Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

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Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues.

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. --Daphne Durham

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Begin at the Beginning

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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Paperback Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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Paperback

Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

* The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

* Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

* Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

* Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

* The introduction of the Horcrux.
* Molly Weasley asking Arthur Weasley about his "dearest ambition." Rowling has always been great at revealing little intriguing bits about her characters at a time, and Arthur's answer "to find out how airplanes stay up" reminds us about his obsession with Muggles.
* Harry's private lessons with Dumbledore, and more time spent with the fascinating and dangerous pensieve, arguably one of Rowling's most ingenious inventions.
* Fred and George Weasley's Joke Shop, and the slogan: "Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You Should Be Worrying About U-NO-POO--the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!"
* Luna's Quidditch commentary. Rowling created scores of Luna Lovegood fans with hilarious and bizarre commentary from the most unlikely Quidditch commentator.
* The effects of Felix Felicis.

Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling

"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I'm sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling

Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.

Did You Know?

The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer.

A Few Words from Mary GrandPré

"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.

Customer Reviews:

Sequel??.......2007-10-20

I thought this book was much too long and could have benefited from a good edit, although I was pleased with the outcome. My question is: how can so many reviewers talk about how this is the definitive "end" of the series? In the epilogue, it is mentioned that Harry's scar has not bothered him for 19 years. Doesn't that seem an odd number to anyone besides me? In the world of the books, everyone assumed Voldemort had been vanquished the night Harry's parents died, until Voldemort later reappeared. Well, what better time to re-emerge than 20 years after his last defeat? Whether she pursues it or not, Rowling has left the door open for a sequel series, perhaps involving the next generation.

LOVED This book.......2007-10-19

This was an amazing book!! I was so sad to see the series end but they all have to end sometime. I love how smoothly it went along and kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters grew up so much in this book! There was so much to learn from the other books that tied in beautifly to this one. Amazing ending. Sorry to see it go, but I hope eventually there will be more.

A Terrific Ending to the Series...Or is it?.......2007-10-19

Deathly Hallows was a fitting finale to this wonderful, well-loved series. In my opinion not one of the books in this series was a disappointment. In Deadly Hollows I was glad to see the series end in such a magnificent and inspirational way. Most of the loose ends have been resolved. Ms. Rowling ensured that the reader remembered what has happened in the previous six years. The ending with "The Battle" was a cleaver and satisfying surprise to me. Unfortunately a number of old friends did not make it to the end, maybe a bit too many. There is so much defeat and despair in the first half of the book that I was beginning to wonder if the series was going to come to a happy ending. In summary I would gladly recommend this book to my friends. For the young adults there were some brief moments of obscene language and the idea of death may be hard for a certain age group to handle. Overall, it's a wonderful fantasy that is written by a very talented writer.

Another challenging young adult book is the gripping story Tommytown by Robert L. Saunders. This exciting novel is based on a real family living in sheer poverty during the 1950's and is told through the eyes of 11-year-old Barry Foreman and his sister Karen as they watch their mother, Helen, struggle to survive with her 7 children. Sorry, no sorcerer is going to show up and wave a magic wand and make Helen's troubles go away. Its not all gloom and doom as the author ensures there is a mix of humor and a light-hearted spirit among the brothers and sisters. It's a refreshing, warm tale that gripped my senses as it centered on the children's adoration for their mother, their perseverance to endure hardship, and verbal scorn at school. Check it out you won't be disappointed. Bye.

Fantastic........2007-10-19

Fantastic. There's not much else to say. J.K. Rowling is a genius, and this is her best work yet. Defiantly by favorite book.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Book 7.......2007-10-18

I liked Book 7 - a lot of people tried to spoil it before it came out and none of them were right!
I was glued to this one just like the other six and could barely put it down to get to work - sorry it's the last one. It's definitely worth the read!

Average customer rating:

Stupendous book
Excellent book
My letter to the author..
"your city, Petropolis
Fun, insightful novel

Petropolis
Anya Ulinich
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670038199

Book Description

Sasha Goldberg is the ultimate outsider: she's a chubby, biracial Jewish girl from the Siberian town of Asbestos 2. Her father takes off for the United States, and leaves Sasha to navigate adolescence in a bleak apartment bloc with her overbearing mother. Sasha falls in love with an art school drop-out who lives inside a concrete pipe in the town dump. Following her heart gets her into trouble at home, so she flees Russia as a mail-order bride and lands in suburban Arizona. Sasha manages to escape her Red Lobster-loving fiancé and embarks on a misadventure-filled journey across America in search of her father.

Anya Ulinich has crafted an unforgettable story of familial fault lines, cross-cultural confusion, and the beguiling allure of new beginnings. Petropolis is a funny and poignant debut marking the arrival of a major new voice in fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Stupendous book.......2007-09-04

The above reviews would give you the feeling that this is just an immigrant novel though a very good one. It is and a lot more.

It is a stupendously well written weave of character, plot and some of the best descriptive metaphors strung like pearls paragraph after paragraph. I am astounded.
Disclaimer: I have an semi-Jewish immigrant wife and know dinner table Russian which makes the book even more enjoyable. But it is not just an "insiders" book.

Excellent book.......2007-04-04

Very funny, very sad, unbelievably good book for such a young writer.

My letter to the author.........2007-03-20

Anya,

I just finished Petropolis.

I think this is the first book that I've read so far that truly captures the post- soviet childhood /immigration/ Russian Jewish/ experience. I think all of us have some interesting "Russian Immigrant" stories, but this is the first work that truly describes what it was like in the end, when there was no more ideology and everything was in decay.

I think I was mostly impressed with how well you summed up perceptions --- the way philanthropic Americans see Jewish refugees, how some Russians play up to the stereotype, how the intelligentsia view themselves, the type of life that a Russian "solider" has, the family bond (or a lack-there-of), the acceptance of prejudice, the way a Russian immigrant sees an American, the hopelessness that sometimes sets in (especially due to culture shock) etc etc.

I immigrated when I was fairly young, but for some reason I perfectly remember our Kiev communal apartment, our loving yet constantly drunk neighbors, and my art class at the local Pioneers Club with all of my brutally totalitarian, yet excellent teachers.

I also remember how haggled my parents looked after the flight from Sheremetivo II to NY, how polite my dad was when a Rabbi from a local Yeshiva forced my dad to recite "Shema" in Hebrew (my dad is Orthodox Christian), and how much we all struggled with the language, mannerisms and constant American optimism (be it fake or real).

Overall Petropolis is a realistic account of what it's like....

I would love to find a Russian translation to give to my parents.

Thank you for writing this.

Natasha

"your city, Petropolis.......2007-03-01

your brother, Petropolis, is dying." Osip Mandelstam

It is more than a bit ironic that some of the best "Russian" literature created in recent years has been written in English. The Diaspora that followed the fall of the Soviet Union has borne a great deal of literary fruit produced by writers such as Gary Shteyngart (Absurdistan), Lara Vapnyar (Memoirs of a Muse), and Olga Grushin (Dream Life of Sukhanov). The original, entertaining "Petropolis" by first-time novelist Anya Ulinich is a fine addition to this body of work.

"Petropolis" (the title is taken from a poem by Osip Mandelstam) tells the story of Sasha Goldberg. An adolescent, Sasha is young, overweight, ungainly, and part-black and Jewish in a world in which just one of those attributes is enough to mark you as an outsider. We first meet Sasha in her Siberian hometown, Asbestos2. Asbestos2, as the name suggests, is a city created during Stalin's reign in power to support the mining of asbestos. The fall of the USSR and the depletion of the mine have turned Asbestos2 into a bleak, post-apocalyptic city rapidly on its way to becoming a ghost-town. Sasha's father left the family for the United States when she was an infant.

Petropolis is the story of a journey, or series of journeys, something of a later-day Russian Ulysses. It takes Sasha from Asbestos2 to Moscow, from Moscow to Phoenix (where she is to be a mail order bride), from Phoenix to Michigan, and from Michigan to Brooklyn where she finds the father who deserted her as a child. The story also takes us back to Asbestos2 where Sasha's journey finds some sense of closure and reunites her with the child she left behind (like father like daughter) along the way.

In the hands of Ulinich, Sasha's journey is more than a mere screenplay for a coming-of-age road movie. Sasha's character is very well developed. Ulinich also has a keen eye for satire and a sharp sense of the foibles one sees in people in the US and in Russia, particularly those who, like Sasha (and presumably Ulinich), have become a part of the post-Soviet Diaspora.

Petropolis is a multi-layered story that is both entertaining and thoughtful.

Highly reccomended (4.5 stars). L. Fleisig

Fun, insightful novel.......2007-02-26

Petropolis is a must read, especially if your family didn't arrive in the US on the Mayflower. Come to think of it, it's a must read even if they did.

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo: A Novel

Average customer rating:

a prose myrical, vivid and luminous
Great sense of place
Lyrical and moving
What others have failed to mention- this book is humorous
Soporific

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo: A Novel
Peter Orner
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316735809

Book Description

Set in Namibia just after independence in the early 1990s, Peter Orners first novel is a chronicle of the long days, short loves, and cold nights at Goas, an all-boys Catholic primary school so deep in the veld that even the baboons feel sorry for us. Though physically isolated in semi-desert beneath a relentless sun, the people of Goas create an alternate, more fertile universe through the stories they tell each other. The books central character is Mavala Shikongo, a combat veteran who fought in Namibias long war for independence against South Africa. She has recently returned to the schoolwith a child, but no husband. Mavala is modern, restless, and driven, in sharp contrast to conservative Goas. All the male teachers (including a bumbling but observant volunteer from Cincinnati) try not to fall in love with her. Everyone failsimmediately and miserably. This extraordinary first novel explores the history of a place through the stories of its people. But above all its about the fleetingness of love and the endurance of fellowship.

Customer Reviews:

a prose myrical, vivid and luminous.......2007-08-25

Peter Orner's debut collection Esther Stories received wide critical acclaim and provides the artistic foreshadowing of the reach and scope of his talent, beautifully realized in his first novel The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo. Orner navigates persons and cultures not only with significant discernment but with a sense of humility and respect for individual and collective will despite the history of human atrocity that marks the world. Orner's writing is potent, devastating, and soulful.

Great sense of place.......2007-03-30

I picked up this book based solely on the setting of Namibia. I was simply looking to read some contemporary African fiction.

I loved the book. Cleverly written. Orner did a terrific job capturing the sense of place. I could feel the heat and dust as I read. He was able to tell a great tale, very well researched, with good humour. While touching throghout, I found myself laughing at many scenes.

Nice job! Go get it and enjoy it.

Lyrical and moving.......2007-03-07

I had high hopes for The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo as I loved Orner's first book, Esther Stories. This novel did not disappoint. It's a love story, but set in the remote veld of Namibia, it is also offers astute political commentary and a glimpse at history that few Americans will learn about in school. Orner's prose is elegant and funny, his descriptions of conflict and boredom, landscapes both internal and external, beauty in the everyday, are luminous.

What others have failed to mention- this book is humorous .......2007-01-09

This is one of the better literary works I've read in a couple of years. Mind you, I'm not to the end yet. Short sentences and short chapters, somehow this writing style calls to me.

Soporific.......2007-01-01

This Namibian-set debut novel by San Francisco-based Orner has gotten rave reviews from critics as well as translation deals in France, Germany and Italy. I really wanted to like it -- I've read a good deal of novels by African authors, as well as books set in Africa, and I'm always ready for more. Unfortunately, I found the book utterly boring, and had I not committed to finishing it for review, I would have set it aside after about fifty pages or so. That's not something I do lightly -- I read about 120-150 books a year and only abandon about five or so.

The story revolves around Larry, a young man from Cincinnati who travels to the Namibian veld in 1991 to volunteer as a teacher at a Catholic boys school. This is about a year after the country won independence from South Africa following 20+ years of insurgency. Life at the isolated boarding school is oppressively slow and uneventful -- and the book follows suit. The 300 pages of narrative unfold in 150+ brief chapters, most of which are tiny snippets, not even full vignettes or scenes. Which makes a certain amount of sense, since there's no plot to speak of.

Larry arrives, provides the Western outsider view on his new environment, and eventually leaves. Reviews of the book make his afternoon delight assignations with a beautiful teacher (who's also a single mother and a former guerilla fighter) sound much more substantial than they are. This affair doesn't flare up until halfway through the book, and doesn't end up amounting to much. This staccato method of storytelling works more on an impressionistic level than a traditional narrative one. By the end the monotony of life at the school has been drilled into the reader, as has the accompanying physical sensation of drought, but that's about it.

Occasionally the book is somewhat more succesful -- generally when there's a story to tell. For example, in one chapter, a teacher solves the problem of a massive 15-year-old lien on his car by having the students bury it in sand. Elsewhere, little snippets of Namibian history are imparted, which are far more interesting than anything happening at the school. It should be noted that there is a reasonably broad cast of charaacters, but these don't ever emerge as distinctive voices and tend to blur together, just like the endless veld that surround the school. Those who thrive on description may find Orner's style satisfying, and there are glimpses here are there of African life, but I was bored to tears throughout.

The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity

Average customer rating:

Not Sufficient Cause
The Kingdom of God and the Reigning Lord and Christ
Who was Jesus, really?
Ideas not novel but presented well

The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity
Thomas Sheehan
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0394755316
Release Date: 1988-09-12

Customer Reviews:

Not Sufficient Cause.......2007-08-16

Sheehan begins with a brief survey of the history of the search for the historical Jesus. Those readers who have read this kind of material before may want to skim through this part taking note that Sheehan believes that in the post-Bultmann era, it is possible to extract historical facts from the New Testament rather than try to demythologize everything. Thus Sheehan can attempt a "psychobiography" by interpreting texts which he thinks have a historical basis.

A brief survey of messianism follows. Again those readers who have read on this subject may want to skim through. The pre-Exilic Prophets had no clear doctrine of an end time. In the post-Exilic era, deprived of Davidic leaders (according to Sheehan) and Prophets, Israel turned to the Law. Then there was the Oral Law. By the time of Jesus, Judaism was divided over which Law(s) was(were) to be observed.

For Sheehan the encounter between Jesus and John is not one of an omniscient God who "submitted" to John's teachings in order to set an example for others on how to act. Rather it was a spiritual awakening for Jesus. It was not enough to be circumcised into the Covenant of Abraham; the heart had to change.

From John to Jesus the message changed from one of imminent judgment upon Israel to Jesus' message of the joy of the imminent liberation of God. God was a loving Abba who was already arriving among his people because the kingdom of God had begun. "It was a new order of things in which God threw in his lot irrevocably with human beings and chose relatedness to them as the only definition of himself." Ethically this meant that acts of justice and charity usher in of the kingdom of God.

Sheehan loses track of his time here. How can the Kingdom of God be present and need ushering in? (page 62) But Sheehan recognizes this on page 63 with the eschatological future-present. "The uniqueness of Jesus' message lay in his conviction that in some way the future kingdom had already dawned and that the celebration could begin." (page 65) Some way? Who can not pin this down? Sheehan or Jesus?

The two most key points to Sheehan's book are why was Jesus executed and what to make of the proclamation of his resurrection. These explain the difference between the message of Jesus and the birth of a religion in his name. Sheehan does an admirable job in regard to the latter: Belief in a resurrection, per se, did not mean a forgiveness of sins during the time of Jesus. Ancient records tell of others who were resurrected. Jesus did die on the cross, but the resurrection develops when Peter had a vision in which he saw Jesus taken into an eschatological future.

To me Sheehan is seeking to justify, but not explaining, why Jesus was executed. Jesus got onto the wrong side of the Pharisees and Sadducees who sent Jesus to Pilate. Why would Pilate care? Sheehan had already noted that unlike John the Baptist, the message of Jesus did not attack the government. Also Sheehan had noted that the popularity of Jesus was waning. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Pilate could just as easily patted Jesus on the head and sent him on his way.

Sheehan has an interesting book, but I do not think it shows sufficient cause.

The Kingdom of God and the Reigning Lord and Christ.......2006-03-27

"This doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, which was the main teaching of Jesus, and which plays so small a part in the Christian creeds, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought."
H. G. Wells

Thy Kingdom Comes:
Leo Tolstoy came to the conclusion that, "The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity by contributing to the establishment of the kingdom of God, which can only be done by the recognition and profession of the truth by every man."
The Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, Hebrew; malkhut hashamayim, Greek; basileia tou theou) is a key concept in both Judaism and Christianity. It refers to the reign or sovereignty of God over all things, as opposed to the reign of earthly or satanic powers. (Wikipedia)
At the time of Jesus, the Essenes, who did not participate in Temple worship in Jerusalem, but exceeded other Jews in the pursuit of virtue, believed they were living on the edge of time, preparing for the coming of the Kingdom of God.
"The kingdom of God is never something that we bring into being, but something that we are receiving. ...The challenge is to know what time it is: what the kingdom is, how it comes, and where we should find it right now," writes Michael S. Horton, in Christianity Today, Jan. 06. He quotes the Epistle to Diognetus, a second century letter which offered a self-portrait of the early Christian community, "For Christians are distinguished from the rest of men neither by country nor by language nor by customs. ... They pass their days on earth, but they have their citizenship in heaven."

God's Kingdom & Christianity:
Thomas Sheehan, professor of philosophy, Loyola University, Chicago, utilized postmodern reconstruction tools to shape a post-liberal interpretation of Jesus mission and teachings, with a fresh understanding of the function of the Kingdom in shaping Christianity. He argues that his bold and persuasive theory rescues the person and message of Jesus from the absurdities of contemporary fundamentalism, recovering the social and ethical meaning of the 'Kingdom of God,' as intended by Jesus. In defending his case, the author guides the reader through the Jesus Seminar style of postmodern scholarship on NT Scripture. Analyzing the historical narratives on Jesus and his teachings, amidst a milieu of messianic expectations among the Jews of his time, Sheehan concludes that the probable core of Jesus teachings was; 'a message of God's real presence among humanity, with biblical implications for social justice and personal ethics.

From Jesus to Christ:
Jesus of Nazareth, according to Sheehan, a Loyola theologian, preached the end of organized religion and the real presence of the living God among mankind.
Sheehan argues that Jesus thought of himself not as God but as God's eschatological prophet proclaiming the arrival of God's kingdom, that the resurrection of Jesus had nothing to his coming back to life. The affirmation that Jesus was divine, he proposes, first arose among his followers long after his death, same conclusion which Dr. Paula Fredriksen arrived at in her book, 'From Jesus to Christ', Yale, 1988. Sheehan then, pursues as well the development of Christology within first-century Christianity, given that due to Christian persecution, theological issues were not discussed by the Church until Nicea, in 325 and Christological doctrine was not settled, even after Chalcedon in 451.

Book Contents:
Introduction: How Christianity Came into Crisis
* Liberal Protestantism and the Jesus of History (1800-1900)
* Rudolf Bultmann and the Christ of Faith (1920-1950)
* The New Quest for the Historical Jesus (1950 to Today)
- One: How Jesus Lived and Died
The End of the World, The Making of a Prophet,
The Kingdom of God, God's Word at Work, Rejection and Death
- Two: How Jesus was Raised from the Dead
* Simon's Experience
The Myth of Easter , The Birth of Christianity ,
An Early Formula of Faith, The Denial of Jesus
* The Empty Tomb
Easter According to Mark, An Earlier Legend, What Really Happened, An Apocalyptic Messenger, The Meaning of Easter
- Three: How Jesus Became God
The Apocalyptic Judge, The Reigning Lord and Christ,
The Divine Son of God
* Conclusion: Recovering the Kingdom
* Appendix: Notes on Rabbinical Literature
* Selected Bibliography

Who was Jesus, really?.......2005-08-02

A very interesting thesis: Jesus was not "God Junior", sent to tell the world to prepare for Armageddon and His eventual return on a celestial throne. Instead, Jesus was an enlightened man who said "The kingdom of God is at hand (meaning right here right now) for anyone who behaves with mercy and justice". Furthermore, that Jesus proposed the end of temple- and heaven-oriented religious practice, to be replaced with a change in the of hearts of men.

The previous reviewer thought the idea was not so very new, but to me it's novel to the point of being revolutionary.

Sheehan's second point is that Jesus' followers fundamentally misunderstood him, directing their fervor onto the man rather than on his message. This led to the development of Christianity and Christian mythology (miracles, Easter resurrection, messiah-hood, the expectation of a Second Coming, etc). Christian history subsequent to the death of Jesus is much better documented than Jesus' actual life and sayings, and Sheehan does a good job summarizing it all.

Be forewarned: this book is a tough read. It requires two bookmarks, because Sheehan has extensive notes at the back, which must be read in parallel with the main text. Plus, he uses very heavy, academic vocabulary. Here are some of the words I had to look up: casuistry, epigones, exegesis, hermeneutic, hypostasis, kerygma, ontological, otiose, parousia, prescind, prolepsis, reify, soteriological, teleology, tutelary, valence. Not your daily-conversation type language, unless you're a biblical scholar. The book is crammed with references and footnotes to other scholarly works (and to the Bible itself of course). Sheehan places himself in the camp that says all that is, is known only as interpretation. So it's a bit ironic that his interpretations need so much academic backup. In any event, his guesses are plausible, and can't be refuted from Scripture, so right away you have to think he's more right than, for example, Tim LaHaye!

Interesting topic and fascinating approach. I would deduct half a star if I could, because I think his story could have been told a lot more simply.

Ideas not novel but presented well.......2003-03-08

There has always been speculation on how an obscure Jewish sage who lived 2,000 years ago became the object of a religion that has changed mankind more than any social movement in history. Even more interesting is how little we actually know for sure - his parentage, city of birth, actual teaching or why he was killed. Without any external historical references, we are left with only the New Testament, a series of writings composed from 40-65 years after Jesus's death, none by eye witnesses.

Sheehan has attempted to explain how a Jewish peasant evolved into God within a century. He starts, like many Bibical critics, noting the discrepancy between date of composition and order of presentation in the New Testament. Paul's letters came first, then Mark, Matthew, Luke/Acts and finally John. One can easily trace the growth in stature following this line of evidence.

Paul knew nothing of the physical man. He never believed in a physical resurrection, preaching that some raised did not have a physical body like us but a spiritual one. No mention of God's son or being a God.

Mark (next) starts with the adult man. Luke and Matthew, written some 80 years after his birth contained the Nativity and early life. John, completed toward the end of the century opens with the stirring "In the Beginning was the Word". We are at the beginning of the Universe and there is Jesus and God as one.

We follow the evolutionary streams as words are changed, ideas added, ancient prophecies are quoted out of context and at last Jesus is judged God by a political convocation. Interesting, Sheehan finds all the talk of a coming Kingdom as the kernel of the teachings. This is Jesus's revolutionary message - that the kingdom of God is internal and can exist now, not some mystical future. That's a stretch but still a good read.

Average customer rating:

This book inspired me

Shoddy, Sloppy, Lack of Scholarship

Poorly written and edited, nothing new here

Anthropology and the United States Military: Coming of Age in the Twenty-First Century

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Cultural | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1403963002

Book Description

Anthropology and the United States Military is a fascinating edited collection of ethnographic research that seeks to provide visions of and for US military culture from a solid anthropological base. The volume explores several important but relatively unknown cultural variations in the defense community through a variety of lenses. A strong list of contributors highlight important issues such as: anthrax vaccines, the "Golden Age" culture of the military, gender roles among army spouses, weight control and physical readiness, the military advisor, and the USNA.

Customer Reviews:

This book inspired me.......2004-10-30

This book is such a poorly written collection of essays thrown together without any real effort to connect these essays that I am inspired to keep trying to sell my well organized and well written edited volume to a publisher. Did someone in the military or elsewhere subsidize the publication of this "book?" Anthropology and the U.S. is full of typographic errors, run on sentences, and essays that seem to be first drafts of conference papers. I was forced to buy this for a graduate level seminar by one of the contributors to the collection, and now I understand why some universities have ethical policies against such practices.

Shoddy, Sloppy, Lack of Scholarship.......2004-07-02

A poorly written and organized collection of essays. I wish I could get my money back on this book and want to know who subsidized the printing of this book at Palgrave. Many of these papers seem to be first drafts of quickly written conference papers (for example see: Rubinstein's unconnected paper) and others a just plain preachy (see: Simons or Frese essays).

If you ever wondered just how low the standards of writing and scholarship are outside of the university system: read this collection and wonder no more. I get better papers from my first year graduate students.

Poorly written and edited, nothing new here.......2003-12-05

I wish I hadn't wasted my money on this book. I used to work for Rand for twelve years and was always amazed at the poor writing abilities of Rand scholars, this book does capture this element of Rand and military research culture. The essays appear to be unedited, and a few of them (for example Rubinstein & Harrell's disjointed chapters) are so poorly written and edited that they read as if they were parts of several papers quickly jammed together. Simons' chapter is silly and seems to have been written as a way of rationalizing her training of those who combine anthropology and violence. Too bad there wasn't more time put into the editing and writing this book, there must be more to the views of these authors but this book is so poorly produced that there is little of any value to be found here. Very disapointing as I'd hoped to find more on the secret culture of power that I worked in for so long at Rand, instead we are left with these blurry images already well known to the public.

Average customer rating:

It's a Hit
Laugh out loud funny
I Liked this book, but I didn't Love it...
Shallow and crude
John Hughes Meets "Superbad"

I Love You, Beth Cooper
Larry Doyle
Manufacturer: Ecco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0061236179
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Book Description

Denis Cooverman didn't want to give a typical graduation speech, cherishing memories and embracing challenges and crap. So, instead, he stood up in front of his 512 class-mates and their 3,000 relatives and said some-thing really important:

"I love you, Beth Cooper."

It would have been such a sweet, romantic moment. Except that:

Beth, the head cheerleader, has only the vaguest idea who Denis is.

And Denis, the captain of the debate team, is so far out of her league he is barely even the same species.

And then there's Kevin, Beth's remarkably large boyfriend, in town on furlough from the United States Army.

Complications ensue.

Denis comes of age overnight in this exhilar-ating, endearing novel that reminds us why we can't wait to escape high school but can never leave it behind.

Customer Reviews:

It's a Hit.......2007-10-14

Larry Doyle's "I Love You, Beth Cooper" is the type of novel that should be a movie (As far as I know, it's going to be.) I first heard about this book in Entertainment Weekly and was constantly debating buying it. Eventually I bought it and was totally afraid it was going to collect dust on my bookshelf before I got to reading it considering the mass amount of other books I hadn't gotten around to.
One day my friend and I went to the coffee shop and I decided to bring the book along if I got bored. Needless to say I was glad that I got bored because I began reading and found a hilarious story about one night in the life of desperate virgin Denis Cooverman, a tale that while not quite as extreme mirrors my own life as a high school senior. Larry Doyle makes a novel that is funny, heartfelt, and a bit of an action adventure. For good fun and a quick read I suggest Larry Doyle's "I Love you, Beth Cooper".

Laugh out loud funny.......2007-10-13

This book had me laugh out loud several times. I rarely find comedy stories that amusing but this broke free of the pack. I'll am sharing this with my friends

I Liked this book, but I didn't Love it..........2007-09-23

I had read a review about this book for summer reading. Overall, it was funny enough. The writing style was perfect and it was an easy read. But it was also ridiculous at times and frankly over the top. When it made me laugh, it was fun and funny. Just the antics involving the boyfriend and the main character were too exaggerated.

Shallow and crude.......2007-09-11

After reading the other reviews I was really looking forward to this. I thought the premise seemed worthwhile. Unfortunately, I didn't like it at all. There were too many creeps and stereotypical types for my taste. It seemed that angry undertones were directed at all those that aren't brilliant nerds.

John Hughes Meets "Superbad".......2007-09-02

This book was simply a lot of fun to read. It was the first thing I read after a major surgery, and it was just the right, light read to pull me out of my funk.

Many reviewers suggest the plot's implausibility as a drawback, but it's supposed to be a madcap, no-brainer kind of book. As a huge fan of John Hughes movies, the man who basically invented teenage films, I was reminded of these funny, smart classics when I began reading this book. Shortly after I finished the novel, I saw "Superbad" at the theater, and I laughed until I cried.

While this book doesn't quite match up to either Hughes or "Superbad" in hilarity or smarts, it possesses the same sort of spirit, especially when it comes to trying to capture just what it means to be a teenager today. While some of it is over the top, Doyle in general definitely hits the nail on the head.

Millennium; Winners and Losers in the Coming Order

Average customer rating:

Prophetic - it now appears.
Even less correct now than in 1991.

Millennium; Winners and Losers in the Coming Order
Jacques Attali
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812920880
Release Date: 1992-09-29

Book Description

Jacques Attali, French President Mitterand's most trusted advisor and president of the new European bank of Reconstruction and development, offers a provocative and all-too-convincing view of the future in an increasingly troubled world.

Customer Reviews:

Prophetic - it now appears........2000-08-07

I read this book as soon as it came out and was very impressed, especially because his ideas of rich and poor "nomads" was born out in my own experience. As early as the late 70's I was meeting Koreans who had worked for engineering companies in Iraq, probably as low paid labour. One of their chaplains had come straight from expulsion by the Ayatollahs there to study in the post-graduate programme I was teaching. Then I noted the low paid horde that had been stranded in Kuweit after the Gulf War. All these were graphic examples of "poor" nomads. Since then the movement of poor or desperate peoples has become worse and is dramatised by the international "sex industry" revelations almost daily. The rich migrants are also increasingly visible, with or without the Concord Crash. Attali was right then with one of his major theses. Since he is a hardened practical economist, he is even more likely to be right in economic matters.

The fact that his economic wisdom runs counter to prevailing "conventional wisdom" in economic matters may suggest that he may have a true prophetic nose and may be on a useful scent.

I'm going to be glad to study this book carefully again, now ten years later.

Even less correct now than in 1991........1999-08-20

Attali's intriguing thesis--the microchip will allow for a reshuffling of the world geopolitical power structure and promote the growth and social dominance of "nomadic men" with few ties to place or fellow man--is consistently undermined, and eventually rendered ineffective, by three problems:

A pervasive and thinly disguised national chauvinism;

Grossly inaccurate macroeconomic forecasting; and

A pendantic and condescending Foreward by Alvin Toffler which insists that we, as provincial and intellectually vacant Americans, must read this book simply because Attali is a stunning genius eager to save us from our own ignorance.

Customer Reviews:

great insite in short stories.......2000-06-12

This book is a great read it has lots of short stories on values, family, media and womens issues. It is very helpful in seeing other peoples views and getting there opinions

The Fateful Alliance: France, Russia, and the Coming of the First World War

Average customer rating:

Who Started World War 1?

The Fateful Alliance: France, Russia, and the Coming of the First World War
George F. Kennan
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0394722310
Release Date: 1985-09-12

Customer Reviews:

Who Started World War 1?.......2006-03-27

George F. Kennan, the 'eminence grise' of American politics has at long last answered the question of who started the Great War of 1914-18. Kennan tells us that the fateful Franco-Russian Alliance signed in 1894 was not a counterweight to Bismarck's Triple Alliance as historians have commonly alleged, but was in fact an agreement between France and Russia to attack and defeat the Central Powers (Germany and Austria) at the first propitious moment. Czar Alexander III who signed the "Alliance" on behalf of Russia died unexpectedly a few months later and Franco-Russian plans were put on hold. But two decades later, the son of Alexander III, the woefully unprepared Nicholas II carried out his father's ambition to control Constantinople and the Straits.
Kennan's book, like his earlier works, is fully documented and written in clear, compelling prose. This book is MUST reading for anyone wanting to understand the cause(s) of World War 1.

Early Embraces: True-Life Stories of Women Describing Their First Lesbian Experience (Early Embraces)

Average customer rating:

Boring
Romance, Not Erotica
Awesome!
Absolutly Horrible!
Insipid and boring

Early Embraces: True-Life Stories of Women Describing Their First Lesbian Experience (Early Embraces)

Manufacturer: Alyson Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1555833543

Book Description

An excerpt

RSVP by Julia Willis

"Can you come to a fish fry?" you asked. Leaving me there in that windowed stairwell where we'd been talking, you rushed away to your next class after the final bell rang. I watched you below dart out of the building and down the sidewalk, stop, turn, look up, and catch me watching you. Then embarrassed from being caught, I waved, casually, friendly, you know -- but instead of going on your way, you dashed right back into the building and called up the stairwell to me. "Can you come to a fish fry?"

I thought you were joking. "A fish fry?" I laughed.

"We're having one at my house." That house you shared in town with three other women -- Susan, who would end up spending all the money she'd collected for the utility bills before moving in with her married and gray-haired abnormal-psychology professor; Lisa, whose childhood had been nastily scarred by a father's promise to have TV's Annie Oakley at her eighth birthday party (he brought home the actress while she was on a 10-city promotional tour--a grown-up lady in a suit, a lady no one recognized without her trademark pigtails, guns, fringed vest and cowgirl boots, and ten little girls wept bitterly); and finally Margaret, your best friend from high school, who I and most people assumed you were or had been lovers with, since the air around you both was so thick with longing that we could all taste it.

"Bring everybody from Duchess house, if you want," you said. Duchess House being that collapsing country farmhouse I lived in with Dick and Diana, a young married couple -- too young and too married--and an assortment of other revolving students. The house was so named because our English teacher, Dick's and mine, said all great literature made use of religion, sex, or the aristocracy, hence the greatest sentence ever written would go something like: "My God," said the duchess to the bishop, "take your hand off my thigh." Duchess. House.

We wrote and painted and acted, your household and mine--all of us talented, all of us terrified of that talent, that it wouldn't be enough (as indeed it wouldn't be) or that it might be too much (as it most certainly would). You were a visual artist, but your father was head

Customer Reviews:

Boring .......2007-06-27

Very boring read, not entertaining. A waste of good money. Don't waste yours like I wasted mines.

Romance, Not Erotica.......2006-06-16

For reader's seeking romance more then hard core erotica, this is a brilliant compilation of stories. Some stories do contain erotica, but that is not the emphasis. I suppose cable channels make younger readers want more, but look at the innocence in the stories and you can't help but be moved.
This is an excellent first timer book - great for someone looking for guidance with their own first experiences. It's also great for someone looking back for commonality with others.

Awesome!.......2005-05-25

I didn't buy this book looking for erotic content, so that may be why I appreciated it more than others.

I bought it for insight into lesbians (past and present) and their shared experiences. Now, while I can see why some would mistake this for erotica, I would suggest that if you're looking for Erotica, you read On Our Backs: The Best Erotic Fiction (Volumes 1 and 2) or one of the many other Lesbian Erotica books out there.

I read Early Embrace's in a matter of I think two days. I could not put it down, and when I did, it was to laugh with pleasure or dry tears of reflection.

As soon as I finished, I went online to instant message my ex girlfriend/best friend and told her to buy the book.

I truly feel that this book should be required reading for all "babydykes". I felt such a surge of connection and feeling while reading this book, it was just awesome.

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. It was, in my opinion, that good.

I can't wait to get volumes 2 & 3

Absolutly Horrible!.......2003-03-27

There was definitely nothing erotic about this book. If anything it took the magic away from how amazing this experience can really be. It did have some eliment of sentiment but other than that it bored me, and I found it hard to get threw many of the stories, and eventually gave up.

Insipid and boring.......2003-03-04

My girlfriend gave me this book as part of my Valentine's Day present and I must say we were both disappointed. I didn't think it could be possible to make such an interesting and charged topic so boring. The stories are poorly written and about as compelling as dishwater. I realize this is supposed to be "real" women talking about their first time lesbian experiences but a little editing of both copy and content should be in order. The writing is often times painfully awkward, the stories themselves mostly mundane with a few on the freakishly odd side.

Some of the reviewers described this book as erotica. It is far from it. And while these tales certainly don't have to be erotic to warrant a book they should at least be captivating.

The only reason I didn't give this book no stars is because if nothing else it gave these women a forum to speak their minds... however, I don't think that forum made for a particularly good read.

I'm glad I didn't read this book before my first time with a woman as it fails to capture and properly relay the beauty, the nervousness, the longing and all the other gamut of emotions that can accompany this experience.

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