Westerns Books

I thought Vol. I was much easier to follow. Vol. II jumped from one event to another and not necessarily in order. For example, one paragraph talks about Hitler committing suicide; two paragraphs later the Holocaust is discussed. I found it hard to read.

As a longtime reader of the Church Fathers, I found this book delightful. Oden's observations about Eurocentric interpretation of Church history are right on. I highly recommend it.

Thomas Oden's "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind" was not the book I expected when I read the title. It was different, it was more, it was less, it was challenging, and it was and is important.

Oden, recently retired after a distinguished professorial career, is perhaps one of the most renowned Church historians of our day. His four-volume opus on the history of pastoral care is a classic, for instance.

Oden now sees as his life's work, for the remainder of his life, the uncovering of the buried treasure of African Christianity. Of course, what one means by "African" is crucial. Oden wisely steers clear of much modern and post-modern imbalance here. He avoids the Euro-centric approach that diminishes anything African as being simply borrowed from European culture and thinking. On the other hand, he equally avoids an "Africa first" framework that presumes that everything has its roots in Africa.

For Oden, and for "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind," the "Africa" he speaks of is anything that happened on the African continent and anyone who lived and ministered on that continent. This avoids the endless debate, for instance, about which Church Father was or was not "African." How does one define that? By skin color? And by what amount of pigmentation? By nationality? Why wouldn't any nation in Africa be by definition African? By ancestry?

The ancestry issue coupled with geographical/cultural impact is Oden's most important contribution. In sum, he argues that even if Augustine, for instance, had a father whose ancestry was Greco-Roman, would that mean that Augustine, living his entire life in Africa was not African? Additionally, given that his famous mother, Monica, was almost definitely of Berber (north African) descent, would that not make Augustine African? And just as important to Oden, can we wipe out the impact on Augustine's parents and on Augustine of living in the African geography and partaking of the African culture?

So, for Oden, "African Christianity" is the Christianity of any person who was born and/or lived on the African continent. Thus, for Europeans to claim Augustine, Origen, Tertullian, and others is a robbery of immense proportion in Oden's thinking.

Given this perspective, Oden's entire book is actually a call for others to build upon his small start. It is a call to take seriously the oral and written tradition of material spoken and penned on the African continent. It is then a call to explore the past, present, and future impact of that legacy.

For the past impact, Oden wants to examine how African Christian theology and practical Christianity shaped and interacted with non-African Christianity. For the present and the future, Oden hopes that such increased understanding of the enduring African Christian legacy will validate and encourage modern African Christians regarding their heritage, will open the doors for African seekers to understand that to convert to Christianity is not betraying their heritage, but returning to it, and to encourage all Christians to learn from and with modern day African Christianity.

Some will find in "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind" more ecumenism than they find palatable. However, one does not have to agree with Oden's entire perspective or agenda to learn from him and appreciate his fair and balanced historical perspective.

For anyone wanting to sort through the current debate in a scholarly way, Oden is the person to read. For anyone wanting to enliven their appreciation of the ancient African Christian faith, "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind" is the book to devour.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Friends, and Soul Physicians.

Thomas Oden writes, "Christianity would not have its present vitality in the Two-Thirds World without the intellectual understandings that developed in Africa between 50 and 500 C.E. The pretense of studying church history while ignoring African church history is implausible." (10) Yet, in his book "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind," Oden purports that for centuries Western intellectuals have in fact ignored or downplayed the momentous contributions of African Christians to church history and theology. According to Oden, today's Christian mind has its roots in the writings and teachings of the early church leaders from Africa, in the struggles of the early church martyrs from Africa, in the lives of the desert Fathers of Africa, and in the early Christians who fled Africa taking their faith throughout the Mediterranean cities. Oden suggests that it is critical for contemporary African Christianity to learn of its prestigious heritage--to learn that Christianity is a vital, traditional African faith rather than a foreign imposition.

He writes, "The profound ways African teachers have shaped world Christianity have never been adequately studied or acknowledged, either in the Global North or South." (9) This is a story that Oden believes needs to be told throughout African villages and cities and must especially reach the African child. He believes it is a story best told fully by young African scholars. The story of African Christianity conveys extraordinary faith, courage, tenacity and intellect that must serve as inspiration and guides not only for African Christianity but for universal Christianity today.

In its infancy, Christianity spread to Africa. Oden laments that even African theologians have been tempted to fall victim to the stereotypical idea that Christianity developed in and came from Europe. This mindset ignores the vast oral tradition and written evidence indicating that African thought shaped and conditioned nearly every Christian diocese in the first millennium of the faith.

Oden asserts that in Christianity's first 500 years, "the period of its greatest vitality," the African Christian intellect was the model that was sought and widely emulated by Christians of the northern and eastern Mediterranean shores. (29) Oden claims, "The Christian leaders in Africa figured out how best to read the law and the prophets meaningfully, to think philosophically, and to teach the ecumenical rule of triune faith cohesively long before these patterns became normative elsewhere." (29-30) Through the third, fourth and fifth centuries, African Christian ideas were flowing to the other centers of Christianity.

The book is divided into two main parts: "The African Seedbed of Western Christianity" and "African Orthodox Recovery." Oden also includes an Appendix that outlines the challenges of early African research and a literary chronology of the first 1000 years of Christianity in Africa. Oden focuses on seven ways that Africa from the first to the fifth century shaped the Christian mind. These seven ways provide the foundation for his thesis in the book:

1.The Western idea of a university and Christian scholarship was born in Africa, mainly in Alexandria which possessed an unrivaled library and a vast learning community of philosophers, scientists, writers, artists and educators. Influential figures include Clement of Alexandria and Pantaenus.

2.Christian exegesis of Scripture first matured in Africa by writers like Origen, Didymus the Blind, Tyconius and Augustine of Hippo.

3.African sources like Tertullian, Cyprian, Athanasius, Augustine and Cyril shaped early Christian dogma on subjects such as Christology and the Trinity. Many problems of Biblical interpretation and Christian definitions were worked out through African Christians' battles against the major heresies of Gnosticism, Arianism, Montanism, Marcionism and Manichaeism.

4.Early ecumenical decision making followed early African conciliar patterns that provided a practical model for ecumenical debate and resolution. African church leaders like Demetrius of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthage, Optatus of Milevis and Augustine raised and helped settle issues on penitence, diocesan boundaries, episcopal authority and ordination and on Christian doctrine.

5.The African desert Fathers birthed worldwide monasticism through their patterns of personal sacrifice, ordering of the life of prayer, study, work, radical discipleship and balance of solitude and communal life. Oden elaborates on the example of how the monastic patterns of Antony, Pachomius and Augustine would have lasting influence in Italy, France and all the way to Ireland.

6.Christian neoplatonism emerged in Africa with Africans Philo, Ammonias Saccas and Plotinus being the central figures. Clement of Alexandria was among the earliest to convey the connections and distinctions between logos philosophy and the Christian teaching of God.

7.Rhetorical and dialectical skills were honed in Africa prior to advancement in Europe with Tertullian, Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius and Augustine excelling.

According to Oden, the time for Orthodox recovery in Africa is now and urgent for three reasons:
1.rapid numerical expansion of Christianity
2.a new hunger for intellectual depth
3.the perceived might of the Muslim world, and the concurrent exhaustion of modern Western intellectual alternatives.

African Christianity does not have the comfort to invest in the Western idea of ecumenism and unity that equates all ideologies and rejects absolute truth and moral superiority of the historic doctrines. Likewise, a faith devoid of the supernatural is of no use to African Christians who rely on miraculous intervention. Oden asserts that African Christianity is rejecting a "permissive ecumenism" and tolerance for sin in favor of the truths found in its wellspring of classical exegesis that deals with the problem of sin through penitence and humility. (116) Oden sees in the heart of African Orthodoxy a model for a contemporary Christianity revitalized by a corrected perspective on the relationships between tradition and Scripture and between faith and charity inspired by the Holy Spirit.

He presents what is basically the tip of the iceberg of evidence for his thesis. He admittedly limits himself to the task of being a catalyst to ignite African and other scholars to take the initiative to fully develop his ideas. The book is sufficient to whet readers' appetites and pique interest in discovering the rest of the iceberg not seen in this book.

Oden writes, "Among the benefits of reading early African Christian teaching are the courage to face complex tasks, reduced anxiety and the consolation of knowing that suffering can be transcended by hope. Seemingly impossible obstacles do not intimidate." (135) If a lesson for all Christians stands out from early African Christianity, it may be what is articulated by Alan Paton's seminal South African novel "Cry, the Beloved Country:" "there is one thing that has power completely, and that is love. Because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power." Oden has illustrated that African Christianity has been characterized, since it inception to the present, by power sourced in a keen sacrificial love flowing with grace, faith, hope, and courage while remaining anchored in truth and community.

Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

"On that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Hosts. One of these will be called the city of the sun (Heliopolis)." Isaiah 19:18



Introductory Epilogue:
One nation in Africa lead by the great city of Alexandria has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy that outweighs all other nations together. The Church of Alexandria, where the Hebrew bible translation started in the third century BC, into the Greek Septuagint, became and still is the ecclesiastical holy Scripture of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. All fundamental Christian doctrines and the most formative intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and developed in Egypt, which controlled provinces west to today's Tunisia, together of few Latin centers in Northern Africa before they moved into Italia and the Gaul of the archaic Roman Empire.

Oden Tells the Story:
Here, Oden reminds Christians that there were once major cultural and religious centers in North Africa, especially in present day Tunisia where Carthage and Hippo were located. The Mediterranean coast of North Africa had a thriving civilization and culture that produced vivid literature and fine art. The Nile River descending from the mountains of Ethiopia, passing through Nubia, and ending in lower Egypt is still the main location of a living Christianity. These Christians were able to survive the Arab invasion, even hinder Islamic cancerous growth into their areas. Another vocation that Oden points out as having a great influence on Western Asia, from Syria to Capadocia and Southern Europe was monasticism, which started in the deserts of Egypt and eventually moved east and west up to Ireland.

African Paleo-Orthodoxy:
Professor Thomas Oden, founder of Paleo-Orthodoxy, represents a portrait of Christian community in North Africa, in line with Patristic scholars in Europe, which is being catching up in this country through the North American Patristic Society, in the last thirty years. He challenges prevailing notions on the historical development of Christianity from its early buds to its later developed expressions. He asks some fundamental questions: If this is so, why is Christianity so often perceived in Africa as a Western colonial import? How can Christians in Africa, and throughout the world, rediscover and learn from this ancient heritage? His analysis convinced him that the pattern should be reversed the other way around. His impassioned plea to uncover the vital role that early African Christians played in developing the modern university, applies only to Alexandria. From Clement to Dedymus, the Alexandrine Catechetical school thrived, and the scriptorium produced the most accurate Codices. Origen matured Christian exegesis of Scripture, shaped early Christian dogma, and above all modelled conciliar patterns of ecumenical consolation, by arbitration in matters of faith, between disputing bishops and their Churches from Caesaria, Palestine to Rome. Early monasticism, which started by the Jewish Therapeutae who became the first Messianic Jews, established the vocation and its traditions. Alexandrine Egyptians led by Ammon Saccha and his clan Plotinus, Longinus and Origen, and others of his pupils developed Neoplatonism, while refining rhetorical and dialectical skills.

Oden Disciplined Investigation:
Professor Thomas Oden calls for "a wide-ranging research project to fill out the picture he sketches. It will require, he says, a generation of disciplined investigation, combining intensive language study with a risk-taking commitment to uncover the truth in potentially unreceptive environments." Oden envisions a dedicated scholarship, devoting common commitment endorsed with cyber technology, that will seek to shape "not only the scholar's understanding but the ordinary African Christian's self-perception." Thomas Oden proposes that contemporary Christian Africans need not synthesize any new theology, of African liberation type, but to first rediscover the patristic theology that started on the continent with the Church Fathers before the advancement of Islam. However, surviving Copts in Egypt, Christians in Ethiopia, and Eritrea already stick firmly to their Oriental Orthodoxy.

Seeking truth or Ecumenism?
Thomas C. Oden, author and general editor of The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, in 28 volumes presents how this rediscovery can be done. He encourages young African scholars to take the lead in this project and set up a website: www.earlyafricanchristianity.com.
Oden tries to be ecumenical in his approach of rediscovering how Africa shaped Christianity theologically, but Africa is reduced in reality to Egypt, mostly, and Cosmopolitan Alexandria specifically. In spite of trying to be inclusive, his emphasis is Protestant, a fact which Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., does not seem convinced. His presentation that Africa had a great influence on Christianity is correct, but Africa in the early days of the Church, could be reduced to Egypt, and Egypt to Alexandria. Exton statement that "forgetting is mostly due to racial prejudices which Oden and others highly suggest is not appropriate," refreshes the Black Athena debate.

Oden's Continental Ecumenism:
Although Oden creatively recovered all known and proven facts, he stopped short from acknowledging the true champions of Christian Orthodoxy. Oden cannot call Egypt Africa, or deny to make an absolutely simple statement,
"Alexandria was the mind of Western Civilization, and the Egyptian Desert the soul of Christianity!"

Eminent Scholar & Author:
Thomas C. Oden is Professor of Theology and Ethics, Emeritus, at Drew University Theological School from 1980 to 2004. in addition to being the senior editor of Christianity Today, he is the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and author of The Rebirth of Orthodoxy, between many other theological and exegetical works.

Thomas C. Oden has done a great service for the church by writing "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind." This book takes in great consideration Africa's contribution to Early Christian History. The book surveys various topics such as Christian intellectual history, the history of literature, Scripture exegesis, philosophy, physics, moral insight, discipline, etc. However, particular attention is given to Africa's contribution to Early Christianity. The book revisits what has been silent and untold in Church History for many centuries by both ecclesiological and secular historians. Oden writes with passion, conviction, yet with an irenic spirit. He states, "Christianity has a much longer history than its Western or European expressions. The profound ways African teachers have shaped world Christianity have never been adequately studied or acknowledged, either in the Global North or South" (p.10). The author posits some serious challenges to all educated Christians to reconsider the past. Early African History is nothing but ecclesiological history. The church cannot fully appreciate her rich history unless she is learned of her great African heritage. Although the book is directed toward Christians, yet non-Christians will profit from it significantly. Those who love the truth simply cannot ignore Oden's important work.

We bought this on Amazon after eating in Napa, and are very pleased with the recipes. The recipes are not overly intimidating for a casual weekday meal. In contrast, the Mustards' Grill cookbook gives a number of more advanced recipes, with complex ingredients. This cookbook avoids the need for ingredients from a high, high end grocery store. We were so pleased with this cookbook we checked out another from the same chef (casual cooking), and ended up purchasing this book as well. If you have fresh ingredients available, this is a nice cookbook for a dinner party or a weekday meal. Overall, very pleased with this cookbook.

I collect cookbooks. I like this book because the recipes are original and the ingredients aren't too esoteric. I don't like the coffee table size, it's too hard to browse through. I recommend if you are an experienced cook and always searching for new, interesting recipes.

As an individual who is dedicated to eating local, healthy, and tasty food, Michael Chiarello once again creates supreme recipes with delicious flavor and divides the cookbook by season. Each of the recipes has a bit of flare and contain simple and fresh ingredients that should be easily found in any local grocery store, farmers market, or organic store such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or Fresh Market. My cooking style is still developing, but all of these recipes are always winners even for the novice cook. The recipes are easy to make and always satisfy. This is a definite recommend for anyone looking for tasty, seasonal cooking.

I have had this book for over a year and have tried several of his recipes which all comes out great. It is one of the few cookboos that I have which I use often. The recipes are easy to follow, simple, and most important of all, delicious. I espcially like the stuffed pepper recipe. It is also a book one can sit down to read for leisure. Plus there are lots of tips, not just recipes.

This is a wonderful culinary book. It's more than a cookbook, as it focuses on various vegetables, etc. of the season, then uses those featured ingredients in several great recipes. If you've ever eaten at Tra Vigne in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena, you can even picture in your mind Michael in the kitchen, and almost taste the restaurant's just-pressed olive oil. If you know anyone who likes to read culinary books (like my mom, who literally reads cookbooks cover to cover, then goes back to earmark certain recipes), you should give them this book for the holidays. It is a beautiful, coffee table-quality, glossy work.

This book is well presented and the pictures are great. Detailed and well written with understandable instructions. A great book to have.

This is a great book if you are taking lessons from an instructor and you want additional things to practice. Beginners may not find it as helpful as they were hoping.

I tend to not be very creative and this book really helps with giving many ideas for practical lessons that improve both horse and rider. There are enough quality lessons for months of practice. Well written and organized.

This book was very informative and gives me the proper mindset to bring to the barn for my horse to learn one step at a time. A great reference book and guide.

This book is well written for the layperson with excellent diagrams, and was shipped promptly as promised.

I have read this book at graduate level as a class material in Human Resource Management. The most obvious priority of Schulers book is its case studies which are developed elaborately and absolutely topic-related. It was my assignment to translate case studies included in this book into Turkish and while I was reading cases, I realized that as I read, I better understood topics. Although cases are impressive in this book, the chapter titled as "The Role of HRM Department in Total Quality Management Process" is not rich in terms of content.

I reccommend this book especially to international students whose English proficiency level is not very high because the language and structure of Schulers book is very simple, accordingly understandable. A good source in the field of HRM. Highly reccommended.

Good plot but I learned more about "sex" than I wanted to know. Way too much sex.

I bought this book in the airport on my way to Las Vegas and I could not put it down. I didn't leave my hotel room until I finished it! I love a good historical romance and these days its so hard to find a good one. If you haven't read this one yet then you are in for a treat! Happy reading.

This book was fantastic. It was a post-Civil War novel about a wagon train of individuals on their way to Texas. When I finished the novel I had an urge to start reading it all over again.

The romance aspect of the book took a while to heat up, but the anticipation was exciting, frustrating, and sweet. I wouldn't change a thing about the book, including the controversial rape scene. People need to remember this it is just a story! It's not like women haven't fallen in love with someone who has taken advantage of them before. Give me a break. Besides, the character in question was also a known thief and murderer; I don't hear any complaints about that!

You couldn't help but root for Lydia and Ross, even though Ross wasn't always likeable. Ross's character was flawed, but always desirable and I looked forward to his appearances.

It's one of the better Sandra Brown novels for sure.

I bought this book after I read such great reviews of it but I must tell you I was disappointed. Well ok there was passion and sexual tension and all that a romance novel is required to have but it just do it for me. I had 2 problems with this book
1. I didn't like Lydia much. The way she used to act really like a trash. Baring her breasts in front of strange men and not caring if they saw. well ok it might not have been so bad because she was feeding a baby but after you know what she has been through in her earlier life...wouldn't you think she would be a little too cautious around men... because men are men . Sight of breasts excites them even if it's for feeding a baby. She could just have turned her back to them but no she just opened her night gowns buttons and start feeding the baby. I don't blame Ross for thinking she was trash because she was acting like it.
2. Another thing I couldn't believe the baby. Have you ever come across a baby of 2-3 weeks who needs just three feedings in the whole day and who sleeps through the night? The baby was so considerate that never once did he interrupt his parents when they were having sex or having an argument .I was worried the way they just left him alone at the wagon when were having sex besides the river but when they got back he was still blissfully asleep... I have got a 2 year old baby had gone through whatever having a newborn means too recently. So I just couldn't help feeling odd.

All in all an intense passionate romance but not a realistic one.

This is a "period" piece by Sandra Brown, taking place in the 1870s, charting a wagon train heading for Texas. The two main characters are Ross Coleman, a man who just lost his wife during childbirth, who has a secret from his past, and Lydia, who just gave birth to a stillborn baby, who also has a secret from her past. Lydia is found, barely conscious after giving birth in the woods, by two teens (Luke and Bubba) from the wagon train, who take her back to their Ma to help her get well. When Ross's wife dies during childbirth leaving an infant son behind, it's Lydia who is there to nurse his baby. He's resentful at first, because he thinks Lydia is trash and doesn't want her near his child, but he is also attracted to her wild beauty and he's feeling guilty b/c of his feelings for Lydia so soon after his wife's death. This torment causes him to be unfairly nasty to her, but she's strong-willed and dishes it right back at him, which he finds unnerving. Eventually, they discover that there is something strong b/t the two of them that can't be stopped, and love does conquer all. What I like about this book, besides the love story, is that there are other characters from the wagon train who are interesting to read: Bubba Langston (aka Jake), the sweet, innocent teenager who found Lydia, who idolizes Ross and wants to become the type of man he is; Priscilla, the teen w/ loose morals who seduces Jake; Winston Hill, the southern gentleman who is attracted to Lydia; and Ma, the matriarch of the wagon train. Each lends a dynamic to the book that when woven together make for an excellent read.

Be sure to follow this book up with her sequel, "Another Dawn", which takes place 20 years later and focuses on the story of Jake Langston, and Ross and Lydia's daughter, Banner. But you'll also catch up with Ross and Lydia, Ma, and Priscilla, too. It's a great sequel and a five-year book, but be warned, though, because you may not be satisfied with the ending.

I have actually read The Analects before, as a student. Then, as now, I was attracted to a philosophy that did not hold out a reward of eternal salvation as the basis for establishing common morality. You should be a good person because it is effective and desirable. Nothing more. At one point in the Analects, Confucius mocks someone who wants to know about death when in his opinion the person knows nothing at all about life. I like that.

It is always interesting (at least to me) rereading something that I initially read many years ago and which has meant something serious to me on both readings. I am certainly better equipped to understand this now then I was 19 years ago. I am emotionally and intellectually better suited to appreciate the ideas. On the other hand, reading it as part of a class and as a student gave me what I am sure was a much better framework for placing the work against history and context. This was one of those books where I longed to take a class to go with the reading/digesting of the text. I am frustratingly sure that I have missed quite a bit, and that both background and discussion would have been useful.

The Introduction was actually rather helpful, in this case. D.C. Lau did a really able job of setting the stage for the reading. I had read Mencius two years ago and distinctly remember being frustrated by the introduction. I found it absolutely useless as a non-expert reader. I recognize that writing an introduction is rather a thankless job-- you either bore the experts or lose the newbies.

I am not certain whether the Lau introduction to the Penguin edition of The Analects would bore an expert, but this (relative) newbie certainly appreciated its assistance.

In the end, I appreciated this book in an almost physical way. It was like looking at a set of carvings. I took each paragraph out of the box, examined it, and returned it again. Some parts entranced me. Other bits I want to reconsider more later. Still other sections feel as though they will speak to a different me at a different point in my life.

It would be impossible for me not to recommend the reading experience, but is that valuable if I do so out of ignorance? A lovely book. I am not qualified to judge the translation, so I will not try.

(I am wondering if someone here can point me to a good text as to how this basic philosophy became the religion of Confucianism. Also: what Confucianism means as a religion rather than a philosophy.)

It's amazing how after so many years Confucius thoughts are still important. Here you can find the basis for most of the later philosophists, including some universal principles of most religions. Even though it is not easy to read, with a little effort is a book to enjoy.

I guess, there is not much point in buying this book for the text of Lunyu itself: it is available in full on the Internet (for example at Wengu: http://afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=intro - in the Chinese original, two English - including Lau's - and one French translation) but it is the introduction and adjoining commentaries that are of value. In this respect, I found D.C.Lau's work quite pleasing. He explains the main terms and how they hang together, illustrates his arguments with quotations from the actual Analects and tries his best to relate Confucius' philosophy to suitable analogues in the Western tradition. I am no China-expert, so this helped a lot. The book also has a post-script outlining Kong-zi's life and a short piece on the individual disciples and friends that Confucius converses with in the book. I think there is $9 of value (or whatever the price) in this book.

While 'Penguin Classics' paperbacks are generally some of the best on the market, the Analects themselves are, in this case, a bit out a date.

Better translations have been made, in my opinion. However, the prose itself is well-styled and clearly separated. Concise and easy to understand. The fluency of the book is what seems most troubling.

Filled with totally obfuscated phrases like, "The Kuan-chu Ode is lively but not licentious, plaintive but not harrowing," are gems like, "Po I and Shu Ch'i never remembered old injuries, and therefore their enemies were few." The thing about it, is that I read it cover to cover. Clearly, this deep and old wisdom is best taken in small bits for not many words are wasted. Also, the Lionel Giles translation I read was weak on supplemental commentary so I really felt like I needed a more knowledgeable guide as I was reading. Perhaps the Norton version would have better annotations then the beautiful Easton Press version from my library. It is clearly a five star book, but I think I only got about three stars out of it. Most certainly a book to read again, and again and again.

I received this book through Amazon way before my class started. I saved quite a few bucks and it came in mint condition.

My wife needed this book for an Astronomy class. She wanted a book with a two cds and not all marked up. I got it for a good price and it looks like a new book with no extra marks. I am very impressed with the quick delivery time, the ease of ordering and the condition of the book. I was also kept posted on the sent date and anticipated delivery date and it was accurate. This was very much appreciated, especially during the holiday season. Good Job!

This book is very thorough and not too grotesquely boring. Accounting textbooks can seem to drag on and on but the information in this book seems to all be relevant and pertinent. There are plenty of review questions and problems at the end of each chapter and the chapters do build on each other well, so the further into the book, the more questions from previous chapters. Some other nice things about this book are the continuation problems that utilize the posting of payroll accounts and ledger pages to further help the student grasp the content.
The CDs included are wonderfully useful, too. There doesn't seem to be a relevance issue with this text as I have experienced with textbooks in the past.

Good book, but the problems in the chapter reviews could be more discriptive as to what answer the want.

I have found this book to be very helpful in gaining a practical understanding in the workings of a Payroll function. This book has helped the entire department which has recently started performing the US payrolls for our organisation. I hope that a listing of courses that currently use this book as a recomemded text is included in its next edition.

This is definitely my favorite book in the series, though it does have problems. I won't go into them since they're all spoiler-rich, but I loved the ending, even if it feels like a big slap in the face. It was a good slap.

I have to sympathize with Stephen King regarding the writing of this book...how do you end a series that has been going on for so long? King has often been criticized (me included) for writing thrilling stories accompanied by unspectacular endings, and this book is no exception, as many readers do not appreciate an ending that they never could have seen coming. However, I think that King did a marvelous job in ending this book by playing on one factor: anticipation.

While one would expect that the entire book would just be one big lead-up to the Dark Tower payoff in the end, that is absolutely not so. Instead, Roland and his ka-tet are presented with a challenge much like in "Wolves of the Calla" before heading off on the final trail to the Tower. Thus, while the intensity builds in the readers' mind (just from turning so many pages and approaching the end), he/she also gets to read another thrilling adventure that only King knows how to craft.

For a quick summary, this installment of the series quickly concludes the Susannah/Mio relationship (which I was pleased with, as that was what made "Song of Susannah" so drawn-out), and introduces us to their offspring, a much more interesting "fellow" than his two mothers. After that, Roland's ka-tet takes on the task of rescuing the Tower Beam that the Crimson King (through slave labor) is trying to crack. The descriptions of the "Breakers" are fascinating, as they are both evil and tragic at the same time. Once that task is "completed", Roland and Co. set out for the Dark Tower itself.

Any more detail would spoil the plot, but suffice it to say that the final trek to the Dark Tower will have you break out in goosebumps...from fear, excitement, and emotion. With Roland's final "shootout" task behind him, the new characters introduced on the way to the Tower take on a new significance, as one gets the feeling that their relation to the Tower is crucial to the rest of the story.

So, to conclude, if you enjoyed the previous installments of the Dark Tower series, this final chapter will not disappoint you. Roland's journey may not take you to a place you enjoy, or the place you figured he would end up, but I think you will appreciate this "ending" (even if it is 800-some pages!) better than most Stephen King conclusions.

I have always found that finishing a Stephen King adventure is a strange emotion, as you know the story has to end somewhere but you just don't want it to! That feeling is amped up x7 in this case, as Roland's quest has taken so many pages to express. After just finishing this book myself, I find myself wondering how I will ever truly appreciate another "short" ("only" 400-500 pages) King book again, as my insight into the characters won't nearly be as fleshed out as in this series.

the last episode, the one you waiting for to unveil the end - still in Stephens fashion - nobody will be dissapointed

I don't have the time to write a full review with synopsis and such, even if I did I don't think the book deserves it. It wasn't a terrible work of fiction, but it was not the grand epic finale I so patiently waited for. Steven introduced plot twists that lasted for 2-3 subchapters at best, that just makes me think he was desperately searching his tired (and lazy) imagination for more interesting things to happen. Roland had a cough and it went away after eating a deer kidney... Seriously Steven you can do better than that.

Damn. I've been pondering what to write about this for days. Ok, lets git to it! (Jazz reference will be explained :P )

Here's your first clue that the Dark Tower is not going to please everyone (actually the clue is at the very end). He cautions the reader to not read the Coda chapter beause they might dislike it. As if, after reading 1000+ pages of the book, the reader wouldn't read right through!

Second clue is in the Author's note at the end, when King says in advance not to email him to whine, and that he was a little bummed out himself with the end. To be cynical here, does King sound a tad defensive? Sure, ANY final book in a series can't please everyone. But could King's (just slightly) apologist afterword not be a bad sign that something here's gone a little `todash'?

DT is King's `sandbox', where the story can - and does - go anywhere it likes. It's his KILL BILL. It's everything AND the kitchen sink. He's grabbed everything in his mind (Doken) that's been kicking around for his entire life and put it onto paper. In this sense, the book is critic proof for the most part. If one is to point out something in the book that wasn't pulled off satisfactory, where is the context? To what other story can we compare it and say `this is the kind of book it should have been'?

What I'm saying, longwindedly, is that I could see any 2 given people feeling different about the series. To those who gave it 5 stars, cool. 1 star? I can dig. For me, I mostly accepted the conclusion, but what I would have wanted much more was to close it and say 'wow! I want to read it again. Now!' I did not get that feeling. And as fair as it is for people to completely enjoy it, it's not without it's flaws.

One of the things that annoyed me the most was how countless phrases spoken by people (or thought) are something someone else has said. Eddie is constantly thinking about what his brother would have thought of something. Susannah is always thinking about what her Dad would have said. Roland is frequently reminded of a phrase Cort would say, Etc. This was an overused technique. It was in meltdown mode here. He just would not stop.

Chapters constantly overlap, enabling the reader to see the lead up to the same event from a different participant. This is a useful tool, but it is so frequent that the result is that the reader is constantly being halted from finding out what happens next to backtrack, and in this, the final book, it the plot and pacing should be in overdrive. One imagines Roland gesturing his `get on with it' finger twirl. New characters who are introduced do not always need to have a large backstory. Sometimes it's just fine for a person to show up and help out, or get a bullet thrugh the eye. I thought this was one of the major contributors to the excessive length of the book. I don't flinch at doorstopper books, but please maximize your space and keep the gears shifting up in the plot, not down (see PILLARS OF THE EARTH for a massive but always focused story).

And now my last issue has to do with Stephen King being perhaps out of his depth in a 'fantasy' type of epic story. I have read over half of King's fiction, plus Danse Macabre and On Writing. He's a `Jazz' writer. He just goes with the flow, and thats been an asset of his for many of his other books. He's an intuitive freestyler. An improv rapper. The problem with this approach is the longer you try and 'freestyle it', the more chance you have of tripping over something as your mind races to keep track of what you're doing. He's been playing the worlds longest Jazz solo, and while he succeeded in many ways, he's hit plenty of off-notes on the way and it got a little sloppy there at the end.

King has become so entrenched in `antiplotting' that he willfully will NOT plot out anything (he says he did so with Insomnia and wasn't too hot on the result so hasn't tried it again much since). There's always an exception, but from my reading experience, you just cannot tackly a multi-volume epic in this fashion. You have to sit down and outline a little bit or else the whole thing comes off uneven.

Dark Tower readers have pretty much got the biggest imaginations out there. We've seen people walking though doors into alternate earths. We've seen Blood and Mind vampires feasting with Low Men in colorful suits wearing fake human masks. We've seen a politically-incorrect black woman with no legs who throws deadly plates. Robots who wear Dr. Doom capes, wield light sabers, and throw flying balls that are one part Harry Potter Sneetches and one part metal spheres from the movie Phantasm. We've even taken it in stride when a half Human spider gets diarrhea from eating a leprous horse. So having the story zig and zag to this ending, and have many people unsatisfied, is pause for thought. DT readers can handle anything King can throw their way in the Bizarre department, but just can't get behind this fizzled out resolution.

I think that's saying something.