which they move -- that are far-reaching in value and application across history, cultures, and academic fields. I would even go so far as to say that Reynolds is a visionary with the scope of Raymond Williams, and, like Williams, Reynolds envisions and wants to inspire -- with his "transversal poetics" -- a better future. For Reynolds, although clearly a lover of Shakespeare, Shakespeare is just one of many points of departure for transversal adventures to elsewheres of learning, empowerment, agency, and evolution. There is no book on Shakespeare that I would want my students to read more than this one.

This is a great book. I bought it because everyone was talking about it at the Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies Conference last fall, and as I did it could not believe that I was spending $65 on a book, something I have never done before. But since I am a Shakespeare scholar -- I suppose I can call myself that now even though it is only my third year in grad school -- I figured that I need to have the new hot thing. What I did not know is that all the hipe was more than justified. Reynolds et al. are unrelentingly captivating in every respect: funny, smart, rigorous, engaging... Most important to me, however, is that this book is about change, responsibility, and empowerment. Shakespeare is just Reynolds' vehicle, that he uses to take his readers into "Shakespace," a conceptual and emotional space of expansion and learning, an other world where we can all move transversally. Thanks Reynolds et al. for getting my brain reeling, and getting me excited about my work!

Performing Transversally constitutes a major intervention in early modern studies that will no doubt be as important as Dollimore's Radical Tragedy but at the same time infinitely more useful to the future of critical inquiry across disciplines, ranging from theater studies to film studies. Reynolds' transversal poetics is the most exciting approach to lit-crit since deconstruction emerged on the scene in the 60s, and I am certain that the impact will be no less great. If it sounds like I love this book, it is because I do. It is rare in this profession to be truly inspired by scholarship, and Reynolds -- along with his many brilliant collaborators -- never ceases to inspire, with page after page of scintillating wit, groundbreaking ideas, and unwavering dedication to ethical and pedagogical concerns. This book has changed the way I think about authorship, performance, Shakespeare, and my selves, all the while reminding me of my responsibilities as a academic and even as a citizen. Buy it, read it, live it, you will be happy you did.

Klasko and Shea take the complex issues of today's managed care environment and present it in a way that is understandable and fun to read. This book is a "must read" for anyone serving on hospital boards!

I was amazed by the story line, the gripping tale, and the way in which Klasko wove his knowledge of both business and medicine into a compelling story. If Doctors don't get it after reading this book, they never will.

There have been few books that attempt to look at the nonclinical side of medicine with any creativity. This book by Drs Klasko and Shea takes a science fiction approach that acts as a perfect backdrop for lessons about how to handle the changes in medical care. The concept of getting abducted by aliens is how many physicians view the current scenario. I applaud Drs Klasko and Shea for attempting to mix this "Star Wars" type plot with an optimistic message for people involved in medicine

This book creatively combines science fiction and medicine (which are not as diametrically opposed as one might think). The authors have successfully explained the monumental changes that have occured in the health care industry over the past 15 years in an informative yet entertaining way. I found this book to be thought provoking, intriguing and extremely enjoyable. It really is a "must read" for anyone currently (or thinking about) working in health care. Drs. Klasko and Shea present a realistic and, thankfully, optimistic outlook on the evolution and future of health care. It is a remarkably well written book that will draw readers in and leave them wanting for more. Hopefully, a sequel is in the works!

Rip and Hasik have created an in-depth look at the evolution of not just our current Military, but its role in a post Cold War era. Anyone who is serious about understanding how war and our military has worked, or will continue to in the 21st century, will want to read this.

I had the pleasure of taking Michael Rip's course on national security at Michigan State University's James Madison College. We used this book as a supplement to his lectures. This book is incredible, I highly recommend reading it. It makes a striking case for GPS as one of the most important inventions of our time, and explains how the very nature of warfare has changed due to GPS technology. A very fascinating read!

This is the finest work on military technology it has ever been my pleasure to read. The authors have clearly articulated the implications of integrated systems of information technology and precision navigation emerging in the arsenals of today.
Two sections of this book are particularly instructive. The chapter on the history of military navigation sets the table for the remaining topics. It also answers the question, "What is so important about navigation, anyway?" The chapter on future policy implications reveals how precision is not a panacea - but an effective tool for specific tasks.
This book should be read by everyone interested and/or involved with military operations, aquisition, logistics, and strategy.

Mr. Hasik and Mr. Rip have written the finest unclassified work on how GPS and inertial guidance (with their supporting technologies) have revolutionized warfare. Although the underlying math is explained in excruiciating detail (for a liberal arts major), it is more than compensated for by outstanding case studies. As a professional military officer with service in the US Army and Air Force, I found this book to be required reading for those in the profession of arms or those who seek a greater undrestanding of the basis of the United States' current military dominance.

Carl George wrote this book some time ago, but even today, it is a highly relevant and important book for many of today's churches. The concept of small groups is not exactly a new concept. Many churches have encouraged this for years. But few churches even now have turned the concept of small groups into a far reaching and fundamental tool of ministry, outreach, and caring that permeates the entire church mission. Even today, small groups tend to be a "back burner" concept among many churches.

This book tries to draw a direct relationship between small group ministry and church size. The theory is that a church can grow only so big and reach only so many people absent a vital and large emphasis on small groups. George cites a few megachurches as examples of the kind of ongoing growth and changed lives that occur when the church embraces small groups not with a recreational commitment, but with the kind of commitment that comes when something is considered a primary mission of the church.

The small group model for church growth is a model that works, not because George says so, but because several churches who have embraced this model are growing beyond many of the ceilings that the vast majority of churches who don't embrace this model can't seem to break through. Getting their people into small groups, when emphasized and encouraged, allows bigger churches to continue ministering to people and meeting their needs by allowing the congregation to minister to itself and not overtax the staff. This accomplishes the goal of the church not having to build up a huge staff of paid people to try and meet the needs of a big congregation. Therefore, allowing church funds to be spent not on an increased staff, but on more relevant activities that are more in line with the mission that God has imparted on the particular church. Further, small group multiplication allows the church to continue to grow and reach new people in the community in ways that are non threatening.

I did not give the book 5 stars only because the book does not appear to spend a lot of time discussing how a church can really establish a vital small group ministry and structure their staff in an effective way to cultivate it. Too often, growing churches want to do good things, but do not put the kind of infrastructure in place, whether people or facilities, to administer the programs with excellence. It's the classic problem of biting off more than we can chew. The motivations of the church are in the right place in these instances, but without a clear plan in place for administering a major small group ministry, George provides an incomplete strategy for implementing this approach. This may sound like a minor point, but it isn't. Ministries that are not undertaken with excellence are ministries that fail to fully fulfill the purpose for which the ministry was created. Having an administrative infrastructure in place that effectively manages a big small group ministry while also being an infrastructure that is frugal relative to church budgets is clearly one aspect of establishing a ministry with excellence. And this aspect is not easily addressable and thus, represents a significant challenge to George's model. It is solvable I believe, but George should have addressed this in more detail, in my view.

But clearly, George has hit on something that every church can benefit from if implemented correctly. At its core, Christianity needs to be about people. And in order to meet people's needs and transform people into fully devoted disciples of Christ, the church must place just as much a priority on meeting people's needs and providing care and support as it does on spreading the Gospel message. In fact, I would argue that those two things go hand in hand, and both are strengthened by the other. Having an active small group ministry that looks for small group solutions for a whole array of congregational concerns and interests is a proven model for church growth and evangelism, and something George describes very well. A good book, a good pastoral resource.

While some of the diagrams leave you wanting and wondering, the heart of the book solidifies the need for small groups. Especially in a era when there is so much demand on our time and so much stress in our lives. When George related the story of Jethro and his council to Moses, I knew our church HAD to get behind small groups in a big way. George shows how small groups are the key to a church family and how they are the true ministry of the church.

Carl George's "Prepare Your Church for the Future" is a must-read for those who desire to approach ministry in fresh ways in the coming years. His emphasis on the keys for developing groups for meaningful relationships and growth are second to none!

Many churches have adopted small group ministry as a way to connect Christians and to provide support and growth for their members. George shows how small groups can become an engine for evangelism and leadership development and enable churches to break through barriers to growth. Essential reading for any church wanting to grow -- in both numbers and depth. I also recommend the follow-up book by George, "The Coming Church Revolution," which goes into greater depth and detail and provides examples of many churches from several denominations that have successfully used this model.

PRINCE, THE FUTURE KING: A FATHER'S EXAMPLE opens as its main character, Prince, declares to his father that one day he will be a strong king. Together, the father and son discuss what it means to be a king, what it means to lead by example and they discuss the possibility of Prince someday meeting a woman as beautiful as his mother - his queen. During their conversation, Prince and his dad complete their bedtime ritual, which includes saying prayers, a goodnight hug, and saying "I love you."

I commend Kandi Harris for writing a cute story depicting a strong, positive, African-American father figure who is intimately involved in the life of his son. The dialogue between father and son is endearing, funny and thoughtful. The illustrations are detailed and really capture the special bond between the two characters. Although the only characters are Prince and his dad, the author called the dad Alexander anytime he made a quote - clearly confusing for 4-8 year olds who probably won't realize that Alexander and daddy are the same person. In spite of this, the warmth and positivity of the story make it a worthwhile read. This book is the first in a series of Prince the Future King books and the author also plans to release a series called Princess the Future Queen.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Many thanks to author Kandi Harris for rubbing against the grain and producing a series complementary to the relationships between men of color and their sons. Prince is a refereshing depiction of the interaction between father and sons of color that speaks to the power of open communication, faith and diversity.

Prince, The Future King is a wonderfully refreshing and accurate story for fathers, sons, and families. It not only provides an example and model for fathers, but a model for children and mothers as well. I enjoyed listening to my son read it as much as he enjoyed reading it. This has become one of our favorites. We're looking forward to seeing Prince grow into the King that he is!!

With the creation of Prince, The Future King and its series of books, Ms. Harris has set in motion a much needed emphasis on the positive interactions between black men and their sons. The Prince Series focuses on the social dynamics of the father/son relationship, and helps promote an awareness within minority communities.

This series will be a popular group of books for many years to come. I recommend it to young black fathers, and as an educational supplement within our school systems.

Profit Mapping is unusual in the sense that it combines a strategic element with specific details outling decision processes and execution. The authors have created a practical how to for decison making that results in a systematic guide for execution. This book really focuses on making value added decisions for every key member of an organiztion. Many strategic books are good at a high level with no details. This book gets into the nuts and bolts of value based business decisions.

I know that everyone is anxiously waiting for the next approach to business improvement. My own journey started with Ollie Wight himself and the refrain that the days of the expeditor were over. I'm not sure if I was an expeditor at the time but that was my first job and in the week before I retired I did the exact same thing I had done 33 years before. One of our salesmen called me (VP Operations) to make sure we would be making a shipment as the customer's unit was down. The biggest change was that we had received the order in the morning, manufactured the product, and had the product delivered before midnight, to Freeport, TX from Chicago. In the old days we would have told the salesman no, he would have called his boss, who would call my boss who would call his boss, and so on until it reached the top of the company and we were told to do what the customer wanted. Of course by this time we lost a couple of days and no one was happy.

Reading Anil Menawat and Adam Garfein's new book Profit Mapping brings back a lot of memories and the realization that along this path of continuous improvement that some things worked but nothing seemed to be the solution that was advertised. A lot of us have seen great benefits to the lean journey but along the way it always seemed as if we just were not quite there. There are those examples where On-time delivery is 100% and inventories approach zero and analogies of reducing the level of the water to find the rocks drives the next level of improvement but the net result seems that while the business is better, a lot of times the individual improvement projects do not meet expectations or drive the business to the next level.

The book drives the concept that everything in business is a set of processes and that changes to each of the process need to be evaluated for the consequences both intended and unintended. This can be done theoretically before you take action by integrating a financial analysis (income statement) with the various scenarios. It provides a roadmap on how this can be done but to me the biggest value is that it drives the logic that there are no absolutes but that with the facts you can pick and choose those actions dynamically that will have the biggest impact on the business. It may even support the position that it is better left alone but that has its own political complications. The example in the back of the book shows that there are times due to equipment and demand profiles that having inventory in queue is more realistic and better for the business. Some of this is dangerous territory....

For everyone who has been through the mill, this is more than just another book. It hopefully sets the stage for all of us to realize that rules of thumb are just that and to drive a business one needs to do what is right for the customer and concentrate on those things that are proven to truly impact the business and are not just another notch on the belt of completed projects. This book is a keeper.

This book is a "must read" for managers who rely on "rule of thumb," and "best guess" methodologies that have held sway in every business that I've ever been associated with.

The authors set out clearly how you can take control of your future, and test the results of an action or strategy before you commit resources and potentially set off down the wrong road. But first you've got to take on board the idea that simply projecting past results is no way to forecast, because those results came from different demand and capability circumstances than you face now.

I thought that the authors argued convincingly that you must understand the factors that affect your business, and which of them you do and don't control. The ProFIT-MAP methodology then lets you test those factors for sensitivity, so you can concentrate on the things that really matter to the overall goal.

Now you need to know the dynamics of your process. The authors break the business into 3 areas, Processes, Resources and Finance, and urge us to make sure that an "improvement" in one area doesn't result in major disruption elsewhere. (I could never figure out why cost savings in a production process, was rarely reflected in the overall bottom line.) Now I know, "tunnel vision".

Having followed the 6 Phases detailed in the book, you can generate different scenarios and analyse the impact across the board.

It might sound like a lot of work, but you're already doing a lot of work - guess work mostly, and once you've done it the first time, it's easy to continue. Remember, to make the broadly correct decision, you don't need to know the minutiae. But every time you reiterate, you add better data for tomorrow's decision support.

Speaking of figures, the authors offer a specification for real-time data collection and software integration that I have yet to see in the real world. However, help may be at hand, I notice that the Menawat & Co's website now makes mention of something called "ProFIT-MAP Dashboard", which promises integrated analytics. I will be watching this space.

Anil Menawat and Adam Garfein provide in this brilliant volume "a tool for aligning operations with future profit and performance." To their credit, they explain with meticulous care how to drive operational excellence through profit mapping to create a sustainable edge which they correctly characterize as "the management roller coaster." In this context, I am reminded of the familiar assertion that "you can't manage what you cannot measure" and how important it is to "measure only what matters."

The maps with which Lewis and Clark began their journey of exploration in 1804 were crude and over time revised as the journey continued until 1806. The same is true of the documents with which - more two centuries later -- senior-level executives begin an exploration of their own organizations, in search of hidden resources and new opportunities. Following their Introduction to this volume, Menawat and Garfein, examine various challenges to business execution, present a "parametric framework" by which to "drive the system," and explain how to "win before taking action with a structured methodology," then shift their attention practical action steps in combination with two case studies in Chapter 10. The first examines a common dilemma of "doing no harm." The second illustrates ProFIT-MAP's potential to drive radical cost reduction without sacrificing quality or throughput.

With regard to ProFIT-MAP, Menawat and Garfein offer it as a "forward-looking management decision methodology" which enables senior-level executives to "navigate [both] the forests and the trees of business strategy and execution proactively." It consists of six phases: Project Objectives (please see pages 155-167), Process (pages 170-177), Resources (pages 177-180), Finance (pages 181-184), "What if?" (pages 184-187), and Business Execution Option Choice (pages 193-202).

With regard to the first phase, I am reminded of what Peter Drucker suggests in an article written for the Harvard Business Review (1963): "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." Obviously, it makes absolutely no sense to create a totally accurate map - even if guided and informed by the ProFIT-MAP methodology -- to achieve an objective that will not increase profits and improve performance.

To me, some of the most interesting and most valuable material is provided in Chapter 4 as Menawat and Garfein explain how and why the Parametric Activities-Based Framework (pABF) offers a practical approach to measuring the right variables in any enterprise in order to reconstruct the whole system. One of the greatest benefits of the pABF is that it eliminates the need for patches or workarounds. On pages 101-102, Menawat and Garfein cite eight specific reasons why the pABF is a better estimation and reconstruction framework than others which lack a methodology or a process for applying one.

It seems appropriate to conclude this brief commentary with a brief excerpt from Chapter 1 in which Menawat and Garfein duly acknowledge various challenges to profitability and competitiveness. However, although "managers may not be able to do anything about high fixed costs in the near term, they can do a lot more operationally to increase effectiveness and quality while striving to reduce cost. In order to overcome changes in demand and financial constraints, organizations must learn to be become cost-competitive; price competitiveness is not enough. Industry leaders win by focusing on operational execution, cost management, and customers. The devil is in the details, and they understand that success happens only when the plan is grounded in reality, as opposed to invalidated expectations." This is precisely what Thomas Edison had in mind when asserting that "Vision without execution is hallucination."

Congratulations to Menawat and Garfein on a brilliant achievement.

Each of these stories is dark and despairing, yet when finished, ultimately hopeful if one can only fully absorb the inherently cautionary nature of these tales. Every one of these stories is worthy of inclusion in a "best of" anthology of some sort. The stories are so fantastical, yet free of the many tropes we have become accustomed to in post-apocalypse settings. And I don't think this can be classified as fantasy either. Even hopelessness can be beautiful. This is good stuff.

I am not normally a fan of short fiction but I really love this book. Mr. Bacigalupi manages, in just a few pages, to create an engaging and intriguing story with a bit of spine tingling as an added bonus. His wonderfully acute social commentary and willingness to explore the margins of human behavior gives his work a level of integrity rarely matched in the world of fiction or non-fiction. These stories have stuck with me for weeks after reading them, providing a rich insight and perspective into many aspects of life. I look forward to the next collection.

I first read a short story by Paolo Bacigalupi in High Country News. It was "The Tamarisk Hunter" about a man named Lolo who removes the weed trees from a water hungry Southwest and who has a darker secret. It was well written and very plausible to those who know the tamarisk (or saltcedar, as it is also called) and the water problems of the southwestern border states. I then found this collection titled "Pump Six and Other Stories" in the local library.

These are dark stories of a Dalai Lama in a datacube, a modified human, a world of scavengers, a cultural conflict, genetically engineered life forms, population crises, life in a future Thailand, murder and a polluted world, as well as the tamarisk hunter. To a large degree these are cautionary tales - tales of what might be, if we take no action or take the wrong action. The biggest fear is that they will happen despite anything we can do and the author does not relieve us of this fear. Finally, these are finely crafted stories of the very near and far futures of human existence and they will leave you very uneasy. For all that, they are well worth the reading.

Paolo Bacigalupi writes gritty, dystopian SF, but if that's all he did there wouldn't be much reason to buy this book. What puts him over the top is the way he combines seriously beautiful and excellent writing with really great ideas. In other words, he sugar coats the bitter pill so well, he makes a meal out of it.

This book consists of two parts (its not formally laid out that way, it just naturally organizes into two parts). The first part is a qualitative introduction to integrated semiconductor electronics (with emphasis on transistor junctions). The second part focuses on solid state quantum physics with emphasis on optical as well as electrical properties. There is also a smattering of material on super conducting materials and some basic material about how a digital computer works. The author's intended audience is the high school student or first-year college student who wants to pursue a degree in the sciences. An alternate audience is the informed layman who wants to be up to date at a qualitative level with recent advances in electronics and future directions in research and development.

I believe the book is well written for the intended audience. Turner has an easy-to-read style, and he manages to explain things (generally) in a technically accurate way without the use of mathematics. Without the mathematical details this book is not what you'd expect in a design reference - and that's not what it's intended for. But it is an excellent book to read in advance of a rigorous quantitative class on the subject. I think it's much easier to understand physical phenomena in mathematical detail if one first obtains a qualitative "feel" for what's going on.

Turner opens his book with two short chapters on matter and the origin of conductivity. He spends the next few chapters describing p-n junctions, how they are used to make transistors, and issues that limit their size and speed. Along the way he shows how transistors are used in computers both in the fabrication of basic logic elements, and also in the venerable "flip-flop" memory cell. His descriptions are clear and concise, making liberal use of figures and diagrams so that the concepts can be grasped with no particular pre-existing skills in physics or electronics.

The explanation of present semiconductor physics sets the stage for later discussions about the motivation for semiconductor devices at the quantum level. He does a good job of illustrating the fact that quantum-dominated semiconductor devices will not simply be miniaturized versions of the devices populating current integrated circuits. The physics would not allow it. Rather, they will be unique devices that are designed and custom tailored using quantum theory from the ground up. The result will be new devices that have similar - though often dramatically different - operating characteristics, and that are orders of magnitude smaller than present devices, as well as faster.

In illustrating the classical and quantum semiconductor circuits, Turner does a nice job of laying out the basic ideas behind these devices. In qualitative prose, he explains the exclusion principle, how it applies to fermions, and how the exclusion principle in conjunction with quantized energy states results in many of the phenomena that we observe in semiconductor devices. Turner's description of the optical properties of semiconductors flows naturally from earlier discussions. He describes the basic ideas behind a laser, though in this regard I found the descriptions somewhat lacking. Other interesting groundwork is provided in his descriptions of tunneling and Compton pairs (which are involved in super conducting).

A nice feature is the glossary of terms, along with a nice list of further reading material and a good index. The book is also well illustrated throughout, with figures that add considerably to one's level of understanding. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a qualitative introduction to solid-state physics, electronics, or semiconductor optics. I found it enjoyable to read and rich in the sort of qualitative imagery and description that makes learning so much more enjoyable.

This book is a great refresher of concepts that are driving many of our modern semiconductor devices. It does not get into heavy equations or overly complicated scenarios.

This book gives sound, complete and comprehensible explanations for a number of solid state devices (pn diodes, FET and bipolar transistors, laser diodes, superconductors, Josephson junctions, etc). This book contains the best (most comprehensible) explanation I have ever read on the theoretical operation of bipolar transistors.

Turton has done a wonderful job descibing the technicalities of today's computer/electronic technology. His descriptions allow the lay-person to understand the current technology and to understand where the future is taking us - probably to the Quantum Dot - and other devices. I highly reccomend it for anyone interested in the nanotechnology field as a primer

Miracles are all around us: life, air, rain, and so on.
What purpose do they, as well as creation in general, serve?

Does everything exist for a while and then disappear into nothingness, or is it transformed into something eternal?

Basing himself on Said Nursi's Risale-i Nur, Ali Unal presents a scientific and logical argument for the validity of one of religion's main elements of faith

Therefore, I strongly recommend to everybody interested in hereafter.

Scientific discoveries continue to stagger our imagination. The miracles we see every day are so common that they have become "normal." But what purpose does creation serve? Does everything exist for a while and then disappear into nothingness, or is it transformed into something else? Where are we headed, and what will happen to us when we get there? Basing himself on Said Nursi's Risale-i Nur, Ali Unal Presents a scientific and logical argument for validity of one of religions's main elements of faith: belief in the resurrection and afterlife.

This book is an excellent source of knowledge about the concept of afterlife. It is both persuasive and logical. I think everybody, both believers and nonbelievers of afterlife, should read this.

This book clearly displayed the necessity and rationality of the existence of the afterlife.Moreover,I had the chance of feeling that same truth in my heart and soul.Now,without doubt,I beleive there will be an afterlife that will last forever and thus,am trying to act such that I can acheive peace and succes,both,in this world and in the hereafter.

This is an excellent book. I strongly recommend this book. It is a great story.

For those who love quirky characters, ROAD TO HAVLA has an old man who welcomes the travelers into his cabin but only speaks to them indirectly, through a gray goose named Gertie.
For those who love battles, there is a great one that involves pirate ghosts, raven and eagles, barbarians, swordsmen and archers.
For those who love to see good triumph over evil, this group of young people develop a strong friendship, help Will discover his identity and save a city from unspeakable evil.
Ah yes, and there is a little romance as well.
Great stuff!

The Road to Havla further develops the great friendships and characters I fell in love with in Beyond Seaside. More engaging adventures unfold. This second book in the series is a satisfying conclusion to Beyond Seaside.

Exciting and funny! It's the perfect ending to the first book, Beyond Seaside! The characters are just as lovable and the story will have you hanging on every word! This is a must read...definitley up there on my favorite books ever!