On-the-tape

Dr. Wilkinson has a nice manner for speaking to teenagers. He recalls his own thoughts and hopes during the teenage years. He also relates stories of how teenagers have made an enormous difference for God in assisting adults and other teens. Suddenly, you will feel like someone is talking to you who cares about you, as God does.

"This little book starts with everything we put in the original, bestselling The Prayer of Jabez . . . ." " . . . [T]hen we ask the question: If God wanted to change the world with a teenager like you, how would He want you to pray?"

The challenge also goes out in this form: "Are you ready to do one thing that could change the rest of your life?"

As much as the Bible teaches me, I find that I learn even more by hearing about the interpretations that others make of the Bible. Those interpretations are most beneficial when they include witnessing one's own experiences. Dr. Wilkinson has provided us with many soulful insights from 30 years of reciting a little-noticed Old Testament prayer in this inspiring book.

One reason that it is nice to hear what others say about the Bible is that some of them read Hebrew, which I do not. Knowing what the original text said should provide more clues to its precise meaning. Dr. Wilkinson has provided insights from the Hebrew texts to help us understand what the translations mean.

The Prayer of Jabez is found in 1 Chronicles 4:10 following a brief introduction of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9. This text is in the middle of a long list of about 500 Hebrew names beginning with Adam in providing a geneology. The casual Bible reader might never notice this material.

Since there is so little text, the plain meaning of what is found here can certainly be confusing. "Jabez" means "pain" in Hebrew. Jabez was named this by his mother "Because I bore him in pain." Since almost all babies bring pain to their mothers, it is hard to know exactly what was different about Jabez, if anything.

In this book, there is a nice emphasis on the special problems a teenager would have if his name was Pain.

Jabez is remembered for having his prayer answered. The prayer was: "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"

Dr. Wilkinson provides several perspectives on this prayer that added much to my understanding of the Scripture. First, Mr. Wilkinson interprets this as meaning that the person praying is asking to play a bigger role in achieving God's purposes. That was a new thought for me. I tend to feel that each of us is kept pretty busy trying to do God's will in whatever roles we already have. How can we do more? Obviously, only with God's help. By taking on even larger roles, we probably move closer to a state of humility by knowing that we cannot possibly succeed without Divine guidance and assistance. So what seems like a prideful thing actually turns out to be the opposite. What is your reaction to that?

Second, I was startled a few years ago to hear a group of rabbis and ministers talk about how the traditional concept of the moral life was to never be tempted. I feel tempted all of the time, and overcome temptations only after sincere struggles. Dr. Wilkinson points out that the best way to avoid evil is not to be tempted in the first place. "Without temptation, we will not sin." So this text encouraged me to ask even more for being kept away from evil. Naturally, the Lord's Prayer does that, but this important point had been partially lost on me until I read this book.

Beyond those Biblical insights, I also learned from Mr. Wilkinson's experiences. He takes on big tasks, uses the Jabez prayer, and keeps track of how things work out. I, too, believe in the power of prayer. It had never occurred to me to keep a journal about my experiences with prayer. I am sure that there is much to be learned.

My own interpretation of the book and the prayer is that it is just another example of God's listening to and answering our prayers. So I felt encouraged to pray, rather than to use only this specific prayer. I did find myself revising some prayers that I am fond of to incorporate elements of the Jabez prayer.

There is a good section that points out that today we can also call on Jesus and the Holy Spirit, which were not available to Jabez.

Dr. Wilkinson also sets a good example that I intend to follow. He walks up to strangers and says, "How can I help you?" Now, I do that with people who call me on the telephone and people I work with. It had never occurred to me to do so with strangers, but it is probably more helpful with strangers. I look forward to the experiences I will have as a result.

If you are like me, it will be hard to tell where Biblical interpretation ends and witnessing begins in this book. I'm not sure it's all that important to draw a line between them. The key thing is to feel closer to God and God's wisdom and love. I certainly did after reading The Prayer of Jabez for Teens.

The book ends with a fine study guide that contains the big ideas of each chapter and some questions for bringing the lessons home to each reader.

I pray that you and your family will too! What else can you pray for that may serve God's purposes in more ways that you have not considered before?

I lived in Madrid thirty five years after the time the Countess recounts. Her account and vivid description unveiled for me a city gone for ever, one however, clearly discernible when I was there. Thank you Countess de Romanones for this wonderful treat!

For antebellum Americans, voyaging to the Pacific via Cape Horn was "the equivalent of a modern-day trip to the Moon," Nathaniel Philbrick writes in "Sea of Glory." Mr. Philbrick has made this trip before with "In the Heart of the Sea" (2000), his book about the Essex, a whaler rammed and sunk by an irascible whale. The Essex was a model for Herman Melville's Pequod. In "Sea of Glory," Mr. Philbrick reprises the "Moby Dick" theme by focusing on the Exploring Expedition's monomaniacal commander, Lt. Charles Wilkes, who may have been a model for Captain Ahab.

Wilkes was a driven man who overcame enormous obstacles, including his own incompetence as a seaman, to bring the voyage to a successful conclusion. Unfortunately for his reputation, he was also a martinet who made bitter enemies of his own officers.

The depth of this enmity is vivid on the pages of "Sea of Glory," not only in Wilkes's words but also in those of a midshipman named William Reynolds, who began admiring Wilkes but quickly grew to despise him (as Reynolds's journal shows). The rancor between Wilkes and his subordinates sparked an ugly controversy that tarnished the expedition's reputation and obscured its feats, which were considerable.

The Ex. Ex. surpassed Cook by establishing the existence of Antarctica; it also surveyed the lower Columbia River, charted hundreds of Pacific islands and collected so many scientific specimens that Congress eventually created the Smithsonian Institution to house them. It thus helped put American science on a sound footing -- an unlikely result for an expedition conceived to confirm a crackpot theory that the Earth was hollow and that a voyage to the South Pole would discover a hole through which the globe's interior might be explored. But Mr. Philbrick is less interested in the Ex. Ex.'s scientific accomplishments than in its political context.

This was the era of Manifest Destiny and of eager claims for the full reach of the Oregon Territory ("Fifty-four Forty or Fight!"). By sponsoring the expedition, the U.S. asserted itself as a nation to be reckoned with, especially in the Pacific. Wilkes returned home in 1842 (one year late and with only two ships of the original six). By 1848, the U.S. had planted its flag in Oregon and California and become a Pacific power.

From this newly acquired coast, the Ex. Ex. had already blazed a trail westward across the Pacific. Wilkes surveyed Pago Pago, the future capital of American Samoa; he surveyed the mouth of Hawaii's Pearl River and proclaimed it an excellent site for a harbor; his charts of Tarawa would serve Adm. Chester Nimitz well in 1943. He even surveyed the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines. Wherever Wilkes went, it seems, other Americans would eventually follow.

Before gold was found in California, the sea was America's main frontier. People read "Two Years Before the Mast" and dreamed of rounding the Horn on a clipper ship bound for China. Mr. Philbrick is an experienced guide to this lost world, and "Sea of Glory," with its evocative prose, is a worthy successor to "In the Heart of the Sea." Here, for instance, is the New York of Wilkes's childhood: "Manhattan was surrounded by water, and hull to hull along the waterfront was a restless wooden exoskeleton of ships, their long bowsprits nuzzling over the busy streets, the eyes of even the most jaundiced New Yorkers irresistibly drawn skyward into a complex forest of spars and rigging. This was where a boy might turn his back on all that he had once known and step into an exotic dream of adventure, freedom, opportunity and risk."

Mr. Philbrick does drag anchor occasionally. The U.S. merchantman attacked at Sumatra in 1831 was from Salem, not Boston. The huge "Peacemaker" cannon that blew up on the U.S.S. Princeton in 1844 was designed by Robert Stockton, not John Ericsson (although Stockton did base it on a gun of Ericsson's design). And it is odd, in a book that stresses the Ex. Ex.'s political context, to find no mention of the 1837 Caroline incident, in which a British force attacked a steamer on the U.S. side of the Niagara River, sparking a mild war scare. A reference to this episode would have helped explain the Navy's reluctance to divert six ships to a scientific errand and the reluctance of its officers to accept the command. (Wilkes, a mere lieutenant, ended up with the job because no one more senior would take it.)

But these are quibbles. This is at heart an adventure story, and Mr. Philbrick tells it well. Wilkes dodged icebergs off Antarctica and lava flows in Hawaii, waged war on a Fiji Islands village and returned home to face a court martial instigated by his own officers. He survived that, too, and finally won the fame he craved during the Civil War, when he was lionized for seizing two Confederate diplomats from a British mail packet. But the prickly Wilkes squandered this glory by annoying the secretary of the Navy, who soon beached him. Some people never learn.

There were unprecedented logistical tasks in assembling the expedition, which at its start consisted of six ships and 346 men (including nine scientists). Senior officers had trouble putting the expedition together, and the Navy gave the task to the forty-year-old Lieutenant Wilkes. Philbrick writes, "Wilkes was a great man. But he was also vain, impulsive, and often cruel." He took offense easily, and would not be placated by offenders. He remained aloof from his officers. When things went wrong, he was quick to assume that his men had been incompetent or malevolent. Philbrick concludes that a more self-confident and capable leader probably would not have brought the expedition greater success, although it could have brought greater on-board contentment and post-expedition fame. With his enormous flaws, Wilkes was resilient and resourceful, and the list of accomplishments chalked up by the expedition is long. For instance, they brought back forty tons of biological and anthropological specimens, many of which became the foundation for the collections displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. But upon his return, Wilkes was court-martialed for his many real abuses, and some that were not real, such as a charge that he falsified surveying sightings. While he got off lightly, and became recognized as a naval hero in the Civil War, and even an Admiral, he is not the recognized hero that, say, Scott or Shackleton is.

His flaws brought on his obscurity, which Philbrick's engaging volume will at least partially correct. There are literary theorists who say that Wilkes was the model for Ahab, and Melville did indeed know of the expedition and its outcome. A closer literary fit, because of his distrust of his subordinates, would be Captain Queeg of _The Caine Mutiny_. Philbrick, in _In the Heart of the Sea_, previously made exciting the tale of the doomed whaleship _Essex_, and there is plenty of nautical excitement in his story of this expedition as well. There is less of a tale of men against nature here, though, and more of the conflict of commander against officers, and of a man against himself.

"Sea of Glory" is truly a spectacular rendition of events, as Philbrick portrays the deterioration of the relationship between Commander and his men, while journeying through some of most inhospitable seas in the world. Wilkes comes across as a near megalomaniac and odious character (almost immediately after beginning the expedition, he promoted himself Captain!), belittling the achievements of his underlings and inflating his own. It is a miracle that he was succeeded in bringing the expedition home largely unscathed. Nor does the story end there. The final chapters reveal the trials and tribulations of Wilkes (and other members of the expedition) as he realizes that he may be held accountable for his actions. Upon return of the expedition, there were no fewer than 5 court martials involving Wilkes and officers of the vessels comprising the expedition, largely petty incidents raised by Wilkes as revenge for perceived slights by the officers.

Philbrick writes extremely well, in a very fluid and easy manner, and it takes little effort to read. Large portions of the book are based upon the journal of Midshipman Reynolds, once an ardent admirer of his commander but by the conclusion of the expedition despising him. Philbrick superbly brings this out, contrasting parts of the journal from early on in the voyage to sections of the journal written much later, the journal's author much jaded and embittered by the actions of his commander. But Philbrick does not focus only on Wilkes; the achievements of the expedition are also discussed, and the sometimes incredibly imposing situations the expedition faces, such as the attack by natives on the expedition in the Fiji Islands which resulted in the death of Wilkes' nephew. A book of this type benefits from having illustrations and maps, and on neither account does it fail. There are a number of maps produced in the book, although I have to say the main map (in the preface), which traces the voyage of the expedition throughout the 5 years it spent abroad, is a little hard to follow due to the back and forth nature of parts of the expedition, and also when the expedition split up for short periods of time. There are two sections of very nice illustrations which show the main characters involved and some events that occurred.

"Sea of Glory" is a true story that ranks alongside the best of adventure books, and I cannot recommend this book highly enough. A worthy addition to the library.

For those that read Outlanders and know what Im talking about- Kane is still imprisoned in Area 51, during that time he makes aquaintences with some female hybrids and they plot to overthow the tyrant that controls the place. On the outside, his allies Grant and Brigid are making attempts to spring him from the place and then run into others who want to take over the place. An uneasy alliance is met, important characters are lost, new allies discovered. As to where the Tigers of Heaven come into place, this is in the last stage of the book and Grant finds someone to be happy with.

This book is great reading and has a good moralistic sense. As for what I dont like about the book, thats simple- nothing, each page keeps you turning to the next. One of the best 350 page books I have ever read. There isnt a dull moment in this book. One of the best I have best and I can not wait for the next book to come out.

For readers who like humorous, complex characterizations, Tigers of Heaven provides colorful and three-dimensional personalities, of the good, the bad AND the ugly. This is a very emotion-charged book, offering new insights on all the main characters.

Sky Dog and his Lakota warriors reappear, as well as the massive war-wag "Titano". Best of all, Shizuka and the Tigers of heaven who were introduced in the previous book are reintroduced. And FINALLY Grant's celibate streak is broken!

I'm looking forward to reading the next installment of the trilogy and seeing how it all comes out.

Take Area 51...
Add in alien sex,
an APC/Jeep war,
an underground battle,
an ... whupping in an elevator,
samurai,
ninjas,
"injuns" with M-16's,
rumors of dinosaurs,
the alleged death of a main character,
a mysterious being who can rejuvenate the ancient and crippled,
a hot tub sex scene,
and mix it ALL together with a little Viva Las Vegas...

I think you can come close to perfection with this one. Most people talk about the middle book of a trilogy being slow or weak? This was the exception to that rule. The first book was much less full than this one, and this one had a lot of energy to it, despite all the plot points, or maybe even BECAUSE of all the vibrant energy plugged into it.

Just awesome.

This small volume is a treasure. In hardcover, the pages are silver, the dark blue typography is a beautiful old-style Roman, perhaps Garamond or Times, good-sized and leaded out for easy readability. And the illustrations are unsurpassed.

First, the illustrator: Gustave Dore was born in 1832, sixty years after the birth of Coleridge. He died in 1883. Coleridge preceded him in death by 49 years. Coleridge was born in 1772 and died in 1834. Dore was born in Strasbourg, and was a renowned illustrator who was doing lithographs at the age of thirteen.

The fact that Dore was a near contemporary of Coleridge is important because we can be assured that the characters' costumes in his illustrations reflect the actual dress of the time Coleridge was describing. The ships also are correctly drawn and beautifully detailed.

To say that his illustrations complement this classic epic poem is an understatement.

As to the poet, some wag said once of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, that "a half-great poet had a wholly great day." I have also heard that Coleridge is supposed to have written his epic in one sitting, in a great burst of inspiration. I can't vouch for that, but it is truly a masterpiece--of that there can be no doubt.

I recall trying to memorize it when I was in high school, about sixty years ago. I loved it then, and I still do now.

For the price, this book is an absolute steal. No library is complete without this poem, and of all the renditions I've seen of it, this is by far the most beautiful.

This oversized edition by Dover Publications reproduces all 42 Dore engravings in their original size. Gustave Dore's illustrations are absolutely mesmerizing. I enjoy slowly turning the pages and examining the phenomenal detail in these famous Dore engravings.

Every aspect of this edition is great. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an imaginative, haunting, and captivating narrative poem that has no parallel in the English language. The engravings by Gustave Dore - the open and endless sea, the vast icy reaches of Antarctica, the calm tropical sea with monsters swirling about, and the dead seamen sprawled on the ship's deck all translate the evocative words of Coleridge into unforgettable images. And the introduction by Millicent Rose is excellent.

Buy a copy. You won't be disappointed.

On the surface, this may just seem to be a simple poem by an English Romantic. But there is so much more. There is a lesson to be learned, one of respect for God's creatures and for all of creation. This is certainly a Romantic point of view, and Coleridge puts it forth very nicely in this poem.

This is a great beginning poem for novices of poetry, for beginners and for people who dislike poetry if it doesn't rhyme and have a definite rhythm. This is definitely Coleridge's best poem, one that everyone should be familiar with. This version with the woodcuts makes for a very attractive package--the illustrations add nicely to the poems overall effect.

The story is a sequel (but not slavishly so) to the first book of the series: Cats are a taboo item among the mice where Hermux Tantamoq lives, supposedly mythical creatures. So when his friend Mirrin displays cat paintings, people are -- to put it mildly -- upset about it; the mayor is even going to clamp down and ban it, and a large group of mice get together to prevent it from opening.

Then a chipmunk named Birch Tentintrotter arrives. Years ago, Birch was chased away for ownership of a map leading to a city of cats -- and now he's back. Birch leads the heroic mice (including Linka Perflinger and Hermux) to find the tomb of Ka-Narsh-Pah -- but problems are following them, in the form of two very determined villains.

Familiar faced abound in this book, from the previous one. Mirren, Linka, and Tucka are the most prevalent among them - it's great to see the artist, aviatrix love interest and cosmetics creep once again. Even so, it's not too necessary to read the first book to read the second (I advise it anyway, if nothing else because it's also delightful).

And the originality of Hoeye's plotlines continues. The idea of mice seeing cats as mythical creatures is inspired, as is his subtle dealing with controversial art (and the elite wanting to see it); also great is the idea of a revisionist-history villain. Any person who hates the editing of history will be grinning at the portrayal of Hinkum Stepfitchler.

His writing is as charming and descriptive (but not TOO descriptive) as it was in the first book. Hermux is endearing and humble as ever. Linka, Mirrin and Birch are all delightful as well. The dialogue is cute, but not TOO cute, and unlike many authors Mr. Hoeye seems to have no trouble keeping the separate personalities of the characters from running into each other.

Fans of Redwall, Avi animal books, and the prior book in this series will eat this right up; those of you not into anthropomorphic fantasy may want to change your minds. Here's hoping for lots more of Hermux Tantamoq.

In this book, Hermux's friend Mirrin Stenrill is having an exhibition at the local museum of her portraits of cats. Obviously, cats are not a popular topic when it comes to Pinchester, a city of mice, rats, and other rodents. No one really believes that they actually existed. That is, until a chipmunk named Birch comes into Hermux's store with a map of which he claims to be that of an ancient cat civilization. Before long, Hermux, Birch, and daredevil aviatrix Linka (who Hermux has a crush on) find themselves on the trail of this lost civilization.

Hoeye gives a funny, happy ending. I can't wait for the third in the series!

Although "The Shepherd" is a very short novel that can easily be read in under an hour, it doesn't hinder Forsyth from capturing your attention. He cleverly heightens the intensity of the action and suspense by using the first person point of view. The stricken pilot's fears and bewilderment quickly become your own, until they are resolved in a spine-chilling last-page climax that raises as many questions as it answers.

The gripping plot is marred only by a few incidences of blasphemy. But the paperback edition is beautifully enhanced by Lou Feck's full-page black and white illustrations. "The Shepherd" may be a departure from Forsyth's usual fare in that it is a short and sweet Christmas story that exploits the season's fondness for supernatural miracles. But it lacks none of his trademark spine-tingling suspense. Unlike the pilot, it will be a while before you come back down to earth after reading this one!