General-Order

Although George Fowlers' life was interesting, I would have liked to hear more about how his new way of thinking has affected his life--more about his "dance." I hope he shares more about his views on the God of us.

As a "recovering catholic" myself, I found this book spoke to me and its hard not to imagine someone not enjoying Fowler's openess and charm. His thoughts are in tune with my own thoughts and intuitions and it was refreshing to hear a former priest's ideas about catholicism and christianity in general.

George Fowler tells a story that almost every intuitive-feeling or intuitive-thinking Christian or ex-Christian could relate to. The public-institutional church will at its best neglect their needs and, at its worst, drive them out. Probably the same is true of other religions. The overwhelming majority of the population is outer-directed and uninterested in (or threatened by) the perennial mystical tradition that led to their religion's founding and is usually enshrined in their scriptures. Christians who desperately go from one retreat center, workshop, or teacher to another in search of sustenance their church will not provide will relate to George's story. Seekers on the New Age circuit will also relate to the dance of this "fallen monk." Unfortunately, the personalities that thrive on the public face of institutional religion will probably be offended by his critique of their little world, learn nothing, and go on to the next committee meeting or potluck dinner. (And that assumes they would read the book at all, which they probably wouldn't.) My one criticism is that George is a bit too harsh and far-sweeping in his judgment of Protestantism. He simply may not have a very wide experience with the myriad of denominations and movements, and the varieties of inner-directedness some have to offer.

Bodenhamer, a former probation officer who is director of the Back in Control Center in Portland, Ore., believes we are confronting ``the worst behaved generation of children in American history.'' For parents who need to retake charge of their children, he suggests a three-point focus based on ``rule-based discipline, supervision and emotional attachment.'' Offering sound, practical advice on dealing with provocative and manipulative verbal challenges raised by teenagers and early adolescents, he presents a convincing case for giving highly detailed ``job descriptions'' to teens (if McDonald's has a 600-page operations manual for its employees, parents shouldn't shy from explaining precisely how to take out the garbage). Bodenhamer directly faces such incendiary issues as sex, substance abuse and peer pressure (including that from gangs). Frequently, however, he sounds a reactionary note, as when he rails against the American Civil Liberties Union as the nation's ``most persistent enemy of adult authority'' and cites ``an inherited link between impulsive and immature unwed teenager parents and the impulsive and immature children to whom they give birth.'' While there is valuable help here, much of it sounds like the stuff of talk radio. (Oct.)

We thought we had done everything we could do to help steer our 14 year old son on track from his social as well as criminal behavior. We attended a court-ordered parenting class, and "Parent In Control" was one of the recommended readings. Thank goodness!!

This book really sees it from the parent's perspective...no glossing it over from a psychiatric point of view, just plain living with a child who refuses to abide by society's rules...household rules...or legal rules.

I only wish I had encountered a book like this when my child was 6.

This book tackles your child's behavior from a no-nonsense approach in all areas: school, legal system, home, society. Don't miss it!!

EXCELLENT! Until my husband & I were given this wonderful book, along with his other book, "BACK IN CONTROL," we had exhausted countless hours in counseling, along with parenting book after book over the years, that didn't help, until Gregory Bodenhamers. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN! I have given so MANY copies to other struggling parents of teens, like our son, along with "preaching" his techniques & words of wisdom on a daily basis with other parents I have spoken too. I call them, My Parent Bibles! Personally meeting Mr. Bodenhamer in his "Back In Control" workshops, he has a delightful, unique, & very funny way of bringing his words/skills to other parents, professionals, or anyone who works with troubled/struggling teens. His dedication shows thru & his heart is in the right place! I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND his books! They have given us the first sense of HOPE we had desperately needed. My Son has had control of our house for years, but UNTIL I READ THIS BOOK, I NEVER realized, even being a Nurse, HOW CRUCIAL it was to have a set "STRUCTURE," "CLEARLY DEFINED Rules," "CONSISTENT FOLLOW-THRU," & understanding what "MONITORING at the LEVEL OF NEED," means! Nursing school never taught me anything like these insightful books, when it comes to dealing with difficult kids! HOORAY! For Gregory, saving the day, to help us parents find a BETTER way!

As a Benedictine of 41 years, this is the first commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict which I have read (and I have ready MANY) that has made the Gospel lifestyle contemporary and relevant. Chittister has taken the experiences of a lifetime and correlated them with the Rule. Not an easy task, but she has achieved it remarkably well. This book is at once homey and scholarly. Common sense pervades this easy to read guide. It is the only commentary which I have read more than twice. It is the only commentary which seems to have captured the essence of St. Benedict's Rule and subsequently, the Gospels.

Joan Chittister brings a refreshing and relevant perspective to an ancient rule for Christian living. This interpretation which is grounded in common sense, delights the reader with humor and yet makes accessible a lifestyle which has guided holy men and women for centuries. Her scholarship embraces quotes from other religious traditions, thus emphasizing the fundamental unity of humanity in its search for holiness; yet she neither becomes esoteric nor pedantic. She is adept in contrasting the Gospel mindset with modern social issues. Indeed, her knack for connecting the ordinary aspects of daily living to the process of the spiritual journey has created a spiritual guide which is both readable and do-able. She has divided the Rule into readings for each day of the year, allowing the reader to reflect upon the wisdom and insights which have made the Rule of St. Benedict an enduring benchmark for Christian living for almost 1500 years. There are many interpretations of Benedict's Rule available; but this author's ability to convey her lived experience in following the Rule and the compassion contained within it is rare gift. Extremely well done!

While the sub-title of this great volume is "Insights for the Ages," it is certainly brilliant material for our time here in the early 21st century. St. Benedict's Rule was originally written in the Sixth Century (A.D.). Furthermore, it is the most widely used life-guide in modern western monasticism. Joan Chittister takes Benedict, word-for-word-intact, and brings him into our contemporary situations. She illustrates the universal and fundamental insights of Benedict and how they are highly compatible with Hindu, Sufi, Toaist, Zen, Jewish and other major thought/values traditions.
An added benefit is Chittister's editorial technique of dividing Benedict's Rule and her associated commentaries into specific dates on the annual calendar. This enables the serious reader/reflector to read over each mini section of the rule and this associated, wonderful commentary on three different dates each year.

Anthony Sutton identifies the Yale senior society, Skull and Bones, as "America's Secret Establishment." Numerous sons of the wealthy and influential, many of whom became wealthy and influential themselves (e.g., both Presidents Bush), have belonged to this secretive fraternity. As the old joke had a professor saying of his student's term paper, it can be said that Sutton's book contains much that is good and much that is original. Unfortunately, much of what is good is not original, and much of what is original is not good.

The best part of Sutton's book is the extensive reprinting of nineteenth-century exposés and criticisms of the Yale senior society, some based on a breaching of its "tomb" by members of "The Order of File and Claw." One of these docuents states that "Bones is a chapter of a corps in a German University... General R------ (Russell), its founder, was in Germany before Senior Year and formed a warm friendship with a leading member of a German society. He brought back with him to college, authority to found a chapter here. Thus was Bones founded."

Based on this, Sutton erects a wild superstructure of conspiracy theory beginning with that perennial bogey, the Bavarian Illuminati. Since this is the first in a series of many conclusions to which he jumps, it is worth some examination. There were (and are) many collegiate corps or societies (Burschenschaften) in Germany. Why must anything connected with Germany necessarily trace back to the short-lived creation of Weishaupt? Would not a reputable historian have investigated the German travels of Gen. Russell, perhaps found which universities he visited, and looked there for the origins of Skull and Bones?

The skull and crossbones is an age-old memento mori and not necessarily connected to the Illuminati at all. Skulls and skeletons were used in the ritualistic hugger-mugger of a number of fraternal orders. A German example was the proto-Rosicrucian Orden der Unzertrennlichen, founded in 1577. According to Christopher McIntosh ("The Rosicrucians"), "[i]n their meetings, a bible, skull, and hour glass stood on a table." From the Unzertrennlichen was conceivably descended (as McIntosh relates) the Gold- und Rosenkreuz, the most politically powerful of the eighteenth-century German secret societies (Wöllner and von Bischoffswerder, its leaders, were chief advisors to Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, who was himself a member). In both the Unzertrennlichen and the Gold- und Rosenkreuz, the members took "decknamen," also a feature of Skull and Bones ritual. Ritual use of the skull is found in masonic Templarism, which is descended from von Hund's Strikte Observanz. The candidate's lying in a coffin is a familiar masonic theme. It is equally, if not more, likely that the content of Skull and Bones ritual was derived from one of these sources, than from the Illuminati. It is also likelier that the young Russell, a Protestant, spent time at one of the universities in the Protestant part of Germany, like Heidelberg or Göttingen, than at Ingolstadt in Catholic Bavaria, where Weishaupt held forth. These things attract no attention from Sutton, either out of ignorance, or more likely, because they do not press a hot button amongst conspiracy theorists the way any mention of the Illuminati will.

Large sections of Sutton's book deal with things like theories of educational psychology, or the manipulations and misdeeds of international financiers. While these details are interesting in themselves, Sutton's effort to tie all of them back to Skull and Bones, Hegelian philosophy, and Illuminism is unconvincing.

The liberal journalist Ron Rosenbaum has published a number of articles about Skull and Bones, amongst them one containing details, purportedly obtained by sophisticated electronic eavesdropping, of a recent initiation. If true, they reveal nothing more than the sort of crude and prank-like character associated with many college fraternities. In view of this, and also of the public personæ of the country's two most prominent Bonesmen, Bush père et fils, it is hard to imagine that the particular Yalies in question spend much time in rarefied discussion of Hegel's theory of history, or the psychology of Wilhelm Wundt.

It is interesting to contrast Skull and Bones, which Sutton attempts to portray as a devious and destructive conspiracy, with the Cambridge Apostles, a society which produced two documented traitors (Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt). Richard Deacon's book on the Apostles is a much more successful indictment of that society than Sutton's is of Skull and Bones. But even more tellingly, Deacon describes a group of men who were thoroughgoingly intellectual, and thus capable of being corrupted by ideas that were bad. One does not sense that Bonesmen are particularly interested in any ideas, nor that intellectuality is high on the list of criteria for selection of members (this is in some ways a comment on the difference between British and American universities!). If the conspiratorial, and indeed criminal or treasonable behavior alleged by Sutton has taken placer amongst members of Skull and Bones, it is more likely so merely because social élites naturally move mostly in their own restricted circles. Sutton's book appeals to the long-standing egalitarian distaste for élites that has been a feature of American society since the days when Aedanus Burke objected to the Society of the Cincinnati, or that sanctimonious old hypocrite John Quincy Adams lent his name to the Anti-masonic movement. So what else is new?

I was struck by the above phrase used recently by Dubya(whose father and grandfather apparently were Bonesmen) and its use by the author as the objective of the Order for a New World Order. I had read two of Sutton's Wall Street books, and the linking of the figures involved in them with the Skull and Bones was quite scary.
The supplementary material from the 1870's explaining the Yale senior societies and some of the critiques of the Bones was also fascinating.
Basically, the thesis of the book is that there is a secret society(Skull and Bones) motivated by Hegelian philosophy(state is supreme, and change is generated by conflict) that has infiltrated the elite control groups(CFR, Bilderberg, finance, law, politics) that has brought us to the sorry state of affairs today. An interesting thesis, not really proven, but with enough supporting evidence that points in the right direction of the truth than the media and historians give.
One interesting point, I did a search on the Bones of 1985, and the names I could find did confirm that they graduated from Yale in 1985. Two of them were the SOLE representatives for the '85 reunion class, and one of them is a big wig at Goldman Sachs. Coincidence? Buy the book and make up your own mind.

Read the book from cover to cover and then tried to disprove the allegations. I couldn't. Money buys power and a whole lot more. This book definitely will affect my vote in November.

We came across this book quite by accident, when looking for something else (we've forgotten what!) in the self-help section of a local bookstore. It seemed to jump off the shelf at us!

You don't have to be a monk to read this, or follow it. The writing is down to earth, and follows a seeker's experience with the monks who broke away from their original Franciscan monastery in the mid 1960's, to form their own. This is no easy feat! They were led by the belief there is meaning in eastern christianity (fundamentalists or traditionalists will find this book too liberal for their liking). Indeed, their monastery had room for brothers and sisters, living a celibate spiritual life.

There is much beauty and substance in this book -- we only wish it were available in paperback, to make it more accessible to more people.

If you are wondering how to live a spiritual life every day, if you would like to be monklike, but have responsibilities that keep you in the worldy life, do not despair! This book is something that can help you, and uplift you, in a down-to-earth yet uplifting way!

Wonderfully written. It presents a very practical yet profound spirituality for modern day men and women. There is no need to become a monk in order to live a spiritual life and this book points that out.

I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone interested in deepening their spiritual path--regardless of their religion.

Outstanding! A feast of the practical and the balanced. This book gives the reader a breifing about the Monks of New Skete and answers questions like "What is Monasticism? and What is a Monk?" etc. in the "Interlude" chapters.
Then in the other chapters it offers practical advice on living a balanced Christian life that is community centered (Matthew 18:20 & 2 Peter 1:20.) In the chapters "Sacred Reading and the Word" and "Practicing Sacred Reading" they offer advice conserning the daily reading of the Psalms, which anyone will benefit from.
As evidenced in other reviews the modern conservative fundamentalist crowd might have a minor mute issue with something in this book.

Yup - this new volume of Battle Angel is more violent than anything, and doesn't really explain all the mechanics of just how Alita came to be in Tiphares, and what is going on.

But given that Alita herself only just became conscious of being on Tiphares, of the city itself being strewn into chaos, should the reader really expect all the explanations to come in one volume? The Battle Angel world is unfathomably large and complex, and I think it is appropriate that Mr. Kishiro has held off on these details until Alita & co's arrival in Ketheres in Volume 3.

Readers who find this and the second volume a bit lacking in storyline will be duly rewarded for sticking in there at volume 3 - as Mr. Kishiro opens up a whole new universe full of interplanetary politics, class disparity and a bit of political commentary on current day events, if one looks hard enough.

Yukito Kishiro returns with fan favorite Battle Angel Alita in Last Order and the art is standard Kishiro excellence. Old villains return and we're introduced to the youth of Tiphares. This series hasn't skipped a beat where it left off.

Okay, I was a little suprised when I saw the backwards Manga-Style, but it is still the Angel I know and love! Alita is back after being killed by Nova. She awakens in Tiphares in Nova's lab. Tiphares is in Chaos because Nova exposed the "Secret of the Tiphareans" ( I can't tell you that now!) MIB robots are running AMOK, killing all the human survivors in Tiphares. Well, I've gone too far now! Alita will always have a place in my heart!! This was a GREAT series. Angel reborn also gives you a look at alita's past on Mars.
Enjoy this one!!

The recipes in this cookbook are great. There are meals for every cooking skill level, and for almost all tastes (excluding meat, of course). The recipes don't include refined ingredients, opting instead for whole wheat pasta, brown rice, molasses, etc. The recipes are filling and delicious. Of all the recipes I've tried in this cookbook (and I've tried LOTS), there's maybe two that I didn't care for.

One of my favorite things: There's a detailed section on bread baking, which has been very helpful. (The pumpkin pan rolls are some of the best dinner rolls I've ever had.)

One thing to note is that this cookbook was written some time ago, so it can seem a bit...stodgy...at times, especially considering how far vegetarian cuisine has come in recent years. But I really enjoy classic (and, yes, sometimes stodgy) dishes, full of lentils and brown rice and the like. The barley-mushroom soup is amazing.

But here's the downside. Since falling in love with this cookbook, I've gone vegan. And there's a lot of eggs and dairy used in this book. Some substitutions are easy to make (soy milk for cow's milk, for example), but others aren't. I used to use this cookbook several nights a week, but now it's more like once or twice a month.

All in all, I recommend this cookbook, particularly for people who don't believe that meatless meals can be good. It was the first vegetarian cookbook I bought, and because of it I realized that doing without meat is not only possible, but very tasty!

I have about a dozen or so Vegitarian Cookbooks. This is the only one I actually use. The others gather dust. The only problem is really a compliment. I've used the book so much it's binding is getting broken. The book need a ring binding. In all, it's a great book. I will definitely split with the bucks and replace it someday.

hi there.

i rarely write reviews, but i did want to add my voice (or, as it is, my 5 stars) to the now & hopefully forever growing commending fans of this quietly spectacular cookbook.

i certainly second, third, fourth or even fifty-hundredth the idea that "this is the only cookbook you will ever need," or "this is the vegetarian joy of cooking."

absolutely!!

as an ex-vegetarian cook/chef (take yr pick. add caterer. note: turned bookdealer), & one who has at least 100 cookbooks, i can honestly commit to this as being my all time favorite. i buy it every time i see it (the bookdealer business) & make sure everyone i know has a copy.

& as much as i love the "greens"/deborah madison series, as much as i coveted (& finally got for Xmas) her giant basics cookbook, this one is better. in its subtle way it even beats "moosewood." & not that any of these are in the slightest bit bad -- just a note to convey just how phenomenal this one is.

its secret?? that it is the best build-from-the-ground-up vegetarian cookbook around. meaning: the goldbecks give you the quick & dirty. anything you make following directions straight from the book will turn out grand. but, in addition, they give you the foundation from which to expand upward into the vegetarian cooking skyscraper stratosphere. you can start from what they give you, move, delete, exchange, fiddle -- figure how to cook the base recipe to yr particular taste or demands -- & it works!! it always works!!

this is a great cookbook.

as to its vegan content, take 2 from yr long longterm animal-free (at least eatingwise) household:

• when this cookbook was written veganism was an extremely difficult business to accomplish (yr correspondent tried valiantly -- & this was later, in the 80s -- & still was beset by an onslaught of hidden ingredients).

• &, of course, SUBSTITUTE!! finagle those ingredients!! tofurella for cheese -- i believe it is applesauce for eggs (maybe it's butter) -- but it CAN be done!! & if ever there were a cookbook adaptable, this is it.

William Tecumseh Sherman was one of the great figures of the Civil War, a visionary whose views on tactics and strategy reshaped the way observers looked at warfare. It's hard not to admire the touchy, angry general. Sherman's armies marched hundreds, if not thousands, of miles across the south, devastated the south's ability to make war, and defeated tens of thousands of Confederate troops. His strategy for the Atlanta campaign and his March to the Sea were brilliant. Few Civil War generals appreciated the destructive power of weaponry of the era, or realized that total warfare was the only way to vanquish the South and end the war. After the war Sherman angrily fought off attempts to draft him into political life, remaining true to his ideals as a soldier.

But it is hard to reconcile the brilliant general with his racist views on African-Americans and his prickly personality that alienated as many people who respected Sherman's keen sense of warfare. "A Soldier's Passion For Order" makes that attempt and does it quite well. Those interested in learning about the most complex of the Civil War Generals would do well to read this book.

William Tecumseh Sherman was an unusually good soldier. With the exception of Grant, he prosecuted the war as the South never imagined a Yankee could. He realized early on that this war would be long and brutal. He also realized that it would profoundly change the very nature of the United States.

John Marszalek gives the reader a man who never stops trying. From soldier to banker, from school teacher back to soldier, Sherman was a man who did his best all the time. He suffered quite a few set backs, some of them material, yet he always rebounded and it was this resiliency, this durability, that enabled him to persevere in his desire to end the Civil War in the only way he knew it could be ended, with the total destruction of the Confederacy.

Between Grant's war of attrition and Sherman's war of annihilation the rules of warfare were simply rewritten. Sherman was one of the greatest generals the Civil War produced. The story of his life is the story of a warrior. See by most historians as simply a destroyer, Marszalek justifiably points out that he just may have been one of the very best friends the South had.

You will enjoy this exceedingly well written book about an amazingly adaptive and creative man, one who fought hard for what he believed in and in so doing, laid the foundations for America as we know it today.

In John F. Marszalek's Sherman, A Soldier's Passion for Order (New York, 1993), Marszalek describes Sherman's life from early childhood to his death in 1891. This book is an excellent source for discovering Sherman's ethics and values prior to the outbreak of the Civil War and how they influenced his behavior throughout the war, especially during his famous march. Marszalek does an excellent job in his portrayal of Sherman as: the adopted son who never felt comfortable with his foster family, a common officer, a failed businessman, and as the general who brought the south to its knees. Marszalek does an excellent job of portraying the entirety of Sherman. His book is well written and fully documented

This book is mainly about perspective and coping. The general idea is that not only are losses unavoidable in life, they are also necessary. Every decision involves loss (i.e., when you choose A over B, you lose the the chance to also choose B), and every loss involves learning and growth. When we lose someone or something important to us, we have the opportunity to discover strengths within ourselves. Viorst is not glib about these losses, however, and does not dismiss the pain involved. The pain is part of the growth and self-discovery. This theme is a first cousin to "Anything that doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." The book also has some interesting ideas about how losses are key elements to human development across the entire lifespan. It is a bit sobering to read, but is very worthwhile.

I wish I had read this book years ago - it would have saved me so much money, time & grief. In this book, Judith Viorst holds your hand as you navigate all the painfull places you have avoided before - losses, anxieties, dreams, expectations, fears, aging & death. In the process we gain an understanding of what has happened in our lives & in the lives of those we love & hate. She then teaches us how we can transcend those feelings, losses & fears to reach new levels in our growth - to become separate, responsible, reflective & connected people. We learn that there is life after loss, & if we learn how to look, we can see that real life can be infinitely sweeter than the expectations, dependencies, illusions & loves we have had to let go along the way.

This book allows us to understand that letting go of some things is part of a maturation process in life. Though many people commonly feel like letting go is like giving up and being a loser, we also know that the most important lessons in life are learned from our losses. This author sheds some light on the important difference between these two things by providing us with interesting examples from her experiences. I think this book is excellent for people who are at the brink of letting go of something important to them. It gives them an extra bit of inspiration to let go and move on with their lives. For people who are not near this stage, this book may not make much sense simply because they are not yet emotionally ready for the next step. Another book that is excellent in explaining the emotional process of letting go and how that relates to personal development is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It explains these seemingly complex things in such a simple way that it is absolutely stunning!

June is the youngest of the three sisters who have accepted male order bride proposals. She arrives in Seattle to find her prospective groom, Eli, very ill. He is serving as associate pastor to the famous Rev. Ingram, tent evangelist and pastor.

Inman has one primary goal - to build a huge, ornate tabernacle. He has already convinced Eli that the building is God's plan. June quickly joins the group and the vision. However, tragedy prevents her immediate marriage as she had planned.

Parker Sentel is Eli's best friend and care giver during his illness. A burly, hard working logger, he loves God, but adamantly opposes the building of the tabernacle and everyone associated with it except Eli.

Sam is the young niece of the head of the local orphanage. Sam and June are best friends but seem to live in different worlds until they start working together, holding church services at the logging camps.

June spreads herself very thin to allow for several ministries, but life in Seattle has not turned out as she expected and June wonders whether she is in the right place after all.

I am anxious to read book 3 in this series, "Hope"..and thanks Lori Copeland for some lighthearted, Christian, fiction, historical love stories.

I was a little disappointed that JUNE wasn't as hilarious as FAITH. However, it still has the quality you will expect from Lori Copeland. It is a story of trusting God, even when things don't quite go as you planned. JUNE is a well-written love story that will be hard to put down till you've read it all.

I loved this book because it gave me much more than I had expected. The story is lighthearted. The characters are full of faith in God. June and Parker express their feelings without a tint of lust. There are some adventurous and exciting scenes as well. Secondary characters are never omitted. They take their parts well in the story. I suggest that you read this one and you will start to love Christian romance.