Book Description
The definitive and rollicking story of one of the best, and one of the wackiest, teams of all time, during one of the most vital eras in baseball.
With The Gashouse Gang, John Heidenry delivers the definitive account of one the greatest and most colorful baseball teams of all times, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, filled with larger-than-life baseball personalities like Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin, Casey Stengel, Satchel Paige, Frankie Frisch, and--especially--the eccentric good ol' boy and great pitcher Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul.
The year 1934 marked the lowest point of the Great Depression, when the U.S. went off the gold standard, banks collapsed by the score, and millions of Americans were out of work. Epic baseball feats offered welcome relief from the hardships of daily life. The Gashouse Gang, the brilliant culmination of a dream by its general manager, Branch Rickey, the first to envision a farm system that would acquire and "educate" young players in the art of baseball, was adored by the nation, who saw itself--scruffy, proud, and unbeatable--in the Gang.
Based on original research and told in entertaining narrative style, The Gashouse Gang brings a bygone era and a cast full of vivid personalities to life and unearths a treasure trove of baseball lore that will delight any fan of the great American pastime.
Customer Reviews:
Baseball lover's only!.......2007-09-23
Baseball in times long passed was a very different game, but like today there were some really wild characters to mke the game all the more interesting. The 1934 Cardinals, "The Gashouse Gang" were an exciting, odd collection of great ball payers who played for the love of the game in a way we wish today's players did.
If you love baseball you won't be able to put this down, and even if you don't it will be too intriquing to stop reading once you start. Well written, well researched and as entertaining as anything I've read this season. Highly reccommended!
The Gashouse Gang Personalities.......2007-09-15
This book climbs to the top wrung of my baseball ladder. Rather than a statistical or play-by-play book so common in baseball pages, this features personality development of some of the wackiest players of all time. Learn that Ducky Joe should have been Mean Joe, that Leo the Lip couldn't handle relationships, or that Dizzy Dean was really Jerome or Jay or Hanna or Herman, maybe that he was from Arkansas or Oklahoma or Texas -- well, you get it.
This book captures the thrill of a season and the joy of a team effort. It really makes you think of the Oakland Athletics of the Catfish days.
Just one observation: John Heidenry missed the point of the moniker, "Gashouse Gang." He can't figure out where it came from. He even ponders how "Gas Tank" became "Gashouse." During that day, electricity was provided by manufactured gas plants, sometimes called "witch's brew." The main structure was known as the "gashouse." The working class fellows who toiled away in those dirty gashouses were known as "the gashouse gangs." They cursed, they played dirty and hilarious tricks on each other, they had great and sour dispositions -- necessary to get through the tough days, and yes, their clothes were always filthy. Sound like the beloved Gashouse Gang?
Snag this book, and you will enjoy several hours of quiet time, if you can block out your own laughter.
Me 'n' Paul.......2007-09-02
In baseball, 1934 was a year to remember, a year in which the Saint Louis Cardinals, a scruffy team of misfits and malcontents, came from almost the graveyard to win the National League pennant, and then the World Series. While we learn a tremendous amount about the Cardinals, and especially the Dean brothers, Dizzy and Paul, there are others about whom we receive thumbnail biographies. Most importantly, Branch Rickey is focused upon for much of the early part of the book, and just reading about this remarkable man is sufficient reason to study this book. Other famous players make cameo appearances: Babe Ruth, Mel Otto, Mickey Cochrane, Leo Durocher, and Pie Traynor, with whom I was once priviledged to have an extensive conversation about baseball when I was in college. I also remember listening to Dizzy on the television announcing(?) games and talking about all kinds of extraneous subjects other than the game he was supposed to be calling. Of course, Dizzy is the centerpiece of this book, and he strides through it like a colossus. He did things then that would not be tolerated by a basseball organization today, and perhaps we are the pooorer for not having men such as him (and Curt Flood)to challenge what is considered the "right" way to act as a porfessional ball player. He's gone, and so are all of those famous old-timers, and the world misses them!
Great Father's Day gift.......2007-07-12
I gave this book to my 60 year old father for Father's Day. He hasn't read a book in years but is a huge baseball fan. He loved the book and stayed up late into the night reading it. Great for a Cardinals or baseball fan!
RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "73 YEARS AFTER WINNING THE WORLD SERIES "THE GASHOUSE GANG" ST LOUIS CARDINALS HAVE A BOOK!".......2007-06-13
Before I give you the details of this book, let me save some people their valuable time, by telling you who this book would appeal to! Old School Baseball fanatics, "Baseball Historians", Saint Louis Cardinal fans. If you think the designated hitter rule is good for baseball this book isn't for you.
73 years after the famous (To the above listed people.) Saint Louis Cardinals, hereafter known as "The Gashouse Gang", won the World Series, they have had an excellent book released on their exploits and accomplishments. As a self-acclaimed baseball fanatic, some of the statistics, and idiosyncrasies, I discovered in this book about famous old time players that I already knew about, were both interesting and amusing. The author's writing style is not anything you'll remember as out of the ordinary, since so much of the meat of the book, you can tell is repeated from old newspaper articles. But the detailed, meticulous, research should be applauded. As I've mentioned in my earlier reviews, I've read literally hundreds of baseball books, and memorized half the "Encyclopedia Of Baseball" when I was 10 years old, yet I learned even more details and amusing personality "quirks" of some of the old-time stars. I of course already knew that Dizzy Dean was a great pitcher, in the Hall Of Fame, and the last National League pitcher to win 30 games. What I didn't know, but learned here, was the absolute bottom of the barrel poverty he came from in the historically famous "dust bowl"! I knew he was a "wacky" character, but I didn't know, it went to the extent of him literally being the Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, of the baseball world in the 1930's, before there was an Ali. I didn't know that Dizzy held out and boycotted games, in a demand for an increased contract, in the middle of the season. I also got to learn much more about the great Ducky Medwick, (The last National League Player to win the Triple Crown 70 years ago.) who was one of my dear departed Mother's favorite players, when he later played on the Brooklyn Dodgers. I never knew he was such a New Jersey, street fighting, chip on the shoulder, ready to fight anyone, including his own teammates, type of guy! I learned more than I ever had known about what led up to one of the biggest name trades in baseball history, Rogers Hornsby for Frankie Frisch. The detailed background on Branch Rickey, before his famous relationship with Jackie Robinson, was also expertly detailed. The almost blow by blow reporting on the 1934 World Series between the Gashouse Gang and the star studded Detroit Tigers makes you feel like you were there. I could go on and on, but like I said in my opening sentences, these facts, that are exciting and educational to me, would only be exciting to the type of people I described in my opening.
Amazon.com
Following in the footsteps of her breakout debut In the Image, Dara Horn's second novel, The World to Come, is an intoxicating combination of mystery, spirituality, redemption, piety, and passion. Using a real-life art heist as her starting point, Horn traces the life and times of several characters, including Russian-born artist Marc Chagall, the New Jersey-based Ziskind family, and the "already-weres" and "not-yets" who roam an eternal world that exists outside the boundaries of life on earth.
At the center of the story is Benjamin Ziskind, a former child prodigy who now spends his days writing questions for a television trivia show. After Ben's twin sister Sara forces him to attend a singles cocktail party at a Jewish museum, Ben spots Over Vitebsk, a Chagall sketch that once hung in the twins' childhood home. Convinced the painting was wrongfully taken from his family, Ben steals the work of art and enlists his twin to create a forgery to replace the stolen Chagall. What follows is a series of interwoven stories that trace the life and times of the famous painting, and the fate of those who come into contact with it.
From a Jewish orphanage in 1920s Soviet Russia to a junior high school in Newark, New Jersey, with a stop in the jungles of Da Nang, Vietnam, Horn takes readers on an amazing journey through the sacred and the profane elements of the human condition. It is this expertly rendered juxtaposition of the spiritual with the secular that makes The World to Come so profound, and so compelling to readers. As we learn near the end of the beautiful tale, "The real world to come is down below--the world, in the future, as you create it." --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
"Nothing short of amazing."—Entertainment Weekly
A million-dollar painting by Marc Chagall is stolen from a museum. The unlikely thief is Benjamin Ziskind, a thirty-year-old quiz-show writer. As Benjamin and his twin sister try to evade the police, they find themselves recalling their dead parents—the father who lost a leg in Vietnam, the mother who created children's books—and their stories about trust, loss, and betrayal.
What is true, what is fake, what does it mean? Eighty years before the theft, these questions haunted Chagall and the enigmatic Yiddish fabulist Der Nister ("The Hidden One"), teachers at a school for Jewish orphans. Both the painting and the questions will travel through time to shape the Ziskinds' futures.
With astonishing grace and simplicity, Dara Horn interweaves a real art heist, history, biography, theology, and Yiddish literature. Richly satisfying, utterly unique, her novel opens the door to "the world to come"—not life after death, but the world we create through our actions right now. Reading group guide included.
Customer Reviews:
Elegant and intelligent.......2007-10-02
I love a book where the author treats her readers as if they have some intelligence! This is so creative, moves from plot to sub-plot to plot with such connectedness that it all makes sense. It can be read as a simple story of generations whose lives are influenced by cultural tales, or looked into more analytically and deeply into the psychological motivation of the characters.
The heritage of the Russian Jewish population flows through each generation of the story's characters finding a little more resolution along the way. The author's own creative folk tale ending is a flash of brilliance.
American psychologist, Erik Erikson believed the stages of personal development unfold as we go through crisis, defined as "a turning point of increased vulnerability and enhanced potential". That is certainly an accurate description of Boris' family!
A perfect book for discussion!
One of the BEST books I've ever read. Seriously!.......2007-07-14
The World To Come is just an amazing novel. The writing is fantasic and the story is very well constructed. When you put the two together you get a book that is impossible to put down. I reccommend this story to all of my friends. Buy this book! You will not be disappointed!
A Journey You Won't Forget.......2007-07-13
What an amazing novel! Dara Horn expertly and seamlessly ties together stories that span generations and continents -- all of which explore the age old question of why we're here and what's next for us. This is a novel that really stays with you for a long time.
Terrible! Leaden characters and dialogue falls flat........2007-07-10
I bought this book becuase of the intriguing plot...and becuase I had attended the Chagall show at the Jewish Museum where the paiting was actually stolen from, giving Horn the idea for the book. Unfortunately the characters are lead weights with wooden dialogue and frankly not very believable actions....If you are looking for a book that truly develops strangeness and other-wordly feelings, then read The Stolen Child. That is one book I couldn't put down.
unfair portait of .......2007-06-17
Initially I really enjoyed this novel, a fun concept that the author develops in an interesting and original way. However, began to lose interest when the plot turned to the artist Chagall and the Yiddish writer Der Nister, because I felt she portrayed Chagall very unfairly. She portrayed Chagall as merely a shallow, commercial artist, in contrast to the Yiddish writers of the time who were silenced by Stalin. Obviously she is a great admirer of the work of these writers, as she is a student of Yiddish literature, and it was very tragic that their writings were lost.
An author is always going to have a point of view, however I think when one of the characters is a historical figure I like more accuracy and less bias to be shown. At first I thought, "this is great, it's like your right there back in history", but then I realized it was more how the author wanted you to view it, and I felt that she was forcing her view down your throat in a very heavy-handed way. She quotes Chagall as saying that his work "doesn't mean anything, it is just color", while characters in the book constantly talk about how meaningful the writers' works were. Whenever the character Der Nister was mentioned, I thought, "okay, now it's time to bring out the violins". I believe that painting and writing are two very different forms of art and the works should be allowed to stand on their own.
Product Description
The 14 Book Beany Malone Set includes: Meet the Malones; Beany Malone; Leave It to Beany; Beany and the Beckoning Road; Beany Has a Secret Life; Make a Wish for Me; Happy Birthday, Dear Beany; The More the Merrier; A Bright Star Falls; Welcome Stranger; Pick a New Dream; Tarry Awhile; Something Borrowed, Something Blue; Come Back, Wherever You Are. The Malones of Denver, Colorado are a warm open-hearted family with a welcoming home, open to friends and all others in need of physical and emotional nourishment. The series has the warmth and sense of solidarity intrinsic of wartimes and the post-war era. There is a general feeling of peace and simplicity. When the series opens, the Malone children are motherless, as Mary Malone has been dead for three years. The father, Martie Malone, is often absent due to his duties as editor of the Denver Call. Three of the four Malone children, Mary Fred, Johnny and Beany, live at home. The oldest Malone daughter, the beautiful, loving Elizabeth, has been married to Lieutenant Donald McCallin for one year. The Malones live on Barberry Street in a large, wide-bosomed gray stone home. Their surrounding neighbors are Mrs. Morrison Adams (known as Mrs. Socially-prominent Adams) in her red brick home with immaculate white trim and frilly curtains in the windows, and the imposing and stately home of the Judge Buell family.
Customer Reviews:
AMAZING SERIES!! IS A MUST READ!.......2006-06-24
I got the entire series this past Christmas. I had read the first 2 because although my library had more, they didn't have all of them, and they didn't have the 3rd and I don't like to read things out of order so I was really sad. So then I was soo happy to find out they were being republished by Image Cascading!!!
So yea I read them all and they all rock!!! It's nice seeing what teenagers did back in the 50's. And it was also nice how different people's relationships were with their family's, I wish it were more like that today. And they are also way more responsible and mature then we are now. Making their own money, not having to depend on their parents for everything. And their parents respect and trust them more too! And they definatly treat their parents with much respect which is ALOT more then I can say about kids of today.
The first book is about Beany's older sister, Mary Fred. It is in MF's junior year of highschool, when Beany is in 8th grade. The rest of the books are all about Beany, in highschool, college, and then when she gets married. And let me just say I LOVE who she ends up with. They are SOOO cute!!!
Everyone should read these books they are amazing and are definatly one of my favorite books ever!
Book Description
Free-verse text describes the transition from day to night and from night to day, revealing the magic in these everyday moments.
Customer Reviews:
Great teaching tool.......2005-10-13
I am a middle school teacher and found this book to be a great tool for teaching my sixth graders. We have been studying personification and this book has great examples in it. The pictures are beautiful and the text is serene. This is a very wonderful book.
Twilight Comes Twice.......2002-10-23
I recommend this book for 5-10 year oids because I think people who like poetry should read this book. I liked ho a girl made dawn and night sound beautiful I thik this book is great and you might like it to.
twilght comes twice.......2002-10-22
This book puts a lot of descriptive writing in it. It doesn't really have a problem. I love the way the author says "slowly dusk pours the syrup of darkness into the forest". In the pictures, they always put the girl's dog with the girl. I think you would like thiss book if you are 9 and up to 12. I loved this book. Giuliana G.
Gentle and calming beautiful illustrations with poetic prose.......2000-10-31
A story set in a suburban neighborhood with a girl and her dog doing various activities as the sun rises or sets. The first part of the book is about dusk and the second part is about dawn. The text is poetic and beautiful. The text is on one page and the illustrations are on the other page; this is a larger sized hardcover book. The illustrations are beautiful paintings, all with the special hues of dusk or dawn. Some of the scenes are: the girl and dog playing in a sprinkler while bats fly overhead and fireflies fly at their feet, two fisherman on the shore of a lake, and the girl and dog taking a walk through the woods at dawn. The poetic nature of the text is rarely found in modern children's books and is a joy to read. "When the sky is full and singing with stars you know that twilight has given way to true night." This is a gentle and calming book to read.
Captivating and picturesque.......1999-07-22
This book was introduced to me in a Teaching Language Arts class in college and I have since fallen in love with it. Ralph Fletcher's vivid descriptions bring his words to life and puts the reader right within his story. Through his use of words, readers can easily paint the picture of twighlight and experience it first hand. This book is excellent for teaching children about descriptive writing and the use of vivid images within their writing. A must have book that is enjoyable for all ages!
Book Description
The Church, in its present state, will not survive much longer. We are in need of a radical change! In Delivered from Evil, his third book in a series on spiritual warfare, Rick Joyner demonstrates how this change will include dismantling the strongholds of fear, confusion and human idealism. He directs Christians to the greatest weapons in their spiritual arsenal: love, humility and restoration.
Delivered From Evil heralds the new breed of leadership who will embody these qualities, teaches the biblical meaning of true apostolic calling, and shows how the last—day Church will draw people back to the heart of God.
Download Description
The Church, in its present state, will not survive much longer. We are in need of a radical change! In Delivered from Evil, his third book in a series on spiritual warfare, Rick Joyner demonstrates how this change will include dismantling the strongholds of fear, confusion and human idealism. He directs Christians to the greatest weapons in their spiritual arsenal: love, humility and restoration. Delivered From Evil heralds the new breed of leadership who will embody these qualities, teaches the biblical meaning of true apostolic calling, and shows how the last day Church will draw people back to the heart of God.
Average customer rating:
- the world to come and then some
- Ya gota read this one!
- The World to Come
- Take the meat . . . spit out the bones--
- The Sylvia Browne Of Her Era
|
The World to Come: The Guides' Long-Awaited Predictions for the Dawning Age
Ruth Montgomery
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Prophecy
| Divination
| New Age
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| New Age
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Spiritualism
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Prophecy
| Divination
| New Age
| Religion & Spirituality
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| New Age
| Religion & Spirituality
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Spiritualism
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
A World Beyond
-
Search for the Truth
-
Here and Hereafter
-
World Before
-
Born to Heal
ASIN: 0609805371
Release Date: 2000-12-05 |
Amazon.com
Ruth Montgomery fans, celebrate! The World to Come is the renowned prognosticator's first book in 12 years, and according to the author, her last. Having written it at age 87, it's easy to understand why she feels this way. Montgomery was a syndicated White House columnist during the Roosevelt years up through the Johnson administration. An assignment by the International News Service to write an eight-part series on séances resulted in her first book, A Search for Truth, and a friendship with noted medium Arthur Ford. After Ford's death, he and a group of otherworld entities began communicating with Montgomery via automatic writing. Many have ranked her powers of foresight with that of Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce. In this new book, the Guides (as she calls her invisible coauthors) rewrite some old predictions and reveal surprising new ones for the upcoming millennium. --Randall Cohan
Book Description
In The World to Come bestselling author and world-renowned psychic Ruth Montgomery presents a wealth of new material about who we are, where we are headed, and how we can cope with the political and natural upheavals that loom in our future.
Many rank Montgomery's remarkable powers of foresight with those of Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce. Now, with the clarity and candor that has won her such a loyal following, Ruth gives a tour of the next century and beyond. Ruth discusses her guides' prediction that the earth is bound to shift on its axis and provides information about what areas are safest as severe global weather patterns intensify. She also shares stories of numerous people from ancient Palestine, including herself, who have been reincarnated at this time to help bring peace and healing to the world. Finally, in what she intends as her farewell book, Ruth offers a warm and fascinating look at her own life.
Customer Reviews:
the world to come and then some.......2007-07-02
i love this book. it's a page turner. i could not put it down.
i love ruth montgomery's style. it is simple and easy to understand. i started reading her books when i was a teenager 35 years ago. they are as important and meaningful to me today as they were when i was 15. they are invaluable to me in my search for the truth. ruth has paved the way for my subsequent interest in - and aptitude for - edgar cayce, seth, paramahansa yogananda, carlos castaneda, ramtha, quantum physics and more.
the "world to come" predicts a shift in the earth's axis, a walk-in president to usher in the new age and the millennium of peace and harmony that follows. within this context ruth includes interesting information about many things: the beginning of humankind, life after death, reincarnation, spiritual guides, lemuria and atlantis, ufos, christ consciousness and more. the chapters that describe the life of jesus are particularly interesting.
i would not recommend this book to individuals looking for facts, or a specific roadmap to the past or future. i highly recommend this book to those seeking to glimpse our past and future. this book is not a scientific journal. it is a book that revels in possibilities, and for readers like myself passionately inspires.
Ya gota read this one!.......2007-05-30
I have read a number of Ruths books in the past. All were quite good, but this one, "The World to Come". really grab my attention. It is one of those books you will have a hard time putting down. Ya gota read this one!
The World to Come.......2007-02-03
Thought Provocing and is was able to verify much on the net through science to back up the predictions
Take the meat . . . spit out the bones--.......2006-06-02
Generally, books have one topic, and so I expected this of "The World to Come". This book seems to be divided into two topics: the prediction of a polar shift and its effects; and a discussion of who in her circle was which Biblical character at the time of Jesus, and where are they now? More importantly, where was her editor? I purchased the book from an interest in the title topic, expecting a degree of depth. What I found, instead, was an admixture of Mrs. Montgomery's guides and Mrs. Montgomery's personal beliefs and/or imagination. Some of the things she and her guides have to say conflict with everything else I've read about the same subject from a variety of sources. Take what answers with your spirit, and discard the rest, remembering that guides are not God and not perfect. As for the extended chapters on the Biblical who's who: who cares? There are other, more helpful books dealing with reincarnation. These last chapters leave me wondering whom she was trying to edify and uplift--herself or her readers?
The Sylvia Browne Of Her Era.......2006-02-28
Although Ruth Montgomery, whose street cred before she started these supernatural books included being a member of the White House press corps, was more of a class act than the current crop of psychics de jour, her claims are ultimately just as hokey. Montgomery seemed to want to keep one foot on first base in that she remained big on writing about Jesus as her personal savior (whom she knew in a past life in ancient Judea) even while she inched out into all sorts claims that contradict most Christian religions. (I'm not writing this to lend support to Christianity, just saying...)
Montgomery's forecast of a new age has fizzled. Rather than dwelling in a new millennium of world peace and enlightenment as foretold by her, her "guides," and her supposed other side contact, the late celebrity medium Arthur Ford, we have war, disease, natural disaster and all manner of old-fashioned suffering during a time that is, if anything, growing less tolerant and enlightened.
As most of her readers and detractors are aware, Mrs. Montgomery promised the earth would shift on its axis just before the year 2000, and unless I've been too busy writing these reviews to have paid attention, that didn't happen. She cops out regarding her failure in this book by saying the decision "was made" to wait another decade...or two...or maybe...well, maybe three, before tilting the earth and killing off nearly all of humankind, and my guess is she figured not only would that save face since her prediction flopped, but by then she and her loyal readers would be long dead (she did pass away in 2001) and spared having to live down cries of fraud.
Montgomery went off the deep end in this book. She comes close to taking credit for turning a hurricane away from her Florida town, and she tosses in everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to claims about what's on "the Other Side." (There IS something touchingly pathetic about her, this old lady, "channeling" her own recently deceased husband, Bob, however.) It might surprise my friends to know just how many of Ruth Montgomery's books I've read, along with other titles in the "New Age/occult/paranormal" section but I've yet to find even one title, especially The World To Come, that would make me think anyone but the author-and not spirit guides, interplanetary entities, etc.-are writing these books. A long list of Montgomery's failed predictions would include her promise that Ronald Reagan would be a one-term President, that the 1988 election would be won by a big-spending Democrat, that WWIII would erupt in 1984 in the Horn of Africa, and that before the end of the 20th century, contact with space aliens would be commonplace and openly-known. You'd think all this would have torpedoed Ruth Montgomery's popularity, but I've found those who need some sort of external validation that "the great magical beyond" exists outside their everyday lives will forgive any discrepancy in order to cling to hope that an enchanted "super-reality" is there. On the surface there's little that's harmful about books by Montgomery, Browne, and their kind, but the sad truth is, far too many people accept the message of these highly-paid gurus as literal truth, and then end up in some cases the worst for doing so.
The World To Come was a pale version of Montgomery's decades-long song and dance routine, and a very weak read indeed. My advice is don't waste your time.
Book Description
This book addresses one of the most timely and urgent topics in archaeology and biblical studies — the origins of early Israel. For centuries the Western tradition has traced its beginnings back to ancient Israel, but recently some historians and archaeologists have questioned the reality of Israel as it is described in biblical literature. In "Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?" William Dever explores the continuing controversies regarding the true nature of ancient Israel and presents the archaeological evidence for assessing the accuracy of the well-known Bible stories.
Confronting the range of current scholarly interpretations seriously and dispassionately, Dever rejects both the revisionists who characterize biblical literature as "pious propaganda" and the conservatives who are afraid to even question its factuality. Attempting to break through this impasse, Dever draws on thirty years of archaeological fieldwork in the Near East, amassing a wide range of hard evidence for his own compelling view of the development of Israelite history.
In his search for the actual circumstances of Israel's emergence in Canaan, Dever reevaluates the Exodus-Conquest traditions in the books of Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, and 1 & 2 Samuel in the light of well-documented archaeological evidence from the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Among this important evidence are some 300 small agricultural villages recently discovered in the heartland of what would later become the biblical nation of Israel. According to Dever, the authentic ancestors of the "Israelite peoples" were most likely Canaanites — together with some pastoral nomads and small groups of Semitic slaves escaping from Egypt — who, through the long cultural and socioeconomic struggles recounted in the book of Judges, managed to forge a new agrarian, communitarian, and monotheistic society.
Written in an engaging, accessible style and featuring fifty photographs that help bring the archaeological record to life, this book provides an authoritative statement on the origins of ancient Israel and promises to reinvigorate discussion about the historicity of the biblical tradition.
Customer Reviews:
Clear, Concise and helpful.......2007-10-01
The book very much helps in acquiring an understanding of the attitudes within the scholarly community regarding the Israelites.
Excellent summary of Israelite origins for the public.......2007-07-04
William Dever's volume is an excellent summary of research on Israelite origins, which concludes that the Israelites originated in Canaan. The congruences between Canaanite and Israelite material culture are discussed. The book is well-written, lively and entertaining, and is well-suited for the general public.
Archeology?.......2007-05-19
This book pretends that archeology can tell us what he Bible cannot and this is a wortwhile premise. However it faulters on the fact that it creates new myths after having discarded the Bible. Since the Bible is just 'story' it relies on archeology. But archeology only tells us that 'yes people did live here' it doesnt tell us how many there were or what they thought or how they worhsiped. For instance it cannot account for nomads or semi-nomads, an important part of the Middle East even today. Thus it cannot tell us much about the overalll picture, it can only tell us what it had found. What it has found is inconclusive and relies mostly on the theories of archeologists.
So this book weaves together theories and then turns them into a new beleif system, one equally improbable as the source it seeks to debunk, the Bible.
Less than credible. A fun theory.
Seth J. Frantzman
Hodegpodge.......2007-03-28
Read at least one other book close to this subject first--The Bible Unearthed by Silberman and Finkelstein is a good choice--since this could be subtitled "A reply to Finkelstein." After Dever's movie review (he says Yul Brynner was better than Charlton Heston) there comes a host of detail, mixed confusingly with a reviews of the literature from other archeologists, many of whom are cited at length but with little context to make it clear why any of it matters. Dever finally warms up to a complicated theory about the origins of the Israelites that may be true but doesn't have much support, and is a little hard to distinguish from Finkelstein. There are also a few divergences into, for example, possible origins of Moses the man, or natural explanations for the plagues in Egypt, and several other biblical references.
There are lots of maps, drawings, pictures and tables, but not much explanation of them; he seems to assume they are self-explanatory. As he says, "Virtually everyone is familiar with the basic outlines of the biblical story" so he doesn't bother to tell it. Dever admits to dashing off this text, and it shows. This is one of those books that desperately needs editing.
Finkelstein insists that the scientific results must hold sway over the biblical text, while Dever claims to give them equal weight; in fact the two scientists end up rather close together. Dever is responding to Finkelstein's glibness, saying "Hey! Not so fast!" and does offer some balance to the facile Silberman and Finkelstein treatment.
Who Were the Early Israelites?.......2006-11-10
Very interesting dicussion of the subject but neither maps nor diagrams were satisfactory to the lay reader who has only scanty biblical knowledge. I was disappointed that the era covered did not stretch back to the origins of the Semite peoples and/or evidence of the Abraham story.
Book Description
In this engrossing book, the author of the classic work The Pursuit of the Millennium investigates the origins of apocalyptic faith--the belief in a perfect future, when the forces of good are victorious over the forces of evil. Norman Cohn takes us back two thousand years to the world views of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, the innovations of Iranian and Jewish prophets and sages, and the earliest Christian imaginings of heaven on earth, and he illuminates a major turning point in the history of human consciousness. For this second edition, the final chapter on Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians has been wholly rewritten and extended.
Customer Reviews:
introductory, brief, excellent.......2005-03-09
This is an elementary introduction to ancient religion, focusing on the issues in the title: cosmos, chaos, and the world to come. It considers ancient Egyptian religion, Mesopotamian religion, Vedic religion, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and very early Christianity--all extremely briefly, focusing only on the issue of the cosmic struggle against chaos, and the development of the apocalyptic worldview. If you are only slightly aware of what all that could mean, this book will entertain you greatly. I am well aware of all of them, and I learned little beyond details from this book, and yet I enjoyed reading it very much.
However, if you want depth on any of these topics, there are other books for you. For Zoroastrianism, begin with Mary Boyce. For early Christianity, begin with E. P. Sanders and move on to Ehrman. For ancient Mediterranean religion, begin with "Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide." And consider "The Other God."
Cohn's argument that Zoroastrianism had a huge influence on ancient Judaism and Christianity, is in my opinion unquestionable, and yet neither emphasized nor even recognized in academic circles, nor widely known among the general public. Somehow it is perceived as embarrassing to Judaism, and yet I think that is ridiculous: after all, the influence on modern Judaism is minute, and who does Zoroastrianism threaten? Jesus, Paul, Hillel and the author(s) of Daniel were still Jews, even if influenced by Zoroastrianism. In fact, in my opinion, they are far more interesting! Similarly, isn't Christianity more interesting precisely because it assimilated so much "pagan" influence? So I hope this book is read widely and its argument more popularly acknowledged.
Excellent read.......2003-09-23
This is a brief but fascinating journey through the history of ancient apocalyptic faith. Cohn takes us to the very roots of civilization, explaining how the traditional cycles of life coincided with religious belief. The cycles of death and rebirth, day and night, summer and winter, mixed in with occasional droughts, floods, and enemy invasion mirrored religious belief in an ordered cosmos that was originally formed by the gods out of a pre-existent chaos. Cosmos wasn't absolutely secure however; chaos was always a threat to the daily ordered life of each civilization, so the benevolent gods continuously fought the "chaos monsters" that constantly threatened the ordered world. Complex pantheons and creation myths arose out of these beliefs and sacrifices and gifts were brought to the gods to give them strength and worship in their enduring battle of protection of the people against chaos.
Cohn takes us to the earliest religious beliefs of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Vedic Indians, and the Zoroastrians describing their beliefs, interconnectedness, innovations, and future implications. He safely credits Zoroaster for the innovation of the first apocalyptic faith, the belief in a consummation of the never ending fight against chaos wherein the supreme god, Ahura Mazda would one day finally and forever defeat the gods of chaos; an age of prosperity, order, and goodness would then be ushered in.
Cohn then proceeds to Judaism and the specific experiences of the Israelites, particularly related to the Babylonian exile, when elite Jews discovered the compelling apocalyptic of Zoroastrianism and adapted it to their own faith in Yahweh. Christians co-opted and greatly expanded these beliefs with a firm conviction of a coming apocalypse and an elaborate cosmic battle myth at the end of the age.
Cohn doesn't waste words; there is a lot of information in these 240 pages, each sentence is filled with fascinating facts. I found his writing style slightly unconventional and it was difficult for me to absorb at times, I am re-reading several sections. I also wish Cohn would have addressed Islam and completed the apocalyptic story of the Middle Eastern religious faiths.
A very good read.
Fascinating.......2003-04-24
I am a longstanding fan of Cohn's writings. I read this book in a day, finding it extremely lucid and informative. It brought the cosmologies of the ancient world alive, showing how their underlying themes make sense to everyday lives of the time.
Another Fine Cohn Concoction.......2002-01-09
Norman Cohn contines his exemplary work as a historian of religious history with Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come (The Ancient Roots of Apolcalytic Faith). This book begins a little drier than his previous works but picks up speed nicely with his discussions of Zorastrianism, Judaism, and very early Christianity while showing the connections between the former and the latter two in terms of its prophetic, apocalyptic writings. This book makes a nice companion piece to this author's earlier and seminal work on millenniarism during the medieval period. A fine addition to the Cohn canon.
A truly wonderful book.......2001-10-23
Surely the best book available if you want to get a insight into the ideas that led to the development of Christianity.
Average customer rating:
- "Come On, Rain!" A Truly Beautiful Book!
- Lyrical picture book
- This is more than just another weather story!
- Keep on Coming!
- Come on rain
|
Come On, Rain
Karen Hesse
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Short Story Collections
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Friendship
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Nature
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Staff Favorites
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Picture Books
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Fireflies (Reading Rainbow)
-
Shortcut
-
My Mama Had A Dancing Heart (Orchard Paperbacks)
-
Bigmama's
-
Night in the Country
ASIN: 0590331256 |
Amazon.com
In this quietly affecting story, award-winning author Karen Hesse and artist Jon J. Muth deftly capture the magnificence of a sudden rainstorm on a swelteringly hot day. Much more than a simple tale of weather, Come On, Rain! also portrays the tenderness of mother-daughter relations, the rhythms of urban society, and the power of nature to transform and reinvigorate all forms of life.
The book's collaborators, more like alchemists, work wonders. Muth's sunbaked watercolors perfectly convey the washed-out, drought-stricken world, while Hesse's gripping narrative--a detailed prose poem written in the voice of the watchful, pigtailed Tessie--conveys undaunted hope and anticipation. Like a long-limbed little bird--all twiggy arms and legs--Tessie moves through the neighborhood, observing her Mamma, her friends, the skies, even the streets:
Up and down the block,
cats pant,
heat wavers off tar patches in the broiling alleyway....
I stare out over rooftops,
past chimneys, into the way off distance.
And that's when I see it coming,
clouds rolling in,
gray clouds, bunched and bulging under a purple sky.
A creeper of hope circles round my bones.
"Come on, rain!" I whisper.
As the downpour approaches, Tessie gathers her neighborhood friends for a romp in the raindrops. Their eager anticipation is matched by a rain shower so gigantic, it even makes their mothers run into the street. It's literally the stuff that dreams are made of--my own daughter dreamed of the delicious downpour the night we first read the book. (Click to see a sample spread. Text ©1999 by Karen Hesse. Illustrations ©1999 by Jon J. Muth. Reproduced with permission of Scholastic, Inc.) (Ages 5 and older) --Jean Lenihan
Customer Reviews:
"Come On, Rain!" A Truly Beautiful Book!.......2002-02-17
I found the book "Come On, Rain!" at our local library and immediately picked it up. The first thing you will notice about this beautiful book are the gorgeous ilustrations! The pictures in this book are lovely and the prose is so happy and full of the anticipation everyone feels on a hot summer day while waiting for a cooling rain. You and you children will love this book!
Lyrical picture book.......2001-10-25
This lyrical ode to the coming rain, accompanied by the soothing wash of lush watercolors, make Hesse's Come on, Rain! sure to please young children. In prose that reads like poetry, young Tessie bemoans the heat of summer while waiting with confidence that rain will soon come. Along with her multicultural friends and all their mammas, Tessie dances in gratitude for the refreshing wetness the rain bestows. While the lyrical prose is of such beautiful quality it could stand on its own, the soft watercolor illustrations portray the emotions of the characters in such lovely detail; the two, the prose and illustrations, combine to create a delightful work of art. Even with the vertical lines of rain which one would expect to stop the motion of the story, Muth manages to create a sense of flowing from left to right, page to page, in keeping with the cadence of the text by using achromatic colors for the backgrounds of most pages. Recommended for children ages 4-8. Public librarians may want to share this title in a storytime about rain, along with Bill Martin's Listen to the Rain.
This is more than just another weather story!.......2001-09-04
"Come on, rain!" are the fervent words of Tess, as she looks toward the sky with a great deal of anticipation and hope. It has not rained in 3 weeks. Therefore, everyone in Tess's neighborhood and city was hoping for rain to bring relief from the scorching heat. Well, the best part of this story is that it seems her fervent words finally reached the clouds; for "over rooftops, past chimneys, into the way off distance . . . clouds came rolling in." As soon as Tess realizes that her wish for rain was on the way, she quickly gathers her close friends together (and their mothers too) to run, dance and play in the wonderful rain showers that fall upon the city.
The watercolor illustrations of Jon Muth do an excellent job of enhancing the movement of Ms. Hesse's story. The opening illustrations of bright yellow and gold give readers a sense of how hot and oppressive the heat was for Tess's neighborhood and city. Gradually as the rain clouds moves in, hues of soft grays, brown, and greens are used to depict the moments just before rain falls from the sky. By the time rain actually comes, the illustrations are filled with splashes of pink, violet and blues, which represent the renewal of spirit and feelings of relief for all in the city. You know, this is more than just another weather story! It is a story that shows how rain, a powerful element of nature, has the ability to invigorate all of life!
Keep on Coming!.......2001-06-10
Karen Hesse captures a beautiful moment in this book. She expertly creates a scorching, wilting summer day with vivid images. My mouth was parched just reading it, and then the rain came. You'll love the images created here of the "bare-legged mamas" and girls, both from Hesse's beautiful writing and Muth's spectacular watercolor illustrations.
Come on rain.......2001-05-24
Tessie, watchful and pigtailed, wants it to rain in her neighborhood. It is on a hot sunny day and a little girl named Tessie wants it to rain. She has pigtails. She carries around her umbrella, holds out her hand, and hopes it will rain. She has a wonderful relationship with her mother. This story is by Karen Hesse. Karen Hesse worked real hard with Jon J. Muth. They worked and made a wonderful book. It is very poetic.
Customer Reviews:
Compassion with no salvation.......2007-07-23
I was shocked to read some quotes in the book from her. She was quoted twice as saying that she ..."doesn't make her religion exclusive"...
That's a problem, because Jesus did. When Jesus said in John 14:6 "...I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." it doesn't GET more exclusive than that.
Then there's the quote "I do convert. I convert you to be a better Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Jain or Hundu. I want to help you find God. What you do with Him after you find Him is up to you." So, let me understand this. She helps them to be a better non-Christ follower, on their death beds, right before they go to Hell? Instead of speaking the words of eternal life to them and perhaps helping some to a saving knowledge of Christ? How compassionate is THAT? She was possibly the most compassionate person this last century, yet didn't share Christ the SAVIOR with anyone? Even the writer is quoted "I have come to terms that there are many paths to god, and there is no one right way." REALLY? Again, read John 14:6 and the whole new Testament. She goes on to say "Mother Theresa never asked me to convert. If she had, I might have seriously considered it". She didn't even reach out to the person doing her autopictography.
Consider this parable: People are on the Titanic, and it is sinking. Mother Theresa could be loading those who are willing into lifeboats, and save them. But instead, she is giving them pillows on the deck chairs, just minutes before they die a horrible death.
Or another parable: A DR. has a cure for AIDS in his pocket, and he is in a room full of AIDS patients who are dying. Instead of sharing the cure with them, she makes them comfortable during an agonizing death. IS THAT compassionate? Would someone as compassionate as Mother Theresa withhold the cure for sin? Why would she not give them the words of eternal life in Christ? The only answer is because she never possessed them herself.
I just returned from ministering in India myself, and the need there is great. To just go there and rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic while leaving them all as unsaved as when she found them is not compassionate at all. To withhold Christ from people is evil. This book and her life, while full of good works, is a perfect example of works with no salvation. There is no difference between her good works and the good works of unsaved Muslims, Jains, Buddhists,.... because they are all good works without Christ. How sad.
p.s. We are not saved by good works. We are saved by repentance and faith. John 3:3 "If you are not Born Again, you will not see the kingdom of God".
Come and See by Linda Schaefer.......2005-04-20
This is a wonderful book depicting classic scenes of the
Mother Teresa of Calcutta. There are pictures of the "Profession
of Vows". The headquarters for the Missionaries of Charity are
depicted in full color , as well as, a small group of lepers .
In addition, there are many full length portraits of the Mother Teresa in a variety of missionary settings. The acquisition is well worth the price for historians, theologists and a wide constituency
of academicians. A strength of the work is that the Mother Teresa
is shown working within the historical context of helping
the poor, sick and disadvantaged in Calcutta, India. This book would make a perfect acquisition for a student project on
poverty .
A warm and heart-touching visual showcase.......2003-11-14
Come And See: A Photojournalist's Journey Into The World Of Mother Teresa by Linda Schaefer (the last professional photographer granted personal written permission by Mother Teresa to photograph that sainted lady's work) is a warm and heart-touching visual showcase, lavishly illustrated with full color photographs of that hallowed Roman Catholic nun and the destitute and desperate people she spent her life striving to help. A thoughtful text contemplates the stirring captured images in this reverent, respectful, and joyful tribute.
A book for every collection.......2003-10-22
This book is an absolute wonderful collection of photos and text
that truly shows the life and works of the Blessed Mother Teresa.
A book that should be on every bookshelf of those who appreciate the work of this most-giving individual.
Incredibly beautiful book!.......2003-10-15
Linda Schaefer has done wonderful work in documenting her journey with Mother Teresa. Linda is a gifted photographer; she's used her gift for all of the world to see! This book will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart. It's filled with a collection of beautiful photographs and the author's personal journal. You don't have to be of the Catholic faith to appreciate this work of art that will surely be a treasured book for years to come.
Books:
- The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 8)
- The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying
- The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857
- The New York Trilogy (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
- The Platinum Rule: Discover the Four Basic Business Personalities andHow They Can Lead You to Success
- The Power of One (Young Reader's Edition)
- The Secret of the Old Clock/The Hidden Staircase/The Bungalow Mystery/The Mystery at Lilac Inn/The Secret of Shadow Ranch/The Secret of Red Gate Farm (Nancy Drew, Book 1-6) (75th Anniversary Gift Set)
- The Stolen Child: A Novel
- The Supernatural Ways of Royalty: Discovering Your Rights and Privileges of Being a Son or Daughter of God
- The Water is Wide
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
- Victorian Style: Classic Homes of North America
- The I Was a Teenage Juvenile Delinquent Rock'N'Roll Horror Beach Party Movie Book: A Complete Guide
- The Papers of Jefferson Davis: 1856-1860
- The Road to Serfdom Fiftieth Anniversary Edition
- Wild Rain
- U.S. Army Map Reading and Land Navigation Handbook
- Business Mathematics, Second Edition: CIMA Inter@ctive CD-ROM
- The Penguin Dictionary of Economics: Seventh Edition
- Lookin' For Luv
Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History
Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman
The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger
The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America
