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Michael reluctantly returns to school from being on summer holidays. He's now in year 11, but being a senior carries no weight for him. Michael has been relentlessly bullied for years. As a consequence he has no friends and the teachers couldn't care less about the problem, happier to ignore what happens and pretend it doesn't exist, rather than do anything about it. He's at the point where he's about to give up on everything when he meets an annoying year 9 by the name of Xavier.Michael at first is reluctant to talk to Xavier, however, their paths cross through being on detention, for things they weren't really responsible for. Michael eventually stops being hostile and starts to talk. Soon, the boys find they have a lot in common and although Michael is extremely cautious about trusting Xavier, the two become friends.The story sees Michael's life tossed about, as he is continually bullied, abused and beaten up. Michael struggles to keep it together as there seems to be no escape from being bashed up and humiliated. His friendship with Xavier starts to make a real difference to his life, but it's not an easy path, little does he know Xavier is receiving the same treatment.The effects bullying has had on Michael, becomes more and more apparent, as he feels increasingly insecure and uncertain about everything. Xavier however, reawakens Michael's confidence and brings out his fighting spirit. Through their friendship the boys do their best to battle through their school days. Eventually, things come to ahead as the bullies and the school try to destroy the boys' friendship... ... Read more

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This new book is a revised and updated edition of two popular handbooks, combined into one. Matsuda, Green, and Gregory describe 22 species of amphibians and 17 species of reptiles, along with details on their biology, habits, breeding, and distribution. They also cover introduced, accidental, and unconfirmed species that may be recent arrivals to British Columbia.This useful handbook contains general information on the biology of amphibians and reptiles, fossil history, snake venoms and amphibian toxins, mating and reproductive behavior, physical development and metamorphsis, relationships with humans, and much more.Written in the same easy-to-read style as the 1984 editions, Amphibians and Reptiles includes detailed illustrations of the established species, including many new drawings and color photographs. ... Read more

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Provides an overview of the solar system and its various parts, as well as such other related topics as stars, galaxies, telescopes and observatories, and more. ... Read more

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Word count: 1429. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Simply put, the best book i've read.
Shantaram was humbling to say the least. At the end of every single chapter I'd feel overwhelmed and find myself absolutely stunned into silence staring at the empty wall for support. It's about a man like noone else and it is because of his character's humility we seldom stop and take note of how good a human being he is and how well he actually phrases sentences and those words carefully placed that make you read again and again and again. I've read this book twice and heard it once cause I have it on audio too. I fell in love with his definition, his description of heroine, the villains, the chains, the land mass India (im indian) and the characters and streets.

Purple prose some say, I am not that clever to comment or try to justify or otherwise, but i do know this is a gem.

Kudos,readers.

Wrting and Language Alone
If I had liked nothing except the writing in this book, I would have loved the book and recommended it to many friends.I was especially fascinated that construction companies 'build" a slum before they hire the workers for a big construction job.The workers families join them after the work begins.I guess my ignorant impression was that a slum was something that just happened, and not a community.Roberts writes beautifully, and Prabaker's happy English added greatly to my enjoyment of the book.I know the old expression "live and learn," but Shantaram invites you to "read and learn."

The Deep Green Lagoons of Karla's Haunted Eyes
I was ambivalent about rating this book, because I actually enjoyed it very much. On the storytelling alone I would give it 4 stars. Gregory David Roberts' autobiographical novel kept me up late many nights - he certainly has led an unconventional and exciting life on the run in India. My favorite parts of the book were the relationships he had with the slum dwellers, Prabaker in particular. He captured the cadences of their speech perfectly, with humor and deep compassion. On this alone I would give the book 5 stars. However, I had a problem with Karla. I grew tired of the myriad descriptions of her green eyes - the prose was flowery and hard to swallow. And the descriptions of their lovemaking would have been funny were he not so earnest in his quest to be poetic. Just a few too many metaphors and adjectives for me. Karla herself evoked very little sympathy from me, even when the Great Mysterious Secret about her was revealed. To me she was selfish and shallow and not worth the adoration of Lin, the main character. I did not find her so-called clever turns of phrase to be so wise; rather I found them to be the cynical observations of a ruined and bitter woman. There were no ugly women in this book, or even plain women. I guess it is a credit to the author/main character that he finds drop-dead beauty in every woman he meets!
Having gotten that out of the way, let me say the author has done a remarkable job of bringing Bombay to the lay person. He tells of a lush, vibrant city that teems with fascinating characters (Karla aside) and the lessons it has taught him. I am planning a trip there soon; the book has enriched my enduring fascination with India. It is also a story of redemption, and you will have to read it yourself to discover what I mean. There is so much more I could say but I don't want to bore anyone. This is not high literature. But who cares? It is a grand read if you can get past the deep green, dusk-lit lagoons in the swirling maelstrom of Karla's bodacious haunted eyes...

not happy
After I pressed the order and pay button I realised the book was in spanish..and not English...not your fault...but I could not then go in an change the order.....

A Sad but Wonderful Story
i finished reading this book recently after it was recommended by a friend. once i started it, i could not put it down. i was totally absorbed in the story and thought that it was fantastic, relevant and sincere. Anyone who has the slightest interest in humanity, the role and the roots of Islam, the meaning of suffering in the world and the significance of spiritualism has to read this book. i recommend it with my full endorsement. ... Read more

Product Description
Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : Ned Kelly, Matthew Brady, Jack Donahue, Daniel Morgan, Gregory David Roberts, Musquito. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : Edward "Ned" Kelly (né à Beveridge, Victoria (Australie) en décembre 1854 ou juin 1855 selon certains historiens et exécuté le 11 novembre 1880), était un célèbre hors-la-loi, devenu une icône populaire. Le père de Ned, John "Red" Kelly est un immigrant irlandais. Originaire de Tipperary (Irlande), il fut déporté et emprisonné en Tasmanie en 1841, pour le vol de deux cochons. Après 7 ans de bagne, il rencontre Ellen Quinn, du Comté de Antrim (Irlande). De leur mariage, le 18 novembre 1850, naîtront 8 enfants : Mary, Annie, Ned, Maggie, Jim, Dan, Kate et Grace. Le contexte social est difficile. Dans ces terres reculées et réputées difficiles, les propriétaires terriens sont protégés par les forces de l'ordre. Les injustices sont nombreuses à l'égard des populations vivant de fermage. A l'âge de 10 ans, Ned Kelly sauve de la noyade Richard Shelton, tombé dans les eaux de la "Hughes Creek" située derrière la petite ferme familiale. A l'âge de 12 ans, il doit quitter l'école à la suite du décès de son père. A 14 ans, il est inculpé d'agression et de vol sur un travailleur chinois. Cela lui vaut d'être emprisonné pendant 10 jours, mais les charges qui pèsent contre lui sont abandonnées. Il est plus tard soupçonné de complicité avec Harry Power, un voleur de chevaux, mais il est relaché pour manque de preuves. En 1871, il est inculpé de recel d'une jument "empruntée" par un de ses amis. Il est condamné à 3 ans de prison. A la sortie, Ned travaille avec George King avec qui sa mère s'est remariée. Plus tard, Ned le décrira comme un intelligent voleur de chevaux. Chef de bandits dont ...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Ronald Ryan, Arnold Sodeman, Keith Faure, Gregory David Roberts, Edwin Eastwood. Excerpt:Arnold Karl Sodeman Arnold Karl Sodeman (12 December 1899(1899-12-12) 1 June 1936), also known as the School-girl Strangler , was a serial killer who targeted children. He confessed to four killings before being executed at Pentridge Prison , Victoria in 1936. Sodeman was the second of eleven persons to be hanged at Pentridge Prison after the closure of Melbourne Gaol in 1929. Early life Arnold Karl Sodeman was born in Victoria in 1899. His mother suffered from bouts of amnesia and his father and grandfather had both died in mental institutions. At 18, Sodeman had been sent to a reformatory for 12 months for fraud. It wasn't long after his release from the reformatory before he was in trouble with police again for armed robbery and wounding of the station master at Surrey Hills train station. Sodeman was sent to prison to serve 3 years hard-labour. Whilst in prison, Sodeman escaped and given another 12 months of hard-labour to add to his existing sentence. By the time he was released in 1922, he was a well-seasoned criminal. Released in 1926, Sodeman settled down to various labouring jobs, at first in Melbourne and later in Gippsland . He married Bernice Pope at Collingwood and their daughter was born in 1928. The marriage was a happy one; although Sodeman seemed to suffer from occasional bouts of depression and frequent drunkenness, he was never violent to his family. To those who knew him he was a hard-working, mild and amiable man with a generous disposition. He led a normal, law-abiding existence until 1930. The murders On November 9, 1930, Arnold Sodeman abducted a 12 year old schoolgirl, Mena Griffiths. He came upon his victim at the local playground playing with a group of friends. ... ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Ned Kelly, Ronald Ryan, Joe Byrne, Keith Faure, Gregory David Roberts, Brenden Abbott, Dan Kelly, Steve Hart, Victor Peirce, Darcy Dugan. Excerpt:Brenden James Abbott Brenden James Abbott (born 8 May 1962 in Footscray , Melbourne ) is an infamous Australian bank robber known as the Postcard Bandit . During his criminal career he is believed to have stolen as much as AUD $5 million from a number of banks, though very little of this money has ever been recovered. He is currently detained in the Woodford Correctional Centre and is often moved between this facility and the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre . He has escaped from custody several times using various means. On 24 November 1989, Abbott made uniforms that resembled prison guards' at Fremantle Prison assisting his escape, and in 1997 he escaped with four other dangerous criminals from Sir David Longland Prison in Brisbane, under a hail of gunfire from an external accomplice, after sawing through cell bars and cutting through four external perimeter fences. A film about Abbott, The Postcard Bandit , was made for television by Nine Films/Pacific Coast Entertainment in 2003 and released on DVD on 22 March 2005. Abbott has been on the run three times, for six months in 1986/1987, most famously as Australia's Most Wanted Man from 1989-1995 (five and a half years), and from 1997-1998 (six months). He was eventually caught in Darwin, Northern Territory in 1998 and is presently serving a 23 year sentence in Queensland for bank robbery and the 1997 prison escape. After serving two years of his current sentence in solitary confinement, he sued the Queensland Government for mistreatment. He was released from solitary confinement in May 2004, but was returned there on a Maximum Security Order in April 2006. Abbott had requested medi... ... Read more

Product Description
On the morning of September 11th, a new kind of horrorshook the world. Terrorists crashed two passenger airliners into theWorld Trade Center in the worst attack on U.S. soil in the nation'shistory.But at the same time a new generation of heroes rose up tofight it.This book chronicles not only the devastation of that day,but also the valor and heroism of thosewho saved thousands oflives.

Not one of these photographs has been publishedbefore.On top of that, these images offer a vantage point noordinary photographers could obtain:They were taken by members of theNew York City Police Department, uniformed and civilian, who were onthe scene moments after the first plane hit and who were behind thescenes during the entire rescue and recovery effort.

Manyofficers took pictures during the course of their duties.Some wereinside the lobbies of the World Trade Center before they collapsed.Some were in helicopters hovering near the burning towers.Some weretrapped in the dust cloud after the buildings fell.They tookpictures of the pandemonium around them, the fear, the effort, theexasperation.This collection portrays the courage of those whorushed into the danger so that others could escape it.

One ofthe featured photographers, Detective Dave Fitzpatrick, was off dutywhen he heard a report of the attack over his radio.He immediatelywent to an NYPD airfield,joined a crew boarding a police helicopter,and flew to the World Trade Center.They arrived right after thesecond plane hit and were instructed to observe the scene and watchfor any other incoming aircraft.Over the course of three flightsthat day, Fitzpatrick shot thousands of photographs that became theonly aerial views of the devastation and early rescue effortsdowntown.He also covered all Ground Zero operations for the next twomonths.His best photos, along with those of numerous other membersof the NYPD, have been collected in this book.

Together theymake up the most in-depth visual document of the September 11thtragedy and its aftermath.

All royalties earned by thepublication to the New York City Police Foundation, Inc. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A little disappointed
All pictures look quite alike. I expected more pictures on people being rescued or pictures taken closer at the site. Now, most pictures are from far away distance, and they're very similar.

Help us never forget
I've read several accounts of 9-ll, stories of loss and great courage.This book is unique for me because of the pictures.With photography done by police and other authorities, it gives a reality to the stories.A horrific day in our history, and yet showing the strength of our nation--this book is a valuable tool to reflect on.

delayed delivery
After book didn't arrive in due time, had to contact the seller.Another book was shipped and guess what...2 books arrived on the same day.Had to ship one back at my own expense.Wasn't really impressed with seller.That's the risk you take ordering online.Book is as ordered.

memory provoking
The pictures were moving, and memory provoking.Everyone at work wanted to look through it when I was done, and the next year they wanted me to bring it back in for memorial.The pictures were taken buy the NYPD photographer, with many arial shots.Great book.

Remember the Alamo, Remember Pearl Harbor, Remember 9/11
Time has washed away many of the emotions we all felt on 9/11.This book brings much of that back and well it should.Americans seem to have a short attention span, perhaps because we don't have the movies that portrayed the enemies of this country and the brave men who were fighting against them.We were all patriotic during World War II and hopefully this book will bring some people back to the reality of what happened that terrible day in 2001. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Shantaram - Man of God's Peace
Shantaram - a novel written by Gregory David Roberts, a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escaped from Pentridge Prison and fled to India where he lived for 10 years. This book is believed by some to be based on real events; however, the story and its incidents are largely fictional.

This novel is influenced by real events in the life of the author. In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to nineteen years' imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies, which he had committed to feed a heroin addiction after his marriage ended and he lost his daughter. In 1980, he escaped from the prison in broad daylight, thereby becoming one of Australia's most wanted men.

The protagonist arrives in Bombay (now Mumbai) carrying a false passport in the name of Lindsay Ford. Mumbai was only a stopover, but he decides to stay in the city. Lin meets a guide - Prabaker - who soon becomes his best friend. When Lin goes to Prabhakar's village, Lin gets his name 'Shantaram' (meaning Man of God's Peace). On getting robbed while returning to Mumbai, Lin is forced to live in the slums, giving him shelter from the authorities and free rent in Mumbai, where he sets up a free health clinic. During his stay, he learns much of the local culture, including learning Marathi, Mumbai's local language.

This novel describes a number of foreigners too - Karla, Didier, Ulla, and so on. Lin falls in love with Karla, befriends local artists, and is recruited by the Mumbai underworld for various criminal operations. Lin eventually lands in Bombay's Arthur Road Prison; however, Lin is eventually released thanks to the protection of Afghani mafia don "Abdel Khader Khan". Eventually, Lin works in black market currency exchange and passport forgery. Lin later goes to Afghanistan to smuggle weapons for mujahideen freedom fighters in Afghanistan. And it is in Afghanistan that he gets to know the various secrets from Khan and falls into depression after he returns. When his mentor Khan is killed, Lin decides that he must fight for what he believes is right, and build an honest life.

The way Roberts has written this book is in a flow. The beginning of the book is a bit slow, only picking up momentum as we progress. There were few chapters that had descripton of various characters in detail, which I feel at times wasn't required in such detail. Also, since I was aware of the fact that there was a movie being planned on this book, with Johnny Depp playing the lead of Shantaram and Amitabh Bachchan playing Abdel Khader Khan, I was visualizing Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan while reading the book.

This book is worth a read - at times it is slow - but overall, it's a good read.

Amazing
This book started out slow enough that I laid it down and didn't pick it up again until over a year later. I actually got it by not responding to a book club mailing in time to prevent the book from being sent to me. The entire story of this book in my life is one of 'less than likely' occurrence.
I wonder at the comments of others who critique this book...'tedious' sounds like the person reading it expected certain things 'right now' as most of our Western culture demand of almost everything. We need to step back and watch, listen and learn about this information even though proffered in novel form. I don't care who wrote it or who printed it. I don't care about the entire 'Indian cinema' criticism of people who obviously have their own agenda. This book is about much more. What Westerner knew or even cared about the details of life in Bombay before reading this book? If we just read this book without stopping to write down details that 'don't fit' our personal idea of how things should be, then we will find ourselves enlightened and pleased with the time we took to read it. In my life I have read many, many books. This is my favorite.

Needs a good edit
It's hard to criticise such a compelling book.As one of the other reviewers said, 900 pages is off-putting - until you read the first one.It's a terrific story and I'm recommending it to all my friends.

That said, I feel it falls short of great writing because of its poor editing.There is simply too much of the same stuff over-and-over.I swear I almost put it down due to the inumerable repetative descriptions of everybody's eye color - including a dancing bear's!

The story itself is compelling, the characters come to life and the city feels real.It's a great read, no doubt.Reading Robert's novel, I thought of Hemmingway many times and wished Roberts had had the luck of having such a great editor as he did.

Amazing Book!
I can't believe I didn't know about this book earlier! It's wonderful and reads like a thriller!

A philisophical pageturning novel, two adjectives that are a rare combination!
Great entertainment.He is a fantastic author, with his wealth of real experience I think he is one of the best writers of our time.Every chapter has a new unexpected plot twist or fascinating insight and I highly recommend this book.I'm very curious if he can produce something as intense with his next book.

As for the travel writing aspects of the book, he does glamorize a group of westerners basically not doing anything more productive in Mumbai than committing petty crimes, but his knowledge of the local language, personalities and daily life are the strong points of the book and more than make up for that. A mumbai madarrchod I know related a few stories of local gangsters that are very similar to the book.

I also recommend the first hand narrative 'maximum city' which describes the city from a few other angles as well but is not quite the pageturner that Shantaram is.

After reading about the slums I do wish overseas indian billionaires would donate money to help education back home rather than give it to ivy league universities that have no need.anyone have any ideas how to make that happen?
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Product Description
ADO.NET revolutionized the way data was accessed through SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL. With Microsoft's release of ADO.NET 2, ADO and the .NET Framework are integrated with SQL Server for the first time-enabling you to program .NET applications directly within the SQL Server database.

Packed with sample code and recommended best practices for using ADO.NET 2, this code-intensive book explores the new data types that are available in the 2.0 Framework and discusses the appropriate time and way to use them. You'll learn how to make repetitive, mundane tasks much simpler and you'll walk away with a solid foundation for developing database-driven applications.

What you will learn from this book

• The basics of creating a connection, executing a query, and returning a result
• Best uses for Oracle in the ADO.NET Framework
• The many new features that are available for XML
• How to use the full text search capabilities of Microsoft(r) SQL Server 2005
• Methods for retrieving data and presenting it in various ways
• Why MySQL is a viable option for data storage

Who this book is for

This book is for experienced database developers who want to learn the latest release of ADO.NET 2.0. Knowledge of ADO.NET 1.0, general .NET development, and Microsoft SQL Server is necessary.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A good ADO.Net reference
This book has a lot of good information. I found myself skimming forward just a little but there was still lots of good info to make me want to keep reading. I wish there was sometimes more explanation of why the author feels a certain way but all and all this is book worth owning.

What a letdown
I have 16 years experience as an adjunct instructor at a community college. I have a BS in Engineering and I'm 3 credits away from my Master's in Comp Sci.
I'm taking time from my class prep to write this review...
I have been assigned to teach a Visual Basic programming class with this book.Had I been given the opportunity to read the text beforehand, I would have fought hard to use some other book. The example code is formatted so poorly that I am embarassed to use it in class. Some of the example code in the book doesn't even match what's available for download on the WROX web site. The QC staff at WROX should be reassigned. I've QC'd many programming textbooks myself and I can see that this stinker was rushed to print without enough editing.
Don't be fooled by the title. The majority of the examples are SQL Server-specific. OK, Visual Studio has a SQL Server bent, given that both are Microsoft Products. That's no secret. However, if the title of the book references Oracle and MySQL, then all the examples should also. If a particular paradigm can only be implemented in SQL Server, then the authors have a responsibility to provide work-arounds for the other DBMS's that are listed on the cover of the book. Arrrgh.

Chapter 1 covers the History of Data Access. That doesn't fit with the remainder of the book. Part of chapter 2 covers normalization, also not a good fit with the remainder of the book. The authors even admit that the book is aimed at software developers who have prior knowledge of ADO .Net and SQL Server. That implies prior knowledge of normalization and database design.

Recently I was at the bookstore with my 11 year-old. I was agonizing over which ASP .Net book (both WROX titles) to purchase, so I held up two possibilities and asked her to help. She noted that one cover had 3 author's faces on it and the other had two. She concluded that the book with 3 faces must be better. I couldn't argue with that logic. This book has seven faces on it, but it just doesn't deliver.

Could not get download code to work. Wiley no help!
I had hoped that working through this book would bring extra insight and new techniques.After all, I have been a database consultant for 15 years and designed, programed and implemented many large solutions.

I found that the book left much unsaid and detailed instructions non existant.I had problems with the download code. It appears to be tied up with VS team system, so if you are a home or small business who is unfamiliar with tem system then you may have problems.

I contacted Wiley Customer Support, but they just told me the code works and provided nothing helpful.

I will not be buying any more Wrox / Wiley books.

If your work with databases, get this book!
There are a number of great things about this book, from my perspective.For me, perhaps the best chapter was the one on the custom ADO.NET provider.Even if you do not want to create a custom provider (and honestly, I do not think I will), reading through that chapter helps explain how the various standard interfaces work.

In addition to covering ADO.NET 2.0 proper, the book covers specifically how you can use ADO.NET in very practical ways, interacting with SQL Server, as well as doing server side programming in SQL Server.Unlike one other reviewer, I appreciate the book covering these other areas.While the chapters on topics such as SQL Server server-side programming obviously do not cover all that a dedicated SQL Server book will, it covers most of what you need.

I do understand how the term "Professional" in the title might lead a reader to expect one thing or another, but before I buy a book, I tend to read through it and determine if the publisher's idea of "Professional" matches my expectations.

Just Show me Everything new!
I was really looking forward to this book, for both ASP.Net and WinForms development, since I really thought that's what the book was really about. Boy was I surprised. if that was all it had, I'd probably be very happy. However - that was just the tip of the iceberg! It has quite a wide focus, so, in some cases, it was kind of dificult to know where the book is going.

However, The reader is somewhat warned right off the bat, that the book focuses mainly on the new features of ADO.Net 2.0, so prior knowledge of ADO.Net is expected, but I believe there is still a lot of text that covers a lot of the basics - just without a hand-held experience.

For those so inclined, there's quite a bit of information concerning subjects like usinc CLR objects, TSQL Enhancements, Notification Services, Service Broker and Reporting Services, though it's definitely not JUST about SQL Server. There is quite a bit on the popular open source databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL, along with a chapter on Oracle, just for good measure.

Many times, on different forums, I find questions concerning how to create a Database/table/etc, in code. Professional ADO.Net 2 has this plus a whole lot more about SQL Server server-side programming

Going into the book, I knew there were quite a few new features of ADO.Net, but I really had no idea concerning the extent of new features. This book contains 584 pages of great information. Though what I'd consider a bit wordy, at times, I'll definitely keep this book around.

If all you do is ASP.Net web page development, maybe this isn't the book for you - but if you do a lot more and really like 'nuts and bolts', and widening your experience, I think it's a go! ... Read more

Product Description

Major SBC spokesmen address key issues of theology, polity,and practice to help readers respond to the most significantchallenges within evangelicalism.

What was once a small, southern, predominantly whitedenomination has become America's largest evangelical denomination.Yet with the Southern Baptist Convention's growth have come thechallenges of increasing fragmentation, theological controversy,and sweeping cultural change. These challenges have caused leadersand members to ask: What does it mean to be a Southern Baptist inthe twenty-first century? How can a fresh consensus be establishedfrom within? What are the core biblical convictions that must beupheld, the key practices that must be sustained, to reach the lostin this age of cultural accommodation?

These essays by editor David Dockery, Al Mohler, Timothy George,Russell Moore, Paige Patterson, and eleven other SBC leadersaddress these important issues and themes from severalperspectives. Their observations will illuminate the way not onlyfor fellow Southern Baptists but for all evangelicals facingsimilar challenges in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Customer Reviews (2)

Core Values of the Great Commission Resurgence
This collection of essays from many of the best known conservative leaders within the Southern Baptist Convention traces the history of the convention and charts a course for its future.The future, in the view of these pastors, scholars and leaders, is to go back to the core biblical values that marked the SBC in the past while seeking to understand how to engage the culture with the gospel.

Recurring themes in the book include the need to avoid the programmatic and pragmatic approaches of the past without neglecting entirely what organized efforts like the Cooperative Program can accomplish.The necessity of regenerate church membership is also often mentioned as a key factor churches must face in the years to come.The plateau/decline in baptisms is pointed out as a factor indicating a lack of evangelism among Southern Baptists.It seems that the conservative resurgence of the early 80's has yet to bear fruit in many respects.These essays say that the SBC must address the stagnated state of some 90% of their churches by recovering the biblical gospel and the, in their view, distinctively biblical heritage of Southern Baptists.

I was challenged and encouraged most by the essays from Ed Stetzer and Danny Akin, but there is much to commend in each essay.Highly recommended for anyone interested in Southern Baptist life and the future of the Convention.

The Future of Southern Baptists
Book titles are important. Smart titles tell you about the book's contents in a memorable way. Brilliant titles make a statement in and of themselves.

Crossway has recently published a collection of essays from a variety of Southern Baptist leaders. David Dockery is the editor of the new book, whose title says more in nine words than some books say in hundreds of pages. Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future (Crossway, 2009) implicitly makes the case that Southern Baptists are indeed evangelicals.

Thirty years ago, Southern Baptists were debating amongst themselves as to their identity. Moderates rejected the evangelical label because they wanted to see us belonging to the tradition of the mainline Protestant denominations. More recently, some conservatives have been reticent to adopt the evangelical label because of the fear we might water down our Baptist distinctives.

The title of Dockery's book demonstrates a willingness to be both evangelical (hence the "evangelical denomination" in the subtitle) and distinctively Baptist (hence the "Baptist Identity" in the title). Ecumenical evangelicalism and distinctive Baptist identity come together wonderfully in this collection of essays.

Before getting into the specifics of this book, let me first point out the curious fact that this very Baptist book has been published by an evangelical, non-denominational publisher - Crossway. One might have expected Broadman and Holman (the Southern Baptist publisher) to put out this book. The very fact that Crossway saw a need for these essays to be published is an indication that other evangelical groups are looking to the Southern Baptist Convention as an example. The future of the American evangelical movement may be tied somehow to the future of Southern Baptists.

The essays in Southern Baptist Identity come primarily from lectures delivered at Union University's recent "Baptist Identity" conferences. Since this book is a collection of essays from a variety of Southern Baptist leaders, the reader can discern some areas of disagreement between the contributors.

For example, Greg Wills comes down very strongly against the idea of open communion, arguing for the practice of close communion (which has been the most widely held historic Baptist position on the Lord's Supper). Yet Nathan Finn (though he agrees with Wills on close communion) believes that the Baptist Faith and Message should leave that question open-ended enough for churches to disagree on the matter.

The book is divided into two main sections. First come the essays that contain theological and historical perspectives on the Southern Baptist Convention. Then, there are essays that focus on specific ministries and convention matters.

David Dockery begins the book by describing the current state of Southern Baptists in the 21st century. He expounds on some of the points in his book Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal.

Dr. Albert Mohler writes about the future of Southern Baptist identity.

Greg Wills, a historian and professor at Southern Seminary, writes about the distinctive identity of Southern Baptists in the past.

Timothy George has a chapter in which he gives his personal testimony and also asks the thought provoking question, `Is Jesus a Baptist?'. He writes:

"We will not meet tomorrow's challenge by forgetting yesterday's dilemma, but neither will we win tomorrow's struggles by fighting yesterday's battles." (92)

He also points out the inherent narcissism of focusing so intently on the identy of Baptists (101), which provides a helpful corrective to some insular tendencies within the SBC.

Russ Moore gives a fascinating glimpse into 19th century Baptist life, particularly the influence of Baptist printed materials in the Whitsett controversy and the pastoral role of T. T. Eaton. (He also has some good words on blogging.)

I particularly enjoyed Paige Patterson's chapter on the Anabaptists. Patterson demonstrates a willingness to learn from these uncles of ours, and he even recommends we look to our independent Baptist brothers and sisters.

"Independent Baptists of a former generation may have been guilty of emphasizing `separation' to the point of legalism, but the trajectory of the contemporary church seems destined to miss the goal of holiness of life and thought." (133)

In the second section of the book, the contributors focus on specific Convention matters that involve our cooperation in common mission.

I thoroughly enjoyed Morris Chapman's chapter on cooperation. Chapman wisely lists ways in which cooperation is undermined, and yet offers helpful suggestions for fostering an attitude of cooperation. Suprisingly, Chapman appears to favor a restructuring of the SBC:

"The SBC needs fine-tuning. In fact, the Convention may require an overhaul, not in its polity, but in its programming and the processes by which it functions daily. A major overhaul by the national Convention and the state conventions appears to be an absolute necessity, letting the facts speak for themselves lest the conventions discover too late they were blind and deaf to a delivery system that better serves the churches." (171)

Such a bold statement makes me wonder why Chapman opposed the Great Commission Task Force, which hopes to analyze the structure of the SBC and recommend improvements. I wonder if Chapman is not so much opposed to the idea of restructuring, but instead is uncomfortable with the people leading the Task Force.

Ed Stetzer has a good chapter on Missional Churches. He writes:

"Our churches need to be biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter-cultural communities." (193)

Jim Shaddix writes about the future of the traditional church. He makes the case that relevance is not just about form. It's about substance.

The last two chapters in the book are by Danny Akin and Nathan Finn. They set forth a vision for the future for the SBC. These are thought provoking essays that will foster good conversation.

Southern Baptist Identity is brimming with insights that shine light on possible directions for the future of the SBC. The book's recommendations deserve to be read, discussed, debated upon, and in most cases, put into action. ... Read more

Product Description

All the data was out there to warn us of this impending attack, why didn't we see it?" This was a frequently asked question in the weeks and months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In the wake of the attacks, statisticians moved quickly to become part of the national response to the global war on terror. This book is an overview of the emerging research program at the intersection of national security and statistical sciences. A wide range of talented researchers address issues in

- Syndromic Surveillance---How do we detect and recognize bioterrorist events?

- Modeling and Simulation---How do we better understand and explain complex processes so that decision makers can take the best course of action?

- Biometric Authentication---How do we pick the terrorist out of the crowd of faces or better match the passport to the traveler?

- Game Theory---How do we understand the rules that terrorists are playing by?

This book includes technical treatments of statistical issues that will be of use to quantitative researchers as well as more general examinations of quantitative approaches to counterterrorism that will be accessible to decision makers with stronger policy backgrounds.

Dr. Alyson G. Wilson is a statistician and the technical lead for DoD programs in the Statistical Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Gregory D. Wilson is a rhetorician and ethnographer in the Statistical Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. David H. Olwell is chair of the Department of Systems Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Customer Reviews (2)

introduction of statistics into the determination of strategy against terrorism
After the 9/11 terrorist attack using commercial airplanes to crash into the pentagon and the world trade center buildings, statisticians among other found their way into developing tools to deal with the such problems.This book is an edited volume of of statistical researchers effort at solving some specific problems addressing potential terrorist attacks and finding ways to prevent future occurrences.Of the topics included are 1. game theory and risk taking, 2. biometric authentication (a pattern recognition technique for matching signatures, 3. matching faces for identification of terriorists using fake identification, 4. and DNA among other things.

Many well known statisticians from RAND, the Naval Postgraduate School, the National Institute of Science and Technology, Los Alamos National Laboratory and some academic institutions present papers on a variety of topics including game theory, biometric authentification, aggregated algorithms, syndromic surveillance, pattern recognition, simulation studies and other counterterrorism approaches.

This book is the first of its kind and it really shows how statistics can play a major role as analytic tools for counterterrorism.

very subjective tests
The book has a compelling usage. How can we use statistics to find advance warning of terrorists and their intents? The book does have fascinating examples of data mining techniques. The problem is that with only one exception, they are highly speculative. Few of these can give a definitive indicator. Very subjective. The efficacy might be questioned.

The exception is where the book deals with biometrics. Here, there is within reason, an objective test of whether a person passes a biometric test or not. In other words, is a person indeed this person whose biometric data has been earlier recorded. This has use, in cases where we might validate that a person has been prescreened, and can thus now perhaps bypass some current tests. The problem in the context of terrorism, is when a terrorist has not been diagnosed as such. Then all the biometric tests can do is say that a person has a valid id, for example. Given this, terrorist groups can be expected to recruit new people and sleepers, in part to nullify any biometric tests.

The book is a commendable effort to tackle a dangerous and ongoing problem. But readers should be cautioned not to put too much store in its methods. ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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British Library

T076865



London : printed for Fletcher and Co., and Millan, 1769. [2],30p. ; 8° ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Medical theory and practice of the 1700s developed rapidly, as is evidenced by the extensive collection, which includes descriptions of diseases, their conditions, and treatments. Books on science and technology, agriculture, military technology, natural philosophy, even cookbooks, are all contained here.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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Harvard University Houghton Library

N001387

With one preliminary and one final leaf of advertisements in volume 2.

London : printed for J. Nicholson, and sold by J. Morphew, 1715. 2v.([2],xii,[2],512;[4],465-905,[7]p.),plates ; 8° ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Medical theory and practice of the 1700s developed rapidly, as is evidenced by the extensive collection, which includes descriptions of diseases, their conditions, and treatments. Books on science and technology, agriculture, military technology, natural philosophy, even cookbooks, are all contained here.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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Bodleian Library (Oxford)

T193055



London : printed for John Morphew, 1715. 2v.,plates ; 8° ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Medical theory and practice of the 1700s developed rapidly, as is evidenced by the extensive collection, which includes descriptions of diseases, their conditions, and treatments. Books on science and technology, agriculture, military technology, natural philosophy, even cookbooks, are all contained here.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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British Library

T118093

The words on the titlepage: "Translated .. additions." are enclosed in brackets.

Edinburgh : printed for John Balfour, 1787. 143,[1]p.,Vplates ; 8° ... Read more