1 comments about 90 minutos en el cielo: Una historia real de Vida y Muerte.

1. It is very refreshing to read Don's description of Heaven in today's language. After and accident he was 90 minutes in Heaven before he came back to life. I storngly recommend this book
   
   Leer la descripcion que este pastor hace de los 90 minutos que paso en el cielo despues de un accidente de auto, es muy refrescante. Al usar el lenguaje de estos dias lo hace mucho mas real, mas facil de imaginar. Lo recomiendo de todo corazon para todos pero especialmente para los que estan pasando por una enfermedad grave y sus familiares o para los que perdieron a un ser querido.

5 comments about George Mueller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (Christian Heroes: Then & Now).

1. This is an older children's book, but it is also a good book for adults. There were many points where it brought me to tears because it is such an emotion filled story. It is definitely suitable for children, although some of the others in the series are not. I reccomend that adults read the books first and then let their children read them. That is actually how I got hooked on this series. The books were so good, I couldn't put them down.



2. Here is a person who took care of orphans without ever asking for a penny.



3. George Muller's life was one of selfless giving and charity, and his biographical account is moving and inspiring. Hearing about Mueller's untiring efforts to reach out and give hope to the orphans of Bristol, and how the majority of his life was lived both in faith, constant prayer, and a relentless dedication to give to others, is just so inspiring. Here is Christian charity at its finest. George Muller's testimony is one to be admired.



4. shared this book with my teen and pre-teen boys to show how God worked in Mueller's life! amazing!



5. my mother passed this book along to me after she read it to my younger siblings. it is written at a "young adult" level, which was great, because the story was so gripping, I was glad to be able to read it through in a few hours. sometimes God writes the best story possible in the events of history through the lives of His people, and no amount of "literary prowess" is necessary which would get in the way of those pure and unadulterated facts.
   
   This story has inspired me to: pray specifically and trust completely; give away every extra dollar that I have; get rid of at least half my books; stop reading books about the Bible, and read no other book than the Bible until I've read it completely through, or until another book seems as appealing, embracing the possibility that I may never read another book in my life; live a life of complete devotion to Jesus Christ.

5 comments about Emma: A Widow Among the Amish.

1. I just completed the book,"EMMA" which I finished reading in no time at all. I literally could not put the book down. I did read, "TOBIAS of the AMISH" first, which was another incredible book by the same author, who wrote about the life of his father first. I'd give each book a (5) Star rating. I have numerous books on the Amish/Mennonite people. Some are fiction, some are true life stories. "EMMA" fascinated me from beginning to end. Emma was a woman of amazing strength. She lost her husband Tobe, who died from a terrible accident at a young age & left Emma with 6 young children to raise on her own. All through her years, she carried her husband's love in her heart & that love transcended right to her children. If at any time the children needed discipline, Emma could do it with both love & respect, and in return, she got that same love & respect back from her children. Emma's faith & belief in God was rock solid & I believe it was her faith & love for her children, that got her through all the rough years she faced ahead of her on her own. She always felt God's presence in her life. I thought "EMMA" is a beautiful & poignant love story about a woman who loved her husband, both in life & in death as well. I also feel the book depicts a love story about a son who realizes what an incredible mother he had, to write this beautiful story on her life. I feel truly blessed to have read both these books & would recommend them to anyone to read & enjoy. It will captivate your heart as much as it did mine. Arlene Greve



2. I felt like I was reading a history book. It did not hold my attention. This was one book that I did not feel obligated to finish. This coming from a person who cannot get enough of reading Amish and Mennonite fiction. This book could have been just as spell-binding as any of the fiction books if written in a better narrative style.



3. The story jumps around and doesn't complete subjects leaves you hanging as to what happened here.



4. Parts of this Amish novel were interesting but unless you're very much into the differences between all of the subsets of Amish churches and how they're formed you will get bored very quickly and I did.



5. Emma is an amazing book. The author has written an incredible book about his mother, of her strength and tragedy that occured when her husband Tobias died. I sincerely recommend this book and hope anyone who reads it will be blessed as I was.

5 comments about Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II.

1. Let's focus on some matters not elaborated by the many reviewers of this encyclopedic book.
   
   In the permissive, hedonistic west, discipline and doctrine are often belittled. Weigel, in contrast, writes: "To defend the truths of the Catholic faith was not to be `doctrinaire', it was to be doctrinally serious...He was the voice of an authoritative tradition." (pp. 354-355). Furthermore: "The pope is not an authoritarian figure who issues arbitrary decisions by virtue of his own unbridled will. The pope is the custodian of an authoritative tradition of teaching, a `magisterium', that defines the boundaries of the church. He is its servant, not its master." (p. 264) The legacy of Pope John Paul II follows this path: "To tens of millions of people, many of whom are not Roman Catholics, he is the great figure of our time, the defender and principal embodiment of a moral force that has led humanity safely through the bloodiest of centuries." (p. 4). This book includes a compare-and-contrast list of seven areas in which the thinking of modernity is at odds with the Christian faith. (p. 489)
   
   The photographic collection of this book alone is priceless and timeless. For instance, there is a photo of Pope John Paul II visiting the tomb of murdered Father Jerzy Popieluszko in Poland, and one showing the ordination of now-Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.



2. This was a fascinating book that covered the life of Pope John Paul the Great as well as his Papacy. Many of the details of his efforts especially his world-wide pastoral ministry, an outgrowth of his work as a pastor and Archbishop of Krakow, were not well covered by the world media. Most of what we gleaned was the political-diplomatic side of the Vatican. The press, especially the U.S. press, had no understanding of the true meaning of his Papacy. Of particular note, was his endeavor to bring about the fulfillment of Vatican II, the close relationship with youth that we established throughout his life and ministry, and his aims and encyclicals that defined and raised up the dignity of the human person.
   
   If you want to see the Church as you will never see it reported, and understand your faith better, this is the book for you.



3. There is a fiery, mystical core to the young Wojtyla's faith. It is the deepest, darkest layer of the soil which has nourished him throughout his life. All his early heroes are passionate visionaries: the strange, otherworldly Jan Tyranowski; the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross; the stigmatic faith healer, Padre Pio. Their emotional, poetic view of the world has sustained him throughout his life. This is a man for whom the great religious truths are viscerally experienced. Christ is alive and walks the earth; the Virgin is a real woman; the Devil is a person not an abstraction. Good and evil are powerful autonomous forces battling each other--the powers of darkness and light. As Pope, he has attended exorcisms, and even officiated at one.
   Arguably the most important of all his spiritual mentors was Jan Tyranowski. He met Tyranowski on a cold Saturday afternoon in February 1940, at a weekly discussion group in the parish church; it was a crucial moment in Wojtyla's life. Tyranowski was a strange man--a forty year-old tailor with white-blond hair, a high-pitched laugh and piercing eyes. Neighbors spoke to us about his oddness and his intensity. He was a bachelor who lived with his mother in a small apartment across the street from the Wojtylas. Tyranowski's small rooms were filled with stacks of religious books, sewing machines and several cats. He would stop young men on the street and try to interest them in joining his "Living Rosary," a praying circle and theology discussion group for young people. He recruited youngsters so aggressively that one of them, Mieczyslaw Malinski, the future priest and seminarian friend of Wojtyla, remembers being alarmed by his intrusive personal questions and worried that he might be a Gestapo agent. Father Malinski told us that it took him a long while to warm up to "this bizarre character who talked in a high-pitched affected voice."
   Wojtyla, however, was immediately gripped by Tyranowski's personality and the power of his ideas. Tyranowski and Wojjtyla spent an increasing amount of time together discussing the Scriptures and mystical philosophers such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Malinski tried to argue with Karol about this strange man and even brought up rumors that he had been in a mental institution. Father Malinski wrote about Karol's response in his own biography of the Pope: "Tyranowski has gone through a major life-changing conversion. Look at what is inside him, not his outward experience. Yes, he speaks in a slightly odd, affected manner, but look beyond that. He is a man who lives truly close to God." For Karol, Tyranowski was aflame with God--and this closeness to the flame was an irresistible quality for the young Karol and would remain so for the rest of his life.
   Ultimately, Father Malinski grew attached to Jan Tyranowski and entered the rigorous world of The Living Rosary: "When Karol and I committed ourselves to this prayer group, it was all-encompassing. Every moment of the day was organized around activity and relaxation. We were asked to keep detailed records of our prayers and thoughts. Tyranowski took us through each stage very calmly and methodically until we reached the central core of his teaching--what he called the plenitude of inner life. His influence on Lolek was gigantic. I can safely say that were it not for him, neither Wojtyla nor I would have become priests."
   Wojtyla later wrote about this defining experience: "What Tyranowski wanted to do was work on our souls--to bring out the resources he knew existed within us." Karol was particularly struck by the quiet, mystical core of his teaching and he remembered vividly the day and hour when his teachings sank into him: "Once in July when the day was slowly extinguishing itself, the word of Jan Tyranowski became more and more lonely in the falling darkness, penetrating us deeper and deeper, releasing in us the hidden depths of evangelical possibilities which until then we had tremblingly avoided...Tyranowski was truly one of those unknown saints, hidden among others like a marvelous light at the bottom of life at a depth where night usually reigns. He disclosed to me the riches of his inner life, of his mystical life. In his words, in his spirituality, and in the example of a life given to God alone, he represented a new world that I did not yet know. I saw the beauty of a soul opened up by grace. "
   One of the Pope's most insightful biographers (and our consultant), Tad Szulc, believes that the influence of Tyranowski on the young Wojtyla flowed from their shared attraction to the mystical quality of spiritual life: "Tyranowski gave a wholly new dimension and understanding to Karol's instinctive mysticism and, as much as any profound experience of his young years, it set him on a course towards the priesthood...his mystical legacy to Karol Wojtyla was the 16th century poet and mystic, St. John of the Cross and the desire for the contemplative life." (In fact, after he became a priest, Wojtyla, on two separate occasions, requested permission from his superiors to enter a Carmelite monastery; each time they refused, believing his gifts lay elsewhere.)
   On February 18, 1941, exactly one year after he met Tyranowski, Karol suffered possibly his greatest loss--the death of his father. Unlike his calm demeanor and stoic submission to God's will following the deaths of his mother and brother, the loss of his father provoked a torrent of tears and visible pain. He lamented bitterly that he had not been present when his father died. His friend, Maria Kydrynska, was with Karol when they returned home to discover that Karol Wojtyla Sr. had died of a heart attack in bed. She described the scene vividly to Tad Szulc before she died a few years ago: "Karol, weeping, embraced me. He said through his tears, 'I was not present when my mother died, nor when my brother died.'" The apartment was too painful to stay in alone, so he moved in with the Kydrynskas. Years later, John Paul II told the writer Andre Frossard: "I never felt so alone." His friend Father Malinski observed him going to the cemetery every day to pray at his father's grave and said to us, "Karol was so distraught that I was truly worried about him."
   From that point onwards, Karol spent a great deal of time with his mentor, Jan Tyranowski, but it would take a year and a half for his vocation to take final shape. Years later the Pope would reflect on the mystery of his vocation in his memoir: "At 20 I had already lost all the people I loved. God was, in a way, preparing me for what would happen....After my father's death I became aware of my true path. I was working at a plant and devoting myself, as far as the terrors of the occupation allowed, to my taste in literature and drama. My priestly vocation took place in the midst of all that--I knew that I was called with absolute clarity."
   His reticence--or detachment--is exemplified in his friendship with the theater director, Mieczyslaw Kotlarczyk. Biographer Tad Szulc has described him as "Karol's intellectual, cultural and thespian mentor, the most important person in Karol's life after his father and Tyranowski." For an entire year during the Nazi occupation when all travel was restricted, Karol and Kotlarczyk wrote letters to each other that Halina Krolikiewicz, an actress in the Rhapsodic Theater, would smuggle back and forth from Krakow to Wadowice. Karol's letters were unusually revealing--up to a point. "I surround myself with Books. I put up fortifications of Art and Learning. I work. Will you believe me when I tell you that I am almost running out of time. I read, write, learn, pray and fight within myself. Sometimes I feel horrible pressures, sadness, depression, evil." What is striking about this letter is that Karol could not share, or would not share, his great inner conflict. His friend Lorenzo Albacete described Karol's unusual detachment: "He lived in the most intense solitude, a burning loneliness, and to some extent it was self-imposed...it all goes back to St. John of the Cross, to his exhortation of emptying yourself, stripping away ordinary human supports..."



4. This book is simply superb. It is very long, but the length is justified by the importance of the material and the quality of its handling. Wiegel gives you a long, slow build which describes in great detail every aspect of John Paul II's life. He balances the different aspects of his material extremely well; he will jump from a description of personal events, for example, to a detailed discussion of a philosophic or theological point, but he does so in a way that is easy to read and easy to follow.
   
   This book assumes very little knowledge on the part of the reader, but it conveys a tremendous amount of knowledge. This is a great service, because most of us know very little, for example, about early 20th century Polish culture, yet it is critical to understand this to understand John Paul II. In the same way, there are many subjects which you have to understand to understand John Paul II and Wiegel does a great job of explaining the basics of each, from 20th century philosophy to Eastern European communist politics, and from the political and theological leanings of the Amercan Church to the cult of Mary.
   
   Too much of the time we get bios by writers who know nothing about their subject's areas of activitiy. We get, for example, bios of Napoleon by writers who know nothing about military affairs. We get bios of Plato by people with little understanding of philosophy.
   
   This is not one of those books. Wiegel has made himself the master of all of the subjects needed to understand this amazing man. This book will take you a long time to read, but it is all time well spent.



5. Its not often that one reads a truly great book, a book that is well-written,informative,moving, and inspiring. This book is such a book. While to some this book might be dauntingly long, it well worth the time and is really not a difficult read. I learned a lot about the papacy and pre-papacy life of John Paul the Great. The author does an outstanding job of capturing the spirit and spirituality of this great man. At the same time, this is not a book that paints an unrealistic portrait of history. It is so gratifying to read a book by an author that is obviously extremely well informed about his subject matter and passionate about it as well. I recommend this book to everyone, Catholic or no. I especially recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical truth about secularism/Nazism/Communism.

2 comments about George Washington Carver: Man's Slave Becomes God's Scientist (Sower Series) (Sower Series).

1. Great book, I highly recommend adults read with youth and discuss. I thought the ideas contained in this book were very positive and overall very appropriate for motivating young minds. I look forward to reading more from the author and sharing it with the youth that I come in contact with.



2. I bought this as a gift for my niece last Christmas. It was admittedly an attempt to expose her to other cultures and achievements. The best compliment was paid as she described the book to her teacher, who asked that she bring this in to read it to the class. I read this and its a good explanation of a brilliant man who thrived in his time. A good read for kids of any background.

5 comments about The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary.

1. This is a very interesting book even if you're not a Christian. We forget that these biblical people where real people who lead fasinating lives. This helps to humanize them for us so that we see that both as the Saints they were and the humans they were. It also strenghtens faith since if makes us aware that these events really happened and aren't just pretty stories.



2. I had always wondered what happened to the Disciples after Calvery and this book was very enlightening and an easy read. It cleared up a lot of questions I had.



3. This book is a fast and easy read, perfect for beginners (1-3 years) who have studied some of the bible/new testament and start asking "who were they?" questions. It's not too long of a book, I read it in under a week, and it's a "pass along" book for a friend. (I would never pass along a book I thought bad or boring). Book is not a heavy end all on the subject, but answers enought questions and legends/historical footnotes to put a pretty good idea of what might have happened to the twelve we read about in the NT.



4. _The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary_ is an interesting book by a Catholic author, C. Bernard Ruffin. It catalogues the lives, travels and evangelical exploits of the twelve apostles from the New Testament, the writings of the Fathers and various apocryphal historical novels. The first problem about writing about the apostles, as Ruffin explains, is to differentiate between "the disciples," "the apostles" and "the Twelve." Disciple refers to any full-fledged follower of Christ and especially to the seventy (or seventy-two) missionaries sent to the villages of Judea during Christ's lifetime. Apostle refers to a special office within the Church that was instituted by Christ to officially declare the Gospel and later on ordain bishops, deacons and presbyters. "The Twelve" encompasses the twelve men explicitly named in the Gospels as those whom Jesus called and taught during his lifetime in this world. A number of saints in Christian history, notably St. Paul, have attained the status of "apostle" or "equal to the apostles" even though they were obviously not in Christ's original entourage. Ruffin does not address the issue of why twelve were called, but it is obviously an Old Testament metaphor of the Twelve Tribes of Israel who originated from Jacob (Israel) and his twelve sons. A problem exists in identifying exactly who the Twelve were because many of them went by multiple names and many figures in the New Testament shared the same name. Ruffin provides an authoritative list: Peter, Andrew, James the Greater, James the Less, John, Philip, Bartholomew (a.k.a. Nathaniel), Thomas, Matthew, Simon, Jude (a.k.a. Thaddeus), and Judas Iscariot whose place was later filled by Matthias. James the Greater and James the Less are both to be distinguished from James the Righteous who was Bishop of Jerusalem and author of the Epistle of James. Most suffered martyrdom for Christ having lived lengthy lives spreading the Gospel of Christ, except for John who died of an illness in old age. Peter of course founded the episcopacy of Rome and Andrew at Constantinople. Many were active in Judea, Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Some of the apostles are held to have traveled as far as Britain, Iran/Persia, Ethiopia, Armenia, Scythia/southern Russia, Spain, India and even China and Southeast Asia. The most extensive traditions exist regarding "Doubting Thomas." He is reputed to have traveled to the Punjab region of India, southward along the Malabar Coast and onward to what is today Burma and Malaysia. Thomas is considered the founder of the Indian Orthodox Church dating back to the first century. Ruffin examines the status and motives of Judas and what made him a traitor to Christ. More space in this book is devoted to Peter than to the other apostles and in some instances Ruffin argues for an interpretation of the New Testament accounts of Peter in order to justify papal supremacy over the Church. However, this book remains an excellent, easy to read introduction to early traditions regarding the apostles and their mission to the ends of the earth.



5. _The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary_ is an interesting book by a Catholic author, C. Bernard Ruffin. It catalogues the lives, travels and evangelical exploits of the twelve apostles from the New Testament, the writings of the Fathers and various apocryphal historical novels. The first problem about writing about the apostles, as Ruffin explains, is to differentiate between "the disciples," "the apostles" and "the Twelve." Disciple refers to any full-fledged follower of Christ and especially to the seventy (or seventy-two) missionaries sent to the villages of Judea during Christ's lifetime. Apostle refers to a special office within the Church that was instituted by Christ to officially declare the Gospel and later on ordain bishops, deacons and presbyters. "The Twelve" encompasses the twelve men explicitly named in the Gospels as those whom Jesus called and taught during his lifetime in this world. A number of saints in Christian history, notably St. Paul, have attained the status of "apostle" or "equal to the apostles" even though they were obviously not in Christ's original entourage. Ruffin does not address the issue of why twelve were called, but it is obviously an Old Testament metaphor of the Twelve Tribes of Israel who originated from Jacob (Israel) and his twelve sons. A problem exists in identifying exactly who the Twelve were because many of them went by multiple names and many figures in the New Testament shared the same name. Ruffin provides an authoritative list: Peter, Andrew, James the Greater, James the Less, John, Philip, Bartholomew (a.k.a. Nathaniel), Thomas, Matthew, Simon, Jude (a.k.a. Thaddeus), and Judas Iscariot whose place was later filled by Matthias. James the Greater and James the Less are both to be distinguished from James the Righteous who was Bishop of Jerusalem and author of the Epistle of James. Most suffered martyrdom for Christ having lived lengthy lives spreading the Gospel of Christ, except for John who died of an illness in old age. Peter of course founded the episcopacy of Rome and Andrew at Constantinople. Many were active in Judea, Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Some of the apostles are held to have traveled as far as Britain, Iran/Persia, Ethiopia, Armenia, Scythia/southern Russia, Spain, India and even China and Southeast Asia. The most extensive traditions exist regarding "Doubting Thomas." He is reputed to have traveled to the Punjab region of India, southward along the Malabar Coast and onward to what is today Burma and Malaysia. Thomas is considered the founder of the Indian Orthodox Church dating back to the first century. Ruffin examines the status and motives of Judas and what made him a traitor to Christ. More space in this book is devoted to Peter than to the other apostles and in some instances Ruffin argues for an interpretation of the New Testament accounts of Peter in order to justify papal supremacy over the Church. However, this book remains an excellent, easy to read introduction to early traditions regarding the apostles and their mission to the ends of the earth.

5 comments about Things We Couldn't Say.

1. I bought this book at the American Book Center in The Hague, Netherlands, a few years ago. As I knew many of the places mentioned in the book, it took on an even deeper meaning for me. I love this book, and I list Diet Eman and Hein Sietsma as heroes. Definitely 5+ stars!



2. The true story of true Christians, and Dutch patriots, Diet Eman and Hein Sietsma, and their courageous risk of everything to resist Nazi tyranny and hide thousands of Dutch Jews.
   True Christians always love the Jewish people and Israel, and true nationalists are opposed to both Communism and Nazism, both the antithesis of national self-determination.
   Diet recounts her own life, and experiences and what she saw and heard, as well as her deep faith in G-D, that guided her in all she did and thought.
   Diet recounts her experiences in Scheveningen prison, where she describes how Jewish families, who were caught in hiding, were hauled into the prison, mothers, fathers and children: 'On the nights the guards brought Jews in, we always heard the children crying all through that place. It was bad enough for us to have to suffer through a place, like Scheveningen, but it was terrible to hear those poor innocent children crying.'
   It is up to true Christians and righteous gentiles to stand by the State of Israel today, in the struggle for her survival and that of her children, against the monstrous Islamic-extreme leftist hate machine.



3. Excellent book. The book is fast paced, exciting and touching.
   
   The risks and sacrifices that the author and her fiance went through for their beliefs and for unkwown people amazed and inspired me. Highly recommended.



4. The account of the author and her experiences fighting the German occupation of Holland during WWII is harrowing. It is hard to imagine that any human being can display so mush courage at such a young age.



5. I have read more than 75 books of this genre depicting this period of history. "What would I have done under the same circumstances?" That is the question I am always asking of myself whilst reading these stories. This is the story of a group of people with the courage of their convictions...Diet's story is inspiring and touching. It illustrates perfectly that the power of prayer is undeniable and when 'all one can do is pray' one has done everything.

1 comments about Surprised by Christ: My Journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity.

1. Surprised By Christ: My Journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity succeeds on several levels. The first is as an engaging and fascinating conversion story of a first-generation religious Jewish boy (Conservative Jew) in Queens, New York, raised as he puts it, "in the shadow of the Holocaust", whose "road to Damascus" encounter of Christ after reading the New Testament under his covers with his flashlight, compels him to become a founding member of "Jews For Jesus", a participant in the sixties "Jesus Movement" in California, a pastor in what became the Evangelical Orthodox Church, a convert to Orthodox Christianity, seminarian and eventually an ordained Orthodox priest. Interspersed throughout is a well-written narrative of the many phases of his spiritual experience, study and discovery as he journies from independent Protestantism (he is thankful and generous about his Protestant experience) to re-discovery of his Jewish roots in the Eastern Orthodox Church. If you want to understand how the first Jewish converts to the Christian faith saw Christ as the prophesied Messiah of Israel through the Hebrew Scriptures and rabbinic sources, this is the book! You will also get an excellent overview of Orthodox Christian theology and praxis in the book. There is a fascinating chapter that shows a historical connection between the "Nazarene" Jewish Christians of Jerusalem, who fled the destruction of the Temple (A.D. 70) to Aleppo in modern-day Syria, with the Antiochian Orthodox Church. This is an excellent and entertaining primer on Orthodoxy - and its differences from western Christianity - for the Jew, Gentile or spiritual seeker alike.
   
   If you are interested in hearing an interview with the author about the book, the link follows:
   
   http://audio.ancientfaith.com/illuminedheart/ih_bernstein_pc.mp3

5 comments about The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery.

1. 
   "The empty mirror," he said. "If you could really understand that, there would be nothing left here for you to look for."
   
   
   
   A Dutch student spends a year in a Zen Buddhist monastery in Kyoto in the late 1950's. He shows up at this monastery not really knowing why he wants to be there; he just vaguely knows he wants to do Zen.
   
   The storytelling is lean and direct; no tangents or wordiness with this narrative. This makes for some very engaging and quick reading.
   
   Van de Wetering is one of those rare people who can produce a compelling first book with such seeming effortlessness; his style engages you from the first paragraph and doesn't let go until the last sentence.
   
   This is a spiritual odyssey without the spirit; the seeker seeking for what he knows not. In his pursuit of this unknown, "Jan-san" is brutally honest about his limitations and cultural alienation; his inept struggling with his koan penetration seems to be the core problem he has.
   
   Yet, his humor underpins much of this struggle: with himself, his fellow monks, and his sense of "What the hell am I doing this for?"
   
   Quite the entertaining read - highly recommend.
   
   Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   



2. I had to read this for class. Not great literature, one may even say that it is bad. It is more of a diary about Zen buddism. I would bet that there are better books out there about Zen that are better.



3. In the summer of 1958 Janwillem van de Wetering showed up at the door of a Zen monastery in Kyoto Japan, knowing pretty much no one, not speaking the language, and without a really good idea what he was doing there. This book describes, with a certain amount of humor and what seems to be quite a bit of honesty, the months that followed (interlaced with Zen stories that he heard during those months, including some that I hadn't heard anywhere else before; I like Zen stories).
   
   There aren't many dates in the book (or I wasn't paying enough of that kind of attention to notice them), but I think he stayed at the monastery for more than six months and less than two years. His descriptions of the time are interesting, funny, warm, vivid, and all sorts of good words like that (and also rather dark, mordant and/or grouchy in tone, often frustrated, impatient, dissatisfied). He did not find the answers to life's problems, his knees hurt alot, he misunderstood the head monk and Zen master frequently, and he (like the other residents of the monastery) cheated and broke the rules with impressive frequency.
   
   The writing is spare and specific; this is the story of what one particular set of months in one particular monastery were like. Any broad conclusions about The Meaning Of Zen Training or anything else are left pretty much entirely to the reader.
   
   The author left feeling that the whole thing had perhaps been a failure; but the master said "now you are a little awake; so awake that you will never fall asleep again". Which altogether is more satisfying, I think, than perky converts describing how happy and fulfilled their new meme complex has made them.
   
   One tiny annoyance that struck me as out of keeping with the tone of the rest of the book: on a crowded train ride during a brief trip away from the monastery to renew his Dutch passport, he concentrates so hard on the feeling of a woman who is pressed up against him that he convinces himself that he is mentally influencing her to rub herself against him, trembling. She got off at the next station (can hardly blame her!), and he concludes that the idea that "someone who has trained his will can influence others, without saying anything, without doing anything observable, had now been proved", but that that's not really the point of Zen and he probably shouldn't do it anymore. He doesn't seem to consider the possibility that he's just proven that he can fool himself, which seems to me much more likely, and something that should have occurred to anyone actually paying attention.
   
   But that's just a nit (I like nits), and perhaps adds as much to the book as it takes away from it. I very much enjoyed reading it (and it didn't take long; it's 146 pages, with little or no bogging down). He has at least two other books about his experiences in other vaguely Zen-related places; I intend to someday maybe read those also.



4. too many - this is one of the first and is the BEST. period.



5. You can't fault Jan-san for his honesty.It may even help some people who over-stretch themselves with warped fantasies about the perfect Zendo. Nevertheless, it isn't a helpful account. The experiences which seem to endear many readers to this book are common place, the hops over the wall, night life etc. - obtained without reference to Zen. Given the lethargic atmosphere inside the temple, it is hardly surprising than Jan-san sought stimulation - outside it. Jan-san honestly reports a luck-lustre attitude. If you want apathy - well, life is short.
   This 'mirror' - is empty, empty of all the benefits one might find, practicing Zen in earnest.

5 comments about Maid of Heaven: The Story of Saint Joan of Arc.

1. Everyone knows of the general legend of Joan of Arc - a young and illiterate girl hears voices from God and leads France against the invading English. "Maid of Heaven: The Story of Saint Joan of Arc", however, tells the complete and through story of a sixteen year old girl who rose up to stand against insurmountable odds. Nonfiction, but written and reads like fiction, "Maid of Heaven: The Story of Saint Joan of Arc" is expertly composed and highly recommended to world history shelves and for anyone who wants a complete understanding of this enigmatic teenage girl who was anything but.



2. I've read many books about France's Partron Saint, Joan of Arc, but never seen one like 'Maid of Heaven' by Ben Kennedy. It is Joan's life portrayed through beautiful poetic form. Mr. Kennedy does an amazing job of putting such a lyrical story into capitivating lyrical form. It is the kind of book that catches your attentiion, and then never lets go. Once I started, I was compelled to continue to the very end. The poetry is lovely and well versed, and the historical perspecties reflect an accurate accounting of Joan's amazing story. Most importantly, Mr. Kennedy doesn't neglect to include the spiritaul perspectives and implications in his work, and we are all the better for it. I highly recommend this lovely and most original approach to Joan's life.



3. An epic flash back that water my eyes. I had read several books including condemnation files but Ben compiled the historic events in a magnificent poem. I did not expect this breathtaking story.



4. What an incredible way to cover the life of Joan of Arc. All of the history is there and I love the clever way he incorporates some of Joan's most famous quotes into the poem. The way it is written made me feel like I had traveled back in time and was right there with Joan. I like this book so much that I donated my copy to my church library so that everyone can read it and learn more about Joan of Arc. By far the best historical book I have ever read.



5. Jeanne the Maid is a bold, brave and brash figure who remains true to her calling. This book is true to her. It is a poem, not a scholarly work, but Kennedy has tried to present the true story of the Maid accurately and I think he succeeds. Those who love the Maid will be delighted. Those who don't may find themselves wanting to know more after reading this fine poem.