Stanley Reviews

I was disappointed with this book and returned it. It teaches tying laces by making two loops and tying the loops together. I was looking for a book that taught the "one-loop, wrap around, push through" method.

On the plus side, it is a very sturdy book that would take much abuse from a small child.

This is a wonderful book to teach your children to tie your shoes, my 5 year old son loves it and has learned to tie his shoes in a week! Will definately recommend this book to all my friends.

My 4-year-old daughter practiced with this book for about two weeks and is now the only child in her class that can tie her own shoes. She is so proud of herself! I think this is a wonderful book, with an excellent use of rhyme to teach someone how to tie shoes. I would recommend it for any child who is ready to try to tie their shoes on their own.

In the days of "seeker friendly" church, and hot-selling books like "Purpose-driven" church (Rick Warren), this is a prophetic word to a church that is filled with leaders who are trying to taylor the form of their church thinking that htis does not impinge on the actual gospel message. It is so often in many fields that one thinks that they can change the medium without affecting the message, but time and time again, this is proven false.

Istead of trying to figure out what the church should "do" to make people come, churches must think about hwat the church should BE to witness to its Lord. God's ways simply may not be "efficient"; the churhc is NOT a business. It is a herald, a foretaste of God's Kingdom, and if that means being out of synch with a self-centred society, then so be it!

Kenneson and Street make a bold, though sometimes rambling, work that will unfortunately not be read by the right people. This is likely to be part of the church's downfall.

Quite simply, this is an absolutely amazing book.

Kenneson and Street boldly declare that the Church's major problem today is that we simply stop looking at the Church as just another business or non-profit organization, and rather look at it rather as a (kingdom) community that God's calling to be a sign, a fortaste, and herald of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because the Church is not just another organization is why baptizing business philosophy and marketing strategy into this community fails. For the underlying principles of business marketing strategies are different than that of the foundations of the kingdom of God.

Marketing stratigies foundationally are ultimately geared around the self-interest of the business as well as the consumer. The business says to the consumer, "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine." The consumer then looks at the business as just another commodity.

Such a mentality is contrary to two key principles of Christianity: servant-hood and giving. If the church attempts to reach out to others only so that it may profit (e.g. growth), then the church fails to truly give and fails to truly serve. Because ultimately, when it serves and when it gives, strings are attached. The same can be said concerning the consumers mentality, which is one of "church shopping."

Also, another problem of church marketing is that those who advocate marketing are fixated on numerical growth. For ultimately to them, it is the only way to plot the success of the mission of the church. Kenneson and Street powerfully asks, what if the mission of the church is not to grow simply in numbers, but rather, what if the goal of the church was simply to manifest the fruits of the Spirit as seen in Galatians 5? Church marketers would shutter at such a thought, for their is no way to translate such things into numerical data. While the authors do not out right say it, but I believe it is hinted at between the lines: ultimately we cannot measure church growth through "scientific" methods, instead, church growth must be measured prophetically.

This book was very difficult to find, as it is out-of-print (at the time of this review), however, it is without a doubt a must read for all church leadership.

My only problem with this book is that while it offers a great deal of criticism concerning marketing, it does very little to suggest what must be done in light of this criticism. Even the authors admit this in their closing remarks, however, they do encourage us to seek from God the vision to shape our community.

CG is marketing. These authors show that is unbiblical but yet so attractive in a consumer-oriented (marketing) culture.

They do a fine job in sorting this out. I use several quotes from them in my book of a similar vein, Testing the Claims of Church Growth.

One of the exceptional elements of this work is their focus on the destruction of the transcendancy of God. Reading this book will inform if not transform many fliring with church marketing, i.e. CG.

In Stanley Kubrick: Interviews (University Press of Mississippi), we have more of the voice of Kubrick than anywhere else. The interviews go chronologically and run the gamut from short three-page profile throwaways to massive, 30-page question-and-answer marathons. Many are worth noting: Jeremy Bernstein's profile dates from 1966 but is still fresh and amazingly well-written and candid, and Eric Nordern's interview with Kubrick for Playboy is insightful and worth reading for the Master's (mostly incorrect) predictions of immortality and space travel by the year 2001. Another excellent interview comes from Joseph Glemis, who talks to Kubrick about all of his films up to Clockwork Orange, and there are two interviews with Gene Siskel that are worth reading, too.

Simply put, this is a fine volume that should belong to every Kubrick fan. Most of these interviews, if not all of them, are long out of print and the book is 98% worthwhile. Moreover, reading the words of Kubrick is like reading poetry-he did retain the right to extrapolate and modify his answers before any interview was published-with each sentence and word well chosen. Only complaint: there are no interviews with Kubrick regarding The Shining; why this film was left out is curious. Gorgeously printed with a spartan design, sturdily bound, set in Stone serif, rag right, this is a very reader-friendly book.

Considering the fact that Stanley Kubrick rarely gave interviews, this book is a godsend. Compiling articles and interviews over a span of several decades, "Stanley Kubrick: Interviews" offers a fascinating insight into one of the cinema's greatest directors. Many of these have been widely reprinted already, but it's great to see them all in one collection. Once you've bought this book ...get the Stanley Kubrick Collection DVD box set!

Stanley Kubrick is a person that the world over should miss. This book captures a part of his mystique, of why he was such a beautiful and intriguing person.

This book has many fine qualities to it. It can act as a springboard that launches one into further study, providing good documentation, and making mention of a variety of beliefs within christiandome. The book is very well written, giving a perfect balance between academia and inspirational type reading. The overall structure and flow of the book is great as well, and sometimes one might forget they are reading a book that is written by nearly 2 dozen different authors. It is a one of a kind book that will clearly convey what it is Pentecostals believe (from an Assemblies of God perspective).

However, there are many pitfalls to the book. The largest one is that the book probably isn't large enough, and sometimes spends too much time repeating itself. Some chapters can be read really briskly because you already know what is being said...because it had been said before in the book. This space would have better been filled with more dialogue between sources. Too often, some crucial opposing views that have some validity are given such a brief glance that it is absurd, and is not treated.

Take for example, the Four Square Church (Pentecostal) view that speaking in tongues is not "the" evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but that one may receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and speak in tongues, or prophesy, or operate in many other giftings. This book simply brushes this view off, which has much validity, and calls it simply a "charismatic" view-point (without even naming the denomination that holds to this). From a book written toward a Pentecostal perspective, you would expect some dialogue with other Pentecostal circles! Such seems a bit dishonest to me.

Also, there are many crucial issues out there that this book does not even try to shed any understanding on or even bring up. Issues on Christ fulfilling the law, dispensationalism, and the like are not even addressed! Probably because there is such a diversity even within the Assemblies of God regarding these things...so they decided to not even touch it.

If you are looking for a general overview of many Christian doctrines, and an introduction to Systematic Theology, and more dialogue between sources, consider elsewhere. But, how could you expect 638 pages to contain much more? (Note: There are more pages, which includes a solid bibliography, a brief theological dictionary, and an absolutely poor index.)

If you are looking for a theology book that tells what the Assemblies of God believes (and in general, does a good job defending), then consider getting this book.

Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective is hands down the best book from a Pentecostal organization that I have read period! It is edited wonderfully by respected Assemblies of God theologan Stanley M. Horton who happens to write a the last chapter dealing with eschatology.

As fantastic as this book is, it's always good to keep in mind that books like this are best utilized as springboards for further study. In my mind, a key and unique benefit of this book is that each chapter is penned by various Assembly of God theologans and scholars that write on areas which underscore their expertise. Through each chapter, Scripture and commentary run hand in hand leaving the reader to study content and context.

Personally as a student of theological studies and its accuracy (as far as we can Biblically determine), I like to verify much of what an author states. Making a habit of reading some of the books in the bibliography is a good practice because it will enlighten you. Some of the more interesting books listed in the bibliography are "Counterfiet Miracles" by Warfield and "Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit" by McDonnell and Montague.

Because of the amount of material covered in this book, which idea by idea is a tremendous amount, a serious study is beneficial for any reader. The investment of study in the material is an investment in the reader of the book.

This book is masterfully edited and is outstanding!

This book is recommended to all Christians who seek to learn more about the essentials of conservative Pentecostal systematic theology. Contrary to many people, traditional Pentecostals are not unscholarly emotionalists who lack knowledge in theology. Actually, one will find this book very scholarly. The book is comprised of essays from various Pentecostal scholars on the traditional themes of systematic theology (starting from Prolegomena to the Last Things). The book is a very balanced presentation of conservative Pentecostalism. As a Calvinist, cessationist, and Progressive Dispensationalist I thought I would throw the book away after reading the first few chapters. However, I found myself reading more and more and getting a good understanding of what Pentecostals believe. One will not find a "hokey" Word of Faith type theology in this book. In fact, the authors try to distance themselves from this movement; making a clear distinction between traditional Pentecostalism and man-glorifying unorthodox "health-wealth" Charismatism. Many will find this book useful for lay Bible studies and personal devotion. The book is not only scholarly, but also practical. The book is also easy to read and fun.

The mythical Amazons of Greek legend were probably inspired by eye-witness reports of female cavalry soldiers of the ancient Russian steppe. But most historical record of those fierce Sarmatian, Sauromatean, and Scythian civilizations, except for some recently excavated kurgans, has been lost to time. Over a million women fought in the Soviet armed forces in World War ll. And Eritrean women have been fully integrated in combat for the past thirty years in that impoverished nation's civil war with Ethiopia. Most women warriors have fought in gender-integrated regiments under male command. None have been so thoroughly documented as the all-female regiments of Dahomey amazons. Author Alpern has done a remarkable job of translating those documents for a comprehensive history of this once-splendid African kingdom. As early as 1729, European traders recorded existence of the fighting-women of the Fon (Dahomey people) and their neighbors the Ashanti. Originally retained as an elite royal guard, Dahomey amazons held semi-sacred status as celibate warrior "wives" of the King. They prided themselves on their hardened physiques and highly-trained martial skills, and constantly strove to outperform their male counterparts. During two centuries of raids and wars against neighboring kingdoms, Dahomeyan women increased their reputation as merciless undefeatable opponants. By 1890 they comprised over 30 percent of the Dahomey fighting force. With considerable bloodshed, and at cost of some 2000 amazons' lives, the Fon were finally defeated by the French Foreign Legion in 1892. The commanders of the Legionaires wrote admiringly of the "incredible courage and audacity" of the amazons, who did not flinch from superior French firepower and made the "ulimate sacrifice for their King". The last surviving veteran of the female regiments died in 1979, four years after Dahomey achieved independence and changed its name to Benin. Mr. Alpern's fascinating book has rekindled interest in the amazons, who otherwise might have faded into obscurity. Recently the bimonthly magazine "Military History" published an article, apparently based on material from the book, about the final battle between the Dahomey amazons and their French conquerers.

We are talking about female soldiers with their own officers and uniforms, formed into units and trained to fight with muskets, machetes and their bare teeth. The first part of the book covers these subjects, plus the physical and insensitivity training they had to help them overcome pain and increase discipline.
The second part deals with their history in battle from their first use against other tribes to their last battles against the French before the kingdom's downfall.

Amazons of Black Sparta is good reading whether your interest is military or ethnographic.

The first half of the book is arranged topically, laying a groundwork for the campaigns that follow. Each chapter presents an aspect of Amazon life and the culture that produced it. The chapters stand alone, although the topics build on one another to give a well-rounded image of this unique fighting force.

I found the cultural descriptions fascinating and, for the most part, well-researched particularly because I live and work among a people that were once a part of the Dahomey kingdom. Many of the things Alpern describes are still a part of daily life in rural Benin (formerly Dahomey); others have disappeared with history. The memory of the Amazons, however, is still very alive and elders still tell stories of the women who tore trees out of the ground to use as clubs. Alpern has done a good job drawing from a variety of sources to separate fact from fiction and to produce believable yet amazing history.

The second half of the book will be more interesting to the military-minded. The chapters are arranged more chronologically and give accounts of battles, tactics, and the eventual downfall of Dahomey as an independent kingdom. Many of these places are easy to find today and the oral tradition lives on, although there are no battlefield markers or museums to commemorate them.

Stanley Alpern's style is smooth, easy reading, neither too technical nor too simplistic. For those who want a taste of the culture and a good understanding of the Amazons this is an excellent introduction. For those interested in an unusual military phenomenon and an account of military cultures colliding, this will spice up your library.

In any case, this book was well worth the price and the time it took to read.

I bought this book as a resource for ideas on what we might need to do in Waukegan, Illinois to create an artists community here. It seems clear that building around the arts is the most organic way to rebuild our downtown and lakefront area. As such, we are looking for ways to create new gallery and studio space, foster live/work space creation and even establish the City as a destination for artist colonies and retreats. Obviously, we don't need to reinvent the wheel. The best way to learn some of the things we could do is to study what other communities have done. This book has served that end very well. I plan to visit some of the communities and residences outlined in this book to learn even more of what could be duplicated here in Waukegan. Make no mistake, the book is not intended to be a "how to" book for creating an artists community, but by describing what various communities offer it serves that purpose aptly.

I, too, just got back from a two-week residency at Norcroft Women Writers Retreat in Minnesota. We passed this book around as well, scribbling addresses in our notebooks. The experience at Norcroft was so special, we wanted more opportunities. This book opened the door for us. Browsing other residencies was a joy. I am planning on buying my own copy.

This edition has been revised and updated to include nearly eighty residences in the U.S., including complete descriptions on each community from residency lengths and admission deadlines and fees to programs offered. Histories of the programs complete the overviews which will prove important for any considering an art community residency.

Diane C. Donovan Reviewer

Such a lovely child, so patient and well behaved. New York and its society are made magic by her eyes. The opening sections of this memoir are a delight as Mrs. Wharton recounts the sights and feel of New York City in the 1870's. I liked it that she gave us a knee-high view of taking a walk with her beloved father and meeting his friends along the way. (She could never tell what the people's faces looked like, as her view only extended to their knees). Her total recall of her very best bonnet is amazing, and a very pretty bonnet it must have been.

If there is such a person as a "born writer," Edith Wharton is that person. Before she could write, she made stories, and situations "flew around her head like mosquitoes." The world she lived in had no place or interest in a writing lady, so she made her own world, and it was a life-long undertaking.

When Mrs. Wharton received her first acceptance of publication, she was so excited she "ran up and down the staircase in glee." I couldn't have been more surprised if I had read that George Washington played kickball in the back yard. Mrs. Wharton rarely lets you see anything but a very reserved and proper Victorian lady. Yet she did get a divorce (though it is never mentioned.), she lived almost her entire adult life abroad; she compartmentalized her friends like a butterfly collector, and had no interest in being part of the New York society she describes so well. When she was well into her writing career on a family visit to New York, she was invited to a dinner party where she was told a "Bohemian" would be one of the guests. When she got there, she discovered that she herself was the "Bohemian" in question.

The book has a wonderful introduction by that fine author of New York manners, Louis Auchincloss, who is obviously fond of Mrs. Wharton, but not intimidated. Mrs. Wharton has a couple of insightful (and often hilarious) chapters on Henry James that are alone worth the price of the book. But then there are the "friends." I felt I was being buried in endless pages of formal introductions to people I had never heard of, who wrote books that were never read, who gave parties which are long forgotten, and men who were great conversationalists according to Mrs. Wharton, though the witticisms she quoted were so arch and refined, I felt they belonged in bad drawing room comedy.

The book reads well, except for the stretches of introductions. Mrs. Wharton firmly believes that if you can't speak well of someone, you shouldn't speak of him or her at all. Not a bad idea at that

This autobiography which really gives a feel for the times in, which Wharton lived as well as for her own life experiences, contains some the most stunningly succinct annecdotes I've ever read. Wharton is truly brilliant at conveying the importance of literature in her life and sharing the possibilities of the literary life with her reader. She reaches through time to inform us of universals and redefine our value systems without being the least bit pedantic. She is a genius. And her autobiography is as entertaining and resonant as a great novel.

In this orderly collection of autobiographical sketches Edith Wharton - generously and with nearly photographic recall - begins by inviting readers into her early life in nineteenth-century New York. We are treated to its cast of characters, old New York, country life up the Hudson River, the clothes, the houses, and the remarkable (and unremarkable) personalities - Washington Irving was a friend of the family - as well as the sensibilities of a sociable, bright, and wonderfully observant little girl.

Edith began to read so early that it surprised her upper-class (but unintellectual) family. Before long she became an "omnivorous reader," happiest plowing through the volumes of the classics in her father's library. She soon found that she required time alone - to invent characters, to make up stories. She knew that she had to write fiction - from childhood on, despite realizing by young adulthood that "in the eyes of our provincial society authorship was still regarded as something between a black art and a form of manual labor." Of the social imperative to closet one's writing urges she elaborates: "My father and mother were only one generation away from Sir Walter Scott, who thought it necessary to drape his literary identity in countless clumsy subterfuges, and almost contemporary with the Brontes, who shrank in agony from being suspected of successful novel-writing." The idle rich, Wharton makes clear, were intended to stay idle - and not busy themselves with writing, especially for (horrors!) pay. Her descriptions of her early popular successes are memorable.

In subsequent chapters Wharton lays out her well-thought-out opinions regarding childhood, self-discovery, the formation of the writer's imagination and intellect, and the importance of finding one's own way - as an intellectual and as a social being. There is dry humor, too. She treasured good literature and good conversation - and pursued (and found) them throughout her life. She loved beautiful things and places, too. Finally, she describes her sojourns abroad (mainly England, France, and Italy) and the relationships and places that sustained her and nurtured her creativity, her productivity - and her soul.

Lifelong friends play a central role in much of this memoir. She describes people well, without breaches of privacy or confidences. This is not at all limiting. She writes tenderly of the blossoming of her friendship with "American gentleman" Egerton Winthrop, a man of "cultivated intelligence," a shy, physically awkward man whom Wharton considered "the most perfect of friends." Others were George Cabot Lee, Vernon Lee, Howard Sturgis, Geoffrey Scott, Percy Lubbock, and most of all, Henry James, who is drawn wonderfully (and not uncritically) in this book. Of her friendship with James she remarks "The real marriage of two minds is for any two people to possess a sense of humor or irony pitched in exactly the same key, so that their joint glances at any subject cross like interarching search-lights."

I loved this memoir, and greatly admired Wharton's ability to reveal herself and her world so fully and well.

(This review refers to Volume One only.) Asimov has collected eight stories in this anthology that were influential in his own writing. Asimov read most of these stories when he was about 12 years old, being fortunate enough to devour most of them from pulp magazines that were sold in his father's candy store. As might be expected with any anthology, some stories are better than others, and some have held up better through the years than others. Yet these pieces are not included for comparison to current stories, but to show what Asimov read as a young person and how the works influenced him. Asimov's mini-autobiography alone is worth the price of the book. After each story, Asimov tells how an idea or a concept from a story led to the formation of one of his own works. A very interesting idea. "The Jameson Satellite" is a forerunner of "I, Robot," and "Submicroscopic" is a small step from "Fantastic Voyage." As mentioned by another reviewer, the reader will have to deal with several prejudices from the time these stories were written (especially racial), but overall this book is a great insight into what makes Asimov Asimov.

This collection of early, pulp-style scifi works is a great joy. Asimov's introduction to the stories is exceedingly interesting and helpful. The stories sometimes show flaws or problems in their writing and in their attitudes (while several stories are forward-looking, most show the racism and misogyny common to that time), most of the stories are entertaining and all of them are interesting from a historical perspective. Check it out if you can get your hands on it, it's a great find. I really got a kick out of several pieces, which run the gamut from more reasonable 'conquered man, driven underground, strikes back at his evil alien oppressors' to the completely ludicrous story about the planets of our solar system hatching into giant space chickens. (That last story is meant to be taken seriously, by the way.) A veritable laundry-list of great, long out-of-print authors and some wonderful writing from the early days of popular science fiction.

This book contains the good old stories from the 1930's. There is nothing great here, but it is till worth reading. You can see the evolution of the Science Fiction field by reading the stories in this book.

Entertaining anecdotes, but not really what it promises. It's more a collection of famous people and their beloved dogs with a few notes (some of them are real stretches) about how the author believes the dogs might have affected them. Not particularly convincing, but sweet.

I liked this book a lot. I have learned many things from it. It has very interesting facts.

I can't remember when I enjoyed a book more. It was insightful, fascinating, and difficult to put down. Surprisingly easy to read, I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who owns or loves dogs. I would also recommend it to history buffs or to those who want to read about famous people and events from a slightly different perspective. What a terrific read!

The Sweetness of the title is a plucky little orphan who looks a lot like Tatum O'Neal in "Paper Moon," without the cigar.

She and seven other orphans have been adopted by the kind, but addlebrained, sheriff of Possum Trot. He had rescued them from Mrs. Sump, the evil (naturally) head of the orphanage, in Stanley's previous book, "Saving Sweetness."

In this funny sequel, the Sheriff takes to housekeeping like a fish takes to a pile of sawdust; that is, he is sorely lacking in the home arts. He serves tuna fish soup and pickle and banana pie and washes the windows with butter. The orphans, with Sweetness at the fore, decide to domesticate him. First, they need to learn to read so they can decipher a letter from the Sheriff's long-lost love, Lucy Locket, and then find a way to get them hitched.

The twangy Texas lingo is snappy without being laid on too thick, helping rather than hindering when the book is read aloud. The mixed media illustrations, combining scribbly colored pencil drawings with collages of wallpaper, cut paper and masking tape, perfectly match the warm absurdity of the text. A heart warming and hilarious story.

I have read this book to three different classes at the elementary school where I work as a reading instructor. In every class the children loved it. It has such quirky humor. The illustrations are great. I used props to illustrate the letters and what the teacher was telling the students about the alphabet and math such as 1+8 doesn't make 9, but 18. I kept this book so long that the library almost had to sell it to me.
I enjoyed using character voices to make the book come alive for the kids. I can't wait to get my hands on the 1st book in the series (saving sweetness). I highly recommend this book.

My daughter found this book at her school library. My daughter is in first grade and enjoys a healthy sense of humor. She and I found this story to be hysterical. Laugh out loud funny. You can't help but fall in love with entire cast of characters. We enjoyed it so much we had to buy "Saving Sweetness". Now our only disappointment is that we can't find anymore books in this series.