An Excellent Foundation
353268
A sensible, balanced, kind, and effective approach to raising and training a companion/family dog.  It is ridiculous to even suggest that this book advocates the use of force, and it is unfortunate, because this along with "The Art of Raising a Puppy," also by the Monks of New Skete, is one of the best books available for the casual owner.  These two books would be perfect for the first-time dog owner, or someone raising a puppy for the first time.  In fact, it would be great if folks would read these books BEFORE making the final decision to get a dog or puppy, as the Monks do a great job of describing in a realistic way, the commitment of time, money and energy needed to have a happy, healthy canine family member.  These are not books about how to train your dog for competitive obedience, they are about creating a happy, well-behaved member of your family.  One of my favorite things about the Monks is that they put a lot of time into their dogs, and they expect their dogs to integrate into their lives in a way that many people don't.  These dogs don't live in a kennel or tied up in a yard.  They are actual companions.  Each Brother has a dog that he raises, and the puppies and dogs are meant to be a part of life at the monastery.  The dogs are expected to lay near the desk or be present at the Brother's workspace, and move about the monastery while they go about their chores.  The dogs go to dinner with the monks and are expected to lay quietly without begging.  In other words, the brothers and the dogs are partners.  While I use some clicker training when I teach tracking (and some fun tricks), and other positive-reinforcement training with my dog as we do various dog sports, these books are always the foundation of my program.  At the heart of it, I want my dog to be in my life and a full part of my life.  I use the Monks method of crate training puppies, and the puppy is always house trained in about 2 weeks.  I also use the monks method of having the puppy "tethered" to me (a leash clipped to my belt loop) and having him get used to following me around as I move around the house during the day.  When I am not actively with him or watching him, he is in his crate napping.  All of my dogs trained this way are calm, wonderful companions and do well when it is time for more active obedience training for competition.  Get this book, you won't regret it.
2825996
The book is very well-written with many good examples and starts with simple material and grows toward more complicated topics. Everything is treated with the same clarity. The book is very useful for a base course (first half of the book) and is also great for a more advanced course. It is also very useful for self studying. I have seldom encountered a book so well written as this one and still so complete in exploring rather complex topics such as monads .
2310208
Dr. Kreeft provides an excellent introduction here in this anthology of of Aquinas' work. The way it is laid out works very well - Aquinas' writings appear first - then Dr. Kreeft's helpful remarks on the text are footnoted at the bottom of the page. No page flipping is necessary to get his comments - and they don't get in the way with reading the primary text either.
The book begins with a glossary of terms needed to comprehend Aquinas' thought. Unless you are familiar with these terms, you should really take the time to learn them before embarking on the rest of the book.
This book is a very good introduction and reference for Aqunias' thought. For absolute beginners with no background at all in Aristotelian philosophy however, you will probably want to first read Mortimer J. Adler's "Aristotle for Everybody" before tackling this book.
3533631
This book is taught in an excellent format for understanding the foundational and fundamental concepts of finance.  The authors did an outstanding job with how this text is organized.  It's also very simple in the explanation of concepts.  Some finance books are written as if they were disssertations.  This book brings the concepts down to the common man.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to start graduate study in finance.
2147017
For those desiring an approachable and broad introduction of the machine learning, this book is an excellent selection.  The fundamental concepts are explained with an applied perspective in a clear and concise language.  Several sections are also devoted to exercises with the java Weka library, giving the reader plenty of opportunity to appreciate the lessons learned and get their hands dirty with a few examples.  This edition compared to the previous edition has greater coverage of the exercises.  I highly recommend this book.
3088358
Richard Bauckham's treatment of the two least respected books of the New Testament has definately been a blessing for me as I continue to grow in my faith and knowledge of the Gospel.

As is the case for all the Word Commentaries, Bauckham introduces each book (including scholarly points of debate), translates the original language into English, and provides commentary on the book.  In this reader's opinion, Bauckham's treatment of Jude is supurb, but his treatment of 2 Peter suffers because of his belief that it is pseudepigriphal (written by an anonymous author who is pretending to be St. Peter).

I was entranced by the first part of this book--the commentary on Jude.  Bauckham greatly improved my understanding--not just of the theological elements of this work--but of St. Jude himself and the earliest days of the church in general.  Through an analysis of the gramar and vocabulary of Jude and through examining points of contact with other ancient works, one is able to gain a respect for both Jude's high degree of education as well as his knowledge of practical theological matters.  I was impressed with how relevant the message of Jude is to modern readers.

The second section, on 2 Peter, is explored as thoroughly as Jude, but was not as enjoyable a read because of my own disagreement with Bauckham's assumptions.  As previously stated, Bauckham believes that 2 Peter was not actually written by the Apostle Peter, but rather by one of his friends/students/etc.  Bauckham makes his case for this in the introduction, but is very unconvincing as he argues that 2 Peter is a hybrid piece, combining an epistle with a fictional first-person summary of his teachings.  Too much in the letter conflicts with Bauckham's view and this reader percieves some of his arguments as theological acrobatics.

Even still, Bauckham's analysis of the content of 2 Peter is excellent.  He convincingly shows the heretical arguments of Peter's opponents; he shows the unity of the letter; and points out where Peter's eschatological arguments are a continuation of both Jewish and early (earliest) Christian end-times doctrines.  It is a convincing and practical work.

In all, this fairly conservative treatment of these two Biblical books is recommended--especially to those Christians who have neglected these underrated additions to the canon.
223902
What makes this book unique is that it does not tie itself to any particular graphics API (OpenGL/Direct3D) and instead gives the foundational mathematics and theory.  This makes it an excellent foundational text and after reading it you'll know the theory behind those APIs.  It also means that the book doesn't age as quickly as some of the others since the underlying theory doesn't change as fast as the APIs.
The book is written in a clear, succinct style with focused chapters logically arranged.  There is some expectation that the reader understands basic algebra, linear algebra, and some calculus.  Overall its a very accessible textbook.
One unavoidable downside to its approach is that it does little to get you through the "last mile" of actually writing a graphics application.  While the book offers pseudocode, it never gives you a complete running program.  Therefore, you will need additional sources in order to create an actual running application using your system's graphics API.  This book will get you to the point of knowing how to implement the algorithm, but won't give you the specific API calls you need to make.
283538
This book is a collection of essays presenting opposite views on various problems in metaphysics. These include problems about abstract entities, laws of nature, modality, personal identity, time, persistence, free will, mereology and metaontology.
Each section includes two essays, each presenting and defending a prominent view on the topic, though some sections do not canvass all views. While the essays address opposing views, they don't always contend directly with each other, and there are no subsequent replies from each author, in contrast to some other "debates" books.
The authors are significant contributors in their areas, and their contributions here are excellent. They are original, and written carefully and clearly. The book is nicely organized, and includes a brief general introduction as well as very brief introductions for each section.
This book will be of great interest to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in philosophy as well as professional philosophers working in metaphysics. This is an impressive contribution to the series and to the field.
1618492
I began reading this book with high expectations regarding the insights the author would have to offer.  I was certainly not disappointed.  Foster divides his work into two parts.  In part one, he lays a foundation for a life of simplicity based upon the Old and New Testaments.  He also draws upon church history to illustrate the advantages of not being distracted by worldly possessions and pursuits.
In part two, Foster puts the concept of simplicity into action.  He speaks of inward simplicity which aligns our lives properly with God.  He then refers to outward simplicity, which relates us in a fitting manner to persons around us.  He closes his book by referring to corporate simplicity in the church and in the world.  Sadly, his work would have been better had he omitted these last two chapters.  In them, Foster's liberal economic and political views rise to the surface, strongly overshadowing the Biblical argument he has so skillfully presented earlier.
Still, in an age characterized by materialism within and without the church, this book gives a fresh new perspective on focusing on things eternal that cannot be bought or sold.  I recommend it highly.
915207
Used this as the backbone to my Yoga Teacher Training curriculum.  A GREAT foundational resource!
1275153
Thorough and well-explained. Emphasis on outlining chords. Great foundational material.
740751
I highly recommend this DVD, for it provides a thorough study and commonsense approach to this volatile and often misunderstood topic. Logically presented and wide-ranging in its scope, it provides the novice and the professional alike with a good, solid foundation of facts. An excellent addition to any collection in both form and substance.
4025063
This is a book I am highly pleased to add to my library. At just under seven hundred fifty pages it is not a "light-weight" book, but because of the way it is written and the fact it is a compilation keeps it accessible and easy to read. Additionally, because it is a compilation and divided into several part, I am comfortable pulling it from the shelf to read for brief periods of time and using it as a resource tool.

Christian Apologetics Past & Present is subtitled "A Primary Source Reader" and is the second of a two-volume set. This volume spans the Christian timeline from year 1500 to present. It is exactly as it proclaims itself, a primary source reader. There are writings from over twenty-five theologians included in this compendium with quite a few more mentioned and cited throughout the book. I personally know of no other source that lists and included the diversity of theological thought in a single volume. It thrills me to have such breadth, depth, and diversity of theology in one book. This diversity does have its trade-off; however, in the fact that there is not time, space, or opportunity to go into great detail of explanation of the theologian's writings. The benefit is in providing the high-level introduction to some of the most important Christian writing over the last five hundred years since the Reformation.

The writings in the book are well cited and referenced providing the reader with all the information needed to dig deeper should they desire. The sections are broken into four primary parts with sub-sections or chapters devoted to some of the greatest contributors to that particular period of thought. For instance, Part One is Reformation, Post-Reformation (Protestant), and Catholic Reformation and includes works from Martin Luther, John Calvin, Robert Bellarmine, and John Owen. As I have said, representative of a very diverse group of thinkers. Subsequent sections include the following: Modernity and the Challenge of Reason, The Global Era: Christian Faith and a Changing World, and Issues Today and Tomorrow.

I am greatly impressed with the editors' decisions on who to include in this volume although I was a little surprised by some of the theologians they opted not to include. In fairness, I understand that there has to be a criteria established and a line has to be drawn somewhere; it is with this mind that I do not envy or fault the editorial team for their decisions. Also, to the credit of Edgar and Oliphint, they do not offer a lot of commentary or opinion related to the writing or belief of the theologians included in this body of work, but they allow the writing of the theologians to stand on their own accord. It should also be noted that the majority of these pieces are excerpted from more comprehensive pieces. This means that your interaction with the writer may require your reading the theologian's thoughts in full disclosure by going to the source publication.

In summary, I am delighted to have a copy of this book. While it may not be the end-all source for Christian apologetics, it is absolutely the best collective overview that I've ever held in my hands. If I have any con or regret over this book, it will be that it cost me quite a few dollars in purchases toward the primary source of some of the writings I was introduced to and the purchase of Volume One in this Christian Apologetics set, Christian Apologetics Past and Present (Volume 1, To 1500). I consider this set a "must" for any serious Christian Library.
3596625
This is a terrific introduction to the Apostle Paul and the letters  attributed to him in the New Testament.  Roetzl is a superbly clear and  concise writer who knows how to write introductory material without  distorting and oversimplifying.  This is a well tested textbook, and the  new fourth edition brings it into line with the most current Pauline  scholarship.  Roetzl fully incorporates the continuing influences of the  "Sanders revolution" into his own understanding of Paul and his  writings.  The book provides a thorough treatment of each of the epistles  in terms of posible dating, situation, and literary structure before  explicating the primary themes.  Roetzl does divide the Paul's letters into  the categories of undisputed and disputed and treats them roughly according  to his own chronology.  Some will quibble with the ordering and the  categorization, but Roetzl is far from dogmatic on these positions.  Most  importantly, as the subtitle indicates, Roetzl takes seriously the role  Paul's letters play in an ongoing relationship with the churches to which  he writes.  In line with the the contemporary trend, he extends this  principle to Romans, moving further away from the older, non-situaltional  way of reading.  I have used this as a textbook with undergraduate students  and they have complimented it highly.
1958411
This book will be a foundation upon which many will build their lives. I cannot wait to employ some of his techniques.
1877960
This book is absolutely foundational for anyone interested in in animal rights. It presents a brief history of animals in Western thought, and presents cogent counter-arguments to some of the more common theories and approaches. The structure of the book is such that it if you're familiar with Francione's work already (either through his other books or through his website www.abolitionistapproach.com), it is the kind of book that you can dip into. That it has footnotes rather than endnotes is extremely useful, and there's a very handy reference guide to selected topics at the end.

Oh, and the dedication is just beautiful! :)
4462452
This book is a careful treatment of the subjects in the title. It is an introduction, but it manages to cover quite a bit of ground with lots of examples to illustrate. One of it's distinguishing points  is the way in  which the concrete, coordinate based calculations are emphasized even while  usually presenting the more abstract, coordinate free approach as well.
The book does a good job at stimulating those studying it to develop  intuition. I found the book helpful when I was first studying the subject.