I was excited to find a book in the mail the other day. And free at that!

I had submitted requests for about half a dozen books to LibraryThing.com in their Early Reviewer program for April and, surprise-surprise, I lucked out and received a pre-publication review copy of the paperback version of Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War direct from the publisher.

Amazon.com’s blurb says this about the book:

Few historians have ever captured the drama, excitement, and tragedy of the Civil War with the headlong elan of Edwin Bearss, who has won a huge, devoted following with his extraordinary battlefield tours and eloquent soliloquies about the heroes, scoundrels, and little-known moments of a conflict that still fascinates America. Antietam, Shiloh, Gettysburg: these hallowed battles and more than a dozen more come alive as never before, rich with human interest and colorful detail culled from a lifetime of study.

Illustrated with detailed maps and archival images, this 448-page volume presents a unique narrative of the Civil War’s most critical battles, translating Bearss’ inimitable delivery into print. As he guides readers from the first shots at Fort Sumter to Gettysburg’s bloody fields to the dignified surrender at Appomattox, his engagingly plainspoken but expert account demonstrates why he stands beside Shelby Foote, James McPherson, and Ken Burns in the front rank of modern chroniclers of the Civil War, as the Pulitzer Prize-winning McPherson himself points out in his admiring Introduction.

A must for every one of America’s countless Civil War buffs, this major work will stand as an important reference and enduring legacy of a great historian for generations to come.

I look forward to reading it! And have already put requests in for about 6 of the 51 different books (for a grand total of 1,115 copies) they are giving away this month.

I was just reading about the new ESV Study Bible and am quite impressed. I really like the ESV translation and this study bible makes it a great one-volume bible study tool. It has more than 25,000 notes to help understand the text and answer frequently raised issues; 50 articles on subjects such as biblical authority, text reliability, a interpretation; biblical archeology, theology, worship, prayer, and personal application; 200 full-color maps (including satellite imagery); 200+ charts located throughout the bible; 80,000 cross-references of important words, passages, and biblical themes; and 40 full-color illustrations, including historically accurate reconstructions of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, Jerusalem. Yes, a major study bible.

I would love to get my hands on one of these but will have to wait till October when it is published. As a matter of fact I have placed an advance order for a couple to give away as presents since they are giving a 35% discount on all pre-orders made before May 15th!

Contents and Features

The website shows sample pages from the Gospel of John, sample illustrations like that of Solomon’s Temple, as well as giving details about the full-color illustrations and maps that are included.

What is really great is that the study bible is being published simultaneously online — and all who purchase a copy of the print edition will have access to the online edition. The online edition will allow you do do easy searching, follow interactive links between maps, articles, timelines, cross-references, etc. Other features include:

• Section summaries are highlighted for easy location throughout the notes. Summaries provide an overview of each main section and correspond to the outline shown in the introduction for each book.
• Over 200 full-color maps printed throughout make events and places in the Bible come to life.
• Over 25,000 notes focus especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues. Words from the Bible text are printed in bold for easy reference.
• Over 80,000 cross-references provide easy access to key words, passages, and themes throughout the Bible.
• Numerous diagrams bring fresh understanding to key places and events in the Bible, based on the best, most recent historical and archaeological research.
• Over 200 charts provide concise, “at a glance” summaries of important themes and teaching.

Binding Formats

There are eight different binding formats that are currently planned, from a regular, plain-ole hardcover edition to a pricey (for me) Premium Calfskin. In between those two, they offer imitation leather, bonded leather, and genuine leather covers, each coming in 2 different colors. With a whopping 2,752 pages, this thing looks thick. Here are the specs:

• Trim Size—6 ½ × 9 ¼ inches.
• Paper—Printed on high-opacity, high-quality French Bible paper from Papeteries Du Luman (PDL); this is widely considered the finest paper in the world and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), having been made from forests that are managed to preserve and sustain forestlands.
• Typesetting—Set in highly readable, 9-point, single-column type for the Bible text, and 7.25-point, double-column type for the notes.
• Printing—Full-color throughout, printed on high-speed web presses created especially for the high-quality demands of Bible printing.
• Binding—All editions are Smyth sewn, which is considered the finest Bible binding method and is designed to last a lifetime.

Contributors and Endorsements

The list of contributors is a who’s-who of the evangelical Bible scholars and teachers, spanning 9 countries and 20 denominations. The articles that are included look to make interesting reading on their own, giving a good introduction to the bible; which is, of course, what a study bible should do.

The ESV Bible Blog has collected over 100 comments about the new study bible from all over the web.

The number of ‘big name’ endorsements is impressive, I will just include a few:

“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.”
    John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church

“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”
    Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church; President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

“Like the ESV itself, this Study Bible sets a new standard in excellence. The craftsmanship invested in every page—from the insightful articles and informative notes to the crisp design and gorgeous illustrations—makes it an invaluable tool for students of God’s Word. As a pastor it’s my goal to get one into the hands of every member of my church.”
    Joshua Harris, Senior Pastor, Covenant Life Church

“I can’t imagine a greater gift to the body of Christ than the ESV Study Bible. It is a potent combination indeed: the reliability and readability of the ESV translation, supplemented by the best of modern and faithful scholarship, packaged in an accessible and attractive format. A Christian could make no wiser investment for himself, a pastor could recommend no better resource for his congregation.”
    C. J. Mahaney, President, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“I was privileged to act as General Editor of the English Standard Version, and now that I look back on what we did in producing that version, I find myself suspecting very strongly that this was the most important thing that I have ever done for the Kingdom, and that the product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible translation in certainly the last half century at least, and perhaps more. And now, as Theological Editor of the ESV Study Bible, I believe that the work we have done together on this project has set an altogether new standard in study Bibles.”
    J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College (Vancouver, Canada)

Conclusion

I mentioned at the beginning of this that I was impressed. I shouldn’t be. This is the way Crossway has done all the things for the ESV version. They offer more ‘free’ tools than anyone else — just check out the Scripture Zealots rundown of ESV offerings on the web. Check it out for yourself, and see if you can tempt yourself to pre-order before May 15th and get 35% off these great bibles.

I have a new bee in my bonnet. Kayaking. Every time I go to Costco, that $375 Pelican kayak tempts me. Then, a couple weeks ago, one of my kids pointed out that on May 31st Columbia Kayak Adventures is sponsoring the Columbia River Paddlefest at Howard Amon Park in Richland. According to the site, more than 400 people have shown up to participate on the water the last 2 years.

This year it is a two day event. Saturday, May 31st, from 9:30 am till at least 3:30 pm FREE classes and demos will be offered (pdf). This is a good opportunity to try out various types of kayaks and get to play in the water. The day before, on Friday, May 30th, some inexpensive kayaking classes are offered (pdf). These classes must are only $10 each but must be signed up for in advance. Among the classes there is a “Paddling With Kids” class that looks interesting. It is for families with kids 6-12 and covers safety issues, boat options, kids paddling strokes, and things to keep kids interested. I hope to be able to take off work for this class with my 11 year old daughter.

As to the bee, well I signed up for 3 kayaking classes through the Kennewick Recreation Department. For 2 of them I ended up on the waiting list, but it appears now that I will be doing all three classes. Details to follow….

Is it possible to kayak to work? Well, maybe….

I finally broke down last month and bought myself a new laptop, a Gateway M-6319 from Costco. My previous box had developed some screen problems that made using the machine less than pleasurable. The problem with any new machine is that there is just so much software that needs to be installed to make it ‘work’ like the old one. So now for 3 weeks I have been using 2 machines. I hope to get everything moved over soon. Oh, and the other problem is that the new machine runs Vista… Course that was my other excuse for buying it. We will be replacing machines at the office and I need to have some experience working around all of Vista’s incompatibilities.

Here are some of the specs for my new machine:

• Processor: Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor1 T2370 (1.73GHz, 533MHz FSB,1MB L2)
• Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (32-bit) SP1
• Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
• Hard Drive: 250GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive w/ 8MB cache3
• Optical Drive: 8x Multi-Format Dual Layer DVD-RW with DVD-RAM
• Web Camera: Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Web Cam
• Battery: Primary 6 Cell Lithium Ion battery w/ 1 Yr. limited battery warranty
• Digital Media Manager: 5-in-1 Digital Media Manager (Memory Stick™ (MS), Memory Stick™ Pro, Multi Media Card™ (MMC), Secure Digital™ (SD), xD-Picture Card)
• Display: 15.4″ WXGA Ultrabright TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 800 max. resolution)
• Expansion Slots: One ExpressCard™ Type 54 Expansion Slot
• External Ports: (3) USB 2.0 Ports, VGA Connector
• Warranty: 2 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty5
• Weights: 6.29 lbs.
• Wireless Network: Integrated Marvell 802.11 ABG Draft-N Wireless Networking

I found machines that were cheaper but they did not have the Expansion Slot or Wireless-N. Both are things I may never use, but if I don’t have them I am sure the situation will arise where I will have wished I had them. The only problem so far is that the memory card reader does not work sometimes, I think the machine goes into sleep mode and does not wake up the card reader.

I have always been torn by the idea of having a coffee shop inside a church. It would make a nice place to get together with others after the service. I have seen churches with just such a coffee shop but I am torn because it is just too trendy.

Then I see this BBC article about a church applying for a liquor license! Now this makes more sense. Bread and wine are more in line with scripture than bagels and coffee and some dark beer wouldn’t be too far out of line either.

What caught my attention in the video is the pastor saying that it is not unusual for churches in the UK to have a liquor license. I guess the prohibition movement did not corrupt as many churches across the pond as it did here in the states.

Cool Photo of the Day

Even though additions to the Cool Photo of the Day have been less than monthly, I saw this sunrise photo of wildflowers in the McCall Wilderness Preserve at Rowena Crest in Oregon’s Mayer State Park and had to make it my desktop background and post it here.

I requested and received permission from the photographer, rasone, who has taken quite a few awsome photos

Rowena Crest is the highpoint (in more ways than one) of the 75-mile length of the scenic Historic Columbia River Highway between Troutdale and The Dalles in Oregon. Built along the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922, it was the first planned scenic roadway in the United States.

Link to more Rowena Crest photos

OpenCulture had a link to an interesting video of the different patterns that are formed by sound waves. These Chladni patterns were first discovered in the 1600s and, as shown in this experiment, can be created by hooking up an electronic signal generator to a loudspeaker.

Near the end of the video, when they had some very high frequency sounds, I heard nothing but I bet it would drive my dog wild.

While camping over the Memorial Day weekend at Central Ferry State Park along the Snake River in Eastern Washington I took the boys out geocaching. My 17 year old son was given the opportunity to drive and when we came across the Highway 126 ’shortcut’ between Dayton and Pomeroy, I just had to suggest we take that road.

I found this description of the road on page 29 of Country Roads of Washington:

If on this route, you find yourself in a series of steep switchbacks that you think you can’t negotiate with your car, don’t say you were not warned.

When Washington Highway 126 peels off the major Southeastern Washington route of US Highway 12, there are at least two warning signs telling you the road is not recommended for through traffic and that cars pulling trailers should try another way.

The road takes you up to the top of the Palouse along a nice paved country road for a gorgeous view before changing into a gravel road that drops you through a series of serious switchbacks. I remember taking the road 20 years ago, when I was younger and ‘foolisher’. I was going about 50-60 miles an hour on the paved road and came around a sharp corner, discovering not only a very sharp switchback but a rough gravel road! I quickly popped the ole Subaru into 4 wheel drive and prayed I would stay on the road. After the car bounced around the corner I stopped and finished my hasty prayer with a serious thank-you.

Then one thing that has changed is all of the windmills up here. I thought we had a lot around the Tri-Cities, I swear they are stacked 6 deep here. As we drove by them, I had Brendan pop out of the car and ‘grab’ one for the photo album.