Balling the Jack: A Novel

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The Best Novel I've Ever Read About Darts

quick, easy read

writing with an eye on the screenplay

A Bullseye

Very Funny

Balling the Jack: A Novel
Frank Baldwin
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0684845814

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"Betting all you have cleans the system," says young Wall Street paralegal Tom Reasons as he hands over $400 of his weekly $447 paycheck to his bookie, Toadie, in bets on baseball games. But it's the low-profile sport of darts that gets Tom into real trouble, in this raucous, raunchy thriller. When he loses $40,000 on the toss of a feathered sliver of steel, Tom has to outsmart Mafia loan sharks to stay in one piece. Along the way, Frank Baldwin manages to tap into the energy of ambitious, amoral, and frighteningly fascinating 20-somethings.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Novel I've Ever Read About Darts.......2004-01-24

This novel is harmless fun; good airline or beach read. I read some of the other reviews where people were comparing this work to Jay McInerney or other authors and blah blah blah...This novel stands on its own as a funny, smart book. There are not a whole lot of lessons, and Tom Reasons, the protagonist, even says at the end, "Don't ask me to add everything up. It's too early in the morning, and I've never been any good at spotting the moral." This book is about gambling, darts, 80s and 90s music, single life in NYC, and, what I think a lot of the other reviewers missed, a novel about friendship. He treats his friends like a jerk, and, like true friends, they are still there to bail him out. Just read it for the fun of it.

quick, easy read.......2002-09-19

I really liked this book- very quick and easy to read. My heart was pumping during the last baseball game bet- and I thought he did a great job of developing the characters.

writing with an eye on the screenplay.......2001-01-04

difficult to believe people on this page are actually comparing baldwin to jay mcinerney. baldwin is a gallant trier, and that's no sneer, but he's not in mcinerney's league, let alone bracket. baldwin's style is unadventurous, his dialogue usually false, his gags usually telegraphed and his editor usually lazy - every third sentence is flab (might have been intentional to make the voice offhanded). none of which means this isn't a cool first novel. baldwin is charged up and for that he's to be welcomed. nice to see a book about people who like a good time - the odd scene really does smoke. but to all you swooners: some perspective, please. if you're looking for fast lane fiction try nettie jones' "fish tales" or richard price's "ladies man", both set in 70's nyc. or mcinerney's "story of my life". or jimmy carroll's "basketball diaries". or australia's justine ettler or andrew mcgahan or christos tsouslakis. try walter teavis's "the hustler".

frank baldwin's done okay here but his editor let him down. and his 'irish' characters don't seem authentic, not even remotely. the character 'duggan' is a half baked cartoon. in short, the book lacks grit. it aint ever dark. show me the ghosts that come for a person's soul, even if only for a glimpse.

weird thing is, somehow i dug 'balling the jack'. narrator tom reasons is like a kelpie at your heels. fiction needs vigour and fiction needs speed and this book does has tons of both. and baldwin's plot has the juice. good luck to him. if he finds an editor sharp enough to sharpen him, he'll gleam.

happy new year all.

A Bullseye.......2000-06-04

A smile...a giggle maybe...but rarely does a book make me laugh out loud. Balling the Jack did it to me again and again. It was like reading a letter from an errant brother. I would be sitting there, shaking my head, thinking "what a cad this Tom Reasons is." But I couldn't put it down and I found myself rooting for him til the end.

Very Funny.......1999-10-18

While I often find it hard to laugh out loud at a novel, Frank Baldwin manages to get me to crack on numerous occasions with his first novel. While reading the philosophy espoused by the main character, Tom Reasons, I found it hard not to laugh. I highly reccomend this book to anyone in need of the best medicine.

Book Description

This stand-alone novel in the Valdemar series continues the story of prickly weapons-master Alberich. Once a heroic Captain in the army of Karse, a kingdom at war with Valdemar, Alberich becomes one of Valdemar's Heralds. Despite prejudice against him, he becomes the personal protector of young Queen Selenay. But can he protect her from the dangers of her own heart?

Customer Reviews:

continuing valdemar excellence.......2007-01-11

style. another flawless story in the valdemar series. alberich is one of my favorite characters and I was very happy to read more of his adventures.

exiles valor.......2007-01-09

good read. lackey connects all her characters with different books. we like them.

Such a sad decline.......2006-09-01

To think, long, long ago (back when the Mage Winds books were being released), I used to rush out to the bookstore whenver a new Mercedes Lackey book was released, and buy it in hardback. And that was when I was a college student, and didn't have a lot of money. Now, I will occasionally check one of her books out of the library. In case anyone is interested, it was the Mage Storms trilogy that cured me of hardback buying. I still enjoy a few of her books (I admit to a sneaking fondness for the Elemental Masters series and Bedlam's Bard), but I've been so disappointed in so many of her books, that I often don't bother to read the new ones.

If only this book was one that I decided to skip! Even though I didn't spend any money on this book, due to the aforesaid policy of checking her books out of the library, I still am sorry that I read it, since it wasted valuable time that I might have more profitably employed in more rewarding activities such as mopping the kitchen floor. The burning question I have is did Ms. Lackey even bother to reread her earlier books before writing this one so as to keep her basic timeline straight? But then, there's no need to ask Ms. Lackey such a question, because the answer is clearly a resounding NO.

Most of the other reviewers have mentioned this as well, so I don't need to spend a lot of time on it, but it is incredibly annoying. It shows a sloppiness which an author of Ms. Lackey's experience certainly should not be engaging in, as well as disrespect for the fans who loved the earlier books and eagerly anticipate the release of each new installment in the series. Does she think that the fans are so stupid that they wouldn't notice? And it's not just one or two minor incidents, it's practically the whole timeline of the book. The marriage of Selenay and Karath, and his plot to seize the throne from her, is described as developing over several years in the Arrows of the Queen trilogy, but it's all compressed into a few months in this book.

As for the character of Myste... It seems like she is included only as a chance for Ms. Lackey to share some of her fantasy life with everyone. Sorry, I really didn't need to know that. And not only that, the character is just so annoying! Smug, self-righteous and an intolerable know-it-all.

Which rather segues into my next complaint, which is the nauseating preaching that Ms. Lackey can't seem to produce a book without these days. Yes, Misty, everyone agrees that child abuse is bad, and that tolerance for different beliefs is good, and that everyone should be treated equally. But we don't need to be beat over the head with it when we are reading a fantasy novel. While her earlier books certainly hit upon these themes, she used to not let it get in the way of the story. In most of her recent books, the story is subordinated to pages and pages of blatant sermonizing. Again, does she think her readers are stupid, or that they will rush out to commit heinous crimes without the benefit of her preaching?

And then, as if everything else weren't enough to spoil the book, there's just the overall poor writing quality. This book, like so many of her others, reads like she rushed to produce a first draft, and sent the first draft to the publisher without even taking the time for a little basic editing and proof-reading.

All in all, a poor book which demonstrates the decline of an author I used to whole-heartedly enjoy.

Dumb as a Bag of Hair.......2006-07-02

I haven't read a lot of Mercedes Lackey, and I don't know if I'll read any more after reading this one. The plot is thin and the characters are completely unbelieveable.

Spoilers Below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's some of my major problems with the book.
1. How is it a Queen is not intimately familiar with any of the surrounding countries around Valdemar? Not only is it her job to know these things, any monarch would be intimately familiar at least with WHO the leadership is of surrounding countries, and who is an "eligible bachelor". Sorry, I thought the Queen's lack of knowledge in this area was...ridiculous.
2. How is it that the Queen is not informed of a potential plot to kill her? Instead, everyone is like "oh, it will make her feel bad. Just keep an eye out for assassins".
3. What's with the Weaponsmaster doing the amateur sleuth thing? Wouldn't a kingdom have its own intelligence service?
4. The ridiculous "transfer" of a note from an actor to someone in the audience. Come on, which would attract less attention...quietly dropping off a note with someone, or pretending to fall off a stage into someone's lap and slipping them a note in front of hundreds of people?
5. How long does it take to learn proper grammer, Alberecht?
6. Why is the weaponsmaster involved at all in bodyguarding the Queen? There is a Queen' Guard mentioned throughout the book, yet the Weaponsmaster (whose responsibilities seem to have nothing to do with the day to day safety of the Queen) seems to be able to decide on a whim who will be protecting the Queen and when, without consulting the Queen's Guard. Right.

The whole book is full of stuff like this that just doesn't make any sense.

Reading this book, I was thinking about how things really would have played out in a medieval setting...A plot is uncovered against the Queen. The Queen is informed. The known participants are rounded up and tortured until they give all the particulars of the plot and all the participants. The participants are executed. End of story.

Oh, and by the way, the unknown participant in the plot is clearly Orthallen.

more male roles.......2006-05-24

I notice this author tends to prefer female stars. the exile's valor books blend a male hero with strong female charactures. a very nice blend I enjoyed reading. however, I have not taken to most of the heroan rolls in her other works. Thus I dont read most of her writtings. I am simply me take my comments for that alone.

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Exile's Valor: A Novel of Valdemar
Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: Daw Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000N2Y7MW

Book Description

You're only a hero until your next battle.

Legion General Bill Booly knows that peace is just a pause between wars. He's just crushed one uprising, and now a new rebellion is already brewing on a remote world light years away--spawning a web of terrorism that is close enough to catch the vulnerable Confederacy in its grasp.

Download Description

"When it comes to military science fiction, William Dietz can run with the best," says Steve Perry. And he proves it once again in his newest novel about the foreign legion of the far future--and the battles no one else can fight but General Bill Booly. Now, in the wake of a great universal war, he's found himself struggling to balance his military, political, and humane obligations. But neither Booly nor his men realize on the remote world of LaNor, another revolution is brewing. There, a career Legionnarie with a reputation for bucking authority and an inexperienced, overly-ambitious diplomat will become key to defending the deadly LaNorian web of terrorism that threatens not only the Legionnaires, but the entire Confederacy

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Addition to the Series.......2006-09-06

I have enjoyed all of the Legion Series so far and this is my favorite of the series. The basis of this novel is the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which has always been a fascinating subject.

The politics of the Confederation and the continuation of the Ramanthian threat was excellent. Continuing with the theme of including Hudathan's in the Legion was very well handled in this story. My favorite character in the book was Captain Seeba-Ka.

My only complaint about the book was some of the back stories, the Ramanthian plot was a good addition but the sections on the Syndicate seemed like filler to me.

With that said I would recommend this book to anyone who has read the other books in the series.

A welcome rebirth of sorts for Dietz's Legion series.......2004-06-05

For More Than Glory is the fifth of William C. Dietz's Legion of the Damned novels, and it marks a change of direction and in some sense a rebirth of this thrilling military science fiction series. Much has changed since we were first introduced to a futuristic Legion of soldiers evolved from the historical French Foreign Legion. The decadent Terran empire has been overthrown, Earth has taken a leading role in the interplanetary Confederation of Sentient Beings, two massive wars against the militaristic Hudathan race have been won, a far-reaching conspiracy temporarily succeeded in overthrowing the Earth government, and the Confederacy has managed to survive a dire threat from a powerful new alien race called the Sheen. While the cyborg legionnaires who served as the focus of the first novel continue to be important elements in the story, war and diplomacy have long ago taken center stage in Dietz's unfolding of Confederation future history. A fascinating side note to this novel, which the author alludes to in a note at the back of the book, is that Dietz molded, to some degree, the chaotic set of events on the planet LaNor on the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1900.

While several of the main characters from previous books retain an important place in this story, For More Than Glory is largely built around a refreshingly new cast of characters. Legion Second Lieutenant Antonio Santana emerges as the new hero on the block. His checkered past of disobeying certain direct orders of a certain superior officer in the previous war cost him a star and secured his posting on the interplanetary backwater of LaNor. This little planet soon takes on great significance, however, as a complicated planetary revolution threatens not only the lives of diplomats and legionnaires on the surface but also, albeit indirectly, the very solvency and future of the Confederacy itself.

An assortment of races has been incorporated into the Legion by this point, including the bug-like and always suspect Ramanthians and the once-hated Hudathans. No one trusts anyone else, and for good reason. On LaNor itself, the vain empress seeks to hold onto power in the face of two powerful threats, one by a revolutionary terrorist group and the other from a royal nephew who wants to guide LaNor into Confederation membership. The diplomatic teams serving on the planet find themselves increasingly in the cross-fire of conspiracies and dangers that reach far beyond LaNor's small region of space. Unbeknownst to their "allies," the Ramanthians are preparing for a new hatching of some five billion new citizens - to allow for this upcoming population explosion, they need dominion over additional planets and a means of transporting their hatchlings to them, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

This story proceeds very well indeed in describing the rapidly deteriorating conditions on LaNor. Santana is a wonderful character, a true and honest soldier trying to take care of his men and protect as many innocent lives as possible. Highly ambitious diplomat Christine Vanderveen complements Santana very well, as she is quite willing to exceed her diplomatic powers in order to get to the bottom of things and knows what to do with a gun in the heat of battle. Legion captain Seeba-Ka completely steals the show in my opinion, though. Until now, the Hudathans have appeared as bloodthirsty, hateful creatures, but Seeba-Ka boasts a well-developed, remarkably subtle sense of humor and an unprecedented commitment to the Legion.

A number of thrilling rescue missions take place, but the best action occurs when the Confederate forces and diplomats are faced with an extended siege of their section of town. The descriptions of military conflict are awe-inspiring, while the roller coaster of political intrigue takes the reader for a wild ride indeed. Surprisingly, it is the small section of the book featuring characters well-known to readers of this series that flounders. Legion General Booly is working on eliminating the small number of mutineers still roaming the Outer Rim, but the manner in which he goes about this really doesn't ring true to my ears. This subplot stood as a significant speed bump in the road of this reader's satisfaction.

The conclusion of this novel is somewhat open-ended, setting the stage for at least one more novel in the series - I don't have a problem with this, but those readers seeking to have all their answers provided in the pages of one book alone should be aware of this fact. I rarely bring up matters of an editing nature, but I also have to mention the fact that the hardcover edition is simply riddled with typos, missing letters, extra words, and other glaring mistakes. I do not blame the author; but it is an unfortunate truth that the extent of the problem in this regard does take a little something away from the reader's enjoyment of the novel - this is a real shame because For More Than Glory is by and large a very engaging, exciting work of military science fiction.

Good draft of a novel.......2004-02-15

Characters, story flow, ideas...all make this a fun read. But the repeated, glaring editing problems stick out and taint the experience. It's as if nobody actually read the last proof - there are no less than 50 typos and some other simple errors that you would not expect to see in a major hardcover release. Dietz is a very gifted writer, he just needs someone to proofread before publishing.

Duty and Honor Among the Peasants.......2003-12-02

For More Than Glory (2003) is the fifth novel in the Legion of the Damned series, following By Force of Arms. In the previous volume, during the retaking of the Clone World BETA-018, Legion First Lieutenant Antonio Santana commanded the anvil forces in a battle and his commander, the Ramanthian Hakk Batth, led the hammer forces. When the attack drove out Thraki females and cubs from the defensive positions, Santana is ordered to fire upon them, but refused and was relieved of command. The subsequent court of inquiry reprimanded Hakk Batth for poor judgement and demoted Santana for disobeying orders.

In the vicinity of Arbulla, the Confederacy infiltrated the Sheen fleet and disabled the Hoon. When the Thraki admiral refused to believe that the Sheen had been neutralized and attempted to launch "the twins", the Confederacy vaporized the ship carrying these weapons. Although the Thraki attacked the Sheen anyway, they encountered no resistance and finally accepted the situation after destroying some of the Sheen warships.

The Battle of Arballa, as the press called it, was followed by extensive negotiations that eventually included the Thraki as members of the Confederacy. The Hudathans had proved themselves as allies in battle, so their home world was opened to commerce with the Confederacy; individual Hudathans had taken a liking to the Legion and remained in service. The Clone Hegemony, however, had withdrawn all its soldiers from the Legion.

In this novel, Legion renegades from the mutiny have formed the Syndicate and are raiding commerce among the Rim Worlds. General Booly leads a raid on Syndicate Base 012 in search for the cruisers Ibutho and Guerrero. After fighting their way in, they discover that the warships had departed only a few hours before their attack.

On the planet Hive, the Ramanthian Senator Alway Orno returns to report to the Queen that he has negotiated successfully for the additional planets needed for the tricentennial hatching, but that he was unable to obtain the ships required to transport the five billion hatchlings to their new homes. When queried as to how such transportation would be provided, Orno stated that they would steal it.

On the planet Hudatha, Hasa-ba is installed as the third member of the Triad and accepts the acclaim of the populace. Unknown to the other Triad members, Hasa-ba is plotting with Orno to steal warships from the mothballed Sheen fleet.

On the planet LaNor, Legion Second Lieutenant Antonio Santana arrives on the tramp freighter Rim Queen. First he reports in to Captain Seeba-Ka, the Hudathan second-in-command, at the Legion barracks in the Foreign Legation compound adjacent to the Imperial City of Mys. Captain Seeba-Ka is fully aware of Santana's prior record and performs an attitude adjustment prior to covering his future duties. Then he informs Santana that his former superior, Hakk Batth, is commander of the Ramanthian detachment in the Foreign Legation.

This novel interweaves the four major plots noted above and numerous minor ones. The main story, however, is the most inconsequential in terms of galactic history. Based on the Boxer Rebellion, it involves a large scale rebellion against a corrupt, yet locally powerful empire ruled by a Dowager Empress. One of the tenets of this rebellion was the pollution of the local religion by foreign ideas and this leads to the slaughter of foreign missionaries and their local converts. The Foreign Legation comes under siege by both the rebels and the imperial troops.

The Boxer Rebellion is one of many smaller conflicts in American and European history. The rebels were numerous but usually poorly armed and trained. The imperials were also numerous and better trained than the rebels, but were not as determined and were not as well armed as the Westerners. The fighting was fierce and bloody, with heavy casualties among the rebels and imperials. The final outcome changed China forever.

This story is a striking portrayal of ordinary people in a crisis that demands more from them than they have ever given before. Even the veteran soldiers are staggered by the situation, despite their familiarity with war and bloody death. The garrison troops soon become veterans or casualties. The civilians quickly learn to strip away the nonessentials of life and to think like soldiers.

Highly recommended for Dietz fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of daring and courage in a SF setting.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Good, but not his best........2003-11-25

For More Than Glory is a well written piece of Military Sci-Fi. It lacks some of the development of Dietz's former works. Some parts of the book seem rushed. Such as the Ramanthian prespective, which is touched upon, but could have been expanded upon greatly. Then ending seem to just come, it paves the way for another book, but leaves many small questions unanswered. For More Than Glory lacks the completeness and detail of the previous books in the Legion series. This may be due to the failure of Dietz's DeathDay and EarthRise novels. Prompting him to push out another Legion book, due to the previous success of the series.

Although a new main character is introduced in addition to Booly. Dietz's characters seem to be canned. Their great duty to honor is universal, and in this book, so predictable that it's borring. Though Santana has a few black marks in his history, none of them are substantial, and the character could just be another Booly from a previous book.

If you're new to the Legion series, this book may be confusing. Events in the previous books, and even the technology itself isn't explained for those who might not have read a previous Legion book.

This isn't a good book to start the Legion series with, I recommend you start at the beginning with Legion of the Damned. By the time you've come to this book, you'll read it anyway, no matter how negative the reviews are. Just like all the other Legion fans out there.

It's a good book, just not Dietz's best.

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For More Than Glory

Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GZ0C52

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The Persistent Suitor; Hopeless Love (Husband for Helen); More Than a Woman Could Want (Salute to Glory): Treasures of Love #107
Peggy; Lockwood, Ethel; Garrison, Joan Gaddis
Manufacturer: Prestige Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000TZFMSQ

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The 'piping times,': A sentimental romance of those days when there was less heroism but more of everything else than in these death-filled, deathless years of grace, grief and glory
Jeffery Farnol
Manufacturer: S. Low, Marston & Co., Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007K79YS

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INVESTING IN SUCCESS.(Sports)(Oregon spends almost $1 million more on track and field than it did three years ago as it tries to regain its former glory): ... from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000QFBRCE
Release Date: 2007-05-10

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2007. The length of the article is 2627 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: INVESTING IN SUCCESS.(Sports)(Oregon spends almost $1 million more on track and field than it did three years ago as it tries to regain its former glory)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: May 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: C1

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Thanks for the memories: after more than a decade of glory, the U.S.'s soccer pioneers are preparing to step aside.: An article from: Soccer Digest

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Thanks for the memories: after more than a decade of glory, the U.S.'s soccer pioneers are preparing to step aside.: An article from: Soccer Digest
Barry Wilner
Manufacturer: Century Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Soccer | Sports | Subjects | Books

Sports | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Soccer Digest, published by Century Publishing on October 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1635 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Thanks for the memories: after more than a decade of glory, the U.S.'s soccer pioneers are preparing to step aside.
Author: Barry Wilner
Publication: Soccer Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2003
Publisher: Century Publishing
Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Page: 28(6)

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OLD GLORY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF ALL:Held as a prisoner of war in two separate Wars more than twenty years apart.

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OLD GLORY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF ALL:Held as a prisoner of war in two separate Wars more than twenty years apart.

Manufacturer: Dorrance Pub. Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICUVKO

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A Great Introduction to "Reformed Epistemology" and it's origins

Excellent primer on reformed epistemology

Introduction to Alvin's Epistemology

Faith & Rationality: Reason & Belief in God

Manufacturer: University of Notre Dame Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Religious | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Theology | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Warranted Christian Belief

God, Freedom, and Evil

God and Other Minds: A Study of the Rational Justification of Belief in God (Cornell Paperbacks)

Reason Within the Bounds of Religion (PBK)

The Analytic Theist: An Alvin Plantinga Reader

ASIN: 0268009651

Customer Reviews:

A Great Introduction to "Reformed Epistemology" and it's origins.......2007-06-10

Faith and Rationality is split into 9 different sections, including the introduction. (The introduction includes the major themes of the book and how it is primary a work of Reformed scholarship.) There are two short stories by George Mavrodes which I found highly amusing, and which were a nice break from the difficult readings. The rest of the book--the majority of it--is composed of 6 essays.

The first essay is Plantinga's "Reason and Belief in God." This is one of Plantinga's earlier essays on "Reformed Epistemology" and is highly recommended. It's a great introduction to the thought he more fully develops later on (primarily in the "Warrant Series"). The first part of the essay moves through the evidentialist objection to theistic belief and its various forms. In the second part of the essay Plantinga charges Aquinas with holding the view, speaking roughly, that belief in God is irrational without evidence. In this part Plantinga also argues that Classical Foundationalism is self-referentially incoherent. Part three goes through reformed objections to Natural Theology. During the last part of his essay Plantinga argues that belief in God is properly basic.

The second essay is William Alston's "Christian Experience and Christian Belief." Alston argues that certain Christian experiences (the presence of God, the moving of the HS, etc.) contribute to the rationality of Christian belief. I am not familiar with Alston's work, but after reading this essay I intend to do some follow up reading on his views (which, I assume, are expanded in Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience).

The third essay is Wolterstorff's "Can Belief in God Be Rational If It Has No Foundations?" Wolterstorff picks up where Plantinga leaves off. If Classical Foundationalism (and Natural Theology) are bankrupt, can belief in God still be rational? Wolterstorff's resounding answer is "Yes." Wolterstorff has a fascinating exposition of Locke and Reid in this essay. He eventually concludes, following Reid, that people have different "belief dispositions" which allow them to form rational beliefs, of which "reasoning" is only one disposition.

George Mavrodes' "Jerusalem and Athens Revisited" comes next. Relatively short, in comparison to the other essays, I found Mavrodes' essay very useful. He asked some probing questions, and made some very sharp distinctions which aided my understanding of the previous essays greatly. The book continues with George Marsden's essay entitled "The Collapse of American Evangelical Academia." I found this essay fascinating and loosely connected to the overall themes of the book. Finally, the book concludes with a essay by D. Holwerda called "Faith, Reason, and the Resurrection." This essay is a exposition and examination of Wolfhart Pannenberg's theology.

Most people who buy this book will buy it for Plantinga's and Wolterstorff's essays. Fair enough. But some of the other essays are very interesting (especially Marsden's) and informative. Overall, I would suggest this book as an introduction to Reformed Epistemology to be followed with Wolterstorff's Reason Within the Bounds of Religion (PBK) and Plantinga's "Warrant" series. Highly recommended.

Excellent primer on reformed epistemology.......2004-04-28

In laying the groundwork for a reformed epistemology, this book defines the idea of "rational belief" and shows how this definition is superior to the one assumed by contemporary logical positivists (i.e., many atheists and agnostics coming from the scientific perspective).
Summary: It can be rational to believe something without "proof"; we all do it all the time.

In measuring whether belief in God qualifies as rational, this book shows compellingly that belief in God is properly basic; i.e., it needs no general justification.

I found Marsden's chapter ("The Collapse of American Evangelical Academia") also to be quite informative. Before I read this chapter, I had ideas about the current state of the Evangelical mind (I've read OS Guiness, Dorothy Sayers, etc.), but I didn't really understand how we got where we are.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the basics of justifying his/her Christianity either to him/herself, or to the world.

Introduction to Alvin's Epistemology.......2001-07-30

"Faith and Rationality" is not a layperson's book (what did you expect!). This is the introduction to the whole notion of "reformed epistemology." The essays are composed by Alston, Mavrodes, Wolsterstorff, Plantinga, Marsden, and D. Holwerda. The theme of the book begins with the rejection of "classical foundationalism," which is later supplemented by an agument for God's existence (God's existence is properly basic). I was very surprised and intrigued by D. Holwerda's essay. His eerie essay critiques Wolfhart Pannenburg's theology and thought on the Resurrection of Christ. Good book before reading Alvin Plantinga's Warrant series.

Faith & Rationality Reason & Belief in God

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Faith & Rationality Reason & Belief in God
Alvin (EDT)/ Wolterstorff, Nicholas (EDT) Plantinga
Manufacturer: University of Notre Dame Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQJ3EO

Faith and rationality: reason and belief in God.

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Faith and rationality: reason and belief in God.
Alvin and Nicholas Wolterstorff, eds. Plantinga
Manufacturer: University of Notre Dame Press, [
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VIHLV2

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