Book Description
Lewis's most popular series reveals the closed world of an Amish community. Now in a special value edition! Over a million books sold in the series!
Customer Reviews:
Heritage of Lancaster County.......2007-05-13
Beverly is a fantastic writer and so infomative of the Amish. So easy to read and once you start you don't want to put them down.
Not our favorite Beverly Lewis book.......2007-02-23
My husband and I got hooked on Beverly Lewis's excellent writing in the Annie's People and Abram's Daughters series. She's truly a master of suspense and intrigue in these books. I passed them on to my father, who loved them too. We've often visited Lancaster County and especially enjoyed this chance to "go inside" the lovely farmhouses we've admired from outside. However, we just finished Heritage of Lancaster County and both of us were very disappointed in it. The main characters don't seem to have an ounce of common sense and the plot is bit of a stretch. Katie (Katherine) comes off as stupid and selfish. Compared with Annie of Annie's People and Leah of Abram's Daughters, this heroine is a flop!
I believe this book was written earlier than the other two, which may account for the difference. We're glad we read the others first - they are wonderful!
Awesome book!!.......2007-02-14
Beverly Lewis has got to be my favorite author these days. I thoroughly enjoyed this book series (which included all 3 novels in one large edition). I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves Christian fiction - and anyone who loves to read about the Amish. Excellent series - can't wait to read more!!
Good Good Good.......2007-01-19
Whaat a good one again.YOU just have to get all of her books if you enjoy reading of intrigue,family,love,connections ,just all the things that make our world a better place.She is super talented.I wish I could write like her.I'm author of Sharper Than A Two Edged Sword-It's my true story of a hard time in my life,can be found here on Amazon also.Nadia N.Rehmani
heritage of lancaster county.......2007-01-11
I thought the book was very good, just couln't put it down
Book Description
Have you been skipping over references to time in the Bible because they seem too confusing? Professor Jack FineganÂ's Handbook of Biblical Chronology clarifies those ancient systems of time reckoning and the biblical passages that use them. Part 1, Principles of Chronology in the Ancient World, describes the origins of basic units of time and surveys the calendars used in the ancient Near East through the Roman era. Part 2, Problems of Chronology in the Bible, discusses major periods of the Old Testament, as well as the lives of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Apostles Peter and Paul.
This thoroughly revised edition includes a number of improvements over the classic 1964 edition. The text has been updated, expanded, and retypeset. It features more than 190 helpful tables (including 43 new ones), new sections, new datings, full subject and Scripture indexes, a detailed table of contents, and updated bibliographies.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Reference.......2000-12-20
This book is intended to help the sudent of the bible become familiar with the various issues and problems in biblical chronology. It is NOT intended to defend the biblical chronology from divergent chronologies derived from extrabiblical sources. My own area of interest being the Old Testament of patriarchal and Exodus times, I can say that the book does a fantastic job of both revealing difficulties in the biblical chronology as well as offering possibilities for solving those difficulties and preserving the reliability of the biblical record. References to extra-biblical sources are only used when explaining the intrabiblical discrepancies or apparent discrepancies. Finegan has no interest in the Egyptian and near-eastern chronologies in their own rights. He wants only to present the chronology that the bible presents. Finegan accepts the centuries long lifespans of the antedeluvians without a second thought. His aim here is not to convince or defend the validity of any statements in the bible. He only wants to help you see what the bible is telling you. While this makes the book useful to sceptics and the faithful alike, it can be frustrating to those who want to see where the bible measures up against the other ancient chronological sources. I had hoped that the bibliographic references in this book would point me to other works covering the obscure fields of Babylonian and Egyptian chronology, but they do not. If the book had discussed biblical chronology against the backdrop of other systems of chronology, I would have given it five stars. It does do its job of laying out the chronology of the bible perfectly, though, and is a fantastic reference for all students of the bible. Historians of the ancient Middle East might be a bit frustrated, though.
The best book on biblical chronology on the market........1999-06-12
Absolutely essential for straigtening out the chronology associated with Herod's death. Professor Finegan now makes it clear that Herod DID NOT die in 4 B.C. as all of us historians and theologians have thought, but in 1 B.C. This information is indispensible for the student of New Testament history and the chronology of Jesus' life and it illumines one of the darkest periods in the early imperial history of Rome. This volume changes all previous standard works for the past 100 years dealing with the Nativity of Jesus and the history dealing with it. There is much more too for the biblical student. A first class work that every library must have. Professor Finegan must be congratulated (in his 89th year of life) for producing such a splendid and profitable volume of research.
Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D. Academy for Scriptual Knowledge Portland, OR 97825
A necessary revision of a timeless book!.......1999-03-21
Amazingly, at the age of 89, Jack Finegan has revised his 1964 classic and has done a wonderful job! The new book reads a lot like the first edition, but is substantially revised to include many references up to 1996. Sections on Jesus' birth and Herod's death now discuss both the standard dating (nativity before 4 BC), and that of Martin, Keresztes, etc (3/2 BC); Finegan favors the latter dating, as well as 33 AD for the crucifixion. The new section on John the Baptist mainly focuses on the chronology of the cycle of priestly courses, which Finegan seems to over-emphasize. Literature listings and scriptural & subject indexes are each about double the lengths in the first edition. Overall, I find it a very valuable tool with up-to-date information.
Book Description
The 1990s will be a time of political, economic, social, and financial upheaval. But even in a time of crisis, prepared individuals can prosper if they know:
-- the secrets of megapolitics -- how technology will revolutionize economic and social institutions
-- which businesses will thrive and which will fail
-- how to build a financial foundation in a time of economic crisis
Customer Reviews:
Foundational Wisdom To Plan Your Future By..........2006-11-19
I first met James in 1993 when he was giving a lecture at Michigan State University. I was well acquainted with him through his newsletter and economic theories that were more than just that. I have the utmost respect for him and have earnestly recommended THIS book to friends who want to build as solid a financial future as they can.
I purchased and studied this book the year it came out - it is foundational wisdom. Imagine...what would you do on the day that note for our trillion dollar deficit comes due? The day the US goes up for grabs? It is not unfathonable. Why not work on a plan for protecting your wealth that CAN span through the ages?
The Great Reckoning dispells any myths. It is strong medicine for those who believe the gravy train will not end and a plan of action for those who know it is already ending. It helps you to better plan your future, your investments and grow your wealth. I only have RAVES to give for this book - and have referred it to any THINKING friend/associate who wants to better prepare themselves, their family and their finances for the future.
Companion books - it took me YEARS to find Blood In The Streets (it was out of print), written by James and Lord Rees Mogg. Buy it! Also Harry Figgie's Bankruptcy 1995 is a must read. You will be surprised by how many of the steps that OTHER countries have taken to prevent capital flight have already been taken by the US. An eye opener.
And...round it off with The Sovereign Individual. It actually takes one tenet from The Great Reckoning and expands upon it a little more. It is not the tome, like the prior 2. However if you are foreign to the idea of you as your own country, well, explore it in that book.
Great Insight and Durable Wisdom.......2006-02-19
It's been more than 20 years since I read the first edition which (at a time when most Americans believed that the USSR was here forever and Reagan's "Evil Empire" comments were irresponsible) accurately forecast the downfall of the Soviet Empire.
The next edition featured a new chapter, Mohammed Replaces Marx and included an extensive discussion of what we now refer to as asymmetrical warfare. The authors correctly saw Muslim fundamentalists filling the vacuum left by decline of the USSR and East European communist governments. In addition, the authors accurately identified the trends of technology as shifting the ability to manage and inflict large scale terror to small nations and stateless groups which would be difficult to track and which had no territory to defend.
Almost 20 years later it is sobering to realize that the proliferation of WMD, especially nuclear weapons, has far exceeded the pace predicted by most government officials years earlier.
Sadly most readers focused instead on the financial predictions which they saw as the most important to their self interests. Thus they were unprepared for either the fall of the Soviet empire or the continued rise of Muslim fundamentalist based terror, either state sponsored as in the cases of Iran, Iraq and others or that sponsored by leaders such as Bin Laden. Too many Americans still fail to realize that we are in a state of war and have never learned or forgotten the lessons of the early days of WWII when action instead of "Peace In Our Time" appeasement, might have prevented the slaughter to tens of millions of people.
Predicting the future is always a dangerous exercise. It is an interesting exercise to pull the book off the shelf years later and thumb through the early editions. As one author noted, the futurists and economists are always wrong and the science fiction writers usually right. Certainly recent history has shown that the author's predictions are not 100% right, but they understand some of the most important forces shaping the world of tomorrow. As a result the value of their thinking puts them at the top of the list.
It is interesting to note that while most books sell on the used market for a fraction of their original cost, the single copy available through Amazon's resellers is listed at 400%+ of the cost new.
The Great Book on the future.......2006-01-14
This book is not politically correct, and never made the talk show circuit in the US.
I first heard of it on Canadian TV 10 years ago.
What has stayed with me for 10 years, is the notion that the time between great depressions [~60 years] is the length of living memory. That memory is to not invest speculatively with borrowed money.
A window to the future.......2004-06-07
Absolutely prescient...
Although written in the late eighties, it rings a resounding bell today.
In my humble opinion, it's a window on the past, present, and future - a condensation of controversial, yet seminal truths.
It is a must read for any person with an inquiring mind. It is required mental luggage.
Read it!
Maybe timely now to read.......2004-02-04
Who would have expected that the Internet and Telecom bubbles would delay the 'great reckoning?' If this book is correct, we have only a short time to get our financial houses in order. This is a long read and yet a good one.
This is for those who wish to conserve and preserve what they have. Recommendations not to eat in certain restaurants and the like....interesting in light of the food poisonings of late.
Our national and international money woes. Economists, historians, business professional and the clergy would benefit from this book. The recommendations were too soon, so they sounded a little early and the 'cry wolf' scenario seems to creep in. Well, look at where we are today. We can rebound, if it is the right time.
Amazon.com
Forty years after Kenyan independence from Britain, the words "Mau Mau" still conjure images of crazed savages hacking up hapless white settlers with machetes. The British Colonial Office, struggling to preserve its far-flung empire of dependencies after World War II, spread hysteria about Kenya's Mau Mau independence movement by depicting its supporters among the Kikuyu people as irrational terrorists and monsters. Caroline Elkins, a historian at Harvard University, has done a masterful job setting the record straight in her epic investigation, Imperial Reckoning. After years of research in London and Kenya, including interviews with hundreds of Kenyans, settlers, and former British officials, Elkins has written the first book about the eight-year British war against the Mau Mau.
She concludes that the war, one of the bloodiest and most protracted decolonization struggles of the past century, was anything but the "civilizing mission" portrayed by British propagandists and settlers. Instead, Britain engaged in an amazingly brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing that seemed to border on outright genocide. While only 32 white settlers were killed by Mau Mau insurgents, Elkins reports that tens of thousands of Kenyans were slaughtered, perhaps up to 300,000. The British also interned the entire 1.5 million population of Kikuyu, the colony's largest ethnic group, in barbed-wire villages, forced-labour reserves where famine and disease ran rampant, and prison camps that Elkins describes as the Kenyan "Gulag." The Kikuyu were subjected to unimaginable torture, or "screening," as British officials called it, which included being whipped, beaten, sodomized, castrated, burned, and forced to eat feces and drink urine. British officials later destroyed almost all official records of the campaign. Elkins infuses her account with the riveting stories of individual Kikuyu detainees, settlers, British officials, and soldiers. This is a stunning narrative that finally sheds light on a misunderstood war for which no one has yet been held officially accountable. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
As part of the Allied forces, thousands of Kenyans fought alongside the British in World War II. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler, the British colonial government detained nearly the entire population of Kenyas largest ethnic minority, the Kikuyusome one and a half million people. The compelling story of the system of prisons and work camps where thousands met their deaths was the victim of a determined effort by the British to destroy all official records of their attempts to stop the Mau Mau uprising. Caroline Elkins spent a decade in London, Nairobi, and the Kenyan countryside interviewing hundreds of survivors of the camps and the British and African loyalists who detained them. The result is an unforgettable account of the unraveling of the British colonial empire in Kenyaa pivotal moment in twentieth- century history with chilling parallels to Americas own imperial project.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting and worth reading but clearly not objective at all........2007-05-14
An earlier reviewer mentions Ruark's books, "Something of Value," and "Uhuru." "Horn of the Hunter," is another good East Africa piece, although it does not go so much into the Mau Mau Emergency. I would definitely recommend reading Ruark's works to get the other extreme of the East Africa/Mau Mau issue.
Clearly, Elkins is biased in favor of Mau Mau & the Kikuyus in general, probably with reasons of her own. There clearly was some outrageous stuff going on in Kenya during the 1950s-60s, and still probably is.
There can be little doubt the British were out of line, to put it mildy and so were the Mau Mau, also to put it mildly.
This book has a great footnote section where anyone who is really interested in the facts can go for further reading. In all, this is an interesting book, though written in a very dry & tawdry style. It is certainly biased far in favor of Mau Mau and against the British and should be looked on as such.
Elkins would have made a far more powerful impression on this reader if she had at least attempted some journalistic objectivity.
Take with several LARGE pinches of salt.......2007-01-18
The book is very biased towards the Mau Mau side first of all.
Second she has relied heavily on oral textimonies which she fails to question the validity of. Some of these testimonies are laugh out loud ridiculous. She may have noted that testimonies like this have been through out of African and European courts for being made up in order to secure financial compensation. Elkins rubbishes similar statements made by European and Black loyalists.
Elkins also ignores or defends Mau Mau atrocities.
Lastly she asserts that 300,000 people died during the course of the emergency, the only evidence for this is the difference between two censuses. Colonial census were notoriously inaccurate and the main reason the British managed to hide any atrocities they did commit was because they were comitted small scale. 300,000 deaths would have been impossible to keep a secret. Anderson claims around 30,000 Mau Mau died during the course of the rebellion which is closer to the truth.
Good and Depressing.......2007-01-04
This book is very well researched and written. It's also very depressing. The story needs to be told. Excellent for understanding post WWII British imperialism.
An important story interred in academic prose.......2006-08-21
Imperial Reckoning is a curiously disappointing book. It exposes us to a shockingly brutal and little known side of late empire British imperialism with overwhelming documentation, but in such flat prose that the horror and indignation proper to such events is leached away in a numbingly endless drizzzle of facts. This book seems a huge body of tragic facts in search of an organizing narrative. So much so that its chapters could be read in any random order without changing the book's overall readability. Historical tragedies, as much as heroic triumphs turn on random quirks of fortune and clashes of strong personalities, but in academic literature they seem to float on a sluggish tide of inevitable events, usually seen in retrospect and shrouded in a sanctified flotsam of documentation.
Professor Elkins gives some capsule vignettes of the principal colonial administrators, but the central player of this historical drama, Jomo Kenyatta--the colony's most famous political prisoner and later to become Kenya's first president, is presumed so familiar to the reader as to warrant almost no further space. Though he is mentioned repeatedly, we learn only enough about him (16 years in Britain, studied at the London School of Economics, wrote a controversial book, organized a pan-African conference) to make us wonder why he's barely a footnote participant in the story. Little of the temper of the colonial times seems to surface except allegations of an extreme and virtually universal British racism. The Mau Mau terror which inspired this ghastly holocaust seems in this account have been a mere handful of assassinations--so wildly disproportionate to the response that one feels uneasily suspicious. Were the colonials really that murderously bigoted or is Ms. Elkins reluctant to portray a real threat of native terror?
It's a book one wishes had been written by Adam Hochschild (King Leopold's Ghost, Bury the Chains). There's a shocking story buried here that needs to get out. My curiosity is aroused, I want to know more, but I'll have to read a different book. I haven't the tolerance for tedium to finish this one.
Compelling.......2006-07-25
This magnificent book shows how the Brits, using methods of immense savagery, broke the Mau Mau terrorist movement in the 1950s, only to lose the entire colony of Kenya partly in response to the brutishness of their own counterterrorism.
Even though the author is an academic, and doesn't write with the verve and polish of a William Manchester, this book is gripping reading. Elkins lets the facts tell the story, and she certainly has the facts. She seems to have read every relevant document and talked with practically everybody still living who participated in the Kenyan gulag as either a victim or a perpetrator. In her acknowledgements she notes that she learned both Kiswahil and the rudiments of Kikuyu to help her with her interviews (she also had an African translator). Indeed, her book would have been impossible without the Africans' contributions.
One of the other reviewers here complains that Elkins didn't read Robert Ruark's pro-settler "Something of Value" or "Uhuru." But Ruark, an American who probably didn't talk to any Africans in Kenya except his askaris and houseboys, was a naive sucker for the settlers' racist world view. Far more tough-minded than Ruark, Elkins talked to plenty of settlers as well as Africans. The sheer accretion of facts and anecdotes, with almost every sentence footnoted, makes for an overwhelmingly persuasive case.
It is a horrific story of a system that Stalin outdid in duration and magnitude, but not in relative cruelty. Pound for pound the Brits' imprisonment of the Kikuyus, rife as it was with mutilating torture, random executions, systematic rape, enforced relocations and treachery, and massacres, was about as brutal as it gets.
And we owe it to Elkins for bringing these facts, only occasionally referenced in journalism and earlier history books, fully into the light. This is a groundbreaking, iconoclastic work that sheds a new, highly unflattering light on British imperialism. It's tough to think of Manchester's hero biographee, Churchill, in quite the same way.
Customer Reviews:
Requires a good GM.......2006-06-01
I always enjoyed a good Hunter game because players are in control of supernaturally imbued characters who are entirely clueless to the World of Darkness. Thankfully with the well written, and familiar, rules, you have the opportunity to fight back against the creatures who prey on humanity. This is not an investigate and run away game like Call of Cthulhu.
With that said, a good game requires that the cluelessness is maintained to keep the level of excitement up. You can have players who know about the World of Darkness, but that information should not influencing their character's in-game decisions. A Hunter is not going to know a Brujah from a Gangrel or that a large man in a business suit is a Glasswalker.
Overall, Hunter was my favorite of the "old-school" White Wolf/World of Darkness games/settings. The basic rules are consistent with the other titles in the line, with only a few variations. This made it easy to pick up and start playing on our first night with the rule book.
Only for Experts.......2006-01-24
This is a hard game for a true gamer! sadly, the low level of power of the characters of this game can deceive other players of powergaming series like vampire and werewolf. This game is about terror and madness, not to make the world a couple of slaves and show the most powers of strange forces. Through the scenario of the Time of Judgement, this game shows exactly the situation of the humans and the apocalyptic situation of the end of the WoD. Only for experts, not for Powerseekers.
"Heeeere monster. That's a nice monster...".......2004-02-01
Though suffering from a bit of the verbosity that seems to plague White Wolf publications (the supplements in particular; you could halve their lengths if you just made sure each point was made only once), Hunter: The Reckoning is, despite the judgements flung towards it, actually one of the most down-to-earth, difficult, and tactically challenging games White Wolf has released. Though many might instantaneously assume that it is meant to be an Army of Darkness style shoot-'em-up (like the namesake video games based on Hunter), the inclusion of firearms is primarily just a natural human response to grab SOMETHING they can fight back with. Honestly, against blood-drinking walking corpses, semi-spirit werewolves, immaterial ghosts, and horrors far worse, you'll need brains to survive. Unless your storyteller is heavy on action and firepower, trying to play this game in the twinky stereotype it's often given will get you killed, fast. In fact, not all the Creeds (philosphical archetypes of Hunter, which determine their powers) are even geared toward fighting at all. Some try to rehabilitate or cure monsters, while others don't even go that far, simply seeking to understand them, let them know they are not begrudged for it, and leave the doors of forgiveness open. Trying to talk an angry vampire out of killing a roomful of mortals can take on challenges all its own.
An issue of confusion seems to be those who mix up the Hunters (capital H; note the full, proper title being the "Imbued Hunters") with unrelated groups. Though some number of them may have joined groups like the Society of Leopold, Hunters are imbued with their powers when confronted with the supernatural. They share no unified system, no overarching organization or membership cards. Though they can meet with others of their kind, their disorganized nature and supernatural powers set them apart from conventional mortal hunters, be they alone or in groups. The issue of incompatibility seems to be largely unfounded. Imbued Hunters are explained in several White Wolf core rulebooks, and creatures from several of these books are even summed up in Hunter. The relatively minimal mention of them does make sense. Ultimately, the Hunters, as they are, are not a powerful force. All together, their powers and armaments mean relatively little. Only with time, careful planning, and survival could they ever hope to take back the night. It is this ultimate weakness which is their primary dilemma. Still ultimately mortals with a few helpful cantrips and tricks to give them a better chance, most are left with the disappointment of only being able to do what few things they can.
Whether you want to play a boomstick-toting zombie blaster, a skittish parapsychologist trying to get a peek into a dark and hidden world, a wandering redeemer seeking to save the inhuman souls of the damned, a stake-toting Van Helsing, or a stiff-collared exorcist attempting to dispel hellish influence from the world, there's a niche in Hunter for you. Just don't pack any guns you can't drop in a hurry. You'll need to shed as much weight as possible when it's time to start running.
Very good storytelling horror game.......2004-01-31
If you're interested in playing a vampire hunter, or werewolf hunter... this is a great game to do it based on a storytelling aspect rather than dice rolls.
Also, it's set up to play as a kind of survival-horror game better than anything else; it doesn't have the dice rolling of the old Dark Conspiracy game, but you can definitely do the story well with the character outlines provided.
The book is well layed out and easy (and fun) to read, with more than a few inspiring sections for a beginning gamemaster. I do recommend picking up the player's guide with it, though, especially if your players are veterans of other RPG's.
VERY Overlooked.......2003-04-22
I've played Werewolf. Hell, I've dabbled in Vampire. Both are really great games if you want to play as something that's rediculously powerful and only have a real challenge if you're fighting an older Vampire or Werewolf (in either game). Hunter is different: instead of being this ungodly-powerful monster, you're this regular Joe with a neat trick, trying to fight the aforementioned monsters.
It sounds unfair, I know, but that's what makes this game beautiful. You have extraordinary powers, but they're hardly enough to stop a charging Get of Fenris or Bruja in its tracks. You're alone, and if you don't find help, either you'll die, or you'll be driven insane. That, my friend, is true fear.
Yes, the story aspect is my favorite part of this game, but let's discuss the gameplay. As in most White Wolf games, the gameplay takes a backseat for story, but there's a perfectly working game here, too. Each player creates a Hunter (someone trying to fight monsters that only they can see) and assigns him/her powers.
Book Description
The long-awaited conclusion to The Shunning and The Confession! Katherine Mayfield must find the peace that once reigned in her mother's heart before she can embrace her first love once again. Heritage of Lancaster County book 3.
Customer Reviews:
Would Katie choose her inherited wealth, or go back to the Amish?.......2007-08-29
In this last book of the trilogy, Katie, or Katherine as she now calls herself has inherited her surrogate mother's wealth. Living in the huge estate in New York, she has servants waiting on her hand and foot. There's also Justin Wirth, Katie's new love.
But Katie really and truly isn't sure that this is for her. She finds new outlets to keep her busy. She volunteers at the hospice house, and meets many special people there. Especially a boy, Willie, who is slowly dying of brain cancer. She finds in this boy, and instant friendship.
Katie also starts a quilting club, the way her Amish folks at home had. Many of the women fall for it, and 2 of them are Amish themselves. They are trying to put a large quilt together for the Hospice Katie is working for, using it to hopefully donate a large sum of money for that cause and help others at the same time.
Jason Fisher, Katie's very first love who has not really died but disappeared for awhile, is coming after Katie there in her new home. But when he looks her up, there is a rude awakening to him, as Katie is very angry; not understanding how Jason could just pretend to have been dead all these years when he wasn't, and not coming back to her. She turns him away, and Jason goes away broken-hearted. It is not until later on that the two through circumstances back in Hickory Hollow, meet up again and maybe come to terms.
Mary Stolzfus, Katie's best friend is in love with the bishop John Beiler. They become romantically involved and eventually get married. Mary has always felt guilty that she took Katie's place with John there after Katie ran out on her wedding day with John. And she feels she must make peace with Katie over this matter. And moreso since she is also mother to John's five children. Katie had promised John's youngest son that she would be his new mommy, and when the wedding fell through, the boy was devastated.
Rebecca, whom I identify as Katie's real mom longs to see her daughter again. And they do find each other again later in the book. Her Amish dad, Samuel never does get over Katie's transgressions as far as he's concerned and never really speaks to his only daughter again. And there are several people in the Amish community that still feel this way.
Katie, through all of these new life ventures, between plain vs. fancy, discover really what the true God is, and where God wants her to be in her life. The conclusion I thought was a bit predictable, yet it seemed the way that things would turn out in the end.
Don't read this review if you don't want to know the ending!.......2007-05-21
The story itself wasn't that bad, but pretty much a typical romance formula. Young lovers run into problems, part, reunite... Of course this one had an Amish flavor, and I enjoyed reading the speech patterns. My main gripe with the series wasn't the story or it's predicatbility. It is that the story could have been told in a single book, or maybe 2, if the author had fleshed it out some.
(Here's the 'spoiler' part; for those who don't want to know the end...quit reading NOW!) Katie and Daniel do, of course, reunite, but it seemed the story dragged out forever before they got there! It seemed totally out of character for Katie to not see what was up with the stranger the first time the butler turned Daniel away. And for NO ONE to realize he was speaking of the REAL Katie Lapp, and not the imposter, was totally unbelievable! Then, when Katie finally DID meet Daniel, her reaction was NOT what I would expect from someone who'd been in love with his memory all those years. I'm not Amish, but Katie was, and I would think that at least some of the 'confession and forgiveness' thing would have rubbed off to the point that she could have accepted him as a friend, if not her mate.
Getting past that, for a 3 book series, the author left way too many things unanswered. Forget that the stepfather and imposter daughter were not prosecuted in the 2nd book. But what about Justin Wirth. Many times the author hinted at the idea that he may have been more interested in Katherine's money than Katherine. We never find out if he really loved her, or if he wanted to marry into her wealth as her 'step'father had marreid her biological mother. How does Katherine turn down his proposal and how does he react? Katie's mother attended her wedding, but what about her 'dat' and her brothers? Is she able to maintain a friendship with Mary, and how does the Bishop react?
As I said, the story itself wasn't really a BAD story...just incomplete, and way too long for the material covered.
All things are seen.......2007-01-19
I liked this one too.If you get this one,get all the rest.You will be hooked.Nadia Rehmani
amish life style.......2007-01-04
I fell in love with the Bev Lewis books and could not stop reading till I had finished this book.
Just wondering..........2006-07-21
What was Justin Wirth's reaction to Katherine not marrying him? Again, the author seems to leave out important parts of the story because she does not know what to write. Was he angry, heartbroken?
Even though Katie had many friends at Mayfield Manor and out, like Natalie Judah, not to mention her handsome suitor, Justin Wirth, I still felt she felt somewhat solitary and isolated compared to the life she had led with the Amish, where there were always frolics and things to do and people to do it with. The Mormon Church is the same way. When I left it after five years, I felt so lonely because I was not used to being alone, it is so easy to make friends in the Mormon Church because everyone shares the same beliefs and that right there separates you from most of the rest of the world, thus making it hard to relate to anyone on the outside, so the only friends you have are Mormon, but after more than a year of "breaking away" (and I was lucky, because my family wasn't Mormon like Katie's was Amish), I am finally starting to make friends in the real world again, and I was lucky to have a friend like Mary Stoltzfus, though Mary stayed, my friend did not--we were baptized around the same time and left around the same time, I had someone to make the exodus with me, Katie was pretty much alone, even Peter and Lydia Miller, her Mennonite cousins, could not completely understand why she wanted to be all worldly. I would say, from my understanding of the book, that the Mennonites are that healthy balance between faith and works. Laura's life was extravagant, but that did not make her happy, it was her faith in Jesus that made her happy, but the comforts like electricity did make her life a little easier.
Laura's journals were boring and could have been left out. I would have much rather heard one of Rebecca Lapp's famous stories or even an authentic Amish recipe favorite of the author's would have been better. Katie must have gotten her strength from her biological father because Laura seemed like such a weak individual, allowing both her first boyfriend and her husband to use her. I can understand being young and naive at seventeen, but at twenty-six (when she married the dastardly Dylan), at thirty-nine (which I figured was how old she was when she passed away)? Katie was never that naive, even when she and Dan were going together in Hickory Hollow.
Katie was half fancy (by nature), half Plain (by nurture), so I suppose it was inevitable she become a Mennonite (as her beloved Daniel is Mennonite), but just as she could not see the reason why she had to wear the Amish kapp, why does she then wear the Mennonite head covering, as she says "in obedience to God and my husband"? God does not require it, just as He does not require the Amish bonnet.
Obedience to one's husband is very important in Mrs. Lewis's books, because Laura wanted to have a Bible study in her home (since she was too sick to attend church, I am assuming) but Dylan did not want those people coming over and so she obeyed, just hoping someday he would find Jesus. I do not think obeying one's husband is equal to obeying God; I think sometimes we obey God when we disobey our disbelieving husbands, and there was another thing. Ruth Stine, the girl Owen and Eve Hess (Dan Fisher's Mennonite friends), were trying to get him to see, still lived under her parents' roof, which she was going to do until she married, Mrs. Lewis makes it sound like this is what God wants for all women (and just women), but according to the Bible, the same standard should be applied to men, because a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves unto his wife, indicating he is still living at home. I do believe all girls are better off living at home (if it is a loving one) for safety reasons more than anything else, but also financial ones.
All in all, this was a consistently very good series, though a bit heavy on the preaching, a little too much telling and not enough showing in parts, but worth reading over and over again.
P.S. Not everyone has a glow about them or is suddenly happy when they get saved. When I was saved, I looked and felt no different than before, yet I have faith that I was saved. I do not need proof (I am not saying Katie did, I am just saying Christian authors try to make it sound like getting saved is that way for everyone, which may lead some people to doubt their own salvation). Christian authors need to be careful of this.
Customer Reviews:
It's by Donna Leon !.......2007-10-04
It's by Donna Leon...what more is there to say...if you like Italy, if you like Venice, if you like mystery ...Donna Leon
A Brutal Existential Look at Ethics.......2007-09-13
Please be aware that this book also appeared under the title of Death and Judgment. If you are trying to read the whole series, read one or the other. This is the fourth novel in the Guido Brunetti series of mysteries.
As the book opens, it's late September and a Rumanian truck carrying lumber plunges off the road and into a rock face to open up a grisly scene of crushed and broken young women amid scattered pine boards. Paolo, Guido's wife, notes the story where it remains tucked in her memory until it can provide a critical clue.
The scene shifts to late November when prominent international lawyer Carlo Trevisan is found murdered on a late night train to Venice, where Trevisan lived. Vice-Questore Patta is annoyed that he had been called to the scene when Brunetti could not be reached. The mayor of Venice quickly calls the next morning to ask for a quick and quiet solution. Since there's no evidence of robbery, Brunetti must probe into motives. Who didn't like Trevisan?
Brunetti gets a quick leg up when Signorina Elletra's sister agrees to share information about the wife and daughter of the murdered man, who had been patients. When the crime comes up for discussion at home, Brunetti's daughter, Chiara, says she knows the daughter and agrees to ask around a bit.
When Chiara turns out to be good at snooping through gossiping with friends, there's a major confrontation in the Brunetti household concerning the ethics of such undercover methods employing a minor.
The case becomes more clouded when a successful accountant is found dead of an apparent suicide, but leaving behind the telephone number of the dead attorney in his address book. When the numbers are matched up with the records of the attorney's calling, they show a disturbing pattern . . . including many international calls and to a bar where the ladies rent by the hour in a rough part of town.
Trevisan's widow and her brother seem determined to shut off the police investigation. Frustrated that he's getting nowhere, Brunetti calls in a favor for a judge who tells him more about the background of the attorney and his family. Tracking through a tangled series of clues, the case takes one more twisted turn when the widow's brother is also killed.
The case breaks open quite suddenly when an unexpected clue is dropped into Brunetti's lap. From there, it's a question of how to accomplish justice. But is there any justice other than God's? You may be reminded of the myth of Sisyphus as you contemplate the ending of this existential look at the human condition.
For those who like action and mysteries evolving in ways that they can solve just ahead of the author's revelations, A Venetian Reckoning will be a disappointment. But for those who enjoy tough ethical questions, this is a very fine book. In either case, the book's primary limitation is Ms. Leon's customary dark view of human nature. In this book, she goes about as far as you can go and still slightly separate humans from vicious, uncaring predators.
Venetian Reckoning = Death and Judgement.......2005-08-09
This book is also available in various formats as "Death and Judgement". Unfortunately, this occurs with a few of her books (e.g., Quietly in Their Sleep = Death of Faith), I'm guessing because they're published separately in the UK and the US.
Anyway, I did enjoy this book, but the topic is an intense one, and is one that challenges the reader to think - and feel. If you're just looking for "casual" mystery, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Book Description
"Penman's characters are so shrewdly imagined, so full of resonant human feeling that they seem to be on the page....Most compelling is the portrait of the Welsh as wild and rugged as their landscape."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Here, alive from the pages of history, is the compelling tale of a Celtic society ruled by Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, on a collison course with a feudal realm of Edward I. WIth this last book in the extraordinary trilogy that began with HERE BE DRAGONS and continued in FALLS THE SHADOW, Sharon Kay Penman has written a beautiful and moving conclusion to her medieval saga. For everyone who has read the earlier books in this incomparable series or ever wanted to experience the rich tapestry of British history and lore, this bold and romantic adventure must be read.
Customer Reviews:
Masterful Depiction of the Conquest of Wales.......2007-05-04
It has been five years since Simon de Montfort and his followers died at Evesham in their ill-fated rebellion against the English King Henry. Henry's charismatic son rules England in all but name. Simon's family is slowly rebuilding their lives. His wife, Henry's sister, Nell, is seeking a marriage for her beautiful daughter, Ellen. Although betrothed at 12 to Llewelyn, ruler of Wales, her engagement was ended by Simon's rebellion and death. Simon's youngest son Bran still struggles to cope with his guilt over failing to reach his father before Edward's army butchered Simon and Bran's older brother, Harry. In Italy, Bran's clever older brother, Guy, has married the ruler of an Italian province and is gaining fame as a soldier. On the surface, the de Montforts appear to be getting on with life; but the hatred and guilt created by Evesham will prove too strong to save all the de Montforts. In Wales, Llewelyn has reluctantly named his faithless younger brother, Davydd, as Llewelyn's heir. But Davydd's ambitions and his reckless disregard of the dangers of plotting with Edward set in motion events which will destroy Wales. Penman has written a sad, magnificent tale of courage, boldness that illuminates the inevitable clash between two cultures: the proud, independent Welsh and the determined England. She is most adept at creating the minor characters who are swept up in events not of their making: Hugh, the loyal squire to the doomed Bran de Montfort; Caitlin, Davydd's illegitimate daughter torn between her father and Llewelyn, the generous uncle who raised her. Through Hugh and Caitlin, the reader experiences the tragedy of the battle between Edward and Llewelyn. It is the human face of history that endures for the reader; the people who die; the places that are destroyed.
The end of the trilogy :(.......2007-04-23
The Reckoning picks up where Falls the Shadow ends. Edward "longshanks" the first is waiting to take the throne once his father Henry passes and is in Italy on a crusade. The de Montfort house is regrouping after the loss of Simon and Harry at Evesham - Nell and Ellen are in France, while Amaury, Guy and Bran are in Italy. Llewelyn's grandson is the Prince of Wales still fighting against his brothers to keep Wales united against the English.
SKP once again does a great job in transporting the reader to 13th century Wales and England and reuniting him/her with their favorite characters.
This is a trilogy not to be missed by any historical fiction lover! - Here Be Dragons, Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning.
A Requiem for Wales.......2007-01-04
King Edward I "Longshanks" of England was known as the "Hammer of the Scots," but he started out as the hammer of the Welsh. This last volume of Ms. Penman's "Welsh Trilogy" left me mourning for the lost spirit and independence of Wales. I think I would have resented the book for leaving me depressed, in spite of the fact that it recounted documented history most accurately, had it not been for Ms. Penman's genius as a novelist. She creates lovable minor characters, mostly semi-historic, who manage a personal happy ending while the major historic characters are killed in battle, humiliated, executed, or thrown into a dungeon for life. I was most thankful for those gifts of optimism. I would encourage purchasers to buy the entire trilogy and read it in order. During this period, which few of us know well, people had bewilderingly similar names, and they intermarried for political reasons, leaving relationships that baffle the modern reader. Taking it in chronological order works well with Ms. Penman's careful guidance.
Wow.......2007-01-03
This was my favorite book in the series (inc. Here Be Dragons and Falls the Shadow). It's really essential that you read the first two books before diving into this one though. It's a continuation of the destruction of Simon de Montfort's family and Wales by King Edward.
There are so many twists and turns that you would swear that it was purely fiction... but it's not! Even when you know what the end result is going to be (because it's history), it is just so unbelievably heart-wrenching to get into the lives of these people who lost everything... from deaths to estrangements to enprisonments to betrayals to humility...
It really was a wonderfully written, edge-of-your-seat story. I highly recommend it.
Did Not Want to Leave This Book.......2006-11-02
Actually, I had to put it down several times. The grief is unbelievable. Ms. Penman has an incredible talent for creating relationships that you believe and cherish.
I can not think of better way to understand this period then through these books.
Beware: This author will take you away to her world.
Book Description
"History shows that people who save and invest grow and prosper, and the others deteriorate and collapse.
As
Financial Reckoning Day demonstrates, artificially low interest rates and rapid credit creation policies set by Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve caused the bubble in U.S. stocks of the late '90s. . . . Now, policies being pursued at the Fed are making the bubble worse. They are changing it from a stock market bubble to a consumption and housing bubble.
And when those bubbles burst, it's going to be worse than the stock market bubble . . .
No one, of course, wants to hear it. They want the quick fix. They want to buy the stock and watch it go up twenty-five percent because that's what happened last year, and that's what they say on TV."
—Jim Rogers, author of the bestseller Adventure Capitalist
from the Foreword to
Financial Reckoning Day
Advanced praise from bestselling authors
"An investment book that will not only enlarge your investment horizon, but also make you laugh and thoroughly entertain you for a few hours."
—Dr. Marc Faber, author of the bestseller Tomorrow's Gold
"Financial Reckoning Day is . . . in the category of scintillating sex or good vision, something to be savored and enjoyed-before it is too late."
—James Dale Davidson, author of the bestseller The Great Reckoning and The Sovereign Individual
"A powerful and insightful vision . . . each paragraph stimulates a new rush of thoughts that fills in gaping holes in the investor's understanding of what has happened to their dreams . . . while prepping them to confront any new confusion that may arrive."
—Martin D. Weiss, author of the bestseller Crash Profits
Download Description
The investor's guide to surviving a slowing economy
Financial Reckoning Day is a "big picture" investment book that skillfully illustrates how the American economy is following in the footsteps of the Japanese economy, which fell into a long, soft "slow motion" deflationary depression brought about by two irresistible forces-its aging population and a structural reaction to the greatest financial boom in its history. With the U.S. market in a downturn, investors are looking for answers to why this is happening and what they can do to protect their investments. Financial Reckoning Day will provide the answers to those questions. Written by a team of well-respected financial professionals-whose publications and newsletters reach a quarter million investors each week-this book shows readers how the economic megaboom of the 1990s will inevitably be followed by a megabust in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Many believe that depressions are artifacts of financial history, not features of the future. Financial Reckoning Day shows why these events are a real possibility and discusses the dangers they pose to investors around the world, arguing that popular democracy, aging populations, and bad economic theories doom Western economics to bear markets, and falling consumer spending for years to come. More importantly, it shows readers how they can survive and thrive during such events.
William Bonner is President and CEO of Agora Publishing, one of the largest financial newsletters published in the world. Bonner is the creator of the Daily Reckoning, a contrarian financial newsletter. There are now more than 450,000 readers and the newsletter has received praise from numerous publications including Money and Worth magazines.
Addison Wiggin is Managing Editor for the Daily Reckoning financial newsletter.
Customer Reviews:
It's all in Adam Smith.......2007-08-12
The authors of this book come close to identifying and pinpointing what the major cause of financial bubbles is and the disasterous impacts that affect large portions of the general population when they pop.
They correctly give the first half of the story when they quote(p.238) Adam Smith's assessment that aggregate savings is a necessary ingredient that is vitally important in order to maintain aggregate economic growth over time once an optimal capital stock has already been accumulated in the present while the prodigal and other misbehavior destroys the possibility of economic growth.Smith,however,goes on to clearly identify what he means by misbehavior.Misbehavior occurs when the private commercial banks and investment banking houses on Wall Street take the savings of the population and waste and destroy it by making loans to projectors(J M Keynes' speculators-chapter 12,General Theory,1936)and imprudent risk takers(Keynes's lender's versus borrower's risk discussion in chapter 11,GT)instead of making the loans to the " sober " people who will invest it in starting new businesses and /or expanding existing businesses.The loans can't be made to speculators who will use the loans to leverage their speculative financial behavior.The private equity firms and hedge funds are using the capital markets to distort and manipulate the assets,liabilities,and equity of American business firms and corporations in order to use them to back an ever increasing number of new financial instruments, such as derivatives,lease-backs,sub prime loan backed bonds,etc.,that will create financial returns irrespective of any real increased productivity from the firms that are taken over by the debt financed leveraged buyouts.
What, then, is Smith's solution ? It is to prevent the problem from arising in the first place!! Fix the rate of interest on bank loans at a low rate marginally above the prime rate permanently in the long run.Cut off all loans to projectors,prodigals,and imprudent risk takers.Make sure the loans get into the hands of productive people and not Wall Street speculators.See Smith(Wealth of Nations,1776,Modern Library (Cannan)edition,pp.296-340 in general and pp.339-340 specifically) .Follow the wisdom of Adam Smith and you will not have to worry about days of financial reckoning and/or surviving the next " soft" depression of the 21st century.Brussee's book on this problem would also be a good choice as he ties the problem directly to the investment banking houses on Wall Street,although he is not aware of the fact that Smith spotted this potential ,general problem well over two hundred years ago.
Bill Bonner - king of "doom & gloom" newsletters.......2007-07-07
His source of income is promoting "doom & gloom"
newsletters and writing an ocassional book such as this one.
He recommends buying gold silver & digging
yourself a hole in a ground to live in.
"The Sky is Falling!" = "Risk can't be transfered!".......2007-01-26
But Bonner and Wiggans did manage to pluck a subscription to their newsletter from you.
Chicken Little was in the woods one day when an acorn fell on her head. It scared her so much she trembled all over. She shook so hard, half her feathers fell out.
Chicken Little: "Help! Help! The sky is falling! I have to go tell the king!"
So she ran in great fright to tell the king. Along the way she met Henny Penny.
"Where are you going, Chicken Little?"
"Oh, help! The sky is falling!"
"How do you know?"
"I saw it with my own eyes, and heard it with my own ears, and part of it fell on my head!"
"This is terrible, just terrible! We'd better hurry up."
So they both ran away as fast as they could. Soon they met Ducky Lucky.
..................
So they ran with all their might, until they met Foxy Loxy.
"Well, well. Where are you rushing on such a fine day?"
Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey (together) "Help! Help!" It's not a fine day at all. The sky is falling, and we're running to tell the king!"
"How do you know the sky is falling?"
"I saw it with my own eyes, and heard it with my own ears, and part of it fell on my head!"
"I see. Well then, follow me, and I'll show you the way to the king."
So Foxy Loxy led Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey across a field and through the woods. He led them straight to his den, and they never saw the king to tell him that the sky is falling.
But Bonne and Wiggans did manage to pluck a subscription to their newsletter from you.
Their first before Empire.......2007-01-07
This is Bonner and Wiggins' book just before Empire of Debt. There is repetition betw. the two and if I were you I'd get Empire and not worry about this one. That said, the authors are spot on about the mess we American's are in and in for.
Financial Reckoning Day.......2006-11-12
An easy to read book. I like their irreverend, somewhat cynical style of describing the current financial and politcal situtation our country is in. Just like their previous book the content is well researched. However just like their previous book this book has the same glaring ommission: a clear vision from the authors about how we could possibly remedy the situation.
Book Description
The history and founding of America is almost a fairy tale of providence and good fortune. As Senate Chaplain Dr. Peter Marshall has recounted in his classic book, The Light and the Glory, no other nation has been blessed with such an abundance of material wealth and spiritual heritage as the United States of America. In 1787, our Founding Fathers established a near-perfect system of representative government and sound monetary policy. Yet, as our nation enters the 21st Century there is a great foreboding that our financial infrastructure is facing unprecedented challenges in addition to serious geopolitical developments that threaten our very existence. How has this happened to the most powerful nation on earth, and what will be the likely outcome? To answer these questions it is necessary to examine the monetary history of the U.S. up to the present hour and also look back to ancient prophecies that are contained in the Bible. Here is a gripping account that will captivate and enlighten you. It is also a message of hope and inspiration that you will want to share with others. There is no need to "close our eyes" if we can confidently look into our future.
Customer Reviews:
What happened to all of our money?.......2007-10-06
Have you noticed no one is talking about social security anymore? We all know there's no money for us who have not yet retired. If you want to know why, then this book is for you. Regardless of whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, Christian or not, this book is a real eye opener. Hard to put down. Eye-opening...giving us a different perspective on long term and short term investment strategies.
Must Reading for All Who Seek the Truth!.......2007-06-12
I have read "America's Financial Reckoning Day" and I highly recommend it!In its pages, one can finally learn why our once great nation is now in such a noticable decline and how the nation destroying economic and monetary policies of a small group of powerful men controlling our government have brought about that decline! Mr Coppes does a superb job of showing that both our dollar and all dollar denominated investments are dangerously close to collapsing and provides specific alternative investment suggestions for those seeking to preserve their money! Most importantly, the author clearly spells out how all that is happening in the world today - above all, an organized move towards a totalitarian world government - is clearly predicted in Bible prophecy! What really sets this financial book apart from others is the GOOD news the author offers! After presenting much sobering economic information and a way to protect ones assets, Mr. Coppes provides the best news of all! He tells us clearly how we can have inner peace and hope for the future in spite of what may happen financially and... how we can each be spiritually prepared for the future! This alone is worth the price of the book!
Right on the Monay.......2007-05-12
Great book with real insight. The author has done a very credible job of researching the subject and combining that wealth of knowledge with his own insights. I've bought copies for friends!
Books:
- The Sword of Truth, Boxed Set I, Books 1-3: Wizard's First Rule, Blood of the Fold ,Stone of Tears
- The Templar Legacy: A Novel
- The Truelove
- Treasure of Khan
- Unafraid: Mary (Lineage of Grace)
- V for Vendetta
- We Need to Talk About Kevin: A Novel (P.S.)
- When the Wind Blows
- A House Divided (Good Earth Trilogy, Vol 3)
- A Rake's Vow (Cynster Novels)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century
- Angela's Ashes
- Upon A Dark Night
- Yellow, Volume 1
- Analysis of Financial Time Series, 2nd Edition
- Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless: How to Make Them Love You, Keep Y
- Battling the Inland Sea: Floods, Public Policy, and the Sacramento Valley
- Essentials of CRM: A Guide to Customer Relationship Management
- Wade Cook's Stock Picking Handbook
- Regards: The Selected Nonfiction of John Gregory Dunne
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
The Covenant/The Betrayal/The Sacrifice/The Prodigal/The Revelation (Abram's Daughters 1-5)
October Song
Annie's People, Vols. 1-3 (The Preacher's Daughter, The Englisher, and The Brethren)
The Brethren (Annie's People #3)
The Redemption of Sarah Cain
