Bentley Reviews

The author of this book is always apt to criticize other authors that I'm surprised she has the gall to write her own book and expect all these great reviews for it. I think not. I have talked to many other people that say that Karen Anne Bentley's books have not only confused them but also agree about how she could even get a publisher. She is definitely a hypocrite.

Riveting God stuff that makes you seriously think about your basic beliefs. I especially like the idea that God is only love and does not judge or punish us. The last chapter includes a complete reinterpretation of The Lord's Prayer.

This book is the clearest, most concise explanation of A Course In Miracles I have ever read. Bentley has the rare ability to discuss complex ideas in a way that makes them easy to understand and consider. This book would appeal to anyone who desires exposure to an alternative view about God, but without attachment to any religion. It definitely opens your mind to a new way of thinking.,

Although this is a very comprehensive repair manual for the Corrado, its value is not close to the high dollar price sticker that comes with it.

Absurdly expensive, but if you own a Corrado you may need tobuy this book. Due to no competition they can charge whatever theylike (none of the standard workshop manual publishers have written a book for the Corrado - probably becuase less than 100,000 were built so the market isn't big enough).

This extremely large book consists almost entirely of diagrams showing the location of every part that is available for purchase from VW. Note this is different to showing the location of every part (eg. note that specifically it tells you nothing about the interior or how to repair the G-lader since VW only sell it as a complete unit, therefore the manual only tells you how to remove it).

The book also only covers the North American models so whilst the book would still be useful to Europeans some sections will not be applicable and others will be missing.

Compared to a Haynes manual which holds your hand and carefully guides you through most proceedures you have to figure out most methods yourself with this book as it only gives you the bare bones of what you need to do for a procedure. Or it tells you to use a special VW tool which you are unlikely to have. Having said all this, if you are reasonably competent the book is invaluable when doing repairs and is also fairly good at helping you troubleshoot (particuarly on the electrical side of things).

The lack of a decent index is irritating (it has a large index which is totally illogically ordered). I can't help feeling it is also excessively large - partly due to considerable duplication of diagrams.

So, in summary, this book is not a Haynes manual equivalent, it is a book that a workshop would use to remind themselves of the order in which to perform a job or how to decide which piece of the car needs replacing. It is not a book that you need if all you are going to do is change the oil yourself. However, you probably do need this if you have a Corrado that you plan to do serious work on - but you are going to find it painful putting black fingerprints all over a book that is this expensive...

Anyone who owns this car should own this manual regardless of price (yes, I wish it were cheaper too!)but if you value your Corrado and plan on keeping it for a long time like I am, I suggest buying it. The wiring diagrams are very useful once you understand them. It has already paid for itself for the things that I've needed to repair. As for the G60, well, VW doesn't want inexperienced people messing with that because it is a highly precise item and besides some never repair it right and it ends up giving the G60 a bad name, unless you're one of the lucky few who has connections and can get it done right...research it! Get the manual and read it like a book and be proud to get black finger prints on it... ouch.

Eeuw! Some of the personal voices speaking in here are interesting, but only for a while because so many of them are simplistic, whiney, and just not very engaging. You just can't put first drafts between 2 covers and pass it off as "reality (TV)" survivor experiences.

How many of you out there have secretly wanted to read someone else's diary at one time or another? You know it's wrong, but curiosity gets the better of you. This book capitalizes on that theme of curiosity, and the thrill one gets when learning something secret about someone else's private affairs. These 20 stories may or may not be actual diary entries, but that's really not important. It's a thrill just the same. The stories are written in actual journal entries, and are very realistic.

There are many notable contributors like David Leddick, Felice Picano, Jim Buck, and others. A broad sampling of many sexual interests and lifestyles of gay men are presented for our enjoyment. These are explicit stories covering encounters in bath houses, one-night stands, three-ways, S&M and erotic scenarios that are vividly hot. This is an erotic collection of stories to get lost in on those off nights. They may be real diaries entries or just fantasies but who cares, they are exciting to read no matter what.

Joe Hanssen

Presumably true accounts of gay encounters, "Afterwords ..." offers more than same-sex erotica and is a step or two above carnalism by describing encounters in which love (and not just lust) is a factor. Still other entries smack of socio-politicism and make subtle judgments on the "political correctness" of being a man wanting to make love with another man. Regardless of each story's base - lust, romanticism, politicism - "Afterwords ..." is nonetheless steamy and erotic ...Amazingly, while the entries serve to get the pulse rate going faster, they also impress a sense of beauty of love and make sublimial references to issues that engulf gay sexual issues. The read is well worth it, and "Afterwords ..." makes us believe we're actually reading someone's private diary.

This book might be a good read for those interested in a 12-step type approach to eating, such as abstinence of sugar. I found it a little strange, however. The first part of the book I didn't really understand and the second part was a little vague. For those wanting a no-diet approach, I would recomment Overcoming Overeating by Hirschmann and Munter instead.

In Stop Out-Of-Control Eating, Karen Bentley provides a five-step daily program for weight loss and permanent weight management based on the spiritually-enriching "Big Heart Way" which teaches love of self and others, inner peace, and guidance from within. Stop Out-Of-Control Eating is unlike any other weight reduction "how to" book with its highly recommended and effective emphasis an holistic, meaningful, inspiring, uplifting, easy, hopeful, workable, do-it-yourself approach.

James Bentley's psycho-profile of Albert Schweitzer is enlightening, but erratic and it has a seriously flawed premise.

Bentley's core premise is that Albert Schweitzer was an enigma. A man who lived a contradictory life, had an "almost clinical, even arrogant intelligence". James Bentley profiles Albert Schweitzer using the same standard as if he were a normal "Joe". This is a critical error.

Albert Schweitzer was a genius, a German genius and in the genre of German geniuses (Bach, Wagner, Bonhoffer, Kant, Harnack, Strauss, Einstein, Sarte, Bultmann, Nietzsche and Goethe, to name a few) Albert Schweitzer is no more idiosyncratic than any other German genius.

Consider, at thirty years old Albert Schweitzer had earned two doctorates in philosophy and theology, and was about to earn two more in music and medicine. He transformed Christianity's understanding of Jesus Christ by his landmark book "Quest for the Historical Jesus." He was the head of a theological seminary, a minister in the Lutheran church and, in his spare time, was a virtuoso on the piano and organ as well as an expert on the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Then, at 30, he left everything Europe had to offer to become a medical doctor to the poor in French Equatorial Africa.

Yes, he had eccentricities, he was quirky and obstinately focused, but not, as the title portrays, an "enigma".

A great man attracts critics, large and small. Often the book takes on the hue of a vendetta vindicated by this former Anglican priest. Bentley seeks to prove that Schweitzer had a "tormented" and "deeply miserable" childhood. I find it odd that Albert Schweitzer, in his two books on his childhood, never mentions this and only states how normal and enjoyable his childhood was. Bentley points out that Albert Schweitzer had a hospital that was run exclusively by whites, though Albert Schweitzer was publicly and personally opposed to racism.

On the positive side Bentley does look behind the curtain to see what brought Schweitzer to his place of fame. He seeks to understand what made this brilliant, determined and headstrong man, a man who was above all a "searcher of truth," a man who never lost his ideals. His expose on Schweitzer's time studying Bach and organ building (his second musical passion) is a must read for any music lover. He places great emphasis on the mentors who helped direct and shape this great man. Bentley also brings his expertise to bear on Schweitzer's views on the historical Jesus.

Bentley's writing is not breezy nor brisk. It is more like a sermon that is erudite and interesting, but in need of a zap by the Holy Ghost. This book is better suited for students and afficionados of Schweitzer rather than general readers. As George Marshall once said, "In Schweitzer's life one finds contrast, disappointments, frustrations anger, defeat and fame." In the end Albert Schweitzer never abandoned his quest for the truth, even when this quest branded him as a heretic. Today, for all of us, Schweitzer remains a permanent inspiration to all who believe in the sanctity of life and becoming all they can become. Recommended

After I finished reading this book I was not too sure how I felt, I was a bit ambivalent about how good or bad it was. At times I found it hard going to continue but then it picked up with a very interesting account of some particular siege or battle. However other times I felt it was becoming repetitive, the same story with variations on the number of dead or the way the victors tortured or killed their enemies. There is no doubt that the author has thoroughly researched the subject but the narrative came across a bit dry in the end. The chapters on the Roman army's conduct of siege operations stand out. There were a number of line drawings and maps but I found the maps to be of poor quality, I'm sure better ones could have been found. If you are looking for a detailed account of how siege operations were carried out in ancient times and the result of those sieges then this is the book for you. I can only say that I did not find the narrative as free flowing as I usually like in a book, it was almost like reading a school text book at times. I would recommend this book only for those who have a keen interest in the subject matter.

This book is good for the medium to advanced do it your selfer. It is a bit technical and doesn't offer any information on the "small" mechanical problems you will come across. As far as "average" info the owners manual section of the book is a better common guide. I would suggest you get this book but also have a copy of the Hanymes repair manual for the smaller problems.

During World War II, the United States didn't ration their food as long or as desperately as the Brits and other Europeans had to. It's still interesting to see what the home front had to make do with.In "Eating for Victory", baking gets the political treatment as a point of women's rights and also as propaganda by the government and media to keep women in traditional roles. The skillful, well-dressed homemaker associated most often with 1950s TV moms like June Cleaver is really the Wartime Homemaker.As a reader, one's context of time needs re-adjustment. It used to be the Basic Seven, not the Four Food Groups. People didn't know eating habits could lead to heart disease, and dieting was not in the national mania for women.Perhaps the biggest time warp is understanding the uproar over African American women leaving domestic "Mammy" jobs in affluent homes for higher paying war work. Fathoming that old-world structure of educated women feeling "put-out" and oblivious or resentful of the cultural liberation going on -- it's a real step back in time and mores. (Imagine if Renée on the current TV show "Ally McBeal" were the live-in maid and not Ally's best-friend /roommate / fellow-lawyer.) Amy Bentley's style doesn't escape the scholarly soundbites and droning hum of dissertations. There's enough homey details, however, to make it tolerable. And clearly, Bentley's given her subject careful thought and personal investment. Not every woman was Rosie the Riveter or a Pin-up Girl, but every Rosie and Pin-up was a Wartime Homemaker to some degree. Bentley's book is one of the few to recognize this and to give it due credit.

Haynes repair manuals are in general poorly written and their value to the professional repair/ service person are of little use due to the lack of specific content. The electrical wiring diagrams extending over multiple pages are confusing, poorly detailed, monochromatic. When I need specific repair/service info I do not appreciate a section on "how to do body work and repainting"! When I need a section on air conditioning and it does not contain it, service info on how to repair an Alternator, Transmission, etc and I get a stupid statement to the effect that " this work is beyond the scope of this manual / home mechanic" I just want to tear the book to pieces and deep six it!! Although inconvenient during a repair project, I can go to my public library and do further research on specific automotive subjects in "Offical Motor Manuals". On the other hand the Official Volkswagen Repair manuals are written very concise, cover most subjects in depth, the electical wiring diagrams are delightful to follow and to work with,the only deficiency is the lack of detail and ommissions in the inexes of the chapters/repair groups. Another complaint is the outrageous cost of the Vanagon and now the eurovan Manuals!

Although announced on the cover of the book, these two books do not cover the complete TDI model. Chapters that cover the TDI are very usefull.

This is a very expensive, but very useful book to have. With no real competition, since Haynes don't do a manual for this vehicle (yet), its the only real choice for the DIY mechanic serious about servicing the Eurovan.

It seems expensive but with the price of VW garage bills, you'll probably save money in the long run. The pictures are very useful but the text less so, its not like the Haynes manuals and offers sparse information for some big jobs. But with a complex vehice like this, the pictures combined with some experience with motors should work out. Also, a lot of the time it refers to special VW tools but I guess you can work round that and get the job done.

I was very disappointed in the content and undercover marketing scheme to get signed on to telescan. We need books to enlighten new investors not pay to play.

The book did do a fair job of showing the reader what is possible with a stock search programs; one in particular Telescan (which a trial version was included with my book.) Overall it lent itself too mush to this single program and read like a user manual for it; the book would be pretty much usless if you don't own telescan at a cost of arround $500.

David Brown and Kassandra Bentley have produced a practical and very real approach to cracking the market. Through real life examples, you will learn what makes prices move and how far those prices are likely to move . After reading this book you will have the tools to approach trading with confidence and a very good basis for further growth. You will keep it as one of your favorite book