Canistropsis: Bromelias da Mata Atlantica

Customer Reviews:

A SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC VIEW OF THE THE AMERICAN COMMUNIST PARTY.......2007-08-21

I have reviewed the two volume set on the history of the early American Communist Party by Theodore Draper elsewhere in this space. There I noted that as an addition to the historical record of the period from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the formation and consolidation of the legal above ground party in 1923 The Roots of American Communism and its companion volume detailing the period from 1923 to 1929-American Communism and Soviet Russia - are the definitive scholarly studies on the early history of the American Communist Party through the Stalinization of the American party.

The present volume by Irving Howe, who had been long time editor of the social democratic journal Dissent, and fellow professor Lewis Coser took that story up to 1957. Although Howe and Coser also cover the early period covered by Draper including the pre-World War I radical milieu, the split of the left wing of the Socialist Party, the creation of two communist parties, the underground period , the eventual reunion of the two parties, the resurfacing of the party above ground and finally the Stalinization of the party since I believe that Draper did an extremely thorough job on the early period I therefore will limit my comments on this book to the period after that from the `third period' Communist policy of about 1929 through the Popular Front, the Stalin-Hitler Pact, and the various makeshift popular front policies of the World War II and post-war period.

That said, I will pose the same question here that I did in the Draper reviews. Why must militants read these works today? After the demise of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe anything positively related to Communist studies is deeply discounted. Nevertheless, for better or worse, the American Communist Party (and its offshoots) needs to be studied as an ultimately flawed example of a party that failed in its mission to create a radical version of society in America when it became for the most part simply a tool of Soviet diplomacy. Now is the time for militants to study the mistakes and draw the lessons of that history.

Needless to say the very title of this study gives its perspective-a critical study- and that attitude, sometimes mockingly, sometimes with disgust at Communist strategy and tactics mars this work although one would expect that from a political opponent of communism. We are, after all, political people (assuming that today's reader of such material has to be political) and we know how to take those kinds of opponent remarks in stride. The book nevertheless provides a wealth of information about what was going on in the American Communist party, how subservient it was to Moscow at any particular time and the difficulties inherent in a radical approach to American labor politics during that period (and now for that matter).

For my money the most important contribution in this volume is the study of the `third period'. For those unfamiliar with the terminology Communist International language, codified in its theses and tactics, had set 1917-1924, the first period, as one of revolutionary opportunities, 1924-28, the second period, of capitalist stabilization and beginning about 1929 the `third period'-the imminent collapse of capitalism and the final confrontation between the two main forces in world politics- the bosses and the workers. A good shorthand way to describe this period was the slogan- Class Against Class. Well we all know the results of this strategy- the most important being the victory of Hitler in Germany without so much as a fight by the working class. I will confess that in my youth I was very drawn to `third period' Comintern politics, that is, until I got hold of a copy of Leon Trotsky's The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany and realized that the whole Stalinist policy was a house of cards. There were no places of exile for the mass of the German working class who borne the brunt of Hitler's vengeance as a result of this strategy. They took it on the chin and never really recovered from that defeat. So much for ultra-radical sloganeering. Although the effects on the American scene were not as traumatic it was nevertheless a period of isolation and some very serious labor defeats in struggles that they led.

If in my youth I was enamored of the `third period' that was not the case of the next period-the period of the Popular Front. As a reaction to the sterility and foolishness of the `third period' and the isolation internationally of the Soviet Union in the face of the Hitler menace the class against class approach was abandoned to be replaced by one in which the communists were basically undifferentiated from the mass of bourgeois politics- they were just the `guys and gals' next door. Although this was the period of greatest influence for the American Party in the unions, in the universities, in cultural life and in American politics in general it too proved a house of cards when the Moscow line changed during the time of the Hitler-Stalin Pact in 1939-41. The authors present a very interesting description of how the party maneuvered through `front' groups during this period to gain apparent influence on the cheap. They list a whole catalogue of organizations that the party controlled, a few that I was not aware of, and what happened when the deal went sour in 1939. In short, a lesson that latter radicals, including today's radicals, should have permanently etched in their brains when one counts how much influence we really have in such things as the current anti-Iraq war movement.

After the Soviet Union was invaded in 1941 the party's influence grew but for all the wrong reasons- it was the most patriotic and conservative factor in labor politics all obstensibly in the interest of defending the Soviet Union. In the post-war period, however, the party reaped what it had sown as it faced a steep decline of influence in the labor movement due to its own policies and the `red scare' that developed during the Cold War build up. It is during the discussion of this period that the authors show their greatest degree of contempt for the American party mainly arguing that that party was solely an agent for the Soviet Union and therefore not part of the labor movement. While those of us who are left anti-Stalinist can quote chapter and verse the crimes of Stalinism as well as Howe and Coser can it is a very grave mistake to have assumed that this was not a current of the international labor movement and therefore did not have to be defended. It was necessary to defeat Stalinism within the labor movement but not by outsourcing that task to American imperialism. We have paid a steep price for the 'victory' of that social democratic view.

From D*Day Through Victory in Europe - The Eye-Witness Story as Told by War Correspondents on the Air [includes: Edward R. Morrow, William L. Shirer, Charles Collingwood, Eric Sevareid, Howard K. Smith, Quincy Howe, George Fielding Eliot, Quentin Reynolds, Winston Burdett, Joseph C. Harsch, Bill Downs, Larry Leseuer, Richard C. Hottelet, George Hicks; President Roosevelt, President Truman, Winston Churchill, Gen. de Gaulle and Norman Corwin's 'On a Note of Triumph']

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From D*Day Through Victory in Europe - The Eye-Witness Story as Told by War Correspondents on the Air [includes: Edward R. Morrow, William L. Shirer, Charles Collingwood, Eric Sevareid, Howard K. Smith, Quincy Howe, George Fielding Eliot, Quentin Reynolds, Winston Burdett, Joseph C. Harsch, Bill Downs, Larry Leseuer, Richard C. Hottelet, George Hicks; President Roosevelt, President Truman, Winston Churchill, Gen. de Gaulle and Norman Corwin's 'On a Note of Triumph']
Columbia Broadcasting System
Manufacturer: Columbia Broadcasting System
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The ideals of Theodore Roosevelt,
Edward Howe Cotton
Manufacturer: D. Appleton and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The Man Behind Roosevelt: The Story of Louis McHenry Howe

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The Man Behind Roosevelt: The Story of Louis McHenry Howe
Lela Mae Stiles
Manufacturer: World Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Roosevelt and Howe
Alfred B. Jr Rollins
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NWPTYM

Ten brave women: Anne Hutchinson, Abigal Adams, Dolly Madison, Narcissa Whitman, Julia Ward Howe, Susan B. Anthony, Dorothea Lynde Dix, Mary Lyon, Ida M. Tarbell [and] Eleanor Roosevelt

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Ten brave women: Anne Hutchinson, Abigal Adams, Dolly Madison, Narcissa Whitman, Julia Ward Howe, Susan B. Anthony, Dorothea Lynde Dix, Mary Lyon, Ida M. Tarbell [and] Eleanor Roosevelt
Sonia Medvedeva Daugherty
Manufacturer: Lippincott
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007DPIWU

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Theodore Roosevelt, the American,
Edward Howe Cotton
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Tropical wild life in British Guiana. Zoological contributions from the tropical research station of the New York Zoological Society. By ..., directing curator, G. Innes Hartley & Paul G. Howes, research assistants. With an intro. by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Volume I. Photographs and other illustrations by the authors.

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Tropical wild life in British Guiana. Zoological contributions from the tropical research station of the New York Zoological Society. By ..., directing curator, G. Innes Hartley & Paul G. Howes, research assistants. With an intro. by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Volume I. Photographs and other illustrations by the authors.
William. Beebe
Manufacturer: New York Zoological Society,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OUT142

Amazon.com

Marilyn French, author of My Summer with George, The Women's Room, and Her Mother's Daughter, learns at the beginning of this memoir that she has esophageal cancer. (A smoker for 46 years, she had ignored friends and doctors who implored her to quit.) She is told that one survives metastasized esophageal cancer. A Season in Hell is French's personal story of her journey through the nightmares of aggressive cancer treatment, seizures, a two-week coma, kindhearted nurses, and uncompassionate doctors. One told her not to get her hopes up when her tumor disappeared, and a neurologist said (prophetically?), "Doctors hate writers; they always say horrible things about us." It is also French's story of triumph--because she succeeds in conquering the cancer, though she emerges from the struggle far from well, with "just about every system in my body [damaged] by chemotherapy or radiation." Readers share the worst and the best with French, and by the end of the book get to know this woman, feel a part of her humanity, respect her courage, and cherish her circle of close friends (including Gloria Steinem) and relatives who gave her so much when she needed it most. --Joan Price

Customer Reviews:

Telling cancer like it is.......2007-09-04

Marilyn French is honest. Her observation of the cancer treatment establishment rings true. She hones in on the irony that in order to live, given the extremity of the treatment, she almost had to die and she remains considerably handicapped after the chemo and radiation have done their damage. Still, she is happy with the bargain that she made to keep living. She does not expect any afterlife, so it is not surprising that she is happy to be alive. She observes that most people want to continue to live at any cost. However, those costs are not entirely her own. She has to rely on her family and on the medical system. Does her life place an unfair burden on the people around her? This question will be multiplied by the millions as all of us aging baby boomers prolong our lives.

Marilyn had money, and her family and friends were all willing to help. My question may answer itself. Those more fortunate will have care and live longer and those less fortunate won't. Many of us, though, will have to be concerned about how our needs impact the lives of our children and others who care about us. I think it would deepen Marilyn's book if she had given more consideration to this question.

Some details were interesting, but overally self-centered.......2001-04-17

I picked up this book to read as it looked to be an interesting medical tale. I knew nothing about the author before reading it. I found it to be well-written, and I am intrigued enough that I am going to seek out more books by French, but this particular work I found to be overally self-centered. French's recovery was indeed quite remarkable, but she doesn't really put it into any kind of context---the book reads to be an endless list of all her suffering and pain. I found her to not seem to really appreciate how blessed she was to be able to afford all the help she did, and to have family that seemed endlessly devoted. She talked about all her children must have spent to be able to do all they did for her, but didn't mention reimbursing them, although she did mention having a Porsche and a NY City apartment with 5 bathrooms. I guess this book was totally honestly written, and I can appreciate that, as it honestly didn't make the writer too likable.

A victory against enormous odds!.......2001-01-24

I was drawn to this book because my closest friend was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at age 52 in fall 1998 and was offered only palliative care initially until she appealed to be removed from her HMO. She was then treated at Georgetown but even after aggressive treatment she died in January 2000. Ms. French's book profoundly captures the essence of these devastating diseases and the roller-coaster ride for patients and their families. She ultimately proclaims a victory, not out of hubris, but instead with a new perspective on life. Outstanding!

A must read for the medical profession.......2000-05-13

Although not familiar with Marilyn French I read the book because the subject of a woman fighting and surviving esophageal cancer intrigued me. Marilyn is not just any woman but an intelligent author and world traveler. She gives an excellent picture of the real world of cancer. Things like waiting forever to see the doctor, enduring the chemo aftereffects, and making decisons that can either bring life or death are treated with candor and sharp honesty. She made me understand her experience as I cried with her and cheered with her. The best part of the book was reading of the support and love she received from some of her famous friends. I did not agree with her belief system but I cherished the strength I felt in the ritual of just "being " with someone. As a women's health care nurse it made me a whole lot more sensitive to how I treat patients and families

Grim but Thought-Provoking.......2000-04-29

As I read this this grim memoir of a cure almost worse than the disease I kept comparing the author's wealthy and privileged situation to that of the rest of us women who don't have millions of dollars, marvelous famous friends, apartments convenient to top New York city Cancer Centers, and medical friends who can help us find the very best specialist.

As miserable as the author's sufferings are (and they ARE miserable) they pale in comparison to what a person would go through who had the same disease but could not afford around the clock private nursing, medical consultation after medical consultation, and the occasional retreat to a pleasant summer home the author describes.

This is not in any way a slam of the book, which I thought was a very accurate and revealing portrayal of what happens to anyone who suffers a serious health crisis that puts them at the mercy of unknown doctors and huge, impersonal hospitals. Instead I thought that this book would probably be a good reason to read this book before you sign your next HMO contract since it shows you just how dangerous it would be if you got a serious disease and were prevented from accessing top specialists and having the benefit of nursing and adequate rehabilitative services.

I have personally experienced the same kind of supercilious negative treatment from doctors that French details here, as well as suffering from dangerous misdiagnosis, having doctors ignore painful and crippling symptoms, and being left with permanent damage from misprescribed drugs, so I knew what she was talking about. I greatly respected her for telling a story in public that most people don't want to hear.

This is not your usual disease-of-the-week tearjerker nor is it a "how I saw God through cancer" memoir. It's a brutal, step by step documentation of how the quality of life erodes as a result of serious disease that makes all of us think about what we'd want to do if it were to happen to us--which it could and very well may.

The author isn't a saint and unlike other reviewers here I found her bleak honesty about her emotions refreshing. Life does this and it is hard as hell to deal with. I'm grateful that this woman, obviously a writer to her very (damaged) bones, made the heroic effort to write down for us this record of her journey towards physical dissolution--and as a writer myself, I'm particularly impressed that she was able to produce a work this polished while dealing with the physical limitations she describes.

Book Description

Answers to more than 1,000 questions about the health, psychology, and well being of cats, dogs, fish, birds, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and other companion animals.

Customer Reviews:

Covers a lot of ground.......2007-07-03

As a beginner, I appreciated the breadth of topics covered in the book, particularly the various styles of carving. This was my introduction to chip carving, and I think he covered it quite well. Sharpening is also covered, but I'd already bought "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" by Leonard Lee (of Lee Valley & Veritas) and found that to be a most comprehensive source of information on that topic.

Woodcarving.......2006-08-11

This is an excellent book that covers the fundamentals of carving plus adds great advice on what tools to purchase. Asked if I would buy this book again, my answer would be yes! I messed up on the rating of this book and I give it five (5) stars. Sorry!

David Self, New Boston, Texas

Best Beginner's Book.......2000-10-03

To an experienced woodcarver this book may seem unfocused and thinly spread, but for the beginner it does exactly what it should do. The book begins with a good grounding in the tools of the craft and how to care for and sharpen each type. After that it gives you a sampler of carving styles with at least one project for each. It's guaranteed there is at least one or two chapters the reader will not care for. Even this is useful since the reader avoids launching into the craft with a project they really have little enthusiasm for, and then lose interest in wood carving all together. This book should be required reading before the beginner spends a single dime on tools, equipment, or wood. If it's not 'the' best beginner's book, it's in the top five.

A good technical guide to woodcarving.......2000-04-05

A good general book on woodcarving. This book could be better if it didn't try to be all things for all people. There are better books for beginners out there for the money and more advanced carvers probably need to buy a book concentrating on their type of carving. I found it to be a little on the technical side and would have preferred a few more patterns for each type of carving.

My favorite sections were on finishes, sharpening, and the tool section. There are numerous photographs of some beautiful examples of the various types of carving. The author does show some very useful carving techniques in most of the carving styles.

Sections include tools, sharpening, woods and finishes, design, whittling, chip carving, relief carving, wildlife carving, lettering, archatectural carving, and a bibliography.

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How to Carve Wood: A Book of Projects and Techniques

Manufacturer: The Taunton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000I6MXJC

Product Description

Whatever you want to carve, woodcarver Richard Blitz will show you the techniques you need. Chapter by chapter he teaches you wittling, chip carving, wildlife carving, relief crving, lettering and architectural carving. In each case you learn by doing, working your way through carefully illustrated and progressively more challenging exercises and projects. Blitz even gives you scaled patterns for the projects he presents and ends each chapter with a gallery of additional projects you can make using the techniques you've just learned. Almost anyone could begin from point zero and find enough information in this book to learn how to carve wood...clear, interesting and inspiring with excellent photos and illustrations.

How To Carve Wood-A Book Of Projects And Techniques

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How To Carve Wood-A Book Of Projects And Techniques

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GF7KFM

Book Description

More than a quarter of the people on earth eat peppers every day of their lives, and true pepper lovers are always looking for better-tasting, hotter peppers. This handy, reliable guide makes finding them easy, as capsicum expert Jean Andrews shows you how to identify and use 42 peppers, both fresh and dried, commonly available in North American markets. Andrews describes each pepper in detail, starting with its size, color, fruit shape, flesh, and pungency. She gives its common names, sources, and uses, and indicates other peppers that can substitute for it in recipes. Drawing on her vast store of pepper lore, she also includes notes and anecdotes about each pepper. Her color photographs illustrate all of the peppers. In addition to the species descriptions, Andrews offers practical guidance on selecting and storing, roasting and rehydrating, and growing and harvesting peppers. She explains pepper nomenclature, describes the pungency factor, and notes the significance of color, aroma, flavor, and nutrition.

Customer Reviews:

Hot Stuff!.......2000-01-18

A must for the dedicated Chile-Head. As well as the background and the variety classification of chile peppers, Jean's book also presents the reader with dozens of stunning photographs. Each is accompanied by details of shape, colour, size, heat levels and interesting remarks.

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The Pepper Lady's Pocket Pepper Primer
Jean Andrews
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORIIVW

Book Description

Learn how spiritual gifts affect thinking, actions, and relationships and how to best use those gifts in ministry. Workbook format.

Customer Reviews:

Thanks for the Discovery.......2007-01-23

Thanks so much to the Fortunes for writing such a helpful book - so clear and full of useful information. After reading and re-discovering my Gift, I am in awe of how easy it is to see His Gifts in others. Thank You!!!

Theologically accurate; Practically insightful; Fantastic for teaching; but Excessive in application.......2005-10-12

The best resource I've found for spiritual gift study so far.

The theological foundation is very sound, making good sense of the main passages on spiritual gifts in a way very few others do. Gifts are broken into 1) Manifestation (sign gifts - 1 Cor 12-14; Acts 2) 2) Ministry (equipping gifts - Eph 4) & 3) Motivational (every-Christian-gifts - Rom 12).

Written in a style anyone can use.

Inventories are great and surprisingly accurate for the limited number of questions used.

Warnings regarding misuse of spiritual gift impulses are very helpful (e.g. a "teaching" gift can incline a person to feel they are always right).

Application into the arena of employment is a bit excessive and beyond the scope of biblical applications for spiritual gifts. Better to do a Myers-Briggs or some other personality profile for that endeavor.

My choice for spiritual gifts work with churches.......2005-05-29

As a church consultant, I am often asked to recommend spiritual gift surveys and resources for churches. In fact, we routinely ask staff members to fill out gift surveys as part of the consulting process. This book--and the corresponding survey available separately--are the tools I have chosen to use in my work.

I realize, of course, that there is no such thing as a perfect spiritual gifts survey. Since Scripture does not give precise definitions to many of the gifts, and there is much disagreement about the nature of specific gifts, the best any gift survey can do is measure whether a person has abilities corresponding to the author's understanding of a particular gift.

The reason I have chosen this survey is because it distinguishes between what the authors call the manifestation gifts (1 Cor. 12), the ministry gifts (Eph. 4), and the motivational gifts (Romans 12). The Fortune's survey measures only the motivational gifts. (I feel the title of "ministry" gifts for the Ephesians 4 gifts is unfortunate since that passage says that those 5 gifts are given to equip all believers for ministry. I prefer to call them "equipping gifts.")

I have found using this survey to be very helpful in our consulting work, especially in assessing church staff needs. The idea is that each of us is motivated to minister mostly through one or more of these seven gifts, and which of these motivates us largely determines how we respond to a given need.

I find it interesting that when Pentecostal/charismatic churches take the Natural Church Development survey (a widely used survey to assess church health), the most common Minimum Factor (low score area) is gift-oriented ministry. However, having consulting with charismatic churches, that result did not surprise me. Why? Because the primary gift emphasis in those churches is on the manifestation gifts (1 Cor. 12), and few of the people in those churches were aware of motivational gifts or drew on that awareness to discern what shape their ministry should take. I say this not to discount the manifestation gifts, but to point out that for the purpose of determining ongoing ministry roles, the motivational gifts are far more useful. That is why I believe as a practical matter, a survey that measures the seven motivational gifts is most helpful.

Like any other authors of spiritual gift surveys, the Fortunes make assumptions in defining these gifts. While their assumptions seem to me to be reasonable, they still remain their opinions, not the teaching of Scripture, and so their gift definitions (just as anyone else's) need to be held lightly. When this tool is approached as giving us useful language for talking about and identifying motivational gifts, and not as "the right way" to talk about them, I have found it to be valuable.

Built on a flawed foundation.......2004-04-20

I applaud the Fortunes for doing a great job of encouraging people to discover and develop their spiritual gifts. Many of their tidbits and applications are very helpful and motivating. However, I have a problem with some of their foundational assumptions.

First, the idea that the "motivational" gifts of Romans 12 are of a different nature than the "manifestational" gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 is, in my opinion, not defensible. While Paul uses a variety of terms, the key word "charisma" is present in both passages. Also, the Fortune theory requires that the gift of "prophecy" in 1 Cor 12 be given a different definition than the gift of "prophecy" in Rom 12 even though the word is the same in both passages and there is no compelling contextual reason for two different definitions. Is it my personal suspicion, based on my study, that at the root of the "motivational vs manifestational" dichotomy is (in part) the desire to avoid dealing with the more "phenominal" gifts of 1 Cor 12 (tongues, miracles, etc.). Please note that I do not adhere to charismatic or pentecostal theology. However, I also don't find any Biblical warrent to exclude the 1 Cor 12 gifts from today's church.

Second, the practical result of this dichotomy is that the Fortunes must find a way for every believer to have not only a spiriutal gift, but specifically a Rom 12 gift ... significantly narrowing the field of variety of gifts.

Third, the Fortunes don't seem to distinguish clearly enough between spiritual gifts - gifts given by the Holy Spirit when He enters your life; and given specifically for the building up of the Church - and natural talents (God-given abilities that can be used in all facets of life). Yes, spiritual gifts and natural talents will often correspond closely, since ultimately they both come from our Creator God. However, the clear Biblical purpose of spiritual gifts is not to find a job you like, but to advance God's Kingdom. I admit that not all "God's work" happens within the walls and programs of the organized church, but to link spiritual gifts to finding a job is, in my opinion, weak theology.

There are some good nuggets in the Fortunes' book. Unfortunately, the flawed foundation points the reader in a less-than-ideal direction. A better basic perspective on spiritual gifts is C. Peter Wagner's little book "Discover Your Spiritual Gifts".

Every one needs to read this book-- pick it up now!.......2000-09-21

Don & Katie Fortune's book, "Discovering Your God-Given Gifts" is a tremendous asset in the library of every spiritual seeker, server and leader.

There are a lot of "gift" books out there and as a teacher, I probably have all of them in our library. This one is great because it presents a clear case for how different lists of gifts serve their unique purpose in corporate worship and life. It is easy to understand and share with others-- you'll want to go through it together in your Bible study group.

All of us wonder from time to time where we fit in when it comes to ministry gifts and service. The Fortunes have hit it on the head when it comes to helping us identify our motivational gifts.

This book is especially useful for ministry teams, small groups and any setting where a variety of people have to relate or serve together. The very first benefit of reading it, is the insight you'll gain to seeing how each of us in our gifts are needed to work together in balance.

Of course, the thing you will love about this are the surveys included that help you determine your primary and secondary motivational gifting. I also recommend that you order directly from the Fortunes several of the supplemental tests that can be used with children, secular audiences etc.

You'll love it. I give it my highest recommendation.

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Great Insight

Gain understanding of your children

get to know your children better

Great book for parent to learn about who their children are!

Discover Your Childrens Gifts
Don Fortune , and Katie Fortune
Manufacturer: Chosen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Discover Your God Given Gifts

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Finding Your Spiritual Gifts Questionnaire

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0800791517

Customer Reviews:

Great Insight.......2007-03-21

I've found this book very helpful in determining my "gifts" as well as my seven year old son's "gifts." It describes him to a tee! It has been a wonderful tool especially in the area of schooling; it gives good insight into strengths and weaknesses, areas of interest, and why children may do certain things that don't always make sense to us as parents. It certainly gives me more patience when teaching my son as a homeschooler.

Gain understanding of your children.......2000-10-13

I found this book a practical and easy to use help in discovering my children's natural giftings and personality traits. It helps explain why their personality "quirks" are really evidences of their own God-given gifts. It helped me better understand them and accept them. I feel I can help guide them better as I understand them better. I can Cooperate with God in helping them live up to their potential, rather than my expectations.

get to know your children better.......2000-01-13

This book is a great resource for parents. I intend to give copies as baby gifts to new parents, it's just that helpful. With it you will begin to understand your child's strengths, their weaknesses, those "little things they do" that exasperate you. Sometimes, I've learned from this book, that annoying habit is a key to their bent, their greatest strength. It will help you direct their interests, know how to discipline them better, understand their friendships, and communicate with them better.

Great book for parent to learn about who their children are!.......1999-02-13

Better than their first effort, and easier to understand, this book explains some of the reason children behave the way they do and how to "train them up in the way *they* should go". Two little quibbles--spanking is not an effective method of *discipline* (discipline's root is disciple--you *don't* hit your students--at least I hope not) and their insistence on putting homosexuality and masturbation on a list of sexual sins. But those are things that can be ignored, and the rest of the book is very well done.

Diamonds in the Dust: Discover and Develop Your Child's Gift

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Diamonds in the Dust: Discover and Develop Your Child's Gift
Jackie Mallis
Manufacturer: Multi Media Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

jp-unknown2 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0866170200

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A Jewel of a Book

A Grand Piece of Writing

A pedestrian examination of two pivotal impeachments.

Review of Grand Inquests

Good summary of the issues surrounding impeachment

Grand Inquests: The Historic Impeachments of Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson
William Rehnquist , and William H. Rehnquist
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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With Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist playing a front-and-center role as the presiding officer in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, it's no wonder that his 1992 study of the two most important previous impeachments in United States history was brought back into print. But anyone looking for political commentary will probably be disappointed--Grand Inquests is a straightforward, and surprisingly readable, narrative account, top-heavy with historical details.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase was impeached in 1805 both for his political views and as a result of his demeanor as a judge. Rehnquist acknowledges that Chase was "impatient, overbearing, and arrogant," but asserts that his behavior falls far short of the grounds for impeachment: high crimes and misdemeanors. He further argues that the acquittal of Chase helped safeguard the independence of the Supreme Court, preventing future Congresses from removing judges "whose views they considered to be unwise or out of keeping with the times." The acquittal of President Andrew Johnson in his 1868 trial was a similar victory for the executive branch, permitting future chief executives to govern as they see fit ... even if that runs counter to the desires of Congress.

Rehnquist makes it clear that he believes the impeachments of both Chase and Johnson were politically motivated, and that it was a good thing for the United States that neither was convicted. He says a relaxed standard of impeachment would have been like "a sword of Damocles, designed not to fall but to hang" over the head of future presidents who would fear removal from office if they did not go along with Congress. --Linda Killian

Book Description

For only the second time in American history, the president has been impeached by the House of Representatives and is facing trial by the United States Senate. At such a critical point in our history as a nation, the question is "What comes next?" Most Americans have only a vague notion of the history surrounding the first presidential impeachment trial. So, where do we go for answers?

Here in Grand Inquests, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist provides dramatic accounts of two historic impeachment trials in the American past. With a keen sense of history and narrative ability, he recounts the 1805 trial of Justice Samuel Chase of the United States Supreme Court and the 1868 trial of President Andrew Johnson, which set the precedent by which our current president will be judged. The outcomes of these cases have remained extraordinarily important to the American system of government because they strengthened the constitutionally directed separation of powers. And though both men were acquitted, Chief Justice Rehnquist shows how a conviction in either case would also have deeply affected our present interpretation of the Constitution -- and, more likely, changed the course of history.

Customer Reviews:

A Jewel of a Book.......2007-07-05

This book is much more than an account of the two major impeachments in U.S. history. The bulk of the book consists of a remarkably well-written history lesson covering the period of 1775 to the 1868 Johnson impeachment trial. The last part of the book then discusses the lessons to be learned from these two impeachment efforts.

The 1805 impeachment trial of Justice Chase, a Federalist judge, involved his (mis)handling of 3 cases as a circuit rider judge (in those days Supreme Court justices actually spent most of their time riding circuit). The best the Republicans could do was a 19-15 vote for conviction on one of the Articles, still 4 votes short of the 2/3 needed to remove Chase from office. The effort failed because 6 Republicans defected and voted for acquittal, realizing the impeachment effort was partisan in nature and contrary to what the founding fathers intended.

The 1868 impeachment effort against Johnson similarly failed when 7 Republicans voted against removal. (Terminology here can be confusing; in 1805 Jefferson's party was called "Republican", and later came to be called "Democratic". In 1868 "Republican" was used for the new party formed in the 1850's.) These 7 Republicans can now be seen as the true constitutional heroes that they are. Had the radical Republicans succeeded in removing Johnson, it would mean that from then on the President would serve at the pleasure of the Senate, and the true purpose of the impeachment provision in the Constitution would have been obliterated in a sea of partisanship.

Rehnquist concludes that "The importance of these two acquittals in our constitutional history can hardly be overstated....These two "cases"--decided not by the courts but by the United States Senate--surely contributed as much to the maintenance of our tripartite federal system of government as any case decided by any court." He is right, and he has contributed enormously to our understanding of this issue by his articulate discussion of it contained in this book.

A Grand Piece of Writing.......2006-12-15

Who knew that the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, leader of the conservative counter revolution against the legacy of the Warren Court, wrote so well?

You would not guess that from his opinions penned over a generation. His court writing is exact but dry, a great contrast to the colorful rhetoric of his conservative colleague, Antonin Scalia.

But in "Grand Inquests," a telling of the impeachment trials of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson, Rehnquist demonstrates a compelling narrative style and the novelist's keen eye for detail. Rehnquist also demonstrates the good novelist's ability to describe the important details at considerable length while limiting the lesser facts in length.

The important details of these two impeachments surround the personalities of the major players that brought about the impeachment instead of ascribing the trials to historical circumstances, as if the impeachments were forced by mysterious forces instead of angry human beings. Rehnquist paints vivid portraits of Andrew Johnson, a one-time tailor and self-made politician, the ambitious and independent Edwin Stanton, whose refusal to give up his post as Secretary of War set the impeachment proceedings in motion, and the Radical Republicans who were furious with Johnson for obstructing Reconstruction, Thaddeus Stevens, Ben Wade, George Boutwell, Charles Sumner, and Ben Butler.

Rehnquist makes a convincing argument that men make their own destiny by their choices when he implies, quite correctly in my view, that Justice Chase would not have been impeached if he were not abrasive and heavy handed in court, and President Johnson would not have been impeached if he had been more even tempered in his disagreement about Reconstruction and presidential appointment power with the opposition Republicans. Johnson, for example, referred to Radical Republican leaders Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner as "traitors."

Both impeachment proceedings occurred in the wake of highly charged political times, Rehnquist observes. Chase was impeached shortly after President John Adams had packed the federal government with appointees of his Federalist Party in the final hours of his presidency. And Adams had also tried to stifle dissent by his political opponents, incited by his idelogical adversary, Thomas Jefferson, with the repressive alien and sedition acts. Johnson faced impeachment during the difficult aftermath of the Civil War. Brave Senators such as Bradley of Vermont and Gaillard of South Carolina risked their political careers to acquit Chase. Likewise, Senators Edmund Ross of Kansas and Lyman Trumbull of Illinois defied the public hysteria against Johnson.

Rehnquist brilliantly cuts through the emotions of the times to show that Chase basically faced impeachment because of biased instructions to a grand jury and questionable instructions to a jury in a criminal trial involving sedition. Johnson was impeached for opposing Reconstruction and firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.In firing Stanton, Johnson's political enemies asserted that he was in violation of a congressional act, The Tenure of Office Act, which called for Senate approval of presidential firings. Clinton, of course, whose trial Rehnquist presided over, was impeached for engaging in oral sex in a bathroom near the Oval Office.

Presidential powers became more firmly defined by Supreme Court decisions in the 20th century, Rehnquist notes. A President's sole authority to hire and fire executive department political appointees was not as clear in 1866 as it is in 2006. Indeed the rule of law on presidential power to fire at will political appointees was not decided until "Humphrey's Executor v. United States" in 1935. The Court then held that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the power to fire Federal Trade Commissioner William E. Humphrey on political grounds. Today we would laugh at the idea that a President would have to seek permission from Congress to fire an executive branch official who was not a career public employee.

Rehnquist has written the best book on impeachment. Read it and enjoy it.

[Hansen Alexander is an attorney who lives and works in New York City. He is the author, most recently, of the comic novel, "The Death of Chauvinism."]

A pedestrian examination of two pivotal impeachments........2003-06-08

There really isn't much to say about Chief Justice Rehnquist's book. _Grand Inquests_ is an inquiry into the impeachments of Justice Chase and President Johnson but the inquiry is done without any real depth or serious historical research. It's a bland recounting of basic facts of the cases that, as Richard Bernstein has already pointed out, ignores most of the relevant studies of this subject. Basically Rehnquist presents a great deal of the immediate detail but fails to place the events firmly in the context of the times. Also he regularly adds in completely irrelevant material, such as in the discussion of Chase's actions as a trial judge he cites his experience in litigation during the 1950s and 60s, which can have practically no bearing on the subject of the trial procedures of 1800. If you're looking for a long winded presentation of the details of individual charges and descriptions of testimony heard by the Senate during these trials than you may enjoy this book. Otherwise any competent constitutional history can provide just as good a discussion in only about ten pages.

Review of Grand Inquests.......2002-02-08

What I'd hoped for was a historical perspective on the impeachment process as a primer to further reading on the Clinton impeachment proceedings. The historical context provided is, at best truncated--the history reads like an early draft compiled from a chronologically ordered fact list. Hence, the reader is to often required to make the connections between historical precedent and subsequent results. Also troubling were some typographical errors. For example, my paperback edition has James Buchanan being elected president in 1865. When a nonhistorian catches errors like this, doubts begin arising about other listed facts.

I thought too that the book is not especially well written. I ran across too many paragraphs whose thoughts seemed to have been morphed in with insufficient attention to their contributions to context. As one who believes fuzzy writing to be symptomatic of fuzzy thinking, alarm bells went off each time.

In the end, I wasn't confident that I had gotten a good primer for the follow up reading I'd planned.

Good summary of the issues surrounding impeachment.......1999-03-08

Rehnquist is obviously alot more thoughtful than the "liberal" community, in which I often count myself, has been led to believe. He provides a good summary of the issues that surrounded the impeachments of Chase & Johnson, the constitutional questions these events raised & helped to settle, and their long-term implications. Rehnquist is not, in this book anyhow, the best stylist in the world, but he also doesn't descend into so much legal mumbo-jumbo that non-lawyers would be turned off. Also, his sections of background history are just OK. History buffs may find some factual, emphasis or interpretative points to dispute in those sections.

Aspects of Samuel Johnson: Essays on His Arts, Mind, Afterlife, And Politics

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Aspects of Samuel Johnson: Essays on His Arts, Mind, Afterlife, And Politics
Howard D. Weinbrot
Manufacturer: University of Delaware Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0874138744

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Johnson's political views, examined in detail

The Politics of Samuel Johnson
Donald Greene
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Johnson's political views, examined in detail.......1999-09-15

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Donald Greene's readings of Johnson's political behavior, and the pieces he wrote (including not just the pamphlets of the 1770's, but also the Parliamentary debates and early tracts) clarifies our understanding. Boswell just wasn't as thorough on these matters, nor was W. Jackson Bate. This book, simply speaking, is invaluable.

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Political Writings (The Yale Johnson)
Samuel Johnson , and Donald Johnson Greene
Manufacturer: Liberty Fund
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Samuel Johnson: Literature, Religion and English Cultural Politics from the Restoration to Romanticism

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Samuel Johnson: Literature, Religion and English Cultural Politics from the Restoration to Romanticism
J. C. D. Clark
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

This book offers an analysis of the life and thought of Samuel Johnson from a historian's viewpoint, which reverses the orthodoxy that has dominated the subject for over thirty years. J.C.D. Clark presents here a Johnson strikingly different from the apolitical, pragmatic and eccentric figure who emerges from the pages of most students of English literature. Johnson's commitments and conflicts in religion and politics are reconstructed; his role in the literary dynamics of his age is revealed against a new context for English cultural politics between the Restoration and the age of Romanticism.

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From Loyalist to Founding Father
Elizabeth Peterkin McCaughey
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0231045069

Johnson and the Letters of Junius: New Perspectives on an Old Enigma (Ars Interpretandi)

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Johnson and the Letters of Junius: New Perspectives on an Old Enigma (Ars Interpretandi)
Linde Katritzky
Manufacturer: Peter Lang Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0820431060

A Neutral Being Between the Sexes: Samuel Johnson's Sexual Politics

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A Neutral Being Between the Sexes: Samuel Johnson's Sexual Politics
Kathleen Nulton Kemmerer
Manufacturer: Bucknell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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THE POLITICS OF SAMUEL JOHNSON

Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GOWOWM

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The Politics of Samuel Johnson
Donald J. Greene
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VRBHW2

Book Description

Explores the relationship between war and women's creative expression through the work of Elizabeth Bowen.

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