Partner

This book covers the basics of Anatomy and Physiology for a student getting started. It is structured well, and is easy to skim through and find answers if you're looking for a specific question. Also, it's not so dry as some textbooks, so you don't fall asleep so easily while studying!

The best thing about this book is the CD Rom study guide. The study guide has an overview of the book, with pictures and video clips of computer animated sequences of cell function, muscle function, and many other things. It also has activities in which you click and drag answers for study sheets. At the end of each section there is a quiz, with randomly selected questions from the study material, and at the end of a chapter a unit exam. This helped me tremendously in preparing for tests. You can test yourself several times with differing tests(since the questions are random)and so be more prepared for your exams in class.

Students of church-related higher education have good reason to thank Merrimon Cuninggim. From the middle '40s until his recent death, Cuninggim traced the relationship between "church" and "college". In this work, Cuninggim leaves behind the awkward categories of church-relatedness ("Proclaiming College", "Embodying College") and plumbs more deeply what it means for a denomination to work with a church-related university. The reader will enjoy his cool-headed discussion.

One wishes Cuninggim were more thorough in his assignment of colleges to particular denominations (he misplaces several colleges)and that he examined Marsden's views (The Soul of the American University) with more care. Otherwise, an important addition to the literature.

Unlikely Partners ( Harlequin American Romance No.218)

by Jacqueline Diamond

High-society dances at the yacht club, flights in a private plane to the California wine country, a designer wardrobe--life had never been this wonderful for shy librarian Sarah Farentino. Suddenly she was leading the life of a madcap heiress.

I'm with the first review I read, discussing the Jewish-Jewish divorce rate vs. Jewish-Christian divorce rate.
It's important to note that this can be an issue even if you have a Jew and a Gentile who are both non-practicing,
because Judaism is an ethnic identity. Because if you are Jewish, there are a whole lot of people out there who don't like you, and this rich cultural history you have, and your non-Jewish partner will not "get it".
As someone with an agnostic Jewish mother and a non-practicing Christian father, who was raised nothing, I can say that it just does not work. My parents had arguments for years over the Jewish-Christian issue. They finally divorced over it. My mother found a Jewish agnostic like herself, and my father found another lapsed Christian.
I had an identity crisis for years until I discovered that I am Jewish (because of my Jewish mother) and decided to discover Judaism. When I marry I will marry a Jew because I value my heritage and I want my children to know who they are.
Spare your parents the grief, spare your kids the heartache, just do one faith and be done with it.

Here's a big truth that I dearly wish the author of this book had pointed out: In the United States, for the last fifteen years, Jewish-Jewish marriages have had a seven percent divorce rate, while Jewish-Christian marriages have had a staggering SIXTY PERCENT DIVORCE RATE. That's even higher than the whopping fifty percent in the U.S. at large!

The writer treats the profound spiritual, historical, and cultural differences between Jews and Christians as matters that can be merely discussed and negotiated away. But in reality, there is no amount of planning, talking, agreement, or compromise that can undo this truth. Obviously there are tremendously important issues at stake, that run very deep into the core of who are are as individuals, and the kind of couple and family we are trying to create.

And here's another issue not really addressed by the author at all: For those couples who will marry and have "interfaith" children, certainly you have countless options for the religious upbringing of your kids. That's only ONE thing to consider. A much more profound issue for offspring of interfaith marriages as they grow into adulthood is often, "Why did my father (or mother) wind up having to cancel out his (or her) spiritual identity in order to satisfy someone else?"

Aside from that, the book is fine.

I've been in a Jewish/Christian marriage for nearly 10 years, and while my spouse and I certainly have our conflicts, virtually none are based on our religious differences. We've had arguments about politics, arguments about our relationship, arguments about operating systems, but religion? Naaaaah.

When we got married, we knew--thanks to books like this one--that we might have issues to face, and so far, I think we've done pretty well with them. We share basic values and, for the most part, appreciate each other's cultural differences. In my opinion, every marriage between two people raised in different families is going to require some compromise between cultures. We're fortunate that we were prepared to make that effort.

First and foremost, Partner has done an excellent job of combining facts about the ancient order and the "mythology" that surrounds them. The only backdrop to all of his hard work and effort is the fact that he randonly throughout the book refers to facts without supporting them.

Plenty of times in the book does Partner make bold statements without any reference, for example his thoughts on the relationship between the Papacy and the order and also the banking "service" supplied to the west by the Templars. It almost seems as if he has some personal bias towards the subject and that in hand takes away from the books value.

In books like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", the authors make statements as well, but back them up with incredible and detailed reference, so one cannot walk away with a questionable thought like, "prove it!".

I enjoyed this book in any case and it still in my view one of better ones I have read on the subject.

This book is not for anyone hoping to keep delusions about the Templar Knights. It does in places draw conclusions that are non-sequitur, but the history presented is factual according to reliable sources. As the author points out, it is possible that some of the crimes and 'heresies' attributed to the Templars could have been performed by some Templars, but it is unlikely that all of them performed the described rituals. The purported worship of 'Baphomet', for example, was probably created under the duress of torture. 'Baphomet' is the French word for Mohamad at the time, and the various descriptions given seem to be people searching for a way to stop being tortured. Did the Templars hold onto holy objects like the Ark of the Covenant, the Shroud of Turin, or the Holy Grail? These are questions that are not addressed in this book, except with an enduring scepticism. However, the author does leave room for possibilities. As a historically accurate depiction, it should preclude any such searches as a basis for knowledge. It is an interesting and factual look, with a fascinating plot.

Peter Partner's 'The Murdered Magicians: The Knights Templar and Their Myth' is a book no serious student of the Medieval crusading order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon should be without. For anyone whose knowledge of the Templars comes from the nonsense written by Baigent and Leigh in 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' Partner's book is a must-read-but only if they are interested in historical fact and not the fantasies of the type offered under the guise of scholarship by popular authors like Baigent and Leigh.

The first part of the book deals with actual Templar history; the second half deals with the subsequent myths which developed around them. Partner does a good job of documenting how nineteenth century Masonic Lodges appropriated the Templar story in order to legitimize and provide an ancient pedigree for the Craft.

In Stephen Frey's world, apparently, all the villains are blonde haired fraternity members ("frat boys" in Freyese) or racist businessmen. The only decent people are either poor, members of ethnic minorities, or leftist acitivists. Matters are made worse by an unbelievable plot, plodding writing, and motivations, which to put it kindly, do not ring true. If Mr. Frey has any understanding of the subtleties of human nature or life's ambiguities, he fails to reveal it in "Silent Partner." I have read a lot of thrillers so the law of averages decrees that some of them were not very good. Nevertheless, I can't remember one as bad as this silly left-wing rant.

Poor little rich girl meets the richest man,at least in the USA. Lots of intrigue if you can believe it. Some very good twists and turns that keep you reading. I have enjoyed all his books but this one is just not my cup of tea. I will try others though as all good authors sometimes hit you with one that just isn't right for you.

This was a fast read and a definite page turner with lots of twists and turns. It took me a while to put the prologue into perspective with the rest of the story, but the pieces all fit in the end.

The ending was good, although it left me wanting more - a sign of a great book, in my opinion. I wasn't ready to let go of the key characters.

I can't say much more without revealing pieces of the puzzle, except ENJOY!

Plain and simple. There is some thought-provoking points made in this book. But there are some difficulties for the average reader to comprehend.

When Science Meets Religion is the winner of the Templeton Prize for advancing religious understanding. As a humanist, this topic is always of interest to me, and I found Barbour's view on process theology most interesting. The typology of the book was such that four "topics" were discussed in each chapter with respect to the "view" being discussed: Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration. So, for instance Astronomy and Creation are "analyzed" from those four points, as are the other major sticking points between science and religion.

Barbour seems to treat each position with respect and objectivity and clearly states his own position so that the reader is not required to "guess" where he is coming from in his own thinking. For example, in chapter five (Genet6ics, Neuroscience, and Human Nature) Barbour states clearly the "I will defend an integral view of the person as a psychosomatic unity, which I believe is closer to both the biblical view and the evidence from contemporary science." And so it goes through all the major topics of the book. And, in the next to the last paragraph, we have this conclusion: "Finally, I find the concepts of process philosophy particularly helpful, but I am aware that a single coherent set of philosophical categories may not do justice to the rich diversity of human experience."

In the end, Barbour has not convinced me to leave off my Humanist views, but he has indeed given me the framework I need to understand the need for others to use a religious model to express their sense of unity with all the Cosmos. As he so eloquently explains, all models are limited and partial, and none gives a complete or adequate picture of reality. So it is just a matter of where you wish to put your faith when it comes to understanding your own place in that infinity. One can put faith in science eventually giving us answers to the major questions we have or one can put faith in religion explaining the mysteries. Whichever system one chooses, one must keep in mind that no one model fulfills all needs or answers all questions.

From the Foreword:
"Quantum Physics: A Challenge to Our Assumptions about Reality?
Classical physics was deterministic and reductionistic in assuming that the behavior of all objects could be exactly predicted from accurate knowledge of their smallest components. Quantum physics, by contrast, acknowledges an inherent uncertainty in the prediction of events at the atomic and subatomic levels. It is also holistic in showing that the behavior of larger wholes is not simply the sum of the behavior of their parts, but involves distinctive system laws. More over, the quantum world can never be known as it is in itself, but only as it interacts with the observer in a particular experimental system. Quantum physics thus suggests the openness of the future, the inter connectedness of events, and the limitations of human knowledge. Some theistic interpreters propose that God determines the indeterminacies left open by the laws of quantum physics. Advocates of Eastern mysticism say that quantum holism supports their belief in the fundamental unity of all things. The new physics has led scientists, philosophers, and theologians to exciting discussions about time, causality, and the nature of reality."

This short 180 page book contains a summary of all the latest ideas coming out of the dialog of religion with science. It is respectfully and beautifully written. It is also intelligently written without losing clarity or using too much jargon. As a physicist I'd say Barbour got all the physics (and science) right, not something most writers in this area are able to do.

Barbour discusses the scientific and theological significance of several "hot" topics: the big bang and creation, the implications of quantum physics, Darwinian evolution and continuing creation, naturalistic challenges to theism, human nature (free will vs determinism, the nature of the "soul", body/soul and mind/brain dualities), and the theological implications of the fact that we live in a universe where both chance and law play major roles. In each chapter, Barbour discusses four ways of responding to these questions: conflict, represented by fundamentalists and scientific materialists, both of whom agree that a person cannot believe in both God and Darwinian evolution; independence (two languages, separate domains), dialogue, which invites a conversation between the two fields; and integration, which moves beyond dialogue to explore ways in which the two fields can inform each other, especially Process philosophy. Barbour sympathies lie with dialogue and integration, but I believe he is fair to all points of view. I also liked and approve of his use of "critical realism" in dealing with unseen realities like electrons and God.

I'd also recommend books by fellow scientist/theolgians and Templeton Prize winners (and critical realists) John Polkinghorne and Arthur Peacocke. Also, see David Ray Griffin's books for a process theology point-of-view. (Griffin is a follower of the famous philosopher Alfred North Whitehead.)

Legs is the first part in William Kennedy's Albany Cycle, other novels in the trilogy are Billy Phelan's Greatest Game and Ironweed.

The plot:
He's crude, blunt, violent, and a severe sociopath, but when you are talking about one of America's most infamous gangsters, those aren't necessarily bad characteristics. Jack "Legs" Diamond is a quick-witted, prohibition-era mobster who makes himself a household name by being thrust into the public eye in the 1920's and 30's. Marcus Gorman, his attorney and confidant, narrates "Legs'" escapades finally culminating with Diamond's murder. Gorman the reliable narrator never seems to try to spin the truth, or miss one gory detail.

My take:
Kennedy writes in an easy to understand, flowing style which makes this book difficult to put down. He is very descriptive with his characters, which enables you to really explore their various psyches. Although, much of the mob life style in the book, which we have seen in countless movies and novels, may seem cliché, overall Legs is simply a very entertaining book that I would recommend for anyone looking for a causal read.

_Legs_ opens with a number of former friends and associates of the late Jack "Legs" Diamond reminiscing about the nature of the legendary gangster's death. Despite the subject matter of this rambling discussion I was struck by its high content of "gallows humor."

What I liked about this novel was although William Kennedy attempted to humanize Jack Diamond to a certain extent, Kennedy did not sentimentalize or apologize for him. I had no doubt that Jack Diamond was exactly what he was: a booklegger, a thief, and a murderer. Despite numerous arrests, Jack Diamond was "The Teflon" gangster--none of the state charges against him would stick. Jack was a true media celebrity, in the same sense that the popular, but corrupt New York Mayor, Jimmy Walker, was at the time, although Jack was often unkind to reporters and photographers. Jack had loads of fans, who were mostly "the common man" who probably identified with Jack's humble beginnings. He also had many detractors, some of whom wanted to kill him. Jack also had a loving wife, Alice, and an adoring mistress, Marion "Kiki" Roberts, a dance hall girl. Jack loved them both in his own fashion. In a particularly trying time towards the end of his short life, Jack sought comfort from both women by keeping them near him, in separate rooms, on the same floor in a hotel in which he was staying at the time. His body guards were in another room. It seems that the only person Jack ever truly loved was his brother, Eddie, who died many years before of tuberculosis. Just mentioning Eddie would cause Jack's eyes to well-up with tears. But any doubts of Jack Diamond being a vicious and sadistic criminal were completely dispelled in his kidnapping, torture, and near-hanging of an old man (accompanied by his young companion) who Jack erroneously believed was a rival bootlegger. It was this event (brutally described in the book and not for the squeamish) that caused Jack to be brought to trial, which included federal charges and unwanted media attention.

William Kennedy wrote _Legs_ in a light, informal style that also never let up on the intensity. I found reading the book fun, but with a constant, lingering sense of dread and doom that never left me. The fact remains that Legs Diamonds lived the last months of his life in constant fear of assasination and in spite of his greed for money, he died impoverished.

Money, crime, sex, and murder are the key elements to becoming a big time gang leader and Jack "Diamond" Legs has all of these qualities. Read through this epic novel of the final years of a big time 1920's prohibition gangster and how he both put fear and joy into the people's lives around him.
I felt this book was an easy one to read, but was still extremely enjoyable with its elements of crime and seduction. The story is told through the eyes of his lawyer, Marcus, which is great because of the unbiased perception he has towards other people. He will take you into the life of a big time gangster and how he narrowly escapes death time and time. Marcus' view towards others allows the reader to look deeper into the personalities of characters around Jack and how their personalities and views towards Jack change over time. The reader will read about all of Jack's horrible deeds and schemes to make money and destroy competition, but will also see how people interpret those deeds and Jack. Jack's faithful wife (Alice) and his showgirl mistress (Kicki) tell us about their lives and how it has changed because of Jack. This book will take you deep into the mind of its characters so you can see what they are thinking and then pull you back out again and do this over and over again. Legs is greatly written to show you how crime affects everyone.
This book is a great thriller to read in some free time. It's portrayal of the big time prohibition gangster is excellent and it will leave you in awe that some people lived their lives in such a manner during the Prohibition. This was a great summer reading book for me to read and I highly recommend picking it up and giving Jack a chance to take you inside the "family" of a gang leader and show you how things are supposed to be done.

This book has a different perspective and for that it is interesting. I cannot believe it was written by an academic however; the spelling mistakes "halfs", "Entant", etc. do not suggest someone educated as being responsible.

It does digress from the key issue to a potted, and in some aspects contentious view of the progress of the War without any real basis, as if certain pet themes had to be smuggled into the text because the author was burning to make some political point.....such as suggesting paratroopers attacking Auschwitz.....without explaining why this suicide mission should succeed when even the advancing Red Army was having difficulty killing enough Wehrmacht soldiers to advance.

It is a book artificially bulked-out with unfounded speculation, and diminished by exceedingly poor editing or maybe just illiteracy on the part of the author which suggests a slapdash approach. When I pay money for a book, I do not expect to have to proof-read the manuscript and pencil in spelling corrections.

Overall, worth reading once but check the facts before quoting them too widely, and keep a dictionary handy.

I've read both of Pool books, and I've found them both very insightful on the American, England and German "money" interest in the Nazi's rise to power. Without their backing, Germany would have fallen into a communist state in the early 1930s. Certainly, the high-powered money interest of Europe preferred the Nazi Party to the communist. This is why the "money" interest supported the Nazi party. Understanding this truth is key to understanding the Nazis rise to power.

We all know what Hitler's views were, but we haven't until Pool research, addressed what powerful forces were instrumental in his rise to power. As a history major, Pool represents what the craft of history is all about. A high recommended reading for anyone.

I've read both of Pool books, and I've found them both very insightful on the American, England and German "money" interest in the Nazi's rise to power. Without their backing, Germany would have fallen into a communist state in the early 1930s. Certainly, the high-powered money interest of Europe preferred the Nazi Party to the communist. This is why the "money" interest supported the Nazi party. Understanding this truth is key to understanding the Nazis rise to power.

We all know what Hitler's views were, but we haven't until Pool research, addressed what powerful forces were instrumental in his rise to power. As a history major, Pool represents what the craft of history is all about. A high recommended reading for anyone.

I hate the herione. She's she most annoying woman I have ever read in a romance novel. EVER. sterotypical librarian-- scatterbrained, rumpled, glasses. She is so friggin nosy. She thinks a large corporation is her little playground. She's bossy and just generally vapid and stupid. Why can JAK just outright say that yes, this heroine is dumb. But no, she makes sure to include a statement that the heroine is very intelligent, as were her parents before her. Huh. Too bad I didn't see a shred of that supposed intelligence.

I've read several JAK books, and to be honest, I don't know what the fuss is about. The only book of hers that I really liked was Silver Linings, and the rest are mediocre. Her books, including the ones written as Amanda Quick, are all the same. Sure, she changes a few quirks around, but the situations and characters are recycled constantly. And after I read one of her books, a few weeks later, I forget about it. There is nothing memorable about her books. The only reason I'll remember Perfect Partners is because it is the stupidest book I've ever read.

I found this book to be somewhat frustrating and "caveman-ish". I don't understand why the key characters were addressing each other so formally (Mr. Blackstone, Ms. Thornquist...) After all, they are the heads of the company! First names are acceptable in the office these days! It got to the point of annoyance for me! And the fiancee, Philip -- what an idiot! He completely ignored Letty's wishes to let her run the company the way she wished to. Joel Blackstone is a caveman, looking out for himself. These people are sappy.

I did like the mystery twist in the story...

I'm hesitant to read any more JAK books...

Letty Thornquist inherits Thornquist Gear from her uncle. But Letty's uncle had promised to sell Thornquist Gear to Joel Blackstone. Joel was the one to transform the company from a store into an empire single handedly while Letty's uncle was literally out fishing. Much to Joel's annoyance, Letty decides to take control of the company. There wasn't a big mystery in this novel--unlike most of Jayne Ann Krentz's novels. Perfect Partners was very, very funny. I don't regret reading it.