Product Description
Stock up in time for the Lenten Season and Mercy Sunday on this beautiful leatherbound Deluxe Edition of the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska Divine Mercy in My Soulthe book that sparked the Divine Mercy movement with more than 800,000 copies sold to date.This special edition of the Diary, published in commemoration of the first World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, April 26, 2008 in Rome, Italy, is now available in soft burgundy or blue leather with gold foil, guilded edges and a ribbon marker.It is a book for every Catholics libraryone that many will want to keepnext to their Bible for constant insight and inspiration. The Diary is an amazing narrative that chronicles the experiences of a simple, uneducated Polish nun who received a special call shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves usall of us. And, He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. The Diary is truly a vehicle of grace for all who read it, for in reading it one can realize the truth that mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to Gods mercy, (Diary, 300). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

A Must Have Book To Own
I am a Protestant Christian that bought this book out of curiosity . I loved it. I liked her visions of heaven and God's mercy to anyone who trusted in Jesus's mercy. I find myself saying to myself sometimes "Jesus I trust in you." I have picked up praying the divine mercy chaplet. I would recommended this book to anyone who is struggling with God's mercy.

This is a nice size and shape to take with you on the go. It fits nice into a purse.

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska
Straight to the point...it is an excellent and inspirational book. I am a Pastor for our local non-denominational Church and find much information contained in this diary useful in our daily devotionals and sermons. This book which is in burgandy leather is well made and perfect to have in your collection.

A must have for all homes
The Diary of Saint Faustina is truly an inspired work that should be read by all who are wanting to have a deeper understanding of the love of Christ. It's very easy to read and can be read a little at a time, or all at once. I keep this book in my study and read it as a devotional. I would highly recommend this book for everyone, regardless of your denominational background or beliefs.

a Must have book
This diary will take you to a diffrent level of relation with Jesus, you will be much closer to him and understand him better, I really see this book a MUST for speritual progress.

Very nice copy...
This is a very nice leather bound/gold edge copy of The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska.It is a look at the Roman Catholic Church prior to WW2. I thank the people who
saved her diary and treated it with such respect and love, she is after all a Saint. Her diary reflects a profound love of Our Lord Jesus Christ...with hope for humanity. ... Read more

Product Description
This bestselling book that birthed the Divine Mercy movement, one of the fastest growing movements in world today. This amazing narrrative will stir your heart and soul while it chronicles the experience of a simple Polish nun. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Diary of St. Faustina
This book is an excellent one to study in a group.We gather in my home each week and read from this diary and discuss the wonderful insights that it gives.It is a springboard to great discussions.I act as the facilitator, moving the discussion along.The first time we studied it, it took us 2 and 1/2 years to complete.We went on to study other books, but then returned to this Diary to study it a second time because so many wanted to return to it.Other books we studied and gained a great deal from are, "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary" by St. Louis Marie de Monfort, "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, "Humility of Heart", and "Hungry Souls" by Gerard J.M.VanDen Aardweg.
So consider gathering in your own home to study such works which are sure to benefit your soul!

SPLENDOR OF GRACE
This Diary is life changing....One of the great, modern Saints of the Catholic Church was commissioned and charged by Our Lord, Himself, to write this Diary for us, for now in this present time.St. Faustina was a young, nearly illiterate nun in the 1930's, guided by her visions and visitations with Jesus, to write down what He wanted all people to know about His infinite Love and Mercy for the whole world. Obediently, she wrote what He instructed, and carried out her mission just as Our Lord instructed.John Paul II was the Pope who brought Divine Mercy to the modern world, and canonized this humble girl...This Diary is a miracle.I was a devout Catholic when I first read it, and it only deepens the faith, and the soul is flooded with inner graces...It guides, instructs, and most of all it serves the human heart with an inner and outer portrait of Jesus, Who loves us beyond all words, and gives us His Mercy.Mercy is His present, modern gift to us, His lost ones, His lambs, His beloved ones.And Mercy is His gift to those who do not know Him, and who may perish eternally without Him.This flood of Love and Merciful Compassion is for the whole world.This will be an investment you'll not want to miss....I didn't pay much money for this version in paperback, and the investment in Love and Mercy is priceless and unspeakable.

Excellent read.
Both Catholics and non-Catholics will be moved by this book, which reveals the complicated life of Sister Faustina.

Enlightening. I have learned so much!
This diary is wonderful and so eye-opening. I am a Christian but not a Catholic. I had no idea of the relationship with Jesus that a saint has.It makes me think it is available to all of us if we only knew that.The only thing I don't like about this particular addition is that the print is so small.I wish I'd ordered a larger print version.

Diary of Sr. Faustina Kowalska
Came fast and in the good shape it was reported to be in.Thank you very much!Also thank you for reminding me to type a review.
Olinda S. Britton ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

Walking in the Cloister
British historian Moorhouse offers a detailed "play by play" account of the terrible years for British monasticism in the late 1530's with the dissolution by Henry VIII. One of the focal points for this study is Durham Cathedral/Monastery, which was left intact and continues today as an Anglican house of worship. Durham Cathedral today also offers one weekend per year for anyone willing to reserve their place, to come and celebrate the past by learning about the way of St. Benedict and Benedictine spiritual life of the Durham monastery prior to when Henry VIII took power. Anyone who has visited the great ruined skeletal abbeys of England, such as Fountains Abbey, Rievaulx Abbey and Whitby Abbey in northern England, knows the travesty of the English "reformation" under Henry VIII's leadership. I was told by a tour guide on an historical tour of York, England, that it took 200 years after the dissolution of the monasteries in late 1530's for England to recoup/replace the hospital beds lost in those fateful three years under Henry VIII. The monastery was a place of societal stability, hospitality, free health-care, literacy and spirituality. Sure, many of the abbey's had become glutted with power, wealth and centuries of spiritual treasures. Sure, English Benedictine spirituality had wandered away from the original vision and practice of their founder, St. Benedict. Yet, there is something haunting in those cloister bones laying out in the parks and heaths of the English countryside, as though dinosaurs once roamed the landscape of the shire, but were struck down by some St. George seeking treasure and lasting fame. The true lasting treasure of Benedictine life could not be taken from England or from the French after the troubles and closing of many French monasteries during the French revolution. The true treasure of Benedictine spirituality is found in daily intimacy with God through walking along ancient paths of spiritual formation such as communal prayer, ora et labora, lectio divina, and radical hospitality. If you want to read more about such ways of Benedictine spiritual formation, look into the following recently published books: Ancient Paths: Discover Christian Formation the Benedictine Way, and The Busy Family's Guide to Spirituality: Practical Lessons for Modern Living From the Monastic Tradition.

Excellent overview of the Durham community
This is a thorough and extremely detailed account of the history of Durham Cathedral and its monastic community--almost too detailed as it was (is) impossible for me to absorb the extensive recounting of persons associated with the monastic community and its dismemberment. However, the thoroughness also lent the volume an immediacy that is intriguing. Some of the author's biases are obvious, but that is natural with a biography, which this is, albeit of a place rather than a person.

Charming but superficial
Yes, the description of the monastery, of the cathedral and of the traditional rites, which were performed there, is charming. But to describe the dissolution of monasteries only through the lens of greed is blatantly superficial. Everywhere, at the time, in the intellectual circles, the question was asked about the relevance of the monks'life, of the monks'vows for christianity. Read Erasmus or Rabelais to give non protestant names. Furthermore, in the same circles, the luxury of the church was criticized; this very luxury, Mr. Moorhouse describes in Durham, with some apparent nostalgy. Greed, violence, yes but also an authentic will of some to create a new church they wanted or believed closer to the church of the first times. It is good to remember that reformation was often imposed on the common man but it doesn't mean that the reformers were only brutal crooks.

Last Divine Ofc
I enjoyed this book very much and it was great about England and Henry VIII

An intriguing story of the decline and fall of the English monastery, highly recommended
Henry VIII's formation of the Anglican church had many consequences. "The Last Divine Office: Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries" tells the story of the last days of English monasteries, as the King had ordered England's severance from Rome as a Catholic power to embrace Protestantism. This split was not an entirely religious move; Henry also sought to obtain more funds for the kingdom rather than let money be siphoned away by the church. "The Last Divine Office" is an intriguing story of the decline and fall of the English monastery, highly recommended.
... Read more

Product Description
New options for clerics, paladins, and other divine characters.

This tome focuses on the divine heroes: characters whose powers rely on their faith as much as their sword, providing new archetypal builds for the cleric, paladin, and other divine classes, including new character powers, feats, paragon paths, and epic destinies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

4th edition galore
4th edition: and attempt to make D&D into a video game on paper. Another in the never slowing line of manuals with way too much verbiage and too little real content. And there will be more coming that will make creating a character class even more spread out and difficult without an encyclopedia-sized cross-reference to find all of the pertinent information....

Great addition for divine classes.
I am loving the additional information and skills that this bookopens up for divine classes. This will be a great addition to my collection as well as helping me broaden and specialize divine classes a bit more than I had before. I love extra options for my characters and this has it.

4th Edition supplement
This book is options for Avengers, Clerics, Invokers and Paladins. The 4th edition Paladin was reworked into a champion of a specific diety and the only class able to use plate armor. These are what are known as "divine" characters. New powers, paragon paths and epic destinies. Included are the Demonslayer, Dragonslayer and Holy Conqueror. Also Knight of the Chalice and Questing Knight, Slayer of the Dead. This is a huge improvement over the AD & D 2nd editiion's Complete Paladin Handbook which saw the Paladin as a career squire or similar to clases here but with too many drawbacks so might as well play the 2nd edition Player's Handbook template.

Great book if you're playing a paladin
I don't know how anyone plays a paladin without this book.It adds some great options and powers for the class.I haven't used it for the other divne classes it covers, but if its half as useful for those classes as it is for the paladin, you won't be disappointed.

perfect supplement for players
This is the perfect supplement for players!For DMs it's just kinda OK in my book. ... Read more

Product Description
Guided by the poet Virgil, Dante plunges to the very depths of Hell and embarks on his arduous journey towards God. Together they descend through the nine circles of the underworld and encounter the tormented souls of the damned - from heretics and pagans to gluttons, criminals and seducers - who tell of their sad fates and predict events still to come in Dante's life. In this first part of his "Divine Comedy", Dante fused satire and humour with intellect and soaring passion to create an immortal Christian allegory of mankind's search for self-knowledge and spiritual enlightenment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A must for every bookshelf
You can't read serious literature if you have not read this book. The translation is a particularly accessible one.

Dante's Hell
The book was purchased for a school assignment of my oldest daughter.The book was in perfect shape delivered on time.My daughter was not a real fan of the book but it met the need and she got perfect score on the report she wrote on it.

Medieval vision of the afterlife
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.Norton edition has great articles to help explain the work and is a great translation."The Divine Comedy" describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect.By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante.Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity).This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy".In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other language were assumed to be comedic in nature.Furthermore, the word "comedy," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good.By this meaning of the word, the progression of Dante's pilgrim from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: Each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternate meanings.Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the "Letter to Can Grande della Scala"), he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory (the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical).The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines.The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination.Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of "L'Inferno", allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" added later in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar Italian language and not the Latin language as one might expect for such a serious topic.

Paradiso
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology.Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. Thus, the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction.The addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it.Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love God.Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. All parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul.That is to say all experience God but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others.This is not determined by time or learning as such but by their proximity to God (how much they allow themselves to experience him above other things).It must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with God.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

Good, but not the best
The greatest strength of Dorothy Sayers's translation of The Divine Comedy is its notes. Sayers considered this translation her finest work and spent years of her life on it, though she died before she could complete Paradise. Having read The Comedy dozens of times myself, along with many books on Dante and his work, I liked Sayers for her dedication, but her translation--and even her notes--has some problems.

The biggest flaw of the translation is that it's just not literal enough, due mainly to Sayers's attempt at rhyming. Dante invented terza rima ("threefold rhyme") for his Comedy, and trying to use the same rhyme in English is a noble effort but ultimately hopeless. She frequently strays from the original or, worse, obscures something very clear in the original so that she can fit the lines into her rhyme scheme. Her English is also littered all over with strange syntax and archaic words, some of which worked while others left me scratching my head and, in at least one case, laughing out loud.

But for all that, her translation is entertaining and still allows Dante to speak, if through an imperfect medium. There were some sections in which the wording and rhyme worked so well I was thrilled as I read it--most of the work, however, is not up to that standard.

As I said at the beginning, though, this translation's greatest strength is its notes. Sayers shows years of dedicated study in the introduction, notes, and appendices she prepared for this work. One of the most helpful parts of her work are the breakdowns of difficult sections, which she analyzes in the four levels of interpretation at which Dante wrote. These sections are very good and offered even a seasoned reader of Dante like me something to sink my teeth into.

Some of her notes are misguided or flawed, but the book is still worthwhile to the new student of Dante for the wealth of good information they contain. I give one star for the translation and three for the notes.

If the notes are not what you're after and you want to read something more literal the first time around, check out the Mark Musa translation, also available from Penguin Classics, or that of Anthony Esolen from the Modern Library.

Recommended.

Golden Oldies
First of all, a warning: the "Comedy" is a complex work, and we are constantly updating our understanding of it. However, once one has finished whatever annotated and/or translated version is currently at the apex of knowledge, it is well worth going back to Sayers. I would dare to say that this is one of the classic translations, one of the best from that phase of Dante studies (for example, though she is obviously tempted towards a Freudian reading, she actually tries to resist its more absurd results). Its funny how many Danteans still do not get beyond the Inferno... ... Read more

Product Description

In this inspiring book, Erwin McManus uses the biblical account of Israel's war with the Philistines (1 Samuel 13 and 14) and the characters of Saul and Jonathan to demonstrate the difference between living a life of purpose and adventure, and living one of apathy and missed opportunity. In the midst of a less-than-hopeful battle, Saul--who should have been leading--rested beneath a pomegranate tree as Jonathan seized the divine moment that would impact the future of Israel. Through this story McManus artfully illustrates the eight characteristics of an adventurer's heart, what he calls the Jonathan factor.

Using powerful examples from his own life and ministry, along with fresh biblical teaching, McManus asserts that God crafts divine moments specific to each of us--priceless opportunities for us to actively engage in God's big-picture plan. Apathy and apprehension prevent us from being all we are meant to be for God's kingdom. But by developing the characteristics McManus outlines, Christians can move from mundane to miraculous living.

Customer Reviews (23)

another great book
this book is a great motivator to take every opportunity in looking for God all around you and responding in love.
Get it, read it, live it.

siezing your devine moment

Enjoyed the book, bought a copy for my Pastor.
Have enjoyed all of McManus books.

Seizing Your Divine Moment
This is a great, great book.I can't say enough about it.Just to tell you that this book will be given to several on my Christmas list tells you a lot.Not to mention, I plan to read the book again.I am using it as my daily devotional, but even then, it is hard to put down.

A "must read"
The title fits precisely.Everyone would benefit from reading this, not just Christians.This book is in the same league with John Eldredge's Waking the Dead.A great book for a small group to go through together.

Decently Written
Seizing Your Divine Moment was my first exposure to McManus' work.Admittedly, I brought a little bias to the book, since I realize McManus is a fellow seminarian...

Biblical exegesis of Jonathon's (King of Israel Saul's son...) heroic confrontation of a Phillistine outpost with his armor-bearer.

I think that McManus has the right idea and it looks like this work was inspired by Blackaby's original Experiencing God.The motif of that book could really be boiled down to: Find where God is at work and then join it.

McManus' work could be boiled down to: don't just sit---get out and do.Be a risk-taker for God and go after a divine encounter.God rarely brings them to us...we have to partner with him to find them.

Commended to all who need a kick-in-the-pants jump start to doing "something" for God. ... Read more

Product Description
In this superb translation with an introduction and commentary by Allen Mandelbaum, all of Dante's vivid images--the earthly, sublime, intellectual, demonic, ecstatic--are rendered with marvelous clarity to read like the words of a poet born in our own age. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Medieval vision of the afterlife
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.Norton edition has great articles to help explain the work and is a great translation.The other great translation is by Mark Musa."The Divine Comedy" describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect.By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante.Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity).This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy".In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other language were assumed to be comedic in nature.Furthermore, the word "comedy," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good.By this meaning of the word, the progression of Dante's pilgrim from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: Each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternate meanings.Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the "Letter to Can Grande della Scala"), he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory (the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical).The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines.The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination.Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of "L'Inferno", allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" added later in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar Italian language and not the Latin language as one might expect for such a serious topic.

Paradiso
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology.Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. Thus, the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction.The addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it.Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love God.Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. All parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul.That is to say all experience God but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others.This is not determined by time or learning as such but by their proximity to God (how much they allow themselves to experience him above other things).It must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with God.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

Book To Read
The translation of the book from italian is great and reading it was amazing. The book was in perfect condition.

Dante is the king of hellfire....
This is an excellent translation of a classic, complete with illustrations.
By now you should know about the contents so I will simply say that this is the best version.

From Hell
"Midway life's journey I was made aware/that I had strayed into a dark forest..." Those eerie words open the first cantica of Dante Alighieri's "Inferno," the most famous part of the legendary Divina Comedia. But the stuff going on here is anything but divine, as Dante explores the metaphorical and supernatural horrors of the inferno.

The date is Good Friday of the year 1300, and Dante is lost in a creepy dark forest, being assaulted by a trio of beasts who symbolize his own sins. But suddenly he is rescued ("Not man; man I once was") by the legendary poet Virgil, who takes the despondent Dante under his wing -- and down into Hell.

But this isn't a straightforward hell of flames and dancing devils. Instead, it's a multi-tiered carnival of horrors, where different sins are punished with different means. Opportunists are forever stung by insects, the lustful are trapped in a storm, the greedy are forced to battle against each other, and the violent lie in a river of boiling blood, are transformed into thorn bushes, and are trapped on a volcanic desert.

If nothing else makes you feel like being good, then "The Inferno" might change your mind. The author loads up his "Inferno" with every kind of disgusting, grotesque punishment that you can imagine -- and it's all wrapped up in an allegorical journey of humankind's redemption, not to mention dissing the politics of Italy and Florence.

Along with Virgil -- author of the "Aeneid" -- Dante peppered his Inferno with Greek myth and symbolism. Like the Greek underworld, different punishments await different sins; what's more, there are also appearances by harpies, centaurs, Cerberus and the god Pluto. But the sinners are mostly Dante's contemporaries, from corrupt popes to soldiers.

And Dante's skill as a writer can't be denied -- the grotesque punishments are enough to make your skin crawl ("Fixed in the slime, groan they, 'We were sullen and wroth...'"), and the grand finale is Satan himself, with legendary traitors Brutus, Cassius and Judas sitting in his mouths. (Yes, I said MOUTHS, not "mouth")

More impressive still is his ability to weave the poetry out of symbolism and allegory, without it ever seeming preachy or annoying. Even pre-hell, we have a lion, a leopard and a wolf, which symbolize different sins, and a dark forest that indicates suicidal thoughts. And the punishments themselves usually reflect the person's flaws, such as false prophets having their heads twisted around so they can only see what's behind them. Wicked sense of humor.

Dante's vivid writing and wildly imaginative "inferno" makes this the most fascinating, compelling volume of the Divine Comedy. Never fun, but always spellbinding and complicated.

Haven't rec'd the shippment, What's up with that?
The book was suposed to be a Christmas present.I've written about the order and no response.My credit card was billed for it.The book hasn't arrived and I can't seem to get answers.
What's up with this?

Sincerely,

Susie Gillespie ... Read more

Product Description
Dante's epic-in a stunning new clothbound edition.

Describing Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide, the Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasing torture, Dante encounters doomed souls including the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicide Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Led by leering demons, the poet must journey with Virgil to the heart of Hell-for it is only by encountering Satan that he can truly understand the tragedy of sin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Medieval vision of the afterlife
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.Norton edition has great articles to help explain the work and is a great translation.The other great translation is by Mark Musa."The Divine Comedy" describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect.By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante.Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity).This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy".In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other language were assumed to be comedic in nature.Furthermore, the word "comedy," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good.By this meaning of the word, the progression of Dante's pilgrim from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: Each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternate meanings.Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the "Letter to Can Grande della Scala"), he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory (the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical).The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines.The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination.Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of "L'Inferno", allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" added later in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar Italian language and not the Latin language as one might expect for such a serious topic.

Paradiso
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology.Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. Thus, the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction.The addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it.Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love God.Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. All parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul.That is to say all experience God but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others.This is not determined by time or learning as such but by their proximity to God (how much they allow themselves to experience him above other things).It must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with God.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

Go to hell
"Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood, where the right way was lost..." Those eerie words open the first cantica of Dante Alighieri's "Inferno," the most famous part of the legendary Divina Comedia. But the stuff going on here is anything but divine, as Dante explores the metaphorical and supernatural horrors of the inferno.

The date is Good Friday of the year 1300, and Dante is lost in a creepy dark forest, being assaulted by a trio of beasts who symbolize his own sins. But suddenly he is rescued ("Not man; man I once was") by the legendary poet Virgil, who takes the despondent Dante under his wing -- and down into Hell.

But this isn't a straightforward hell of flames and dancing devils. Instead, it's a multi-tiered carnival of horrors, where different sins are punished with different means. Opportunists are forever stung by insects, the lustful are trapped in a storm, the greedy are forced to battle against each other, and the violent lie in a river of boiling blood, are transformed into thorn bushes, and are trapped on a volcanic desert.

If nothing else makes you feel like being good, then "The Inferno" might change your mind. The author loads up his "Inferno" with every kind of disgusting, grotesque punishment that you can imagine -- and it's all wrapped up in an allegorical journey of humankind's redemption, not to mention dissing the politics of Italy and Florence.

Along with Virgil -- author of the "Aeneid" -- Dante peppered his Inferno with Greek myth and symbolism. Like the Greek underworld, different punishments await different sins; what's more, there are also appearances by harpies, centaurs, Cerberus and the god Pluto. But the sinners are mostly Dante's contemporaries, from corrupt popes to soldiers.

And Dante's skill as a writer can't be denied -- the grotesque punishments are enough to make your skin crawl ("Fixed in the slime, they say, 'Sullen were we in the sweet air that is gladdened by the Sun, bearing within ourselves the sluggish fume; now we are sullen in the black mire...'"), and the grand finale is Satan himself, with legendary traitors Brutus, Cassius and Judas sitting in his mouths. (Yes, I said MOUTHS, not "mouth")

More impressive still is his ability to weave the poetry out of symbolism and allegory, without it ever seeming preachy or annoying. Even pre-hell, we have a lion, a leopard and a wolf, which symbolize different sins, and a dark forest that indicates suicidal thoughts. And the punishments themselves usually reflect the person's flaws, such as false prophets having their heads twisted around so they can only see what's behind them. Wicked sense of humor.

Dante's vivid writing and wildly imaginative "inferno" makes this the most fascinating, compelling volume of the Divine Comedy. Never fun, but always spellbinding and complicated.

Divine Comedy
This is a fantastic edition of the Inferno.It is the 1st time I've ever read the Divine Comedy besides excerpts attempting to ape the terza rima.While such exerpts are gratifying the way a 3rd generation video tape of a movie may be, it is far more fullfilling to read a 'literal' representation of the Italian text in English and then frame that within the borders of the original Italian.Singleton's notes are also exceptional and lead to a very complex reading of the text.In short, for someone who cannot speak a word of Italian but wants to have the richest reading of the text, from language to content to the culture the poem draws upon, this is the text to purchase.When I complete the Inferno I plan to complete the rest of the Dante's masterpiece with Singleton holding my hand.

CHARLES SINGLETON's translation of Divine Comedy
I capitalize CHARLES SINGLETON because amazon.com pile their customer reviews into one long list, admitting no differences between translations. SINGLETON's very literal prose best serves the reader who would read theoriginal Italian, and clarify his reading by referring to the facingEnglish translation.You needn't have studied Italian for this, thoughsome skill in another Romance language is very helpful. But if you insiston getting your terza rima secondhand, read Pinsky's Inferno(Pinsky has yetto bring over the Purgatorio and Paradiso). ... Read more

Product Description
Mary Baxter, the best-selling author of A DivineRevelation of Hell and A Divine Revelation of Heaven, gives a uniqueperspective into the angelic and demonic realms. In vivid detail, shedescribes her encounters with spiritual beings, both good and bad, asshe shares anointed insights into conducting spiritual warfare.

The Enemy doesn't want you to read this book! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

book lover
Mary Baxter books are amazing. I bought almost all of the books she wrote. I love them all. This one reveals the spiritual realm that we are not aware. I learned a lot.

THIS BOOK WILLYOURGET YOUR ATTENTION!
My father got this book a couple of years ago, and was telling me about it, and it sounded very interesting, so I read it, and I am so glad that I did! This book scared me, and impressed me, I was amazed! I also believe, God uses people, in all kinds of unique, and special ways; and through these books of Mary K. Baxter, I know for a fact, God was using her, to reach and help people. I don't know what all Mary K. Baxter, the author of this book really saw, only she herself knows, and Jesus! ( God sees directly into our hearts, he knows every move we make, and everything we think!) You can't fool God!

But I do know for a fact ,that this book ,that she has written, has helped a young man that I know, that was using drugs, this book was given to him, and he read the book in one day! I know this book made a big impact on him! Certain parts of this book, he could relate to. Later on that year this man got saved, and baptized! He is now married, and has a family of his own, and this remarkable, wonderful, person, has become a better man! He is now on the right road, in his life!

At a Christian book store that I was shopping in, the cashier started talking about this book, and she said that she knows of aman, that she gave this book to, and she said that it changed his life, and he started going to church, and turned to God for help! So I know that this book has helped two people get their life back! God used this book to help them!

This book will make you think, and wonder about things! I don't know if everything is true in the book, but I do know for a fact ,that somethings in this book are very true! I highly recommend this book, and hope it will help someone else, who needs to get their life back!

Read these verses from the KING JAMES VERSION of the HOLY BIBLE, and then see what you think about some of the things that's in this book!

(LUKE: Chapter 8, verse 27 thur 33. it is about A MAN TORMENTED BY DEMONS that Jesus helped.)

(LUKE: Chapter 16, verse 19 thur 31.it is a story JESUS tolded about REAL PEOPLE that he knew ,a man named Lazarus, that WENT to HEAVEN, and about a rich man that WENT to HELL.)

(II KINGS: Chapter 6, verse 15 thur 17. it is about ELISHA a man of God, praying for his young servant's eyes TO BE OPENED, so that he could SEE in the SPIRIT REALM, so that the young servant COULD SEE BEYOND THE BIG ARMY, that the young servant WAS SEEING PHYSICALLY with HIS EYES!)

The Spirit Exists Around Us
Some people refuse to explore the spiritual realm,because they think its all brainwashing.But if you look into Christianity you will find basic truths.Take the word of Jesus for example,no normal person could of done what he did,and said what he did.People who are in faith reap the rewards from the spirit,the evidence is there if you actually look for it.Take a good look at those commandments,how well thought out were they.Whats more amazing is that no matter how many centuries go past,the commandments live on,and are very valid today.Here is an example of how the spirit works,an interesting read.

Scriptural
This is a unique book and it is excellent in its content. I recommend this to everyone who is interested in what goes on in the spirit realm. This book is also backed up by scriptures and gives revelation on those scriptures by the author's experience. I could not put this book down once I started reading it. I will definitely read it again and will say that the information given in this book is very real.

the basics of spiritual warfare
Mary Baxter presents the hierarchy of satans demonic army.She also shows the twelve realms of spiritual warfare.She shows that angels and demons have different levels of power and authority.From a practical view point, she teaches how to recognize demonic attacks and bind them and cast them away by the power of the name Jesus Christ. ... Read more

Product Description
It's up to Divine to decide....

Growing up in the Hollywood spotlight -- and the tabloid headlines -- Divine Matthews-Hardison knows how tough it can be to keep secrets. And nothing has changed now that she lives in Temple, Georgia, with her kindly pastor uncle and his family. There's no such thing as privacy in their boisterous household -- Divine can't even get close to her boyfriend at a school dance without Aunt Phoebe monitoring her, while Uncle Reed drives her nuts, quizzing her on his Sunday sermons. But Divine is about to learn that some secrets do more harm than good when kept under wraps.

Does keeping silent help or hurt?

When she begins to suspect that her friend Mia's domineering boyfriend is abusing her, Divine must decide whether or not to expose a painful secret for Mia's safety. Meanwhile, her cousin Alyssa confides in Divine about her own boyfriend troubles -- how far should Alyssa go to keep him? With her mother in nearby Atlanta, Divine has a fresh chance at reconciling her family -- but she has to get past her resentments of Kevin, her mother's new boyfriend. With so much drama going on, will Divine be able to look to her heart and know how to help her friends -- and herself? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Monitorings
Divine has come a long way from her Hollywood diva-ish ways.She's no longer that girl vying for attention from the photographers, and is blessed to know what it's like to live a normal life.Granted she's experienced some things, thanks to her parents being who they are, but for the most part, Divine Matthews-Hardison is an average teenager.

In part 3, DIVINE SECRETS, Divine is besieged.Madison wants to reconcile, but she's experienced the pain of heartbreak and doesn't want to ever feel that way again.Alyssa is considering sex with Stephen in order to prevent a break-up.Her father is newly married and wants her and her step-mom, Ava, to become friends.Her mom is saying she isn't involved with Kevin Nash, an actor; the tabloids are saying they are.Juggling all of this, Divine notices that Mia, one of her BF's is in serious trouble.Mia adamantly denies that her relationship with her new boyfriend, Tim, is the problem.Divine has noticed the changes in Mia's behavior and worries that she's diluted by foolishness.After some persuasion, Mia confided in Divine, swearing her to secrecy.Soon Mia's secret completely takes over causing Divine to constantly worry and live in fear that her friend will be seriously injured.Divine has to decide whether to violate the friendship code and tell Mia's secret.

DIVINE SECRETS, part 3 in the Divine series, deals with physical abuse, teen pregnancy, forgiveness and dating.I'm enjoying the development of the characters and how the topics are always rerouted to living right with God.

Parents, your teens will love this series.It comes filled with drama, consequences and a real perspective.

Domestic Abuse...not just an adult problem
The Ups and Downs of Being Round

Once again Jacquelin Thomas has used real characters and realistic situations to teach valuable lessons in an inspirational way.She opened my eyes to the fact that domestic violence is not just an issue that adults and married couples deal with, but it is also happening to teens.The main character, Divine, gives young men and women a role model that is realistic, thus making it ok to stand for something positive when peer pressure tends to pull you in the opposite direction.

Even though I am pushing 30, I am totally hooked on this young adult series.This is the third one that I have read and I can't wait to read the next one.I wish this was around when I was a teenager.

As an educator and social worker I HIGHLY recommend this to young people everywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good food for thought
This book helped me to address some deep questions and doubts that keep coming up in our world today that is so filled with violence. Where is God in all of this? ... Read more

Product Description
This is the ""secret biography"" of one of Tibets foremost saints, the Buddha Drukpa Kunley (1455-1570). Appearing in the spiritual lineage established by Tilopa, is an incarnation of the great Mahasiddha, Saraha. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

not for everyone but a classic
The Tibetans have a far, far, more earthy understanding of religion than we in the west will ever develop.
This book, for example, has to do with the spiritual and sexual adventures of a strange Tibetan saint who even the Tibetans approach carefully.
Not for those who think that spiritual affairs and sex cannot be combined yet the book is a great classic even if the cultural context is untranslatable.

Not The Place To Start
Though Drukpa is a beloved saint of many Himalayans, this is certainly not the first book to read if you're interested in Tibetan Buddhism or culture. In fact, without a grasp of Tantric principles and the way skillful means can be used in a way seen as legitimate by this tradition, many of the events in this book would be received as downright distastful and suspect. I had run across references to him in a number of other works over the years, and am frankly glad I waited until this later point in my understanding of Buddhism before reading this work. Otherwise, I doubt I could have seen through a lot of the cultural chaff, which many would find offensive, to the core insights that the text is trying to promote. Read it sometime, but don't rush to it before you're ready.

Maybe "the other Buddhism"
I read this book via a borrowed first edition, in one mesmerized sitting.2nd ed. should be same.Now I must own it as soon as re-published! A fabulous story of the Buddhist monk whose left-hand path will scandalize some and delight others.I visited Drukpa Kunley's monastery in Bhutan and received the resident head monk's blessing with both the wooden phallus and the ivory one.Kunley created Bhutan's national animal, the Takin, and spread both his generous organ's output and the Dharma over the Himalaya. Worshiped by all women he met, he conquered Bon magicians and otherwise gave Buddhism a full-bodied life. Must reading for all adults.Now, I want to make a film about his life...join me?k4vud@hotmail.com ... Read more

Product Description

Winner of a 2006 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) AwardEver present in art and mythology, animals have made an indelible impression on our psyche. The Animals Divine Tarot can help us reconnect with the natural world and tune into animal energies for a more intuitive, insightful outlook on life.

Gorgeous and graceful, Lisa Hunt's watercolor imagery showcases sacred creatures and deities from a myriad of cultures: Aztec, Incan, Indian, Japanese, African, Native American, Greek, Roman, and others. Bast, the cat-headed goddess of Egypt, proudly fulfillsthe High Priestess role while the adventurous coyote treads a rocky path as The Fool. Inspiring imagination and contemplation, this soulful tarot deck invites us to recognize our inner creatures and merge with our animal energies.

Customer Reviews (25)

Beautiful cards
Not much to say except the cards are beautiful and inspiring. I highly recommend this product. However, if you are just starting out with learning the Tarot, you should get the Rider-Waite Smith deck or another traditional deck to start out with. If you get this for your very first deck, it would be hard to understand. You would definitely need some basic background before being able to understand and read the Animals Divine deck.

AnimalDivine Tarot
This is a stunning deck with good symbolism for reading.The artwork is beautiful and all cards including the minor arcana are painted with their corresponding symbolism.If you love animals and fantasy you can't go wrong with this deck.The book is good but not great but I don't buy decks for the books.I have good tarot books I use and recommend "Tarot Plain and Simple" by Anthony Louis.This is the best book on the Tarot I have ever read.

Nice Pictures but
This is my first set of tarot cards, so I am not really quilified to write a review but this is what I think at this point. I wish the cards had more of a message/meaning written on the cards instead of in the book.
I was drawn to these cards because of the animal motif, and think the drawings are great. I also find it a nuisance to try to keep these cards in the order the book talks about, it takes away from any spontaneity and gives the cards more of a rigid feeling.

Animal divination link

These cards inspire you with love and care. I would use them with any person and accept their wisdom.The relativity
to traditional Tarot is uncanny.

Interesting
I've always interested in Tarot, especially cards representing animal totems.I found this deck exquisite and I love the stories.I was disappointed in the art of the cards however, I expected greater detail and deeper colors as was show on the website display. ... Read more

Product Description

INCREASE YOUR SPIRITUAL STRENGTH AWAKEN YOUR HIDDEN POTENTIAL AND FULFILL YOUR DESTINY

Sushan Shumsky has taught thousands how to develop a deep spiritual connection within themselves by learning to listen to and trust the "still small voice" within -- the voice that embodies the wisdom needed to set a clear direction in life and make the biggest decisions with peaceful confidence. In Divine Revelation, she presents her proven techniques for opening your heart, mind, and spirit to the riches of inner divine contact and for learning how to:

* Augment your innate intuitive abilities
* Identify the source of intuitive messages and test their authenticity
* Overcome resistance to divine contact by breaking through ego barriers
* Attain mastery in the practice of meditation
* Become self-reliant in solving personal problems and charting a course for the future ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

My first book of this kind
It took me 5 years to write this review because the space is too small for such a great book.
I bought this book when I was in University in 2005. I started reading it daily and in a week I finished. I had that feeling I didn't put too much focus and I read it again. Now with a highlighter. I ended with a book with some paragraphs highlighted in green. After awhile I read it again and the paragraphs were highlighted with different color.
Today, after almost 5 years the book is painted in green, yellow, red and other colors and I feel like shouldn't highlight at all. The whole book is motivational. The whole book is inspirational. In a noisy daily life this book is like a lantern which light the path for inner me. I learned how to meditate and this book was one of my first books which help to enlight me.
I recommend the book for everyone, meditators or not, believers or not. As physicist I found connections I didn't know and I couldn't believe they can exist. As meditator I found the book as a companion... a trusted one. This book will help you to heal the soul, that soul we don't care in this world.
Thank you Susan for this book and for all wisdom words you put in everything.

this book and method helped me connect to the personal god within

When I came across this book and meditation method, I had been a 'spiritual seeker' for many years and I had practiced meditation and had increased my understanding of spirituality and my mind and life had gained a peace and stillness.However, I had never been able to really experience a connection with the divine in the way that I wanted - personal, clear guidance and feeling the presence of the personal God.

Susan's Divine Revelation showed me and can show you how to do that - the basic premise is to believe and know that it is possible, to still your mind and to ASK.And then this meditation method helps you to open your mind to receive, and to clear any negative influence or fears that can be interfering with your ability to receive.

In my first guided meditation using this method I realized that Babaji was present for me and received some clear detailed guidance for issues that I was finding difficult at the time.I have continued to deepen my connection and this meditation method is ome that I still use and my meditations are an important and wonderful part of my life.

How To Recognize The Truth
This is the one book to go to if you're yearning to recognize the Truth of your Being.A how to guide that takes the guess-work out of what comes to Mind.It takes the middleman out and shows you- the reader, the listener, how to go straight to the source and get up to date accurate information about the questions on your mind and in your heart.
Susan Shumsky shows you how to navigate your internal landscape and go straight to the Source in a safe, fun and eternally fulfilling manner.
Check out this book and you'll get the tools that will change your life for the better.

An Open Door to Divine Connection for Practical Growth
Dr. Susan's foundation book on connecting with your GodSource within gives all information essential to making and understanding that vital connection for accomplishing one's purpose in life. Using these principles regularly has helped me grow spirituallly and practically. Susan's approach, as guided by Spirit, is always practical and useful in outlook (never merely theoretical; never incomprehensibly esoteric). Divine Revelation marks in print the start of a new era of practical sprituality for accomplishing one's most cherished goals and desires.

Contact your Inner Guide
I read Susan Shumssky's Divine Revelation book many years ago.The inspiration I got from reading it has led me ever deeper and deeper into an active,living relationship with my Higher Self and with God.It is a wonderful introduction to the whole spectrum of metaphysics.It isn't a dry textbook. just reading it can provide an awakening of an inherent ability that all humanity shares, to be able to enter into the living presence of the Divine that's lives within you and me.It shows you how to make the experiential contact with your Inner Christ, your Spiritual Guide that is always with you.This experience provides a rock solid foundation for a true belief in the existence of God.I've spoken with many spiritual people who have never had a spiritual experience and are living on blind faith.I hope that this review will touch people like this and perhaps inspire them to get the book and read it.It's the real thing.

This initial Breakthrough into the living world of Spirit was a wonderful transformational experience that was the beginning of a new life for me.Now many years later, my relationship with my Higher Self has expanded into all areas of my life.I'm able to receive guidance from my Higher Self whenever I want it.I'm retired now, I'm in an unconditionally loving relationship. I have no money worries. and I've become a healer.My health is good for my advanced age (79).And most importantly, I'm a joyful, loving teacher, sharing with other seekers what I've learned from reading Susan's book.I have a satisfied mind, and here's not one man in a hundred who can say that. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

such an important contribution to the existing literature about lectio divina
I have read quite a few books on Lectio Divina, mostly by monks or other members of cloistered religious communities. However, of all that I've read on Lectio Divina, Tony's book is the freshest, most accessible and down-to-earth. Tony frames these reflections around real life strains and demands, suggesting that Lectio Divina can be a part of our personal spiritual formation. He breaks down the process of Lectio Divina in incredibly readable, intimate practices that make sense and seem doable--even for folks who don't live in monastic communities. The book is inspiring. More than simply an introduction to Lectio Divina, Tony's book is grounded and immensely practical. I highly recommend this, even if you've already read some of the classics on Lectio Divina, this one is an important contribution to the existing literature.

A manuel for "sacred reading"
Tony Jones has written a very easy-to-read, step-by-step manual on the practice of lectio divina (sacred reading). The book is clearly written, and the foreign or difficult concepts and terms are fully explained and often illustrated with concrete examples drawn from his own life. Jones has taken an esoteric subject and brought it down to earth. He provides a wonderfully lucid introduction.

Marketed as a children's book, Divine Intervention is more correctly graduate-level theology. The book is divided into four parts.

1. Introduction:
a. The point of Spiritual Disciplines
b. Ways we read the Bible
c. Why pray the Bible
d. Where did Lectio Divina come from

2. The Steps of Lectio Divina
a. Lectio
b. Meditatio
c. Oratio
d. Contemplatio

3. Experiencing Lectio Divina
a. A personal Lectio Divina with me
b. Lectio Divina with my small group
c. Lectio Divina in my church
d. Afterword

4. Exercises in Lectio Divina


Personally, I feel that the philosophy presented, while it is becoming increasingly popular in the world today, provides its adherents with an emotional high, while reducing the clear commands of Scripture to a footnote. It appears that proponents of this movement are not so concerned with an appropriate application of Scripture, as long as they can experience the same thoughts, feelings and emotions as the biblical audience. What God meant seems to take second place to what he actually said, and practical application of God's word can be substituted for by spiritual disciplines.

Divine Intervention is expertly written and presented in street-level practicality, making it ideal for small groups, lay people, and ministers alike. Notes and Bibliography is included, making additional studies easy.

Armchair Interviews says: Clearly written explanations make this easy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
The first of God's creations and God's endless delight, Wisdom (also known as Chochma and Sophia) is the Mother of all life, the guide to right living--She is God manifest in the world you encounter moment to moment. Her teachings, embedded in the Holy Scriptures of Jews and Christians, are passionate, powerful calls to live in harmony, love with integrity and act joyously.

Through the Hebrew books of Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and Job, and the Wisdom literature books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon, the Divine Feminine speaks to you directly, and Her only desire is to teach you to become wise. Rami Shapiro's contemporary translations and powerful commentaries clarify who Wisdom is, what She teaches, and how Her words can help you live justly, wisely and with compassion. This is not a book about Wisdom but the voice of Wisdom Herself, liberating, uplifting and compelling.

Now you can experience the Divine Feminine and understand Her teachings with no previous knowledge of Wisdom literature. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents insightful commentary that explains Sophia's way of wisdom and illustrates the countless opportunities to experience Her creative energy through which God fashions all things. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

God's Other Half


Rabbi Shapiro provides a decent overview of wisdom literature both in the Hebrew canon and outside of it.Drawing on books like Proverbs, The Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes,The Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach, Shapiro guides the reader through his own interpretation of wisdom as the female part of God (or our version of that part) and its way: living in the moment; realizing that nothing is stable or fixed; and not relying on our own 'stories' of realty as a meta-text of what reality is.For certain people, Shapiro's version of wisdom will be appealing, especially for those who see wisdom as living with uncertainty, change and flux.This Tao of Hebrew Wisdom is certainly a non-traditional interpretation.

Divine Feminine
As a big fan of Rami Shairo, I was a bit disappointed in this book. I was expecting his usual deep insights that instruct and challenge and ultimately lead me onto untraveled spaces of thinking and spirtuality. Instead, this book reads more like a Bartletts Familar Quotations of Biblical Wisdom Literature. I'm happy to own the book - but probably would not recommend it as one of his best.

Daughter of the Voice
Rami Shapiro once commented "...if I were still in the synagogue business I think I would drop the standard Torah readings and focus on the Wisdom Books of the Bible -- Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Job -- and the God who teaches us how to examine life and in so doing discover for ourselves the principles of godliness that we are to live and teach."This God is the Divine Feminine of the present book.

One reviewer criticizes THE DIVINE FEMININE for not being scholarly.The book was not intended for scholars but for seeking laypersons who are coming to the conclusion that a post-nostalgic Judaism groping towards a cosmologically-grounded and naturalistic theism needs new ways of looking at God, Israel, and Torah.THE DIVINE FEMININE offers a refreshing and inspiring approach to all three.

Is this supposed to be scholarly???
If you are looking for an actual study of wisdom, femininity, and the Divine, this book is not for you. I am doing some work on Scripture and femininity and bought this book expecting some intellectual thoughts and study on the subject. What I received is an inspirational book that is not only weak, but is lacking in grounded interpretation. The book has passages of scripture and then explanations/annotations of each passage. The explanations are nonsensical and obviously carry Rami M. Shapiro's mystic beliefs. There is no research to back up the claims made, and the interpretation of the passages is laughable. I was very disappointed. Anyone who is actually interested in the topic should stay away from this book!

A divine survey of Sophia
Students of the Bible who wish a survey of feminist teachings in biblical literature will find a fine survey which provides explanations of Sophia's way of wisdom in THE DIVINE FEMININE IN BIBLICAL WISDOM LITERATURE: a gathering of selections annotated and explained with facing-page commentary. Readers may be surprised to learn there is a feminine aspect to the Old Testament, and may not know about Wisdom Literature: Wisdom Literature combines four Hebrew books of the Old Testament with two Greek texts and provides passages which are excellent commentaries on feminine aspects of spiritual traditions.
... Read more

Product Description
This is the first volume of a two-book set which sets forththe nature of universal law, the unity of all life, and how the natureof communion with our Source will make it possible to attain anydesired goals. It is based on the premise that cosmic knowledge alonecan make each person aware of the genius inherent withineveryone. This volume contains six booklets and ten lectures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

matches God as in described in GGS
very profound. with science behind it as explained in the secret of light.
What is very interesting is that the concept of God exactly matches as described in Guru Granth Sahib.
The Holy Book or the living guru of the Sikhs.

Must Read
This book and all books by Walter and Lao Russell should be read as if they are of the classics. They are modern American Icons that we all should know about and consider.

A Treasure of Insight, Perception and Beauty
A rare work of discourse on the divine through pith prose condensed with deep meaning and essays on the nature of God, man and the universe.

This along with the second volume contain some of the most intelligently written clear expressions and descriptions of our universe and the nature of that which we call 'God'.

An illumining work that can be savoured intellectually and appreciated for it's beauty in the depths of ones heart.

Highly Recommended.

Pure Expression of Spirit
The Divine Iliad contains the most pure form of the expression of Spirit in any writing that I have ever seen.

I have read: The Christian Bible, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Toa Te Ching, Conversations with God, the I AM Discourses, the Urantia Book and dozens more. None hold a candle to the purity of message and the essence of spirit that is contained in the Divine Iliad.

Walter Russell is indeed a fine conduit.

I recommend "The Secret of Light" and both volumes of the Diving Iliad. The three books together provide a complete and cohesive message.

These are the books that I turn to when I am lost and alone. They are the finest tools that I have found to guide me back to a knowing of Spirit. And Russell's work in general, is the finest explanation of this universe that we experience.

Why is this man obscure and forgotten?
Walter Russell's Message of the Divine Iliad has been a foundation of my understanding of the Universe and its operations for over 35 years. "Genius is self-bestowed....mediocracy is self-inflicted." Walter Russell gives the directions to becoming a genius at what you do, in all areas of your life.His teachiings can balance your life and make you prosperous and productive in ways you've never dreamt. Practicing what you learn will automatically and effortlessly eliminate a lot of dross from your existance

Russell teaches you the actual physical workings of the universe clearly and cleanly.Understanding this allows you to see the principles in action, and allows you to USE the principles in everything from your philosophies to your practical daily life. You are at once strengthened and..well, sort of invulnerable.

I have always loved the first volume more than the second, probably because the basics are in the first volume.These books are reasonably priced and are fundamental for anyone...and you will read them and read at them for years, gleaning more meaning with each new person you become.

His teaching is experiential: You read it, think about it, absorb it...then You live it, experience it.And people will wonder why you are so calm and peaceful in a world of Storm and Strife.

His foundation is still at work, all his work still available, his magnificent artwork still there...why is he obscure? discover him today. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

This should be the politician's bible
I'm confident that contemporary civilization will be inspired by Sufism and authors such as Ibn Al Arabi to take the next step towards a new society and a new world. In the same way that Europe learned from old Greece and Rome, inventing the Renaissance and the "modern" age, today's world may be learning from mystics of Orient, especially sufi mysticism from Andalucia (XII century or so), to unleash a new spiritual, yet tolerant, age. This book is about how really should the world be governed. For, finally, it is not the human beings who are truly governing. However, we have been granted from the divine a special capacity to order the species around us, and we can't renounce to such a noble task. The "master of masters", as Al Arabi was called, wrote such a powerful statement about 'true governance", that I can only hope it will inspire from now on those men who really want to make a better world.

Pure nonduality
I bought this book for the 20 page section entitled The One Alone, which is very nondual. I also read the 18 page Translator's Introduction, which tells about the life of Ibn 'Arabi. These two sections alone make the book an important addition to a library of nonduality books. The bulk of the volume, a book of wisdom on governing oneself, I have only so far scanned and therefore have not included any other mention of it in this review.

Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi lived from 1165 to 1240. He "has become one of the most important expounders of Sufi wisdom." "Ibn 'Arabi all his life felt the pain of not being understood. Yet the breadth and depth of his wisdom, insight, vision, and knowledge was and is awesome to whomever catches a glimpse of it. Many of his expressions of divine mysteries have never been improved upon. Many important affairs, which he foretold centuries ago, have taken place and continue to take place."

This introduction is brief, a distillate of the life of Ibn 'Arabi. It covers his life from birth to death, describes his physical appearance, reveals extreme controversy surrounding Ibn 'Arabi, demonstrates his wisdom, tells about a meeting with an adolescent Rumi, and more. Throughout this distillate is communicated the author/translator's love and understanding of Ibn 'Arabi, the person and his works; clearly, it must be the case, otherwise how could Ibn 'Arabi's words set forth in this book cut so cleanly?

The One Alone is a work of pure nonduality. To demonstrate that, here are a few quotations, a few fragments which do not do justice to this entire work:

"Therefore, if you know yourself without being, not trying to become nothing, you will know your Lord. If you think that to know Allah depends on your ridding yourself of yourself, then you are guilty of attributing partners to Him -- the only unforgivable sin -- because you are claiming that there is another existence besides Him, the All-Existent: that there is a you and a He."

"You presume others to be other than Allah. There is nothing other than He, but you do not know this. While you are looking at Him you do not recognize Him. When the secret opens to you, you will know that you are none other than He."

"...do not think that you need to become nothing, that you need to annihilate yourself in Him. If you thought so, then you would be His veil, while a veil over Allah is other than He. How could you be a veil that hides Him? What hides Him is His being the One Alone."

"When the secret of a single atom out of all the atoms from which the elements are made becomes known, the secrets of the whole universe visible and invisible will be revealed. Then you will not see anything but Allah either in this world and in the Hereafter."

"Thus when you know yourself, your self and selfishness will leave you, and you will know that there is nothing in existence but Allah."

"...the meaning of 'The eyes cannot see Him...' is that there is no existence other than His. The Truth can only be conceived of by Itself, which has no other identity except the Truth: Allah sees Himself by Himself and by none other than Himself. His Essence sees His Essence."

Anyone who loves nondual expression will value this book and might choose to set it on a shelf alongside other books expressing the nonduality of the other major religions.

Jerry Katz

Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom, Including What the
May Allah Grant Him Peace.This book gives all of insight to the "power" that leaders in an Islamic society have.He goes over the rights, regulations, rules, limits andmost importantly, desieses ofthe heart from many rulers, not only confined to the Islamic world, but all"rulers" in general.

He quotes only from the Quran and Sunnah,and gives his blessed insight to devine rule, based on Fiqh, andShariah.

A wonderful text. ... Read more

Product Description
Twentieth century revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to a young Spanish nun. Undoubtedly TAN's most inspiring and influential book. Makes lasting devotees. In print since 1949. Imprimatur. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Best Book short of the Bible itself!
I've read this book at least 3-4 times through, each time getting more and more out of it.As one goes along the road of spiritual growth this book helps at every stage.I would not hesitate to say that, short of the Bible itself, this book is one of the very best that I've ever read.It delves into the spiritual life on a plane that few books do......and the fact that it's a non-fictional account only makes it that more amazing!

It's a life-changer for sure!

a Catholic classic
Josefa Menendez was a Spanish nun at the Convent of Les Feuillants in Poitiers, France.She died in 1923 at age 33.This book is a collection of her visionary writings, in which she relates her conversations with Jesus and Our Lady and their various predictions and warnings.

It's a long book, about 500 pages, but critical if you would like a more rarefied understanding of Christ's mercy.

Imprimatur, 1953.

Precious
This book I've now read probably 4 times and I yearn to read it just over and over again slowly, taking it in for it is Jesus speaking to your heart directly. A missing element in today's grasp of the state of your soul is strict adherance to obedience to Christ, this comes with love.We can relearn to love with reverence, respect and in this way so much becomes revealed to you. For if you love the Lord, since He loves you to folly, His greatest undertaking will be to also cleanse your soul using your life's trials, upsets to work you to virtue again.Heaven's mysteries can be so overwelming but it also can be boiled down to love and confidence in Jesus as His child that He won't let you go, as He says in this book, abandon yourself to Him.I will spend the rest of my life learning this.Prayers for all for we're all in the same need.I have a growing Catholic traditional saints library and I believe this is my most valued next to the bible. Lamb Nancy

A message to each of us from Jesus Himself.No better book.
We often wonder what this life is all about and what's important and what not.This book allows us to hear it straight from Jesus and understand His love and mercy and re-focus ourselves on what's truly important for us inHis eyes.If you get this book, read the "Message" chapterfirst.You will be captivated.

Simply awesome - The Way of Divine Love
In my 40+ years, I have not read a better book and I read constantly.If you want to know what is pleasing to God, read and imitate Sr. Josefa Menendez.You will be amazed at the graces you'll receive! ... Read more