Book Description
Set in the tall pines of Northern Minnesota's spectacular lake country, this is a serious story about love, death and friendship. At the center of the story is one man who must decide if he's willing to let go of the past and allow himself to be vulnerable enough to hang onto the love of his life.
Dr. Grant Thorson and Dr. Will Campbell have been best friends since the day they met at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. The happiest of their times together have come at Spider Lake Duck Camp in northern Minnesota. Their love of the outdoors, duck hunting in particular, is the vehicle that carries the story.
During the past year, Grant has suffered the sudden death of his wife, his aging father has been placed in a nursing home, and his only child, Ingrid, has left home for college.
The deep friendship between Will and Grant restores the joy of childhood to both of them. But their special relationship also allows each of the middle-aged men to act as a sounding board for the other man's questions about aging, love, death... everything.
When Will Campbell's college roommate, Thomas Hutchinson, now the President of the United States, summons them to the White House for a party, Grant Thorson begins another Journey that ultimately forces him to ask himself if the people and things he loves are worth the pain that may come with their loss.
Customer Reviews:
You betcha , I loved this book!.......2007-09-04
I absolutely loved this book! It was recommended to me by the passenger sitting next to me on a flight from Florida to Minnesota. As a native Minnesotan, the book brings me back to my roots. It is humorous and touching. I'm not a fiction reader, but Nathan Jorgenson had me totally enthralled with this one. It is already on my friends' borrow list.
One Great Book.......2007-07-23
Nathan Jorgenson has crafted a compelling and enjoyable read. It is filled with rich characters that I actually missed when the book was finished. This book really captures the human spirit - it's about love, loss an redemption.
Don't be mistaken - this book isn't about hunting. Hunting is only the vehicle through which the reader is allowed to see the memorable friendship between Grant Thorson and Will Campbell, whose friendship reminded me of Gus McCrae and Captain Call in Lonesome Dove. It is rare that we get to see male friendship described in such charming detail - it actually gave me some insight into my husband's relationship with his closest friends.
Anyone who has been through the loss of a loved one will feel the power of this story, however, at the same time the book is filled with humor. It is the sort of rare novel that has the ability to make you laugh and cry out loud.
My book club read this book and found that we were all drawn to or identified with different characters or story lines. I also recommended this book to my husband, who doesn't read many novels, and he absolutely loved it. He actually bought 3 copies to send to his brothers and father.
Needless to say I can't wait for his next book,The Mulligan, to be released in October!
Waiting for White Horses.......2007-01-19
This is an outstanding read, it will take you through the full range of emotions. Couldn't put the book down. The book has been passed through all of the hunting group and we all had the same reaction........ OUTSTANDING!!!!
Hope that he writes another one soon.
Poorly written and cliched.......2007-01-09
To be honest, I didn't even finish this book - that's how bad it was. The writing is on par with a sappy romance novel, ie, dialogue is stilted, character "development" is attempted via point-blank statements rather than the characters' words and actions, and the story itself is cliched and just plain silly. Does the author really expect people to care about dentists dealing with insurance compliance? I stopped reading once that boring plotline came into play.
If you grew up hunting.......2006-03-08
Growing up in the middle of North Dakota with three brothers, plus learning to hunt with them, my father, and grandfather, this was a book with which I can identify. Spending hours in duck blinds or walking for pheasants, we all grew to respect the outdoors and wildlife. All of us are now in our 50's and our father and grandfather have died. We still get together in the fall to enjoy the gift that Nathan Jorgenson describes.
I now live on a lake in central Minnesota, but still cherish times with my brothers and friends. The hunting stories he describes will be recognized by most hunters. Even the touching interpersonal plots could be all too familiar.
The book was given to me to read by a friend. I was so moved by the book I ordered five hardcover copies. I plan to give one to each of my brothers, one to a friend, and one to keep (to re-read).
Book Description
Holly Tate never dreamed a night out with friends over martinis would lead to dancing naked under the stars and making a wish as one streaked across the sky. The next morning she wakes with a disgruntled Elf in her bed and only a vague recollection of the night before...
Customer Reviews:
A Fun Read.......2007-01-12
I am starting to read all the "Still Sexy Ladies Guide" books. This one was the first that I read and loved it. The humor and the easy going writing style kept me spellbound. The plot was somewhat predictable however I didn't mind because of the way the book flowed. If you want a good book where you will chuckle aloud and find that hours have gone by rather than a half hour... then this is a book for you.
Judith C. Rochelle - a fun read.......2006-06-01
Ever wonder what it would be like to have an Elf for a lover, to have your world turned upside down, and to realize that falling in love can be fun? Holly Tate wished on a falling star, just as many of us do,and her wish came true in vivid living color. For a really feel-good read, this is the book to buy.
Sexy and funny.......2006-05-31
Holly has a busy life that gets busier when she wishes for, and gets, an elf. The fun of Edan is he's from another world and the miscommunications abound. Throw in several show dogs and the times get raucous. At the heart of the story are two people from different worlds who must decide if and how they can sacrifice for love.
Love this book!.......2006-03-17
This is the first book I've read in the Still Sexy Ladies Guide to Dating Immortals series by Triskelion Publishing. I love this series! I can't wait to read more of them.
If you like quirky, fun, sexy books, Falling Star Wish is perfect for you. It's been a long time since I've read a book in 2 days. Most of the time, I get bored and put it down - forever. But not this one.
Jane
Funny, heart wrenching, special -- absolute magic!.......2005-10-25
When Holly Tate wishes on a falling star, little does she know just how much her life will change. Because not only does she have an affinity for the tiny dragon that's been keeping her company ever since the WTC fell, she's also tied to an elf who'd put Orlando Bloom to shame. Does she know this? Not until Edan shows up in her room and makes love with her when she's in a margarita induced haze -- and he's still there in the morning.
I loved this book. It's on my keeper shelf to be read over and again, a fairy tale for grown up women looking for escape and the need to believe -- just like we did when we were kids.
Average customer rating:
- Falling Free
- Excellent prequel to the Vorkosigan Universe
- What is human?
- Winner of the 1988 Nebula Award But Debatable on Whether It's Deserved
- GalacTech is a Harsh Mistress
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Falling Free (Nebula Award Stories)
Lois McMaster Bujold
Manufacturer: Baen
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Memory (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures)
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Miles Errant
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Komarr (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures)
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A Civil Campaign
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Diplomatic Immunity
ASIN: 067157812X |
Book Description
Leo Graf was just your average highly efficient engineer: mind your own business, fix what's wrong and move on to the next job. Everything neat and according to spec, just the way he liked it. But all that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat. Could you just stand there and allow the exploitation of hundreds of helpless children merely to enhance the bottom line of a heartless mega-corporation?
Leo Graf adopted 1000 quaddies--now all he had to do was teach them to be free.
Download Description
[An independent novel in the Vorkosigan universe.] In an attempt to corner the market on labor contracts across the galaxy, the medical research corporation GalacTech bio-engineers a thousand human embryos into a new race of humans perfectly suited to a weightless environment. In addition to many carefully engineered internal adjustments for a life without gravity, the Quaddies' most visible improvement is the substitution of legs for an additional pair of arms. Expert space welder and engineer Leo Graf is brought to the habitat to teach his craft to the Quaddies, but when a rival company's technological advances makes them obsolete, GalacTech makes plans to drop the project and condemn its "post-fetal tissue" property to extinction. Desperate to save his students, Graf changes his classes in space construction to a short course on freedom in free fall. Hugo Award Nominee, Locus Poll Award Nominee, Nebula Award® Winner, Prometheus Award Nominee
Customer Reviews:
Falling Free.......2007-09-29
After reading the entire Vorkosigan saga, it was nice to go back to the beginning to see Bojold's universe unfold. I found her concept of space travel and future civilizations amazingly consistent and complete. In her last novel, "Diplomatic Immunity," we encounter the "Quaddies," a bio-engineered race of people with four hands and no feet. They are already fully developed and have their own corner of space. It was fun to go back 200 years and learn how this interesting race of humans got its start.
Excellent prequel to the Vorkosigan Universe.......2007-03-08
This book is set in the same Universe as the Vorkosigan adventures, but about 200 years earlier.
It is a much more "straight" work of science fiction than some of the Miles Vorkosigan stories, e.g. it is not quite as side-splittingly funny. The tone and style are quite similar to the two books about the romance between Mile's parents, "Shards of Honour" and "Barrayar."
"Falling Free" is the story of the quaddies, a group of modified humans who have been bioengineered for zero gravity, the main change being that they have four arms instead of two arms and two legs. An engineer, Leo Graf, is concerned at the way the quaddies are exploited and decides to do something about it.
It is a well-told story and highly entertaining.
There are two subsequent stories with quaddie characters set in Lord Miles Vorkosigan's time, some 230 years later. The first is the novella "Labyrinth" which is part of the book "Borders of Infinity" - Miles and Bel Thorne meet a beautiful quaddie musician, Nicol, on Jackson's Whole.
A picture of the society which quaddies make for themselves in the years which follow "falling Free" is given in the tenth and currently most recent Vorkosigan adventure, "Diplomatic Immunity" which is set on a space station in Quaddie space.
Bottom line - this is an extremely good book, and if you liked any of Bujold's other SF novels you are very likely to enjoy this one.
What is human?.......2006-01-31
I love this book. It's another of Ms. Bujold's refreshing looks at humanity, ethics, necessity, and personal choices, and it's set in a framework of intriguing characters and unusual ideas. One of the things I adore about her writing is that she makes ideas that might seem absurd by themselves into integral happenings within her plots. She not only takes a concept--the quaddies, an intelligent, genetically-engineered species developed for free fall--but follows up the immediate consequences of their generation and the impact of technology.
Ms. Bujold loves to balance her characters on the edge of personal morality, and explore the reasons behind their choices and the circumstances that push them to the choices; and she wraps it all in an exciting, fast-moving plot full of distinct personalities. I wish there were a sequel to this (more than the future references in "Diplomatic Immunity") but I'm happy to have the one book.
Winner of the 1988 Nebula Award But Debatable on Whether It's Deserved.......2005-11-22
If you've come to read these reviews, there's a fair chance that you've learned that Falling Free was the 1988 Nebula Award Winner (for novel) that's supposed to be awarded to the best science fiction of the year. I say `supposed' because starting in 1987 the novels that received the Nebula award are shocking in comparison to other novels written that year that didn't win. For four straight years, from 1987 to 1990, the novels ranged from so-so (for this one) to the absolutely mundane and awful (all the others). The organization that awards the Nebula, the SFWA, was apparently trying to assert itself into the field of fantasy (this is giving them the best benefit of a doubt), but you'd think that even award winning fantasy would be better. No, the novels range from mostly overt to blatant feminism, and so these years are the Feminism stage of the Nebula (and apparently it hasn't subsided completely yet, if ever). Although Falling Free doesn't fall into this category, you can't help but notice that the awards for those four years were all given to women, and although it's unfair to group Falling Free with those other three atrocious works, it's also difficult to understand why Falling Free won the award for BEST science fiction of the year. And when things like this seem bizarre, it's not unusual for it to be due to politics. And the awards process for these four years reek of the stench of politics. The Nebulas have now become a source of political commentary rather than an award for good, hell maybe even great, science fiction.
The novel is about humans genetically modified for adaptability in working in a weightless space environment. Basically they have arms in the place of legs, legs not being necessary in space, and thus now have four arms to do work with. The quaddies as they're called, are owned and eventually oppressed by the corporation that owns them. This leads to their revolt.
This book feels like it was written for children. Bujold has said that she did that purposely. Well, that may be well and good, but it still feels like it was written for children and *I* read it because at the time I gave great respect to Nebula award winners and read them religiously. It's difficult to see what validates this novel for the Nebula (other than politics). The premise is not really original, a similar novel was published an entire 20 years earlier (and won the Hugo) called The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (and I've seen other reviewers here notice that same comparison). That novel was about a revolt on the moon colony for independence from the earth. It's been many years since I've read Harsh Mistress so I don't know if it's become dated, but when I first read it, it was many years after it was published and it didn't feel a bit dated at the time, in fact it felt revolutionary. I don't know if Heinlein had connections with persons in espionage agencies, but after reading the novel there were certain household items I never looked at the same way again. And as I've found out recently, these items could and are indeed used for those purposes. Harsh Mistress is a mature book and I would well recommend it. But is Falling Free worth reading?... The Nebula awards aren't relevant to science fiction anymore after 1987. If award winners happen to be science fiction then that that's just happenstance. You're a professional, you have several litigation's to work through, space shuttles to prepare for launch, satellites to build, lives to save or mend, or heck you're busy with work, with children, with significant others, with friends, and maybe have time for a novel or two a year and since you so limited and you love science fiction, you want these novels, well, to be science fiction and hopefully to be good. The writers of the SFWA are bored; they're branching out. They want to read and write about lesbians, feminism, magical amulets, auras, Mayan spirits, etc. So if you're hoping to squeeze in a science fiction novel or two per year, the Nebulas are no longer a consistent, valid guide. Is Falling Free worth reading? if you get it cheap maybe, it's a quick read. Nothing significant though, and not a relevant part of Bujold's Vorkosigan universe so you're not missing anything if you follow that. You can take it or leave it.
GalacTech is a Harsh Mistress.......2005-08-15
Leo Graf arrives at GalacTech's top secret research installation to train some people in the art of deep space welding. He soon discovers that the secret research involves genetically creating a new race of semi-humans with 4 arms (called Quaddies) who can stay in weightless conditions indefinitely (without loss of muscle mass) and who, with their 4 hands, will be extremely efficient deep-space workers. Unfortunately, not all is as it seems: cost overruns and new technology threaten the existence of the project, and then what happens to the mutants that have been created?
Bujold sets this book in her Vorkosigan universe, but you wouldn't know it - it happens 200 years before the birth of Miles, the hero from that series. Therefore this is a good entry point into Bujold's universe. The book is interesting and readable; if it's a little short, it's because Bujold tells her story efficiently and effectively, much like an old-time sci fi writer (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein). It's no wonder the Sci Fi Writer's Association voted it best novel - it's old-school style married to modern (genetic engineering) problems.
I bring up Heinlein for another reason. To say this book's plot and characters are borrowed from Heinlein might be harsh, but to say "inspired" is too weak. All Heinlein's favourite characters are there - the hero is an engineer and slight outsider (like the heroes of Farnham's Freehold, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and The Door Into Summer), one character might as well be named Jubal Hershaw (from Stranger in a Strange Land), the themes of slavery, political/managerial stupidity, and the clash of old-fashioned know-how vs. high tech are all explored here, in almost exactly the same way as Heinlein has presented them. The book most closely resembles The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, with it's rebellion of the "others" (in that case deported criminals, in this case the Quaddies) who lack basic human rights (in that case because they are criminals, in this case because the Quaddies are classified as a non-human species and therefore outside human law) against their corporate overlords (in that case the Lunar Authority, in this case GalacTech). The main characters are even as 2-dimensional as early Heinlein characters, who exist simply to move the plot forward.
Obviously the theme of colonial rebellion is common in science fiction - but I would never say the Martian rebellions in Robinson's Red Mars or Bova's Moving Mars are copies of Heinlein, because they are not written in a Heinlein style with Heinlein clone characters. In the case of Bujold, it just feels the same. It didn't have to - there were ample opportunities to spread out from the rebellion story. Especially interesting would have been a conflict based on the legality/morality of genetic engineering. She even introduces a character, VP Apmad, who comes from a planet where any genetic tinkering is rigidly illegal, and who herself had forced abortions because her fetuses were not genetically correct. But Bujold does nothing with this character and instead focusses on two of the least interesting characters - the engineer (who is likeable but not interesting) and the cartoonish head administrator of the project. The administrator might as well have had a black mustache to twirl!
In spite of all this, I'm giving the story 3 stars. In spite of myself, I enjoyed the ride and Bujold does give us enough nifty ideas to keep us going, even if some of the niftiest are left unexplored. Perhaps a fan of the Vorkosigan saga will find levels of nuance I missed, but to me it's a straightforward, slightly simplistic but enjoyable story.
Average customer rating:
- A superbly crafted novel of the American Civil War
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Echoes of the Falling Spring
Dody Myers
Manufacturer: Burd Street Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1572492317 |
Book Description
Abby Kennedy is a strong-willed farm girl from the small border town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. An act of violence against her family induces her to become a Yankee spy and vow vengeance against anything or anyone Southern.
Confederate Captain Ford McKenzie has been betrayed by one woman and promises that it will never happen again. Besides, he cherishes his plantation home on St. Simon Island and cannot imagine life anywhere but in the Deep South.
Echoes of the Falling Spring follows the dual love stories of Abby and Ford, and their slave and servant, Esau and Ila. These two couples struggle to keep love and hope alive during the terrible conflict of the American Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
A superbly crafted novel of the American Civil War.......2001-05-23
Dody Myers' Echoes Of The Falling Spring is a superbly crafted novel of the American Civil War. Abby Kennedy is a strong-willed farm girl from the small border town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Revenge for a southern invader's rape of her sister induces Abby to become a Yankee spy, vowing vengeance against the Confederates. Confederate Captain Ford McKenzie having been betrayed by one woman promises himself that it will never happen again. His aim is to return to his plantation home on St. Simons Island and live out his live in the Deep South. Then these two disparate people meet and a complicated, life-and-death love story unfolds, along with the romance of Captain McKenzie's loyal black slave Esau and Abby's free black servant, Illa. Echoes Of The Falling Spring unfolds against an accurate background of Civil War era cultures in conflict and is a rewarding, engaging, satisfying novel from first page to last.
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Free Falling and Other Student Essays
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
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ASIN: 0312149034 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Learning Tool.......2001-03-26
As a teacher of college-level composition, I find this reasonably priced book offers invaluable examples of strong writing for my students. All the essays are written by students, proving that even beginning writers can write quality essays for class. Most are accessible and fun to read, and they cover a variety of subjects. The students like the fact that they can identify with the writers and the subject matter, and I like the fact that they seem to do the reading voluntarily. It's recommended for use with the St. Martin's Guide to Writing, but it's a very versatile little volume. If you're a student or just someone interested in sharpening your writing skills, I recommend this book -- it's a great combination of essays all under one cover.
Average customer rating:
- Loved it.
- Refreshing...magical...alluring!
- Enjoyable time travel romance
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Free Falling
Stobie Piel
Manufacturer: Love Spell
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Blue-Eyed Bandit (Timeswept Series)
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Renegade
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The Renegade's Heart
ASIN: 0505523299 |
Customer Reviews:
Loved it........2003-07-05
I love time-travels & this one is no exception. It came as quite a surprise that Adrian himself was born in the past & was sent to the future to save his life as a baby. He is like a man of 2 worlds, the Native Indian Appache tribesman & a modern-day man, which is what he is.
He goes sky diving with the woman he loves & is taken, with Cora back to the past & his family. The ending is a surprise as well & I so is the follow-on book to it Blue-eyed bandit, where we meet old friends again.
Refreshing...magical...alluring!.......1999-11-24
Stobie Piel brought two incredible characters together from our time, here and now, to yesteryear when life was a little more simple. The storyline is wonderfully constructed with excitement at each turn of a page. From the discovery of Adrian's father to the pure leap of faith to return to their time was emotional and inspiring. I shed a tear or two for this story, which is difficult to achieve at best through a book. Three cheers for Stobie Piel! She will have a long and prosperous future in Romance writing. I look forward to a new Romance from her hand.
Enjoyable time travel romance.......1999-06-19
In 2000 Arizona, Bronx resident Cora Talmedge visits her friend Jenny, who takes her skydiving at the Nomadic Adventurer School of Skydiving. A frightened Cora plans to back out until her guide turns out to be her former lover Adrian de Vargas. In the air, Adrian asks Cora why she deserted him while they traveled in India together over seven years ago. However, before she can respond, a strange whirlwind sucks the two of them inside before they land on some grass. To their shock, Phoenix seems to have disappeared.
As Adrian and Cora aimlessly wander, they meet several white men who insist the year is 1869. Soon, members of the Tonto Apache tribe find the confused duo and escort them back to their camp where the chief insists that Adrian is his son. As Adrian seems to comfortably fit with the tribe and the era, Cora, dubbed Talks Much, must decide between a love of a lifetime or a twenty-first century lifestyle.
FREE FALLING is an enjoyable time travel romance due to the reaction of the lead protagonists to their trip. The exhilarating story line includes some mystical elements that add to the overall flavor. The lead characters are a dynamic duo and the support cast provides local color. Stobie Piel provides her fans with an appealing novel that will garner her many new readers.
Customer Reviews:
brilliant but opaque.......2005-05-03
Adi Da has is certainly one of the most powerful enlightened beings of modern times and his spritual autobiography ``The Knee of Listening`` (1978 and revised and enlarged continually) is probably the most detailed and fascinating personal account there is of the process of enlightenment. He is a very smart guy and a good writer with a substantial output. However when speaking he is far less interesting as can be seen in any of the videotapes available from the Adi Da web page.
This book is mostly transcribed from his talks to the small group of devotees with whom he lives on a small island in Fiji. It will mostly be valuable only to those who have followed him for many years and know his jargon and style and who practice his meditation or sit in his presence. Others will find it very tough going if not downright boring. Of course as with any master, it is the presence and not the words that matter most. Unfortunately along with the spiritual advice one finds lots of superstition and antiscience nonsense by him and his devotees. The idea that one can stop a fire or storm or cure a disease or end a war with mental force or spiritual practice does not belong in the 21st century and is totally counterproductive. The game of life must be played by mother natures rules by everyone in any possible world and from one point of view has no relation whatever to the spritual quest. If it were possible to create `perfect` people who never get sick or even unhappy they are no longer human and life cannot have any more value for them than it does for a bicycle.
He expresses his frustration that his devotees(many of whom have followed him for over 20 years) are not getting enlightened. Of course very few people manage this regardless of their master or practice. Its contrary to natural selection and bound to be very rare and difficult. Perhaps one day we will find some combination of meditation, drugs, computer facilitation or surgery that can trigger the process in most people. Even so, it is unlikely to change the world as those people or societies that remain unconscious, materialistic, militaristic will automatically dominate. Natural selection is a powerful acid that eats thru all utopian fantasies(eg through the robot society in Kurzweils `The Age of Spiritual Machines--selfish programs instead of selfish genes being selected in this case).
Like all other forms of education, the only point of religion for an educated sane person is personal growth. It is almost certainly a vain hope that human nature can be changed and the world saved. Also, Adi Da is wrong about death being the problem of life--even though he may only be using this as a teaching tool. From a spiritual standpoint, unconsciousness is the problem and even those few who solve that problem need death to recyle the body. Without death there would truly be no hope--even for a world of enlightened beings.
A REVELATION FOR ALL WHO SEEK THE TRUTH.......2000-06-28
Any reader who has been so moved by the mortality of human existence to aspire towards something beyond this endless cycle of birth, death and re-birth will surely revel in this introductory book to the Wisdom-Teaching of Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj. It has given me more than just a glimpse of Reality and Truth and Happiness. Indeed, the very nature of Real God and the secrets of the entire cosmos are revealed in a heart-moving, mind-stopping and illuminating way that is so characteristic of this Great Master.
Average customer rating:
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Falling Free
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HK79XO |
Book Description
In Many Religions, One Covenant, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spans the deep divides in modern Catholic scholarship to present a compelling biblical theology, modern in its concerns yet classical in its breadth. It is his classical mastery, his ressourcement, that enables the Cardinal to build a bridge.
Cardinal Ratzinger seeks to deepen our understanding of the Bible's most fundamental principle. The covenant defines religion for Christians and Jews. We cannot discern God's design or his will if we do not meditate upon his covenant.
The covenant, then, is the principle that unites the New Testament with the Old, the Scriptures with Tradition, and each of the various branches of theology with all the others. The covenant does more than bridge the gaps between these elements; it fills in the gaps, so that biblical scholarship, dogmatic theology, and magesterial authority all stand on common ground solid ground.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful.......2007-09-02
This is a surprising book! I was amazed to read of such views taken by the Holy Pontiff. I have a more positive view after reading this short but important book.
A Beginning to Fruitful Reflection.......2006-07-07
Much of what Cardinal Ratzinger has said here has been said in other works (by him or by others). However, the given text functions as a thoughtful synthesis of these movements of thought. It is not an attempt to completely answer the question of pluralism or of the Christian-Jewish relationship. Instead, this text lays a basic framework for considering Christ's role in fulfilling the Jewish faith, the nature of Covenant as God's self-communication, the nature of the New Covenant, and religious dialogue.
I suggest this text to all but not lightly. While it is not very esoteric, it is weighty enough to require quiet reflection. The fruits of reading it are great and also give one a starting point for further thought on the subject material. I suggest it to all open minds.
Many Religions,One Covenant:Isreal,the Church,and the World.......2006-07-01
The style is typical Ratzinger. Thoughtful and insightful. Slow reading at times yet this is to be expected when dealing with a devisive issue which as firmented for nearly 1500 years. Definately worth the time to read and digest if for no other reason than to provide the reader with a farmilarization to the author. More professionally known these days as Pope Benedict XVI.
Engaging on many levels.......2006-03-19
As always, Card. Ratzinger approaches the issues at hand, gives an overview of various approaches to the topic, and critiques each of them. You can read other reviews to see what the book is "about" but let me just add to those and say that it is also worth reading simply for the covenant theology that is presented, which is certainly related to the topic.
At the end is an address he gave regarding dialogue with other religions, and he says that dialogue can by no means replace missionary/evangelization activity. Again, he critiques 3 different views regarding "unification of world religions" and shows how 2 of them are certainly not faithful to the Catholic faith, despite their reminding us of the "mystical" elements of our own faith. Then he says that anybody who expects the world religions to be united is in for a sad disappointment, and it's probably not even desirable that they all unite as such. But he is for some "togetherness" in working for world peace and ideals that the big 3 (Jews, Christians, Muslims) have in common.
Rambling.......2006-01-15
I don't claim to be near as knowledgeable as the author, but this book rambled forever and I don't feel it ever addressed the issue raised in its title. I got nothing out of it. Probably just over my head.
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