DWD's Reviews

A good ending to both series. Jesse Stone #9 Sunny Randall #7 Robert B. Parker couldn't have scripted a better ending to the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series if he had tried. Sadly, there will be no more of this series due to the death of Robert B. Parker but, happily, both end on a strong note. "Split Image" is really two books wrapped up in one. There is a small Sunny Randall mystery that is semi-independent of the main investigative line of Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone. Both are good and throw in the interactions between Randall and Stone you have the makings of a strong addition to both series. I won't go into plot details here, but I can say that I do recommend this one for followers of either series. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Split Image . Reviwed on April 26, 2010.

Published in 2010 by FT Press. I picked this book up because I am a resident of Indiana and biofuels are a controversial topic. Some hail biofuels as a boon for local farmers, a green energy source, a creator of new jobs, and a step towards energy independence. Others  decry the whole project as stupidly burning our food in our gas tanks and a massive waste of money - cutting off our nose to spite our faces. What's the good news? This is truly a comprehensive introduction to topic of biofuels vs. affordable food. It is chock full of graphs, well-documented and is written in clear, easy to understand language. What's the bad news? It reads with all of the excitement of an introductory level college economics text, which is fitting since the publisher of this book is FT Press, an imprint of educational textbook giant Pearson. The other real problem is that if you are looking for an answer to the biofuel dilemma, it is not here. What you learn is that the relationship ...

A 1921 translation of an important piece of Reformation theology The Smalcald Articles were designed to be be a presentation of the basics of Lutheran theology that was to be presented at a Council of the Church in Mantua in 1537 - a Lutheran/Catholic discussion about what Lutherans and Catholics believed. As Luther notes in his brief introduction these articles laid out "what we could accept or yield, and what we could not." (location 2) They are named for the Smalcald (Schmalkaldic) League - a union of Lutheran cities and territories that opposed the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor. The Council never happened and the league never adopted the Smalcald Articles as an official statement of faith because of Luther's strident, I would even say enthusiastic, attacks on some core matters of Catholic faith, especially the office of the Pope. The Smalcald Articles were incorporated into the Book of Concord and are considered traditional standard Lutheran doctrine. The Sma...

Relentlessly violent screwball book. This is my first Carl Hiassen book. It is also Hiaasen's first book as a solo author. Hiassen goes for over-the-top funny, much like Elmore Leonard and Dave Barry. but, in the end it wore me down rather than keeping me intrigued. The premise of the book is that a Miami-based newspaper columnist is sick of all of the development in and around Miami and the Everglades so he decides to start a campaign of terrorism to scare away the tourists and to discourage more development. The columnist (whose anti-development commentary rarely deviates from Hiasssen's as the narrator) is joined by an anti-Castro bumbling bomb specialist, an African American that is a former star member of the Miami Dolphins who hates almost all white people and a native Indian from the area who is flush with bingo and gambling money. Throw in a newbie Private Detective and an Orange Bowl Queen that is sick of the pageant scene and you have a potent mix but, in the en...

I'm usually not into self-help or inspirational books but I enjoyed this one. Published by Thomas Nelson in 2007. My wife had Going the Extra Smile and asked if I was interested in reading it. Sure, I said and promptly put it on my rather large pile of books to read where it sat, with George's smiling face looking up at me for months. But, just this week I found out my school corporation transferred me to a different school (it was a seniority thing, not a performance thing) and I was more than a little bummed out because I like where I am at now. So, I picked up George's little book and plowed through it in about a day and a half, figuring I needed a bit of positive inspiration. George Foreman. Photo by el grito. Foreman talks about his two boxing careers but, more importantly, he divides his life into two parts - Old George and New George. In other terms, pre-Christian George and Christian George. George mentions St. Paul a couple of times and I'd imagine t...

Thorough and interesting St. Paul's letter to the Philippians is not a very big book but it is a treasure trove of spiritual advice, advice about how a congregation should work together, historical information and ultimately, Paul points out how the Christian life should be lived with other Christians. R. Kent Hughes explains the historical setting of the book. He describes the city of Philippi, Paul's journey to Philippi and how Paul ended up in a prison in Rome when he writes this letter. Most importantly, Hughes explains Paul's theme that Christian life must be that of fellowship. Not that of coffee and doughnuts on Sunday morning fellowship, but fellowship like that expressed in the books and movies of J.R.R. Tolkein's Fellowship of the Ring ), a fellowship based on a shared sense of mission, devotion to one another and the mission (the spreading of the Gospel) and perseverance through hardship. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. This book can be found o...

Flawed but extremely useful Published in 1998 by McGraw-Hill Education I read There's a Word for It in Mexico the way it was not intended to be read - straight through, rather than using it like a dictionary. It can get a bit repetitive as the author tries to fully explain how Mexico's history has caused their culture to react certain ways and to see things as they do. I must have read the sordid history of the Conquest of Mexico and its exploitation by both Church and Spain 25 times. The cultural elements are well-explained, very informative and usually well-written. FREQUENT spelling errors mar the book as do occasional historical errors. His math facts concerning the growth of the Mestizo population in Mexico also conflict with one another, depending on the entry you read. Was the book valuable? Yes, and not just to the traveler to Mexico. If you live near or work with Hispanics in the United States it will also be of considerable value. Despite the flaws that I men...