Book Description
In Brooklyn, in the Age of Disco, Valentine Kessler -- a sweet Jewish girl who bears a remarkable resemblance to the Virgin Mary of Lourdes -- has an unerring gift for shattering the dreams and hopes of those who love her. Miriam, her long-suffering mother, betrayed and anguished by the husband she adores, seeks solace in daily games of mah-jongg with The Girls, a cross between a Greek Chorus and Brooklyn's rendition of the Three Wise Men, who dispense advice, predictions, and care in the form of poppy-seed cake and apple strudels. When her greatest fear for Valentine is realized, Miriam takes comfort in the thought that it couldn't get any worse. And then it does.
Sagacious, sorrowful, and hilarious,
An Almost Perfect Moment is a novel about mothers and daughters, star-crossed lovers, doctrines of the divine, and a colorful Jewish community that once defined Brooklyn.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Customer Reviews:
You could do worse..........2006-08-02
This novel immediately reels you in, but throughout the whole novel you'll wish you knew more about the characters. The novel lets you into the minds of Beth, Joanne, Mr. Woleski, Miriam, and Valentine, the main character(among other people). And interestingly enough, you find out the least amount of information on Valentine, which seems odd because the story revolves around her. As a result I found the novel somewhat of a dissapointment. However, at least I wasn't suprised by the novel's ambiguous ending. And of course this novel was beautifully written, and the characters are enticing and relatable but sometimes that's just not enough.
A perfect evocation of a lost Brooklyn.......2005-09-25
An absolutely wonderful novel that so clearly evokes the Brooklyn of my childhood, I'd almost forgotten it existed. Kirshenbaum's eye for the smallest of details, and the rhythm of dialogue-- especially the banter of older woman among the clacking of mah-jongg tiles-- is so refreshing, so well developed, they are for me the highlight of the book. The central plot is curiously offbeat, but so full of symbolic events, it does well as a framework of the real brilliance of this novel, which is the development of such completely period-perfect characters. Those of us in the "other Brooklyn" of the 60s and 70s-- the Brooklyn of Kings Plaza, Waldbaum's, suburban tract homes, Flatlands Avenue, Mill Basin and Sheepshead Bay-- will absolutely eat this book up, and then shake it up, hoping more pages filled with dialogue will fall out. An absolute pleasure.
NOT SO PERFECT (2 1/2 stars).......2005-08-12
An Almost Perfect Moment was far from perfect for the members of the Jewish Book Club, Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation. Not that there wasn't anything to like. Members enjoyed the depiction of life in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn in the 1970s, the way the author, Binnie Kirshenbaum, kept the reader's interest in finding out what happened next, and the camaraderie of The Girls as they played mah-jongg (some did question the calls) and cared for one another.
However, there was a feeling that we could never quite bond with the main characters of Miriam, her daughter Valentine, and the schoolteachers John Wosileski and Joanne Clarke. Although there were realistic elements in their characterizations, we just had a hard time liking these obviously lonely people. Part of it may have been a feeling that the author's empathy for them was just not that visible to us in mid-America. Does Binnie Kirshenbaum like her characters, does she truly care about them, or is she at times mocking them? Perhaps in the third person narrative, the author could not exude the warmth for the people she probably spent a good deal of time creating. Just as there is a time distance from life in the '70s to life in the 21st century, there appears to be an emotional distance between Kirshenbaum, who does write well and who, apparently, is an admired teacher and mentor, and the sad people she depicts. We would have liked to have seen more depth of character development rather than so much emphasis on people's weaknesses and frailties.
In many ways, reading An Almost Perfect Moment was like attending a mad-cap, comic opera with a tragic ending that left viewers hanging when they really would have wanted to feel more connected.
More character development, please........2005-08-04
I hate to say this, but I guess I was pretty disappointed by this book. I really did like the author's style of writing, but I didn't feel as though the main character (Valentine) was very well developed. I didn't understand her motivations or have any inkling of what she was thinking. I don't know if the author did this on purpose, or what.
I would like to read more by this author to see if I might like her other work better.
Simply Delightful.......2005-03-27
I loved this book! Growing up as a Jewish girl in the 1970's on the east coast, I thought this book was so creative and extremely well written. In fact, I couldn't put it down. Yes, parts are silly, but it is so well written that I had a smile on my face the entire time. I can't wait to read more by this author. Perhaps other cannot relate to it, especially the significant amount of Jewish humor and the many references to food and clothing of the 70's, but I couldn't have enjoyed it more and look forward to sharing Almost Perfect with my friends.
Average customer rating:
- A good little thriller
- Pretty good
- Not great...
- exhilarating romantic suspense
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Fourth Victim (Mira)
Jan Coffey
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Project
ASIN: 077832057X |
Book Description
Two decades ago, the mass suicide of the members of a New Mexico cult shocked the nation. Miraculously, four people -- one adult and three children -- managed to get away safely. But now it appears that none of them will escape the tragedy that took so many innocent lives . . . Someone is completing the process of ushering the last of Reverend Butler's chosen disciples into the next world. He has claimed three of his final victims and only Kelly Stone remains.
A survivor of the Butler Divinity Mission cult suicide, Kelly grew up safely in the arms of an adoptive family, her identity concealed from public record. Now the owner of a New Hampshire inn and the single mother of a three-year-old daughter, Kelly is content with her life. But the past is closing in on her and this time there is nowhere to run.
Ian Campbell -- a determined cop with personal ties to the New Mexico tragedy -- will risk everything to keep Kelly alive. But it all comes down to a daring game of courage and confrontation to finally decide the fate of the fourth victim . . .
Customer Reviews:
A good little thriller.......2006-08-31
This is one of those good stories that makes you wonder why you didn't come up with the idea yourself. 20 years after a religious cult commited mass suicide, some survivors are preparing a new mass suicide, and a woman who was rescued from the cult twenty years ago is in danger again.
The story is well structured and the characters likeable. It does lose its pace for a while in the last third of the book but it picks up again. Overall a good quick read.
Pretty good.......2006-02-03
I liked this book a lot. I liked the characters and how the plot developed. The reason for four stars instead of five, towards the end it did get a little slow. I hope these characters show up in another book.
Not great..........2004-07-30
Not as good as the last book - these characters were good but the premise was alittle strange. The whole "Luna-K" thing was not my cup of tea. I guess if you buy into the whole cult theme you would find this story enjoyable. Get this one at the library or the used bookstore!!
exhilarating romantic suspense.......2004-06-30
In New Mexico, young police officer Ian Campbell and other cops work the fatal car accident in which four people survive. Since the vehicle came from the Butler Divinity Mission, Ian and a veteran cop drive there to inform Reverend Michael Butler about the accident. However, no dogs or people are anywhere in what seems like a ghost town until they enter the chapel. They find a mass of dead people including Ian's newlywed wife social worker Anne, who worked closely with Reverend Michael.
Twenty-two years later, Ian takes a room in New Hampshire's Tranquillity Inn owned and managed by Kelly Stone, one of the four survivors of the Butler massacre. Ian fears for Kelly's life, as an unknown assailant is completing the mission of Reverend Butler by killing the survivors. Ian plans to insure this widow with a brilliant three-year-old daughter Jade lives. As he and Kelly fall in love, neither realizes that the serpent has entered Eden and will use Jade if necessary to complete the quest that includes Butler's daughter Luna-K better known to Ian as his beloved Kelly.
FOURTH VICTIM is an exhilarating romantic suspense that starts off with horrific Jones like suicides and murders, slows down to enable a relationship to form between the lead duo, and then goes full speed until the climatic confrontation. Ian is a terrific champion seeking revenge for the murder of his beloved Anne and feeling guilty as he falls in love again. Kelly is a fascinating protagonist hiding her tainted ancestry to protect Jade. Fans of taut thrillers will want to read Ian's efforts to keep the two females who have reawakened long thought comatose feelings safe.
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
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Why Me? Help for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse (Even if they are adults now), Fourth Edition
Lynn, Daugherty
Manufacturer: Cleanan Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Sexual Abuse | Abuse & Self Defense | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Happiness | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Abuse | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Human | Sexuality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0977161439 |
Book Description
Adults and adolescents who were sexually abused as children find help and healing in this classic bestseller from a respected Clinical Psychologist. Now in its fourth edition, this warm and personal, beginning guide answers questions about child sexual abuse and abusers, shares stories from other victims, and provides step-by-step guidance to those seeking recovery from childhood trauma.
Book Description
From C.J. Cherryh, one of science fiction's greatest writers and a 3–time Hugo Award "Best Novel" winner, comes the exciting and long–awaited follow–up to Hammerfall, the second novel of the Gene Wars, now in mass market.
In the second volume of "The Gene Wars," C. J. Cherryh further explores the captivating new universe where two interstellar empires, scarred by nanotechnology weaponry, hover in an uneasy detente. Perched at the edge of the galaxy, tiny Concord Station holds the balance of the universe within its carefully regulated worlds. For, created to carefully monitor the crucial desert planet below, it lies in the tenuous intersection between the territories of Earth and the alien Ondat.
Marak Trin Tain has saved a planet's people from total destruction, when the implacable ondat sent down a hammerfall to destroy the planet and keep its deadly nanoceles from changing life and evolution forever. But the regrowing planet is fragile, and a deadly cataclysm could destroy Marak––and with him, the hope for peace within the universe.
Meanwhile, on Concord, an unexpected ship from Earth disrupts the uneasy truces between human and alien, and the consequences could restart the terrible Gene Wars that once destroyed most of humanity.
Download Description
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One of today's bestselling, award-winning, and most critically acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy, C. J. Cherryh has been entertaining readers for more than thirty years with beautifully imagined, complex novels of intrigue and adventure. With Hammerfall she began an entirely new universe -- her first in three decades -- and an enthralling tale of mystery and survival on a desert world devastated by nanotechnology. Now with this second book, she returns to the captivating universe of The Gene Wars in a brilliant, visionary story that reaches from the desert to the stars.
One of today's bestselling and most critically acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy, C. J. Cherryh has been entertaining readers for more than thirty years with beautifully imagined, complex novels of intrigue and adventure. With Hammerfall she began an entirely new universe -- her first in three decades -- and an enthralling tale of mystery and survival on a desert world devastated by nanotechnology. Now she returns to the captivating universe of The Gene Wars in a brilliant, visionary story that reaches from the desert to the stars.
Customer Reviews:
A political adventure........2006-09-23
Marak's world is renewing itself after the Ondat Hammerfall, but are the circumstances that led to Hammerfall renewing themselves as well? Determining this is the mission of Concord Station and the watchers who live there. Procyon, a smart young project tap, assigned to the immortal Marak likes his simple life and steady job as a watcher. Little does he know that as the planet below enters a new phase of geological upheaval he is about to become the epicenter of a political upheaval of equal proportion.
Not all life aboard Concord swirls around the events playing out on the planets surface. In fact most of the population is oblivious to it, more concerned with their jobs in the operation and governance of the station or in the latest social trends of the stylists who transform themselves into genetic works of art. But the unscheduled arrival of an Earth ship disturbs the delicate balance in ways no one can ignore; including the mysterious Ondat alien sequestered in his own section of Concord.
This book reminded me a lot of Asimov's Second Foundation. The political one-upmanship is never ending. The book opens with an historical review of Hammerfall and I almost bailed out. (I can't stand reading fantasy lore.) Even if this is your first Cherryh book, I recommend skipping the history and coming back to it only as a reference when needed. The body of the book is well written and engaging with a constellation of interesting characters embedded in a cluster of lesser ones, all stirred up in an ongoing political escalation.
The biological science is interesting but the geological events are less than believable. When the Atlantic most recently broke through the Pillars of Hercules, it took 30 years to replace the North African salt flats with the new Mediterranean Sea. Similarly when the Bosporus was cut, the Black Sea took more than three days to fill as Cherryh has her new sea doing. Oh well, science subjugated for the sake of plot is no original sin. There are no great clashes of arms or revelations in technology in this book but I found it enjoyable as a political adventure. I recommend it more for readers who enjoy human drama than those interested in space age action.
[...].
Unrest above Marak's World.......2006-02-21
Forge of Heaven is Ms. Cherryh's sequel to Hammerfall. I'm going to open by saying that I held off on reading this book for a year and half because of the previous book (see my review of Hammerfall). However, this time I was pleasantly surprised.
As with Hammerfall, technology is pushed (nanotechnology is a focus in the book, along with a major look at the ability to "jack" into a network ala William Gibson) along with the relationship between Earthers and Outsiders (two factions of humans). As usual with a CJ Cherryh story, there are many people with different "little" stories, and as usual, these "little" stories contribute to the ending of the story.
Because of the intrigue, personal relationships, and general story telling, I was very happy with this sequel. This was more in line with the type of story I expect from Ms. Cherry than Hammerfall. A solid 4 star performance!
Politics & Art.......2005-10-13
I had thought I wrote a review on this story the when I read it for the first time, the day it came out. In any case...
This is far from my favorite C J Cherry book...
Which is to say it is a very good book, just not one of the top twenty books I've ever read.
Ms. Cherryh is in my opinion the greatest writer living or dead when it comes to culture, and world creating. In this story there are three which are dealt with. Primarily, there is the culture of a quarantined space station, what would make life worth living for young adults in a place where there is no real struggle or getting out. The moral of the story seems to be the role of art, (strangely in this story the art of personal appearance), in society. There is a typical Cherryh disdain for how politics always get in the way of good and talented people doing the right thing.
Secondarily, the culture of the planet below is dealt with, including the immortality of the protagonist of the previous story.
And finally, the outside universe is dealt with as the paranoid who are afraid of what they don't understand.
So if you don't want a story where you have to think, then this is not a story for you. Of course if you don't want to think, C J Cherryh is probably not the author for you. Try Koonts. Or maybe Matthew Reilly, (both are authors whom I enjoy) depending on how you don't want to think. However if you want to explore the "what if" side of human interaction, and the shades of gray in character, this is one you might enjoy. I did.
Good Cherryh psychological journey.......2005-09-01
I enjoyed this book very much. In response to readers complaining about slowness, I'd like to point out that Cherryh books tend to have action within psycologically-driven plots. This is one of the ones with less action than some (The Cuckoo's Egg or The Paladin) but more than others (if I recall correctly, Hellburner and the Fortress series have much longer stretches of introspection.) Just like Down Below Station, there are perspectives from many different sides of the story - different factions on station, and on the planet.
If you're looking for sword fights, read the Fortress series, The Paladin (my personal favorite), or The Cuckoo's Egg. If you're looking for more action, read the Foreigner series. If you've read them all, and you're looking for another good book from an excellent writer, this should do it for you.
Greatly disappointed.......2004-09-24
I read Hammerfall a year ago. I enjoyed it greatly to no end. I looked forward to the sequel. I looked for it immediately and waited anxiously for the next installment. As soon as Forge of Heaven appeared in stores, I got a copy. I looked forward to seeing what had happend to Marak and Hesta, their children and friends. To see how their relationships had evolved through the years. I was so disappointed with this book. I skipped through most of it. If I wanted a tale of a spoil brats misadventure, I'd look at the WB. The citizens of the station were dull and untinteresting. I can't beleive this book was written by one of my favorite authors. I won't give up on her though, I'm still looking forward the the next installment of the Foreigner series. Hopefully, I won't be disappointed again.
Book Description
In The Way of the Mystics we are invited to take a journey to the heart of our faith by examining the stories of thirteen of Christian history’s most revered mystics. These spiritual pioneers devoted their lives to exploring a deeper communion with God and through their examples show us how we can apply spiritual wisdom to our own lives. The mystics featured in this book are from different centuries, countries, and Christian traditions but all have been divinely blessed to transcend the limitations of worldly concerns and fully enter the spiritual realm¾a place that so often seems closed off to us. The Way of the Mystics offers insights into the lives of such familiar figures as St. Francis of Assisi, Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Merton, and others. The authors explore these spiritual giants’ experiences, the movements they founded or influenced, and the controversies they generated, offering nuggets of truth distilled from their voluminous and often enigmatic writings. In addition, the book offers practical suggestions for applying the mystics' wisdom to our lives, enabling us to better pursue a deeper relationship with God.
Customer Reviews:
The Way of The Mystics.......2007-09-15
I found The Way of The Mystics to be helpful in gaining insights into some of the Mystics I have read of and some I didn't know anything about. This book gives me enough information about the types of Mystics so I can read further about the ones I am drawn to.
Loving God and service to others.......2007-06-03
The Way of Mystics - Ancient Wisdom for Experiencing God Today by John Michael Talbot & Steve Rabey
These lessons from thirteen holy men and women of God encourage us to continue on our journey to both love God and be of service to others. They provide examples of prayer, solitude, reflection, spiritual direction, practicing the Presence of God and enduring dark nights of the soul and continue to mentor and guide millions by their lives.
Theresa of Avila, "This Lord of ours is so anxious that we desire Him and strive after His companionship that He calls us ceaselessly, time after time, to approach Him." The practical, service side of Theresa was also deeply affirming. " True perfection consists In the Love of God an our neighbor and the more nearly perfect is our observance of these two commandments, the nearer to Perfection we will be. Pg. 122. She also said, "we cannot be sure if we are loving God, although we may have good reason for believing we are, but we can know quite well if we are loving our neighbor." Pg. 129.
St. Francis of Assisi has taught us much about his love for God and its expression in God's creation but this chapter also speaks about the social and spiritual difficulties of the time in which Francis lived and how that context moved him toward God rather than away from Him. His wealthy upbringing gave him a particular sensitivity toward the poor and weak as he gave away all that he owned and adopted a different lifestyle, one of poverty and service. Pg. 67.
St John of the Cross helps us to better understand, "the dark night of the soul" times. Times when we hold on to God in the face of suffering or questions or wondering where is God. His response, "take up your cross." obey God and you will move toward his light. His writings reminded me of the Psalms where it was ok to question God or speak to Him what was on one's heart. He spent quite a bit of time in prison where his writings occurred, much of it in solitary confinement. He felt that attachments were a great hindrance to progress in spiritual journey.
This book shows us men and women who wanted to know God more and what they did to find Him. Some will be shocked by their actions and the extent they deprived themselves but these people had an Audience of One that was their primary concern. They have much to teach us.
A page turner.......2007-05-11
First, I have to say that I am not a Catholic and only modestly Christian in my religious beliefs - I don't need much more than the Sermon on the Mount. I am closer to what Talbot calls a Universalist. That being said I found this book a wonderful read.
This is a book about Christian mystics written by a mystic himself - and in a very accessible style. He searches the mystics from the third to the twentieth centuries looking to find some truth that transcends history in both their similarities and differences. Its a nice review of the times, biographies, and brief writings of these seekers. Its also a great way to find books you'd like to dig into deeper since he provides some thoughtful guidance at the end of each chapter on the essential readings from each mystic.
I was particularly impressed with his balanced coverage of some important Christian mystics like John Donne and George Fox who are not Catholics. The only glaring omission from this book in my opinion is Meister Eckhart. If you're interested in a book on mystics that transcends Christianity you might consider Andrew Harvey's The Essential Mystics. However, Talbot does a much better job in anchoring each mystic into their place in historical times.
13 Men and Women who will bring you closer to the Mystical Way.......2007-02-14
The Way of the Mystics: Ancient Wisdom for Experiencing God Today, by John Michael Talbot with Steve Rabey (Jossey-Bass; New Ed edition, June 16, 2006).
Talbot is a singer guitarist who founded the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a Franciscan community devoted to revitalizing ancient contemplative and monastic traditions. A high school drop out he helped form the folk rock group Mason Proffit, a band which jammed with the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. Eventually Talbot concluded that the "rock star" life seemed empty and sad and turned to producing Christian music. His website is www.johnmichaeltalbot.com and Amazon allows you to listen to sections of his many recordings.
The Way of the Mystic is an introduction to 13 men and women mystics including Francis of Assisi, Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Merton, Teresa of Lisieux, George Fox, John Donne, John of the Cross, and The Anonymous Pilgrim who, following the admonition of Paul to "pray without ceasing," recited the Jesus Prayer thousands of times a day like a mantra: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me, a sinner. Talbot defines a mystic as someone who believes there are realities to life that are beyond what can be perceived by our rational minds or described in words.
The Way of the Mystics covers nearly two thousand years of Christian history exploring a tradition that has all but vanished in today's church. Each chapter provides an overview of the person's life and background, their thought--including quotations from their writings--and a summary of additional resources for further study. Each essay contains a valuable time chart showing the life of the mystic alongside important concurrent world events
Talbot begins in the 3rd century with the story of Anthony of the Desert whose faith was influenced by the desert experience of Jesus and John the Baptist. Anthony lived for some 70 years in the searing deserts of Egypt with little water and food and long hours kneeling in prayer. He was the model for thousands who followed him away from the moral pollution of the cities eventually forming small communities that were the advent of monasticism.
Talbot is quite candid about the lives he writes about, sharing their faults as well as their blessings. Bernard of Clairvaux, for example, the famed monastic reformer of the 12th century, suffered personal embarrassment and humiliation "to his lasting regret," for his part in organizing the disastrous 2nd crusade that failed and cost so much slaughter.
Fourteenth century Spanish mystic, Catherine of Siena, was one of 25 siblings who was born in the year that the Black Death reached Europe and grew up at a time and in a culture that equated saintliness with harsh ascetic practices. She practiced beating out the devil by daily scourging her body with a chain tipped with sharp hooks. She slept every other day and fasted to the point of anorexia, which ended her life at age 33.
George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, lived a peripatetic lifestyle not unlike a 60's hippy roaming the country preaching nonviolence. This fervent anti-Catholic did not believe in worshiping in church buildings, which he referred to "steeple houses." To him the Bible was less reliable in knowing God than personal inner revelation. In a sermon to the people of Leicestershire, England, he announced his mission to bring people off their old ways . . . from their churches . . . from all the world's religions . . . from all the worlds' fellowships, and prayings, and singings . . . from heathenish fables, and from men's inventions and windy doctrines . . . and all their images and crosses, and sprinkling of infants, with all their holy days . . . and all their vain traditions. (p.169)
John Donne, the great English metaphysical poet sought to use his art for the greater glory of God. A convert to Anglicanism, he was later ordained as a priest and deacon of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. His most famous piece, No man is an island . . . came from his wondering about the impact of a soul's departure upon those who remain behind.
Talbot invites his readers to consider the role God plays in their lives, asking, is God a living and breathing reality in the core of your being or merely a cold theological abstraction? Do you experience the fullness of Christ or are you snacking on Christianity lite? This book offers practical suggestions for applying the mystics' wisdom to our lives, enabling us to better pursue a deeper relationship with God.
John L. Laughlin
Something old and something new..........2005-10-27
John Michael Talbot is probably better known as a recording artist than an author, but he has an extensive publication list too, particularly in the areas of music ministry as well as spirituality. Steve Rabey similarly has many publications to his credit, including articles in periodicals and newspapers. Together they form a good team to provide information in an accessible form about a special group of people in the Christian tradition - the mystics.
Not all mystics are created equal. Mystics come in all shapes and sizes, and can be found in almost every denominational and religious framework. Talbot and Ramey wanted to stick close to their own Christian tradition with this book; the figures included here are both Catholic and Protestant, including some from the era of the undivided church. There are eight men, four women, and one unknown person representing a wide range of historical periods.
This is in many ways meant to be a practical book - that is, it relates the history, teaching and insights of the mystics to the broader range of Christian practices. 'In the Christian tradition, sacraments like Holy Communion or the Eucharist of the Lord's Supper provide a public means for believers to share in such mysteries. Spiritual disciplines like prayer and meditation provide a more private means for such connection.'
The earliest figures represented in this book are the Desert Fathers, with St. Antony in particular a highlighted figure. The most recent figure highlighted in Thomas Merton. Between these two, nearly two thousand years of Christian history can be found. These are in many ways pioneers, as Talbot and Rabey describe them in the introduction. 'If you are a Christian, these pioneers are part of your spiritual legacy.'
In my seminary, we taught a class at the beginning of the degree, required of all students in the primary ministry programme, that surveyed the different practices and different denominational aspects of Christianity, because so many people come to seminary with only the experience of their own denominational tradition (and sometimes with only the experience of their own congregation) - that course introduces people to the wider range of possibility for Christian expression, showing valid practices and traditions from within the Christian tradition that are authentic even if different from what people are used to.
This would be an excellent book for that course, and an excellent book for those who want a similar experience, of discovering the different ways in which Christian mysticism can be expressed and incorporated into one's own regular practices. Each section concludes with a 'Learning more about...' section, and each includes pull-quote boxes with highlights, and timelines that connect the particular individual focused upon with the wider Christian and historical context.
Each chapter can be read in a short time, but a good deal of time for contemplation should be permitted. Essays are not simple recitations of writings, key ideas, or biographical sketches, but rather serve to introduce the spirit of the figure in relation to today's world - for example, George Fox is likened to the hippies of the 60s in both his nonviolent message and his manner of vagabond lifestyle.
This is a wonderful text by which the beginner can learn more about the mystical practices and key figures of Christian history. It is also a good book for those with more advanced training to refresh the memory of the people with new insights.
Books:
- August Wilson: Three Plays
- Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions
- Blind Vengeance: The Roy Moody Mail Bomb Murders
- Circle of Stones: Woman's Journey to Herself (Circles of Stones , Vol 1)
- Clock Winder (1st Ballantine Books Trade ed)
- Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man: The Early Years
- Cordelia Underwood: Or, The Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League
- Crawl Space: A Novel
- Crazy in Alabama
- Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s: The Postman Always Rings Twice / They Shoot Horses, Don't They? / Thieves Like Us / The Big Clock / Nightmare ... / I Married a Dead Man (Library of America)
Books Index
Books Home
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- The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers
- The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World
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- The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen
- SONNY BLOCH'S 171 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY IN
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