5 comments about Jane Austen's World: The Life and Times of England's Most Popular Author.

1. This books is so informative! Easy to read, lots of information about the Georgian and Regency Eras, very informative. It goes into depth about Jane Austen's time and her life. It talks about everything from the Army, to everyday life, to the madness of King George, fashion, etc.. So much info! If you're into history or Jane Austen, you'll like this book.



2. This is a really great book. I'm a fan of Jane Austen and have read all her novels but there were many things in them that I didn't understand because I didn't know the culture, customs and history of that time. Just one small example--Mr. Darcy hands his letter to Elizabeth Bennett instead of mailing it. Apparently unmarried men and women did not correspond with each other unless they were relatives or engaged to be married. Another example--balls and dances were a primary way for unmarried people to meet and socialize and one of the few ways they could talk alone to each other (while on the dance floor). So the balls/dances in Jane Austen's books are much more significant than I realized.

   I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand Jane Austen's novels better.




3. These days many books come along that discuss specific influences on Jane's writing such as poets, other authors, politics and social customs. This book allows a return to the overview of her story. The hard cover book is 8 x 11 in. which makes it easy to be a coffee table presentation or to read in a comfortable upright chair or even in bed (Yes, I do it!) Six well written chapters choronical her life, who she was, what it was like to live in Regency England, the society and spirit of her times, what her country was like, and her influence through the ages especially via her six novels and in the recent movies and television productions. For the old timers who have followed Jane Austen for some time or for the new comers wanting to know more, this is the book for you.



4. This is an enjoyable flip-through for Jane Austen and Regency lovers, but because the format limits the length of any entry, it is a rather abbreviated overview without a lot of depth. Many of the entries had me yearning for more information, especially those items about social mores, society, relationships within the family, etc.



5. Author, and Jane Austen scholar Maggie Lane's lushly illustrated and thoroughly delightful volume on Jane Austen's life, times and works is one of my Austen favorites in my library.
   
   I gravitate to this lovely volume on my shelf when I need a quick Austen escape. Its large coffee table format allows for lush color photographs and period illustrations on each page, and author Maggie Lane was cleverly arranged the keynotes into five chapters, representing important aspects of Austen's world; Who was Jane Austen? Daily Life in Jane Austen's England, Society and the Spirit of the Age, The Visual World, and The Immortal Jane Austen. This volume also includes a well written introduction, chronology, helpful index and author's acknowledgments. Here is an example of the first topic in chapter one...
   
   Chapter One: Who is Jane Austen?
   
   The Woman: We learn about Jane Austen's birth, family and home environment that nurtured her genius. Her physical appearance, character and personality are described and exemplified by Lane's thorough research, aptly including insightful quotes from her letters and family reflections.
   
   "Her unusually quick sense of the ridiculous inclined her to play with the trifling commonplaces of everyday life, whether as regarded people or things; but she never played with its serious duties or responsibilities - when she was grave, she was very grave." Anna Austen Lefroy
   
   Inevitably, comparisons of Austen's personality lead to the paring of her attitudes and personality with the characteristics of her own heroines. Even though each of her heroines is highly individual, Lane hints at similarities in the characters of Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse and Anne Elliot, and though I agree for the most part, I was amused to see how one can find what they need to suit, by reason and ingenuity.
   
   The chapters are broken down further by topics and continue in chapter one as follows; The Writer, Beliefs and Values, The Letters, The Portraits, Family Background, Home at Steventon, The six brothers, Some female relations, Love and friendship, Family visits, Bath and the West Country, and Return to Hampshire.
   
   Even though Maggie Lane is qualified to write a scholarly treatise, she knows her audience, and her light style is approachable and engaging. She includes enough biographical and historical detail to introduce us to the subject, and not weigh it down with heavy language and minutia. The photographs and illustration have been thoughtfully selected, significant to the topic, and important historically. Her scholarship is exemplary.
   
   This is my favorite Austen book to give as a gift as an introduction to Jane Austen, and as eye candy to the indoctrinated. It has never failed to please, and I hope that we shall see many additional editions for future readers.
   
   Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

No comments about Race, Class, and the World System: The Sociology of Oliver C. Cox.

5 comments about E.W. Bullinger: A Biography: A Biography.

1. I read this book some years ago. It is a very good work that gives insights to the life of this man and encouragement by seeing his example. He died almost a century ago, yet his work is still alive. It is good to read his books but it is also good to know the life that produced them. After all, it is not only a matter of the work but most a matter of the life that produces the work, and this book will give useful insights to it



2. A must read about a great man.



3. This book gives great detail and care to the historical surroundings of a great era of Biblical truth. If you do not know who Dr. Bullinger is, don't worry because your Seminary professors all do. He stood for the fundamentals of the faith and is counted as faithful to the Word of God.



4. Anyone who is a fan of E.W. Bullinger's work will appreciate this book! The author does an exceptional job portraying E.W. Bullinger's life from youth to the masterful bible scholar that he became. The book gives helpful insight to the man that gave biblical truth's to a Christian world that was severally lacking biblical accuracy and understanding.
   
   E.W.'s work inspired many people including myself, to study God's Word with great care and great love. I've read many of his books, but knew very little about the man that wrote them until I came across this book. Naturally, I was very excited to find out that a biography has been written about him. And after reading this biography, I have even more appreciation and respect for the man whose books taught me the spectacular accuracy of God's infallible Word. A must have for anyone who is familiar with Mr. Bullinger's works!!



5. This book is very helpful, if you are a Bullinger fan, in putting his life into it's historical and cultural context. It helps one understand the man better, and his passions. I was very sad to read that he died before he completed The Companion Bible, because one can almost feel where he stopped in that Bible. Very good reading.

2 comments about Wrestling with God: The Story of My Life.

1. This is a wonderfully candid reflection on the life of one of the 20th century's theological trailblazers. Readers of Lloyd Geering's many books will know that whilst he was Principal of the Knox Theological College (Presbyterian) in sleepy Dunedin, New Zealand, he was charged with heresy for writing a paper that reinterpreted the story of the resurrection of Jesus in a symbolic fashion. At his church trial in 1967 he was exonerated of the charge. He soon published an expanded version of his thoughts in "God in the New World".
   
   The strength of "Wrestling With God" is that Geering gives us (for the first time) a complete background to the development and maturing of his theological ideas. By the early 1970s Geering was effectively forced to resign from the Presbyterian church, realising that if he were to change people's thinking about God it would have to be outside the traditional religious context. Accepting an offer from Victoria University in Wellington, Geering became the first Professor of Religious Studies in a secular New Zealand university. For the next decade and a half, Geering exercised a key role in the development of a superb department dedicated to the study of all religions from a humanist perspective.
   
   Geering continues to live in good health and has published a series of excellent books (including "Tomorrow's God") to inspire those of us who consider ourselves to be exiled from the church. He is an active member of the Sea of Faith movement, a good friend of radical theologian Don Cupitt and has close links with the Westar Institute in California.



2. This book tells a man's story, from childhood in the Depression to high honour in his native New Zealand. He proved a bright student and became a Presbyterian minister, whose studies of modern scholarship brought conflict with those who took biblical stories literally. A trial for heresy ensued. He was vindicated, but moved to teaching religious studies at university level.
   Two other themes warm this story and inform it: the author's family life and his growing concern for the environment.
   This is a book to encourage many (but especially those of a Christian background) who seek a modern way of faith.

5 comments about Diana, Princess of Wales: A Tribute.

1. A beautifully produced book by someone who knew her from "Shy Di" to mother, single woman and finally the concerned woman who cared about charities, from landmines to AIDS. Gorgeous photographs of her throughtout her brief glorious life. Not exploitive, but joyful.



2. This is a beautifully put together book about our Princess. It was produced by someone who she knew and let in her world to photograph the pictures that meant the most to her. The commentary is very well done and shows a loving tribute to someone who deserves to be remembered as probably the best example of goodness in human beings. A book well worth buying and owning. A must for everyone who loved and admired Diana, Princess of Wales.



3. I am sure Diana,Prncess of Wales did what she did because it came from her heart. Being a doctor I am hesitant to touch people with aids or leprosy or homeless people. She bridged the impossible and was Christ-like to the least of our brethren. I was in London during the funeral when we started the St Therese Centennial Pilgrimage with 40 co-American pilgrims mostly priests or nuns or holy men and women. We were touched by her life and this book said all the things I wanted to express and much more. My life will never be the same and I will be be a better doctor and individual in my service to my patients and family because of DIANA,Princess of Wales. God bless her and her sons. May she rest in PEACE! Dr. Elizabeth Tioleco-Cheng USA



4. I had the pleasure of looking through all the Diana photo books in Amazon's warehouse in Seattle. Since they do have the best selection, I am confident that this and the O'mara Diana book offer the finest quality photos of any available. Many of the others contain photos with poor lighting or low resolution.



5. This is a warm and loving tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. All facets of Diana's life are covered from the time she first blinked into the camera as teenager through her funeral services on September 6, 1997.

   The photographer for this book has photographed the Royal Family for twenty-five years and has traveled in over a hundred countries throughout the world with them. The text was written by Tom Corby who has been associated with the Royal Family for about fifteen years. I possess a couple of his books.

   These two - Granham and Corby - have assembled a beautiful book which is filled with beautiful and outstanding pictures. All of the pictures are in color. Corby wrote the text to acompany the pictures. This is a great book which any collector of books on the Royal Family should have in his collection. Also, it is great for one who like to read about and look at gorgeous pictures of the late, Diana, Princess of Wales.

   This is a hardcover boook which contains 96 pages and measure 91/2x12 inches

1 comments about William the Conqueror.

1. William the Conqueror was an ambitious political leader who was the driving force of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Scholar David Bates' new biography WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR documents the man's achievements in Normandy and England, examining these successes in light of European history as a whole. A 'must' for any student of the era.

No comments about The Stewarts: Kings & Queens of the Scots 1371 - 1625.

2 comments about Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History.

1. If you are interested in the personal details of the latter half of Queen Elizabeth's life, this is an excellent book to read. Her wars and reconciliations with the headstrong Lord Essex (many years her junior) are covered in just the right level of detail, so that the reader is never gorged on nor starved for insights into what made Gloriana such a remarkable figure. Strachey's first chapter gives a particularly adept placement of the Queen's personality within the court of England and the field of late-16th century Europe. Following chapters contain less politics and more humanity. (The slow, initially frustrated but inevitable rise of Francis Bacon's star is interesting.)



2. Elizabeth and Essex is perhaps the finest example of Strachey's incomparable style. More poetic than prosaic, ripe with imagery and atmosphere, Strachey's elegant, vigorous prose is a treat to read.

   This is all the more unusual given that Strachey is a historian. In most cases, his style doesn't get in the way of the story; his subjects are usually represented accurately and with respect.

   Unfortunately, he doesn't quite succeed in this case. Strachey's Victorian sensibilities and Freudian view of his subjects often take him on wild flights of fancy that fail the test of Occam's razor. For instance, he asserts that Elizabeth was sexually disorganized based on a smattering of rumours which, he claims, prove that she had a deep-seated fear of sex and perhaps a hysterical block which prevented her from engaging in intercourse. Pretty convoluted reasoning, especially considering the fact that Elizabeth had perfectly sound political reasons to remain single.

   Strachey's portrait of Essex is likewise suspect. He turns the proud scion of an ancient family into a manic-depressive basket case, but his evidence for this is scanty and his reasoning difficult to follow. Again, is it really likely that Essex plotted to overthrow the government because he saw himself as the true King of England, when a much more simple explanation (he was angry and felt insulted) comes to mind?

   Yet even through the flights of psychological fancy and the wildly improbable motives, Strachey's portrait continues to enchant. I cannot stress strongly enough how enjoyable and entertaining this book is. Yes, one does have to take Strachey's explanations with a grain of salt, but the journey itself is a lot of fun and should not be missed.

   I highly recommend this book.

1 comments about The Surgeon and the Shepherd: Two Resistance Heroes in Vichy France.

1. The interaction of the local French working with a brave person combined to make this story of individual bravery inspiring. The unoccupied area of France during the first part of the Second World War provided opportunity for some to resist against Nazi oppression. It took those who were willing to take risks for the benefit of others that provides the satisfaction of the read.

5 comments about The Titanic's Last Hero: Story About John Harper.

1. If you are looking for a book as fast paced as the movie, you will be disappointed. This is a collection of memories of people close to John Harper. What the book will give you is a deep look into a man who faced near death by drowning three times before his death due to the Titanic's sinking. It inspired me to look at my own faith more critically. It presents the flip side of all those passengers who so lacked compassion that they put their own needs ahead of others who were dying in the water.



2. If you want to get to know about a real person that sailed on the Titanic, this book is for you. It is about an extraordinary Baptist minister, Rev. John Harper, who deeply touched so many who considered it a privileged to have known him. The book contains memories of fellow ministers, personal friends, and testimonies of individuals whose lives where changed forever under his ministry.

   You will read about Rev. Harper's last moments in his losing battle for life in the icy Atlantic, and the effect on the last person struggling in the water with him that survived. You will also be painted a vivid picture of his informative years by his brother and the story about his wife, lost six years earlier. This book also contains a gripping message delivered the Sunday after the sinking, to his grieving church in England, by his Associate Pastor. There is also a message from Rev. Harper himself.

   Don't miss this book, it will make you think, touch your very soul, and could change your life too. This book is great to read again and again, as you will get something new out of it every time.

   There is also another book ("Titanic" by Leo Marriott) that contains a photograph of a hand written letter written by John Harper to a friend, nine days before he sailed, about how he came to take the Titanic.




3. Tells the story of John Harper, a Scottish pastor who spent his last hours on the Titanic, witnessing to others even as the ship sank.



4. I went to see the movie TITANIC, but regretted it. I didn't like all the sexuality that was portrayed in it, and when I heard about Moody Adams' book, The Titanic's Last Hero, I knew that I had to get it. I wanted to see how a person could be there to help change lives, instead of just having only the pleasures of life. John Harper was such a spiritual man, and he led many people to the saving grace of Jesus Christ even before going on that ill-fated journey on the Titanic. The narratives of people saved with the promise of going to their heavenly kingdom when the Titanic went down, that's a better story to remember and to think about.



5. Rarely does this world ever see a selfless hero like John Harper. He is truly an inspiration to us all. The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because the second half gets very repetitive. John Harper himself gets five stars.