Open

The scores of short stories contained within this emotion-impacting book span a wide range of life-affecting topics that include love (15 stories), giving (11), parents and parenting (15), faith (12), levity (11), overcoming obstacles (11), perspective (11), and death and dying (15). The carefully selected stories (from thousands submitted) provide insight into the person God has called us to be, the actions God expects us to take, and the faith and attitude God expects us to adopt and profess. Scattered between the selections are both comics and thought-provoking quotations relevant to the section that they appear in.

Contributions for this outstanding 375+ page work were supplied by individuals such as the late Norman Vincent Peale, Corrie ten Boom, Dick Van Patten, Charles W. Colsen, Gary Smalley, Joan Wester Anderson, and Dick Van Dyke.

All stories are presented in a very readable level in which the reader can relate to the themes discussed and are short enough that single stories can be read in a session and then pondered. Your life will be more spiritually fulfilling and be more positive upon completion of reading this book if you take these stories to heart.

Do yourself a favor... A MUST read!

I am still reading this but, it has been just as fun to read as all the others I have read. The short stories are good for me and my hectic schedule and short attention span(I am 25 years old and getting better on the attention part). If I need a little laugh, I go to the funny part,and, every section has a different type of short stories in it. Of course, some will make you feel like crying or touch your soul, some will make you giggle or maybe even burst out laughing if you have had the same experience. The "Family Circus" cartoons are light-hearted ways to look at important things as well. You gotta buy this book!

Most of the series of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' has the kind of warm and fuzzy story that many find endearing and sweet. They are not 'deep' most of the time, but do point to things beyond themselves; for my own use, I often find sermon illustrations and stories within the pages of volumes of Chicken Soup -- as chaplain at a retirement centre, many of the stories help people to recall happier times, and help them deal with their present situation.

This particular volume involves stories with specifically Christian themes. The broad topics of the Christian life - love, giving (generosity), family and parenting, faith and hope, overcoming obstacles, death and dying - all these are addressed here, the contributing authors making explicitly Christian connections in their narratives. Much in the manner that Readers Digest accepts unsolicited stories from amateur authors, so does the Chicken Soup series. Often the most meaningful stories are those that happen to people who are not professional writers. However, there are 'names' among the contributors to this volume;

Each of this stories can easily be read in a short time. This makes it a good source for 'falling-asleep reading', for use in public speaking and preaching opportunites, for shared reading-aloud times, and for simple enjoyment and entertainment. Many of the stories here are ones that stay with you; these are stories I use again and again in my chaplaincy, and they are always appreciated.

The editors of the primary series 'Chicken Soup' are Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen; for purposes of this volume, they are joined by Patty Aubrey and Nancy Mitchell, who also helped with the 'Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul' volume.

I received this book as a gift a few years ago, and now the pages are dog-eared and worn. Not just for folk songs, Rise Up Singing is a wonderful source for a wide range of songs. I bring it everywhere I bring my guitar. There have been a few times I have sung with others (including a famous folksinger) and we have forgotten the words to the verses of some song (everyone seems to know the words to the choruses). Some one usually yells out, "Anyone have 'Rise Up Singing'?" We use the book for guidance. It gets so much use that I will be buying another copy soon -- spiralbound, of course!

I love to sing all types of songs, but when I came across this book, I thought I had died and gone to song heaven. 90% of my favorites were included (and I know a lot of songs)and it's great to have them all in one place.

The catagories are many and the print is easy to read. Plus, you get chords, which I appreciate since I play an autoharp. The cross references to other catagories at the end of each section is useful also.

I have used this songbook at many, many singalongs and hope that someday, they will come out with a vol.II to cover the small percentage of my favorites not in this volume. Until then, I will continue to rise up singing each and every time I use this great book!

When I first came across the first edition, at the Philly FOlk Fest, I literally jumped up and down in excitement. They were sold out and while we waited for a new supply to arrive a friend and I sang our way through the sample book. I had to buy the second edition a few years ago because my original copy was falling apart, quite literally. (But I still have it; couldn't bear to throw it away.) The second ed adds a much-needed songwriter index.

You couldn't play the songs in this book if you don't already know the tune, since only chords are listed for most songs. On the other hand I can't open to any page without finding songs I know (and usually, love). Many of these are songs you won't find in other songbooks. All are singable. Included songs run the gamut of folk music (and that includes trad, Celtic and other ethnicities, folk-rock, singer-songwriter, and on and on) as well as Motown, Tin Pan Alley, a few showtunes, and more. When I first came across the first edition, at the Philly FOlk Fest, I literally jumped up and down in excitement. They were sold out and while we waited for a new supply to arrive a friend and I sang our way through the sample book.

Popper, writing in the depths of World War II, produced a triumphant retort to the forces of absolutism and illiberality then all-too evident in the world. Its relevance has not diminished with time; if anything, the book has greater power today, when we have both the lessons of the past to learn from and the threat of the future to confront. His criticisms of Plato are particularly brilliant. In school, I was taught that Plato was a "hero in democracy"- no person who has read Popper's book could maintain that view. In "The Open Society and its Enemies," he systematically examines and demolishes the persistent and pernicious arguments against democracy, crushing assumptions yet doing so with such relentless logic that the truth of his statements cannot be denied. All this is delivered in a style which is at once erudite and scrupulously documented yet also eminently readable: his arguments draw you in, and even if you are not a student of philosophy, the appeal of his writing is sufficient to maintain interest.

I think the title of this review is a true description of this book, but I urge you to judge for yourself. My only regret is that I did not read it many years ago when my head was turned by the siren calls of what Popper calls 'tribalism'. Even then I heard about it and had it pooh-poohed as 'old hat' by 'advanced' thinkers (self-styled!). Often misinterpreted as an attack on Plato, Marx and Hegel, it is in reality a stirring defense of democracy and liberalism, written at democracy's darkest hour. Now that Marxism has collapsed, Popper in an interview given before his death called for us now to look for the 'roads not taken', admitting that embattled western liberalism became, to a certain extent, an unquestioned dogma like its opponents. A good place to start that search is with Popper's greatest book.

I greatly enjoyed this book, Popper is one of history's greatest forgotten minds. However I do find myself wondering if Mr. Enigl has seriously read this book? Popper, while certainly an enemy of totalitarianism was not at all an enemy of the use of state power. In fact in several places of the book he deals with the pardox of complete freedom. In particular I would reference this following:

"I believe that the injustice and inhumanity of the unrestrained 'capitalist system' described by Marx cannot be questioned; but it can be interpreted in terms of what we called, in a previous chapter, the paradox of freedom. Freedom, we have seen, defeats itself, if it is unlimited. Unlimited freedom means that a strong man is free to bully one who is weak and to rob him of his freedom. This is why we demand that the state should limit freedom to a certain extent, so that everyone's freedom is protected by law. Nobody should be at the mercy of others, but all should have a right to be protected by the state.

Now I believe that these considerations, originally meant to apply to the realm of brute-force, of physically intimidation, must be applied to the economic realm also. Even if the state protects its citizens from being bullied by physical violence (as it does, in principle, under the system of unrestrained capitalism), it may defeat our ends by its failure to protect them from the misuse of economic power. In such a state, the economically strong is still free to bully one who is economically weak, and to rob him of his freedom. Under these circumstances, unlimited economic freedom can be just as self-defeating as unlimited physical freedom, and economic power may be nearly as dangerious as physical violence; for those who possess as surplus of food can force who are starving into a 'freely' accepted servitude, without using violence. And assuming that the state limits its activities to the suppression of violence (and to the protection of properly), a minority which is economically strong may in this way exploit the majority of those who are economically weak. "

Schechter takes you by the hand and walks you through some stunning yet simple mathematical proofs that are real eye-openers for a layman like myself. He doesn't just talk about math, though. For example, one chapter has Paul Erdos explaining a simple proof to the non-math-literate wife of a colleague. You get to see the proof (which was nifty) as well as the way Erdos interacted on a human level. It's the kind of thing this biography does fantastically well, i.e., math in a thoroughly human context. Erdos is a very charming and unusual person who comes alive along with the math. The book is written in stories, anecdotes, and observations about math in general and Erdos's contribution in particular. It could be understood by a tenth grader who is bad at math but it's still written in an adult and intelligent tone, not one that talks down to the reader. One of the best popular math or science books I have ever read. I liked it better than Gleick's book, Chaos, and Gleick's bio of Feynman (though these were also very fine books, in my opinion).

This beautiful book is an intellectually rich biography of one of the world's most prolific mathematicians. Amusingly, inoffensively and highly idiosyncratic, Erdos worked on hard problems in apparently simple fields, taking rather easily explained concepts and forging powerful new results and tools with a speed which astounded professional colleagues. Bruce Schechter does a magnificent job of clearly explaining what Erdos did and the many connections between his work and other areas of mathematics and, more generally, science. Through frequent digressions he paints both a humane portrait of a uniquely caring individual and a thumbnail sketch of western political oppression around the world during the first sixty years of this century.

This book also will introduce readers, in a gentle and interesting manner, to the world of numbers and mathematics. The nature of prime numbers and how they are distributed, famous conjectures such as Goldbach's, topics in graph theory and combinatorial mathematics, and more are made accessible to the reader. The account of the controversy surrounding the "elementary" proof of the Prime Number Theorem benefits from the author's access to newly available material, and will be of interest to both laypeople and mathematicians. Other topics, introduced through natural association with the subject at hand, include Godel's Theorem, Russell's paradox, the Monty Hall problem (made famous by Marilyn vos Savant), the nature of infinity, proving theorems by contradiction, and the normal distribution.

Though Erdos is known to many for his unusual life style and behavior, this book does not dwell on the bizarre but weaves such facets of his life into the more exciting mathematical development of the person. This biography ranks among the very best of the numerous works about mathematicians which I have read over the past 45 years. Arguably, more has been written about Erdos in the past decade or two than about any other mathematician. Despite this, Schechter's new contribution is an outstanding addition to the literature

Paul Erdos was a unique individual. He never had a permanent residence; instead, he traveled from one mathematics conference to another with his few earthly belongings in two suitcases, one which held a few changes of clothes, the other a treasure of mathematics papers. He collaborated with mathematicians everywhere; the extent of these collaborations is so immense it gave rise to the Erdos number, which is this: You have an Erdos number of 1 if you co-authored a paper with Erdos, your Erdos number is 2 if you co-authored a paper with someone who jointly wrote a paper with Erdos, etc. About 500 people have an Erdos number of 1 and well over 5000 hold the Erdos number of 2. Erdos numbers go as high as 16 and the number of people with an Erdos number is said to be well above 100,000.

Stories about Erdos abound. It is rumored that he walked into a classroom, saw some writing on a chalkboard and asked if this was mathematics. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, he then asked what the various symbols were. Immediately after the explanations were given, Erdos took chalk in hand and in two lines proved the hypothesis that had baffled other mathematicians for some time, and this was in a field of mathematics that Erdos was largely unfamiliar with! Another story had Erdos taking a train fron Boston to New York; across the aisle sat a beautiful female who said "hello" to him. One thing led to another; by the time the train arrived the two of them had written a paper!

This book covered much of the life and mathematics of Paul Erdos; much of the mathematics in the book is number theory because it is a topic that is easy for anyone to understand yet difficult to prove. A typical example is Goldbach's conjecture, which says: "Any even number greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers." Sounds simple enough and logical; 4=2+2, 6=3+3, 8=3+5,10=5+5 or 3+7,... The problem has been around for about 300 years but as yet lacks a proof. Other mathematics topics touched upon include Ramsey theory, the division of a square into unequal squares, and Godel's Incompleteness Theory. The book also shows the strange language of Erdos, in which women were 'bosses', men were 'slaves', the United States was 'Sam' (from Uncle Sam), and the Soviet Union was 'Joe' (Stalin), to list a few of his own variations of English.

This book is easy to read, even if the reader has only a high-school background in mathematics. If you are curious about mathematics and/or human nature, you will find this book of great interest. I highly recommend this book.

Cold Fire, third in Tamora Pierce's quartet, The Circle Opens. It was a rather disapointing read for me, but, then again, Daja was never one of my favourite characters. In this book, Daja and Frostpine travel to the frosty country of Namorn to stay with Frostpine's friends.
The main plot of the story was interesting, but some of the ideas, once introduced, were not supported.
I didn't think that the characters were so well- developed in this book as they were in Magic Steps and Street Magic (which I thought were much better). Since there were two students for Daja, Nia and Jory, we didn't get to know them very well, unlike Evvy and Pasco.
Daja's relationship with Ben was very confusing, and not very well thought out (not to mention kind of scary). A little romance would have been nice, but Daja seemed rather unfeeling throughout much of the book.
Aside from all of that, Tamora Pierce has done a good job in keeping with the idea of the Circle Opens Quartet, and Daja is more mature and still as calm as in the The Circle of Magic series.

Although Tamora Pierce is an excellent writer, the most of the books in her Circle of Magic and Circle Opens series (save for Briar's Book and perhaps Daja's Book or Street Mages) have been far from her usual quality, often with potentially interesting characters struggling against stiff storylines. Cold Fire, however, totally changes this. Apart from continuing the development of the characters of Daja and her companions, it is a superb book in its own right.
Unlike the other books in the two series, there is no evil villian or dark force to combat; it is the story of a man's battle with himself and a city's struggle to protect itself. Daja and her mentor Frostpine are staying in a city to the North made predominantly of wood; a city that Daja sees as a fire trap. And there are fires. Lots of them. At first it seems like the fires are just accidents and tragedies, but a pattern begins to reveal itself and Daja is soon stalking an arsonist who seems to delight in destruction. The instruction of the new student also takes backseat in this book; Daja's struggles with her new students are interludes between the devastating fires and the search for the arsonist.
The writing is flawless and the characters and setting rich and real. Daja has always been an interesting character, but it was wonderful to see her fully fleshed out with all her eccentricities revealed. I did predict who the arsonist was - but in the maddening psychological web of the book, wished it wasn't that character. I totally recommend this book! It is one of the best Tamora Pierce has ever written - and kept me in my chair reading, despite the fact that it was Spring Break and people were pulling me out to the pool.

Wouldn't it be cool to have the power to draw heat into your body or control fire and metal? Well, Daja Kisubo can, and she can do it very well. Now fourteen, Daja and her teacher Frostpine are staying with some friends of his in Kugisko in the empire of Namorn. Hoping for a nice vacation there, the man and young woman's wish is shattered; Daja ends up teaching two young girls how to control their magic and chasing an arsonist, and Frostpine is after a counterfitter. Niamara and Jorality Bancanor, the daughters of Daja's host, find that they have ambiant magic, one that doesn't reveal itself until much later in life. After finding teachers for them, Daja has to teach them meditation to keep their magic under control, since their new tutors own large, bustling workshops. On top of all that, Daja joins up with firefighter Bennat Ladradun, a man who lost is family in a fire, to fight fires that are beginning to spring up over Kugisko. From Ben's point of view, their friendship seems more like a love affair, whereas Daja just looks at him as a friend. In the middle of the book, things get serious when the fires are more fatal and bigger, and their friendship is tested. The ending is really sad, but the plot is incrediable, letting you see into the arsonist's mind, though it's still hard to understand how someone could do such a thing. There are some flaws; though Daja is still her calm and polite self, sometimes she seemed a little cold to me, not as warm as her character suggests, but Tamora did a nice job. It's a must read for every bookworm.(HERE HERE!)

Noam Chomsky's description of US foreign policy often causes people to ask, "If this is true, why haven't I heard about it?" That led Chomsky to write about the mainstream news media. His explanation is simple enough to understand, but it needs a lot of documentation to back it up. So Chomsky wrote a short stack of heavily-footnoted books on the topic, such as Necessary Illusions and (with Edward Herman) Manufacturing Consent. But it can be intimidating to pick up one of those books, so Chomsky wrote this introduction.

The footnotes are gone (more or less). The basic picture of the US news media --- how it works and who it serves --- is here, but in condensed form. If you want the nuances, the sources, and the case studies, you'll have to read his other books. Once you have a grasp of the broad outlines, you can get into the specifics much more easily.

This second edition adds the transcript of a talk Chomsky gave a few years ago. It was printed in FAIR's media watchdog magazine, Extra. In it, Chomsky imagines a Martian as an outside observer, someone who can analyze human affairs without being inside it. The Martian idea works well because so many Americans feel outside the mainstream media's message --- as Chomsky describes the current war on terror from the Martian point of view, you find yourself in total agreement.

The rest of the book is just as good. Chomsky talks about the history of the media as a voluntary propaganda arm of the government, citing examples from World War I to the Gulf War. His ten-year-old comments on Iraq (including references to WMDs) show how the old news has been re-packaged for a new decade. It's a new century, but it's the same old lies..

Initially, I would like to say that this is without doubt the most intelligent book on the subject matter! It reveals the insidious methods commonly employed by the Media. Accordingly, these methods are used to manipulate and mislead the public's mind, especially in areas concerning foreign politics, domestic issues including racial discrimination and unjust distribution of wealth! People have to face the indisputable fact that the Media is controlled by the government. Unedeniably, the media frequently misrepresent the facts in order to protect the government from public discontent! I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to understand how the media control the public's mind. Buy this book immediately! Noam Chomsky is a master!

Unfortunately Chomsky is right.

The US spurns the vetoes at the UN by its European allies accompanied by derogatory remarks and much anti old Europe propaganda. The US is in fact one of the biggest users of the veto at the Security Council. It would never accept military actions by another country if it applied a veto - but then acts lawlessly when others use the same veto. That is not democracy.

The US government continues to path of lawless action outside of norms of international laws and invades Iraq on a WMD pretense that now appears quite false - killing thousands of Iraqi's and perhaps thousands of Americans at a cost of hundreds of billions - the jury is still out.

We still have not learned that the killing of millions by the US in Vietnam was almost as bad as the holocaust, since "we did it" to protect democracy. Forget about the Mi Lai massacre, that was peanuts compared to the total killed and the 50,000 Americans wasted.

We have invaded Cuba, Grenada, Panama, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lebanon, Kosovo, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Afghanistan, and invaded Guatemala with proxies, and supported Iraq with material aid to fight Iran. We have bombed Libya, Yemen and the Sudan. We have supported police states and dictators such as Jordan and Egypt, and countries in south America including Columbia and Chile.

We have made so many enemies that foreign travel is almost impossible by Americans in some countries. Now the rest of the planet, the other 94% have started to attack us back in our home cities. Maybe the Europeans are right. Maybe we are becoming the biggest threat to world peace.

Government propaganda is the norm and patriotism has run at a fevered pitch. Everyone shows the flag and supports the government in its atrocities. Chomsky is (unfortunately for us) 100% right and we have supported this whole mess for 45 years.

Before I thought Chomsky was a rabbid radical. I did not agree with him until I actually sat down and read his books in detail, slowly page by page. He is right - of course. His tone and language are quite neutral. His writings are not "white hot" as some reviewers suggest. He presents the facts which are simply damming. Maybe not every thing is 100% correct, and he makes small errors, but it is virtually 100% true.

We have been fools to support this series of wars and invasions of small helpless countries by our leaders. If there was a legitimate need to intervene there should have been a proper international legal processes. Eisenhower, a great general and military man, has proven himself to be a prophet when he warned us of the US military-industrial complex. It has in fact taken on a life of its own and been carried from one administration to the next, even after the fall of the USSR.

Jack in Toronto

I really enjoyed reading Alaska. The way Michener always goes into such detail explaining his characters and their struggles is very interesting. The descriptions of the land made me feel like I was right there with all of his characters. It gave me a whole new outlook on the state. I always thought of Alaska as just a cold place but he showed me in his writing how beautiful the state really is. I always learn about the history of the places he writes about. My mother's uncle went to Alaska during the gold rush, hoping to make his fortune so I was able to associate with that part of the novel. I would recommend this book for reading because it is a very enjoyable book to read as well as a lesson in history and geography.

This book is among my favorites. I have read most or many of his books twice and always find them to be entertaining and educational. I keep a copy of Hawaii, Alaska, and Texas near at hand.

This is a nice 850 page historical novel that gives a very detailed picture of the evolution of a great state. Alaska is one of the last places to have a very clean and unspoiled environment where fish can still be seen to just jump out of the ocean.

Michener's books use a common plot formula that starts out by telling a story that in some way reflects and utilizes accurately the actual or known historical developments and time lines and people of a region. The story progresses through the development of the region starting with the very early people that came from Asia, he adds in settlers, bush pilots, fisherman, salmon canning factories, business people, etc. adding in more characters and phasing out others as time moves forward up to current times.

When I decided to review this book I was not certain if people were still interested in buying this book but I was pleased to see that there is still interest at Amazon.com in buying and reading this great story.

After this read this book I visited Alaska. If you have the resources I recommend a fishing trip to Alaska assuming that you like fishing - or just a wilderness trip. Alaska is cool even in the summers, but the clear waters, mountains and all the unspoiled wilderness and animals make it a special place. If you cannot go, then read this book. If you can go, read this first.

Good read and a good gift.

Jack in Toronto

Michener has a unique ability for making history come to life in the most interesting of fashions. This book is no exception. I started this book feeling like I knew very little about Alaska and its value. By the time I finished I felt I like an expert on the history and the imense value of "Seward's Folly."

The characters come to life in memorable fashion. One character that I am puzzled by is Captain Michael Healy. For about 40 years he was the law in Alaska, battling pirates, rescuing lost seamen, importing reindeer from Siberia to ease starvation in Alaska. The reason I am puzzled is that Healy is one of the greatest Black Americans, with a "folklore" level history and virtually nobody has heard of him.

The book looks to be well written with lots of details, but I feel the first few introductory pages are insufficiently detailed which prevented me from setting things up. Specifically:

* The examples don't say whether your supposed to be in or above the working directory for various cvs commands. The reader is supposed to assume that current directory for this example is the same place as the current directory at the end of the previous example, but nothing says that. (it's obvious once you know).

* The overview chapter only talks about importing a whole directory tree. It's not clear how to add a directory or a file to an already imported directory tree. Actually, it's explained 20 pages later, but I didn't find that for a while.

* I made a mistake and imported a working dir subdirectory as a top level directory in the central cvs repository. There's no quick overview commands for removing setup mistakes. (Actually, that's shown about 30 pages after the overview). The book doesn't say that importing a subdirectory if you're in the subdirectory, makes it a top level directory in the CVS repository.

I'm sure once I understand what's going on, it'll be obvious. But to do my basic directory setup, and cleanup from a mistake, I had to wade through all sorts of "once it's working" text to find what I wanted.

Also, in the Removing Directories section, he keeps referring to directories without saying whether he's referring to directories in the user tree or under the CVS repository tree.

This book has 2 aims:

1) To give you all of the knowledge you need to use and administer CVS, and

2) To provide you with insight on the Open Source movement and management of an Open Source project

On both accounts, Kurt does a top-notch job. His explanations for (1) were detailed, provided command-line input and output to leave no question as to what's supposed to happen, and the language was familiar and easy to read. It is thus far a head above any other book on CVS I've found. His thoughts on (2) obviously showed a strong familiarity with Open Source combined with a realistic and analytical view that I would liken to combining parts of The Cathedral and the Bazaar with an instruction manual.

I highly recommend it. I'd buy it again if I didn't already own it ;-)

I've been bugging Karl with both simple and complex CVS questions for as long as I can remember; I guess I annoyed him enough that he wrote a book just to shut me up! Here at last is a great place to get the answers to all my CVS needs. CVS is complex enough that it deserves a close inspection and detailed examples and explanations. Karl seems to have pulled it all off; this book is well organized and will easily be an essential reference and definitive guide to programmers and managers alike who use revision control in any project, Open Source or not. One of the biggest selling points of this book is that it not only covers CVS but it also examines software development from a design and organization standpoint. It will explain why CVS is such a power tool for seeing a project through, from development to releases (and everything inbetween). It also covers using CVS as a revision control tool for web sites and documents. It is nicely organized, easy to read and follow. You should check this book out for whatever role you play in a company which deals with home-grown source code or documents. If you're a CVS admin, developer or project manager: Get this book.

This is a good book and the reason I didn't give it five stars is because Tris never was my favorite character. The plot is good though and the cultures that the author comes up with is really interesting.
Tris and her teacher, Niko, are visiting Tharios the capital of the city-state of Tharios. Tris goes exploring and discovers a glass maker who appears to be sucking all the surrounding magic in to his glass. Tris discovers that he has glass magic warped by lightning magic. And she is the only mage in residence with lightning magic. And if things couldn't get more complicated there is a serial killer lose in the city!

Shatterglass was an excellent followup to the prior Circle Opens quartet. I guess I identify most with Tris, even though I am much, much older. I've had a wicked temper I've fought all my life, and it is interesting to weave temper control into her magic. Actually, I'm a huge fan of Tamora Pierce, even though I'm a 50+ year old woman...her books in many ways remind me of the best of Andre Norton. They are suitable for younger folk, but interesting and somewhat intriguing for us older readers. There isn't a book in any of her series that I would rate below 4 stars! And her determination to make her characters strong, but flawed, and with emphasis on females in uncharacteristic roles is a great way to give role models to our young readers.

The seventh yaskedasi was dead, according to Dema. Dema was the one to investigate the murders of the preformers (yaskedasi), helped by some lightning mages named Tris and Keth. Intrigued? Will they find the killer? Will Keth be able to make a glass globe that will show the killer's face? Or will it again be covered with lightning? Will Tris be able to help Keth master his powers before the killer strikes again? Tris and her teacher, Niko, come to Khapik to study the magic in glass making, but end up with more than they bargained for. But for Tris to help Keth, Keth must put aside the fact that Tris is only 14 years old and he is an adult. Tris is a very impatient girl who keeps magic in her braids.
But what about the killer? You'll have to read and find out!

This review is for those who seek that "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4:6) and wonder whether the practices of today's neo-contemplatives like Fr. Keating will help them see that light.

Keating's centering prayer is founded on his efforts to "restate the Christian spiritual journey in contemporary terms." These include: All people have a "basic core of goodness [which] is our true Self" and "God and our true Self are the same thing." In opposition to the true self is the false self which is a psychological construct created as a defense mechanism for "all the harm that other people have done to us." By forsaking the false self and manifesting the true self, one can be "transformed into Christ and deified." Contemplative prayer "brings the transformation to completion."

Centering prayer is Keating's specific method of disposing oneself to contemplative prayer. The method is designed to "turn off" ones thoughts and emotions so as to open up to a new reality. Very generally, the method entails a comfortable sitting position, closed eyes, a "sacred word" to occupy the mind, and 20-minutes of such quietude twice a day.

I agree with the proponents of this book who have described the method as non-dogmatic. Anyone of any religion (or no religion) could practice the method and attain the experience Keating describes as "resting in God." Keating envisions widespread centering prayer in the Christian church so that "dialogue with the other world religions would have a firm basis in spiritual experience."

The shared spiritual experience that Keating sees as forming the common ground with other religions was encountered by St. John of Ruysbroeck over 700 years ago. He wrote of those who "turned in upon the bareness of their own being" and "the onefold simplicity which they there possess they take to be God, because they find a natural rest therein." He said this rest "exists in all men by nature, whenever they make themselves empty." But Ruysbroeck, a Christian true to the name, went on to describe another, heavenly rest in Christ: "For through his own power no man has ascended into heaven, save the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. And therefore we must unite ourselves with Him, through grace and virtue and Christian faith: so we shall ascend with Him whither He has gone before us."

Today's contemplatives claim their spiritual pedigrees from the likes of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. For those on the Christian spiritual journey who believe that Jesus is the way, these saints of old are surer and safer guides. They steadfastly believed that no one comes to the Father but through the Son, and they were not ashamed to say so. Of their writings I most highly recommend the translation of Teresa's Interior Castle by Kieran Kavanaugh published by the Institute of Carmelite Studies.

The concepts of "centering prayer" and "contemplative prayer" are difficult for many of us who are used to activity and busy-ness in our daily lives. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian, outlines the traditions and gives a practical (if that is possible) guide to the benefits and the methods of integrating this into our daily lives.

Following a brief discussion of the history of this type of prayer, the author lucidly explains the nature of contemplative prayer and concludes with an understanding of the contemplative nature of the Gospels. Allowing oneself to free the mind of distractions and "rest in God's presence" is a difficult and ongoing process, however Keating offers words of encouragement and understanding so that we realize that this type of prayer, like all types of prayer is not an end in itself, but is a journey.

As one attempts to develop a deeper more significant relationship with God, this book is an invaluable resource. It is worth reading and referring to repeatedly as a guide in prayer, but also in reading Scripture.

One of the biggest problems for anyone attempting a spiritual, prayerful life, exactly how to go about praying is a problem. The obvious vocal, ritualistic prayers are simple enough and Christians utilize this method fully, but a true spiritual relationship is difficult to develop.

That's why Keating's work is important. He shows us a method we might utilize towards that end. My primary hang-ups and questions considering contemplative and centering prayer were entirely addressed by this work, and there's no doubt in my mind that I'd recommend it to anyone looking to further their prayer life.