Willow Creek Seeker Services: Evaluating a New Way of Doing Church

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Dated and with a negative slant

Pritchard quicker to find fault than see benefits

Balanced View on Willow Creek

A very informative book

A Very Balanced Read, Check it Out

Willow Creek Seeker Services: Evaluating a New Way of Doing Church
G. A. Pritchard
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801052742
Release Date: 1995-12-01

Book Description

Through interviews with founders and leaders, the author explains and assesses Willow Creek Church and its evangelism-oriented ministry model.

Customer Reviews:

Dated and with a negative slant.......2005-01-19

Pritchard did the work on this book > 10 years ago, and as we all know, any thriving church has had tremendous changes in that time. I agree with other reviewers that he had a biased slant to criticizing Willow Creek, rather than finding the areas to emulate.

Lastly, having been to Willow Creek, Pritchard criticizes the church for its theological content, yet fails to mention or critique their mid-week service. It is unfair to critique the theological depth of a church when looking only at the service intended for seekers (and believers), while missing their mid-week service which is intended for believers.

Having not been to Willow during the time he wrote this book (early 90s), I can assume that this book may have had some validity during that time, but I see little benefit in reading this today. A much better and useful book to understand the seeker movement and gain some practical steps to implement in your church today would be Mark Mittelberg's Building a Contagious Church.

Pritchard quicker to find fault than see benefits.......2005-01-15

Pritchard leans a little bit towards being an armchair quarterback who sits back and criticizes the efforts and motivation of a church that has served America well. He does do a good job of explaining the technical side of how Willow Creek produces a service, but the book is dated and not entirely objective. I felt that at times he missed the heart of the leaders at Willow Creek. Don't judege Willow Creek by this book.

Balanced View on Willow Creek.......2005-01-13

Dr. Pritchard's book on the seeker sensitive movement rightly examines the "mother" of seeker churches in Willow Creek Community Church. Willow Creek seems to be defining church these days along with Saddleback Community Church. Entire denominations have reshaped their methods to adapt to the seeker movement. Is it any wonder than that a book such as this is needed?

Pritchard examines Willow Creek Community Church after attending the church for over a year and having unlimited access to the pastors and staff of the church. He divides his book into two formats. He first gives an insider's view of Willow Creek and their history, philosophy, and practices. He covers Senior Pastor Bill Hybels in-depth. The second section of the book offers a critical review of the church's practices and theology. To be fair, Pritchard is not overtly critical of the church but he does find some faults but I'll leave that to you to read on your own.

A very informative book.......2003-05-01

Beginning in the 1970s, pastor Bill Hybels, and a group of excited young believers began for a new way to "do church." Focusing on the church's duty to evangelize unbelievers, Hybels studied what kept people out of church and what would bring them into church, and they reformatted their church service for these "unchurched Harrys." And now, more than twenty years later, the Hybels' church, Willow Creek, is one of the most influential churches in Evangelical circles and beyond. In 1983, sociologist Dr. Gregory Pritchard examined Willow Creek, how they operate and why, and what they do that is good and what they do that is not so good.

This is a very good book. The first section is a sympathetic look at Willow Creek, which is sure to please supporters and inform those unfamiliar with the Willow Creek way of doing things. The Second section is a critical look at Willow Creek, examining what some of the unintended consequences of the Willow Creek way are. As the author is at pains to point out, every church's modus operandi is bound to have positive consequences and negative unintended consequence, with Willow Creek being no different.

If you are interested in an evenhanded analysis of Willow Creek, then I highly recommend this book to you. Having read it, I now understand a great deal more about this phenomenon.

A Very Balanced Read, Check it Out.......2002-10-18

Of this book, John Armstrong writes, "Before you move your church in the "seeker" direction, be sure to read Pritchard's amazingly fair and truthful analysis. The first two-thirds will tell you what is happening - how and why. The last third will raise all the right questions for those who have a serious theology of the church. Get this book into the hands of everyone you know who is attracted to this philosophy as soon as possible. It might well be used to open eyes before your church is moved in a whole new direction and few bother to ask where they are really going."

On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894

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On The Way Home by Ana Clare S.
Different to the LIttle house books, a diary of an adult
I like Historical Diaries But This One Is Especially Meaningful
A Little Different
Cool!

On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0064400808

Book Description

In 1894, Laura Ingalls Wilder, her husband, Almanzo, and their daughter, Rose, packed their belongings into their covered wagon and set out on a journey from De Smet, South Dakota, to Mansfield, Missouri. They heard that the soil there was rich and the crops were bountiful -- it was even called "the Land of the Big Red Apple." With hopes of beginning a new life, the Wilders made their way to the Ozarks of Missouri.

During their journey, Laura kept a detailed diary of events: the cities they passed through, the travelers they encountered on the way, the changing countryside and the trials of an often difficult voyage. Laura's words, preserved in this book, reveal her inner thoughts as she traveled with her family in search of a new home in Mansfield, where Rose would spend her childhood, where Laura would write her Little House books, and where she and Almanzo would remain all the rest of their happy days together.

Customer Reviews:

On The Way Home by Ana Clare S........2006-12-13

The Book, On The Way Home, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, is basically what it says it is. It is a Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894. This book was not that enjoyable just because it was just diary entries, like "today we ate meat." But other wise it was quite intriguing to discover the ways in which people traveled back in the day. In one part of the book it talks about how their covered wagon is not a covered wagon at all but that, "It had been a two-seated hack though now it only had the front seat." I also found it very enjoyable to read about the worth of money back then and compare it to now. It talks about how Laura had earned a whole one hundred dollars which today is like penny cash but back then was a fortune. In the beginning of the book there is a setting by Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's Daughter, which is a great piece of writing, it is like the rest of Laura's books in that it makes you want to read the rest of the book. I found this book interesting but a drag because of the slow pace in the book. If you would like to take a slow dip into history you should definitely read this book.

Different to the LIttle house books, a diary of an adult.......2006-07-02

I can see why Laura Ingalls was able to write such good books about her early life on the Prairie. Her diaries were packed full of information and detail which she could later draw on. This is one of her diaries, with notes and a setting by her only child, daughter Rose Wilder Lane who was just a girl during this trip.

Laura Ingalls Wilder is, of course, famous for her little House books describing her childhood growing up at the edge of American settling in the mid Nineteenth century. Constantly pushing to new territories and places Ingalls father lead them west into Indian territory and later to Dakota where they settled. Laura met and Married Almanzo Wilder in de Smet, Dakota (Those happy Golden Years, and First Four Years) however those books left a me feeling a bit downhearted. Especially teh First Four Years, in which Almanzo 'Manly' and Laura seemed to be struck with tragedy (the house burning down) etc.

I found this diary to be hugely uplifting. It is not the detailed stories of her childhood, or living in a wagon as an adult settler, but it is a great tale detail of a family moving, of finding something which they could call their own, but far away in the Ozarks.

The most interesting thing to me about it, was that while they were on the road they were constantly being passed by other settlers, some going north and others going south, but the number of people on the move was amazing. At one point Rose adds a note that she looked back while they were about to cross the 'muddy' and there was a stream of covered wagons behind them.

Little details of what life was like really draw this out - tomatoes 10c a bushel and so they bought 2c worth. Huge watermelons for 5 c, Almanzo selling fire mats (ASBESTOS!) and all those little everyday details about life for Laura.

While she did not put her stories down until many decades later, clearly she was a writer in the making right from the beginning. Rose, her daughter has provided much of the detail necessary in here, but it would be really nice to see an illustrated edition of this showing the place as it was and as it is now. It was interesting to use Google Earth to view some of the trail which you can see right now. It gives it a sense of scale which I will not be able to do myself unless I acutally visit.

The only reason this has four stars is it is not as gripping as Ingalls novels - it is still a great read and highly recommended.

I like Historical Diaries But This One Is Especially Meaningful.......2005-09-29

It's often said in tones of this-is-true-but-it's-also-heresy that Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura and Almanzo Wilder, is the real unsung heroine in the Little House books, because while she let her mother have credit for the famous series, it was Rose, via her careful, invisible editing and re-writes, that turned cheery memoirs into beloved classics. I suspect that's true, but in the case of this book, it is beyond all doubt what happened. Rose took her mother's raw diary and prepared it for publication, and the product is the book On The Way Home, which tells of the journey Rose and her parents made in 1894, from DeSmet, South Dakota, setting for the final half of the Little House books, to the Ozark country, where the family would spend the next sixty years. The description is unsentimental, not glamorized (as it tends to be--for the sake of betterment--in the other books) and it paints a portrait of the difficult traveler's life on the by-then crowded prairie overrun with east-central European immigrants, many of whom being exactly the type portrayed in novels such as My Antonia. The Wilder family completes its draining re-location by covered wagon and arrives in Missouri, a state so much a promised land to them that a reader cannot help but share their relief when they safely arrive.

A Little Different.......2005-08-24

This book is written in a much different style than the other Little House books. Laura kept a journal of the trip and these are her day-to-day entries. It can sometimes be dry or confusing. I have been reading the series with my daughter and this one has been a little more difficult. We enjoyed it, but not as much as the others.

Cool!.......2005-04-19

This Is Another Little House Book Based On The Adventures Of Rose,Laura,and Almanzo!I Only Gave This Book 4 Stars Instead Of 5 Because It Is A Good Bit Confusing To Me.I Wish It Wasn`t.But Anyway,This Is Definately A Book Worth Reading And Buying,Especcialy If You`re A Little House Or Laura Ingalls Wilder Fan!

Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the Way We Se

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THE LAST RENAISSANCE MAN
One man's insatiable thirst for knowledge
An Important Read for those of Us Who Didn't Know...
Humboldt was much more interesting than this book is
Most famous guy I never heard of

Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the Way We Se
Gerard Helferich
Manufacturer: Gotham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1592400523
Release Date: 2004-04-12

Book Description

The thrilling story of the charismatic explorer who Simon Bolivar called “the true discoverer of South America” and the daring expedition that altered the course of science.

From 1799 to 1804 German naturalist and adventurer Alexander von Humboldt conducted the first extensive scientific exploration of Latin America. At the completion of his arduous 6,000-mile journey, he was feted by Thomas Jefferson and presented to Napoleon, and, with the subsequent publication of his findings, he would be hailed as the greatest scientific genius of his age.

Humboldt's Cosmos tells the story of this extraordinary man who was equal parts Einstein and Livingstone, and of the adventure that defined his life. Gerard Helferich vividly recounts Humboldt's expedition through the Amazon and over the Andes, highlighting his paradigm-changing discoveries along the way. During the course of the expedition, Humboldt cataloged more than 60,000 plants, set an altitude record climbing the volcano Chimborazo, and became the first to study the great cultures of the Aztecs and Incas. In the process, he revolutionized geology and laid the groundwork for modern sciences such as climatology, oceanography, and geography—and his contributions would influence future greats such as Charles Darwin and shape the course of science for centuries to come.

Published in time for the bicentennial of the expedition's completion in May 1804, Humboldt's Cosmos is a dramatic tribute to one of history's most audacious adventurers, whom Stephen Jay Gould noted “may well have been the world's most famous and influential intellectual.”

Customer Reviews:

THE LAST RENAISSANCE MAN.......2006-02-06

Humboldt was a truly extraordinary character. He was a mixture of adventurer and scientist that has rarely been seen, especially with such developed expertise in both areas. This biography covers Humboldt's entire life, with special focus on his trip to Latin America between 1799 and 1804.

This book is written as an interesting narrative, explaining with only passing remarks the actual science behind his achievements. Advances that Humboldt made cover such different fields as botany, geology, geography, anthropology, climatology, magnetism, among others. The book is very good at outlining the spirit of those discoveries; if you would like an actual explanation, look in the Personal Narratives that Humboldt wrote himself.

As an adventurer, he criss crossed South America at a time when much of it was yet undiscovered and uncharted. He mapped the Casiquiare canal, which at the time was a legendary connection between the Amazon and Orinoco basins. He made it from Venezuela to Peru, climbing in the process some of the highest mountains in Latin America (including the Chimborazo, which at the time was believed to be the highest mountain in the world and yet unclimbed). He was for many years the high altitude record holder of the world.

It is amazing such a towering figure is not remembered among the ranks of Einstein, Da Vinci or Darwin. I highly recommend this book and finding out more about Humboldt, especially if you enjoy science, travel or adventure writing.

One man's insatiable thirst for knowledge.......2005-09-22

So pleasant how Helferich takes us back to the time when any man with enough interest and endurance could be a cutting-edge scientist and an explorer. When Alexander von Humboldt explored the northern part of the South American Continent, he observed and recorded everything -- the people, local flora and fauna, the geology, the temperature as a function of latitude and elevation, latitude by the elevation of the sun and stars, and longitude, estimated or reckoned with precision with the help of transit data of planetary moons. One of the most interesting passage was his field experimentation with animal electricity from electric eels and the conclusions about electricity in muscles and nerves that he was able to draw. Oh, Alexander von Humboldt, where are you now? Probably living in the spirit of Professor Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Steel and Germs.

An Important Read for those of Us Who Didn't Know..........2005-06-24

Thank you, Gerard Helferich for Humboldt's Cosmos! Although I had heard of Alexander von Humboldt I had no idea of the scope of the man's accomplishments. He was one of those "one-in-a-million" individuals who when most adventurers would have said, "That's enough; I'm going home now.." he just kept on going, and going, and going - something like that proverbial bunny that just doesn't know how to quit or when enough is enough. In fact, it's amazing von Humboldt and Bonpland survived the host of crocodiles, piranha, treacherous mountain passes, tropical diseases, rebellious natives, bandits, to name but a few of the "challenges" set before them. You were right when you provided the analogy of von Humboldt being like Einstein who, while developing his theory of Relativity, also managed to conquer Mount Everest. In my view, Humboldt's Cosmos is quite an accomplishment. The author took great pains to provide valuable context as the journeys unfolded. If there is a flaw it is, like the explorer himself, because the book did tend to go on and on through page after page of unbroken text. Although at first excited, and then humbled as we followed Humboldt's every move and thought down every river and over every mountain pass, by the end the reader is left somewhat exhausted. Also, there was no reference - perhaps because there is no concrete evidence to suggest one way or the other, on how Humboldt and Darwin got along. We know that Humboldt was a major inspiration for Darwin; but what about the later years? Humboldt did not live to see the publication of the Origin of the Species but, nonetheless, the men did meet. Presumably, Humboldt became an enthusiastic supporter, if not admirer of Darwin. But for Darwin, there was precious little said after his Beagle days were over.

Humboldt was much more interesting than this book is.......2005-06-22

Humboldt was a universal scientific genius who was also a genuine explorer into the wild. He had a mercurial personality and progressive political views. He was, in short, one of the most interesting people who have ever lived. Unfortunately, Helferich writes like a committee. His prose is clear in the way a company's annual report is clear. As a study of Humboldt's South American journey, the book is 100% derivative but it provides some basic information and has the advantage of being readily accessible. Basically the book is a retelling of Humboldt's own narrative, with too-few asides providing modern information on topics to which Humboldt turned his curiosity.

Most famous guy I never heard of.......2005-05-02

The subject of the book was amazing. Humboldt traveled and studied everything: geology, botany, sociology, geography, anthropology, archaeology, and astronomy. He created a new science, plant geology. He traveled all over South America and Central America. He was well loved everywhere he went. The book was a spellbinding read.

The only minor downside of the book is it does drag in the middle. Humboldt travels to many places and the author almost does a day-by-day journal. The amount of detail and the hundreds of locations just gets boring, but I stress, on the whole, the book relates a fascinating story about the most fascinating forgotten man in history. Putting the book down is hard.

To understand modern science, this book is a must read. This one man influences the development of almost every branch of science and contributes to the abolishment of slavery in several different countries. The book provides a glimpse into history that I thoroughly enjoyed.

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A Christmas to Remember
The "perfect" next book.....
Very much different from Rocket Boys/October Sky
The same story...
nothing new, but still ok

The Coalwood Way
Homer Hickam
Manufacturer: Island Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0440237165
Release Date: 2001-09-04

Amazon.com

In this follow-up to his bestselling autobiography Rocket Boys, Homer Hickam chronicles the eventful autumn of 1959 in his hometown, the West Virginia mining town of Coalwood. Sixteen-year-old Homer and his pals in the Big Creek Missile Agency are high school seniors, still building homemade rockets and hoping that science will provide them with a ticket into the wider world of college and white-collar jobs. Such dreams make them suspect in a conservative small town where "getting above yourself" is the ultimate sin and where Homer's father, superintendent of the Coalwood mines, is stingy with praise and dubious about his son's ambitions. Homer's mother remains supportive, but bluntly reminds him, "You can't expect everything to go your way. Sometimes life just has another plan." Indeed, Hickam's unvarnished portrait of Coalwood covers class warfare (union miners battling with his authoritarian father), provincial narrow-mindedness (the local ladies scorn a young woman living outside wedlock with a man who abuses her), and endless gossiping along the picket "fence line." These sharp details make the unabashed sentiment of the book's closing chapters feel earned rather than easy. Hickam can spin a gripping yarn and keep multiple underlying themes and metaphors going at the same time. His tender but gritty memoir will touch readers' hearts and minds. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

From the #1 bestselling author of October Sky comes this rich, unforgettable tale. With the same dazzling storytelling that distinguished his first memoir, Homer Hickam takes us deeper into the soul of his West Virginia hometown at a moment when its unique way of life is buffeted by forces of time and change.

It is fall 1959. Homer “Sonny” Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boys are in their senior year at Big Creek High, and the town of Coalwood finds itself at a painful crossroads.

The strains can be felt within the Hickam home, where Homer Sr. struggles to save the mine, and his wife, Elsie, is feeling increasingly isolated from both her family and the townspeople. Sonny, despite a blossoming relationship with a local girl, finds his own mood darkened by an unexplainable sadness.

Then, with the holidays approaching, trouble at the mine and the arrival of a beautiful young outsider bring unexpected changes in both the Hickam family and the town of Coalwood ... as this luminous memoir moves toward its poignant conclusion.

Customer Reviews:

A Christmas to Remember.......2007-05-15

Dr. Werner von Braun once said, "Matters of faith are not really accessible to our rational thinking. I find it best not to ask any questions, but to just believe..." These words are truly conveyed throughout the second of Homer Hickam Jr.'s memoirs, The Coalwood Way, originally published in 2000. Although following his acclaimed, Rocket Boys, this compelling story does not continue where the last left off. Portions of the memoir take place during the same time period as the last, however, this tome portrays the life of Homer "Sonny" Hickam in a different light. This particular memoir focuses on Sonny's senior year in high school and the hardships he must go through when growing up. In addition to working diligently on creating improved rockets, Sonny must focus on achieving A's in school. Most importantly, he must focus on his family. In 1959 Coalwood, West Virginia is a ticking bomb and as it becomes more and more difficult to keep the mines running, the bomb seems to always be the verge of exploding leaving the people out of jobs, homes and, even worse, their town. Sonny must now try to keep his family together while the town falls apart and yet keep alive the dream of leaving in order to join his role model, Dr. Werner von Braun, at Cape Canaveral.
Sonny Hickam is on his way to fulfilling his dreams as the book begins. However there a few obstacles on the way. Troubles in his family prevent Sonny from leading an easy, carefree life. His mother, Elsie, is growing increasingly impatient with Sonny's father. Sonny's father, Homer, is the mine superintendent and with the opening of a dangerous new mine, 11 East; ultimately, he is home even less often than usual. The strain on the marriage becomes too much for Sonny's mother and she insists on leaving Coalwood to escape to Myrtle Beach in order to sell real estate. In addition to his domestic hardships, Sonny is having troubles with himself. Every so often, although only lasting a few minutes, Sonny will find himself engulfed in an unexplainable grief. This mystery baffles Sonny day after day. As he searches for the origin of this mystery grief, he learns more than he ever imagined. Sonny's emotions and adventures are vividly depicted through a truly sentimental story, splashed with humor in all the right places. The writing style of Homer Hickam in this memoir is once again captivating and absolutely unforgettable.
Although one may think memoirs aren't written well due to the lack of an experienced writer, The Coalwood Way reads like an old time fable. It is written in such a way that you are taken from your own world and thrown into the small town in West Virginia. Hickam depicts Coalwood in such a way that the image of every part of the quaint town is etched into your mind. His method of writing will bring you to tears when tragedy strikes and laughter when Sonny finds himself in a humorous predicament.
This memoir is all about finding yourself and realizing that whenever life trips you up, someone will always be there to catch you when you fall. Throughout this lucid story, Sonny tries to find himself, and while looking down on his beloved town, he finally realizes the answer to what he's being puzzling all along. He understands his feelings, thinking: "My parents, and all the people of Coalwood, had given me the only true gifts they could ever give, that of their wisdom, and of their dreams, and of their love. All fear, sadness, and anger inside me had vanished. I knew who I was and where I came from and who my people were. I was ready to leave because I could never leave." Once Sonny realizes he can let go of the past, he is able to finally leave his hometown with the closure he needs to succeed.

The "perfect" next book............2007-03-27

"The Coalwood Way" is the part 2 contiuation of the "Rocket Boys", AKA:"October Sky". I just really like the way Mr. Hickam tells his story in his books. I find them to be "Americana" like- a success story from a humble start. I think the series could be a must read for middle and high school students as a way to see their potential in their own future and not just the here and now. A great book (and series) to read!

Very much different from Rocket Boys/October Sky.......2007-03-19

I'm not sure where the below reviewers are coming from. The Coalwood Way, although including the Rocket Boys, is very much different from the first memoir. And it is not a bunch of disconnected stories, not at all! The Coalwood Way opens with Sonny Hickam in a strange depression a year after the death of his grandfather who had lost his legs in the coal mine. It is a depression he struggles with throughout the book and is the core thread. How he determines what is causing that depression really fills out a part of the original memoir that was left out and provides us with insight as to how he ultimately succeeds. Hickam reveals how that last winter in Coalwood so much is happening to him and his friends. His rockets are starting to work, but nothing else does. He even lets Chipper, his mom's beloved squirrel, escape into the winter cold and snow. He also meets Dreama, a young woman also struggling, and wanting Sonny to be her friend. Dreama is considered something like white trash, and is living with one of the most detestable men in town. Sonny also falls for Ginger who dreams of being a professional singer and provides an interesting counterpoint to the coal miners' sons of Coalwood with their dreams of spaceflight. "Dad," or Homer, Sr. is also struggling, trying to open a part of the mine that has defeated previous mine superintendents but upon which the future of Coalwood depends. "Mom," or Elsie, struggles with her failure to win the annual Veteran's Day parade (Coalwood's float has always won before), as well as her continuing attempts to get Homer, Sr. to quit the mine before black lung kills him. Elsie also identifies very much with Dreama and wants to help her but is held back by the "Coalwood way". The story is told with Hickam's tradmark humor and there are as many laugh out loud moments as tears. The dramatic arc of these threads to the story all join in a night of murder and mayhem when Coalwood is also buried in a huge snowstorm and cut off from the rest of the world. This is followed by another night of hope and amazing redemption on Christmas Eve that will cause even the hardest heart to melt. In many ways, this is Hickam's Coalwood Christmas story and it's a great one. You will love it.

The same story..........2007-02-26

A story told first time can be fasicnating. As Rocket Boys was. The same story told second time is just boring. The first one had a backbone: boys trying to achieve the goal despite the circumstances. The second one - ranomly selected stories about this or that - I simply don't care. Meaningless and boring

nothing new, but still ok.......2006-09-11

i read Rocket Boys, which i loved, and then moved on to the Coalwood Way. i was rather disappointed when i started it. it wasn't that it was about a period of time covered in rocket boys - i knew that already. but what i loved about rocket boys was the portrayal of a small town, and the coalwood way basically repeats that subject, which i think was pretty well covered already in Rocket boys.

so this book isn't a must-read, like rocket boys. but it's still pretty good, as i discovered after getting throught the first couple introductory chapters (which mostly just repeated things said in rocket boys). there's still plenty of new plot material - there's dreama, a girl living with an abusive man out of wedlock, who just wants to be accepted by the town's women. then there's sonny's girl-related woes, mostly centered around a girl named ginger (there's very litttle dorothy plunk, for those of you sick of her from rocket boys). then there's sonny's relationship with both his parents, and with his brother. (sonny is homer, in case you don't know.)

this is sort of an alternative to rocket boys, telling some of the same messages from different angles. if you've already read rocket boys, read some of the other books on your list first.

The Georgia One-Day Trip Book: A New Way to Explore the State's Romantic Past, Vibrant Present, and Olympian Future

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day travel aid

The Georgia One-Day Trip Book: A New Way to Explore the State's Romantic Past, Vibrant Present, and Olympian Future
Jane Ockershausen
Manufacturer: EPM Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0939009714

Book Description

Experience the majestic natural beauty of the Northern Mountains, the gentility of the classic South, and the charm of the Colonial Coast's fishing villages with the help of this book. Far more than plantations and peanuts, dynamic Georgia has a multitude of museums, nature centers, wineries, famous golf courses, hunting preserves, and more.

Customer Reviews:

day travel aid.......2007-05-12

I've had this book since I moved to Georgia, and I couldn't get along without it. The only reason I didn't give five stars is that it's just not new. Some things change. But this book certainly steers you right, shows possibilities, suggests some good places not to miss.

The Old Way: A Story of the First People

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A passionate, thoughtful view of the Bushmen's hunter-gatherer culture
A Treasure
Beautiful and rare
Gift
A cautionary tale writ large

The Old Way: A Story of the First People

Manufacturer: Tantor Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 140010307X

Book Description

One of the world's most influential anthropologists and bestselling author of "The Hidden Life of Dogs" reevaluates her long and illustrious career by returning to her roots--and to the roots of life as revealed in human evolution. Unabridged. 10 CDs.

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A passionate, thoughtful view of the Bushmen's hunter-gatherer culture.......2007-02-06

Thomas, anthropologist and author of such diverse bestsellers as "The Hidden Life of Dogs," and two excellent pre-history novels, "Reindeer Moon" and "The Animal Wife," began her writing career with the study, "The Harmless People," based on her youthful sojourn among the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. The Bushmen may be the only people who ever lived without war. But more on that later.

With "The Old Way," she returns to the subject of that first book - a title that has been in print since 1959. Marshall first encountered the Ju/wasi, one of the five groups of Bushmen, in 1950 when she was 18, on the first of several Kalahari trips with her parents and brother.

Her father, a founder of Raytheon, was a highly organized, take-charge sort of person, with versatile skills. Her mother, a former ballerina turned teacher, became a noted anthropologist over the course of these (and more) trips, and her brother devoted most of his life to the Bushmen.

In the 1950s the Ju/wasi maintained their ancient nomadic culture in near isolation. Except for bits of metal they obtained in trade and used for arrowheads, the Ju/wasi made everything they needed from local material. They did not farm and had no domestic animals, but obtained all their food from hunting and gathering. They were the last people on earth, says Thomas, to follow the "Old Way," a way of life that depends on knowledge handed down one-to-one from generation to generation. The Old Way depends on intimacy between habitat and humanity.

Thomas' book is not a scientific study or a memoir, but a bit of both, as well as a celebration and lament for a culture now gone. It's also a thoughtful reflection on how the Old Way shaped our species from the time we came down out of the trees and stepped on to the Savannah.

Water, says Thomas, controlled the size of human hunter-gatherer groups, and that remained true among the Ju/wasi. Rain was scarce, and water holes passed down through families. Though children were betrothed young, they did not cohabit until the girl reached menarche - about age 17 - and the average age for bearing a first child was 19.

Similarly, though no birth control was used, women bore children about four years apart and seldom had more than four. This was just what could be sustained, without starvation or overburdening the mother or group.

Alliances were complex, all going to foster the strength of the group. Survival depended on group cohesion and the force of their culture went into strengthening those bonds, subsuming, smothering, the desires of the individual.

The sharing of food, for instance, had little to do with who actually killed or gathered the food and the complex system was worked out before the gathering or hunting trip began. Periodic dances also reinforced ties and helped to dispel repressed tensions.

Repression was the usual means of maintaining harmony. Temper tantrums, even among children, were frowned upon - for one thing childish noise could attract predators. Arguments flared, of course, but were almost always settled without violence.

War, to the Ju/wasi, was unknown. Not because they were right thinking pacifists, but because they had developed the perfect weapon to make war - or murder - unthinkable.

The Ju/wasi had only one real weapon - the poisoned arrow. It was all they used to hunt (though they finished off game with a spear). The poison was invariably fatal. A man who settled an argument with a stab from an arrow couldn't take it back - but he would have days to watch his victim die. And the victim, facing certain death, would be perfectly healthy for a day or more and quite capable of wreaking revenge.

The lack of suitable weapons, and even more, the lack of any kind of shield, convince Thomas the Ju/wasi have never known war. She makes a convincing case.

By the 1980s, however, the Ju/wasi were being forced into villages. Many of those Marshall knew as children are now dead - killed in fights, often fueled with drink. Today, alcohol and violence have decimated the Ju/wasi.

While the book's conclusion is wrenching, most of it is a celebration of their intricate culture. Marshall captures the imagination with anecdotes - many from her old journals - that illustrate the matter-of-fact resourcefulness of a people who know the intricacies of all the plants and animals of their desert home.

Some of her anecdotes simply demonstrate the odd commonalities of humanity: "Although I will eventually learn enough !Kung to stumble along in the language...at this point I am at the stage where the Ju/wasi either address me in baby talk or raised voices, or both."

She describes gathering trips that take all day, but don't get going until mid-morning, baffling her own Yankee work ethic. Until she realizes the wisdom of waiting until lions and other nighttime predators are well and truly asleep.

The lion stories are horrifically thrilling. She describes a lioness coming to the edge of their small encampment and roaring threateningly: "The roar was so deep and so loud that it had no direction. It seemed to be coming from anywhere, everywhere." Yet, scary as they were, the lions never hunted or preyed upon the Bushmen.

Marshall does not try to provide answers for all her questions. Some things are "unknowable." This eloquent, passionate book does foster a sense of wonder at our own evolution. Though we've traded much of our intimacy with the earth for modern civilization, Marshall shows how many traces of the Old Way linger on in our blood.

A Treasure.......2007-01-19

I have all her books but two and I have been a fan for years and years. Starting with reindeer moon and then The hidden life of dogs, Tribe of Tiger, Certain Poor Shephards and everything else except Warrior Tribesman and The Harmless People which I plan to order. The books I have ordered or which were bought for me online were ordered by my best friend. I hope Elizabeth Marshall Thomas writes many more books. If I did not already have the most wonderful mother, I would wish that she was my mother. I really love her view of life, people and animals and nature. She is my favorite author of all time and I would'nt even loan her books to anyone else for fear of losing them. Keep it up EMT I'm forever your fan and I will always reread your books.

Beautiful and rare.......2007-01-16

I first heard of the Bushmen through National Geographic's Genographic Project (Spencer Wells "The Journey of Man") which found genetic evidence suggesting Bushmen are one of the oldest, if not the oldest, peoples in the world--a "genetic Adam" from which all the worlds ethnic groups can ultimately trace genetic heritage. Within the face of a Bushmen one can see all the genetic expressions of the world (Asian eyes, African nose, Indian skin, etc..) So I was delighted when this new book appeared by bushmen expert Elizabeth Marshall Thomas who, along with her brother and parents, were one of the first westerners to live with and scientifically document the Bushmen in the 1950s (when Elizabeth was a teenager). Her parents and brother went on to become famous Bushmen experts and proponents in their own careers.

Older members of the Bushmen tribe were valued and respected for their wisdom, likewise Elizabeth is passing down her knowledge and experience for later generations. The Bushman way of life she saw in the 1950s, perhaps as old as 150,000 years, no longer exists - all it took was one generation and the long unbroken chain known as "The Old Way" has disappeared. It is the same sad story told the world over from Native Americans to Tibet to Eskimos. Yet Elizabeth reveals a deeper lesson, which is the "myth" that the Bushmen ever wanted it any other way - they want the comforts of modernization, just as we would prefer not to hunt and gather food each day. Bushmen want to travel, see the world, be a part of wider humanity, and for that we can celebrate and welcome all they have to teach. This book provides that introduction.

Gift.......2007-01-15

After reading the super review on Amazon of this book, we ordered it for our son as a Christmas gift. He is a college senior Anthropology major. He was glad to have it and read it on the way home from FL to AZ. He said the book was very insighful and a good read.

A cautionary tale writ large.......2007-01-12

In "The Old Way: A Story of the First People", Elizabeth Marshall Thomas gives us a compelling tale of how the people of the tribes of the Kalahari have survived in an inhospitable land for some 150,000 years and in doing so, she also gives us vital clues on the survival of the human tribe in general. Thomas takes the reader on a journey with the Ju/Wasi as they live in the Nyae Nyae region and, through her telling of their tale, shows us meaningful and poignant examples of how to deal with interpersonal realtionships and the difficulties that arise therein.
This, her second book about the individuals of the Ju/Wasi, tells of the traditions of hunting and gathering that are vital to their survival, and of the dire consequences that result when they are prevented from pursuing and passing on those traditions to their children. Thomas also reminds us of how, when people from so-called developed countries meddle in the affairs of countries and people we don't fully understand, even the best of intentions can go awry.
Her descriptions of the dances and singing she witnesses moved me deeply, and seemed to stir long-forgotten memories of a time when we all sat huddled in a circle in the night, telling tales and sharing the lore that helped us to survive the spirits and predators lurking in the cold darkness beyond the glow of our small fires. By interweaving and illustrating her study of the Ju/Wasi and the Nyae Nyae region in which they lived with vignettes of the individuals of the tribe, Thomas brings us to a mirror in which we can glimpse our own ancestor's struggles for survival, no matter where that may have been.
"The Old Way: A Story of the First People" is a well-written and passionate book, and one that contains many lessons we would be well advised to re-learn and hold close to our hearts as we sruggle to find a means to continue to survive in an increasingly complex world.

Cooking The Central American Way: Culturally Authentic Foods, Including Low-Fat And Vegetatian Recipes (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)

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A Pleasing Cook!

Cooking The Central American Way: Culturally Authentic Foods, Including Low-Fat And Vegetatian Recipes (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)
Alison Behnke , Griselda Aracely Chacon , and Kristina Anderson
Manufacturer: Lerner Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Cooking | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 082251236X

Customer Reviews:

A Pleasing Cook!.......2007-05-07

My husband and i have visited Costa Rica and couple of times and have actually purchased property there for retirement. The kind people, flora fauna and, of course, the fresh foods are magical for us.

This little book has helped me to get the real flavor of these countries cuisine and has definitely widened my cooking skills. Some of the receipes are a little overwhelming, but not actually that difficult once you get into it and have the ingredients. This is the reason for 4 instead of 5 star rating.

The plantains, bean soup and seviche camarones (although i used a variety of white fish) are all time favorites around our house. Get ready for lot's of compliments!

Chamalú: The Shamanic Way of the Heart: Traditional Teachings from the Andes

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Fantastic Teachings of Andean Shamanism
Outstanding!
Simple and refreshing...
great book for everyday life
Brilliant read for anyone, even if not interested in Shamani

Chamalú: The Shamanic Way of the Heart: Traditional Teachings from the Andes
Luis Espinoza (Chamalú)
Manufacturer: Destiny Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Shamanism | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0892815515
Release Date: 1995-06-01

Book Description

Chamalu tells the story of a young woman's initiation into Andean wisdom traditions under the guidance of Chamalu, a Quechua shaman. The sacred way of the heart, he tells her, is a spiritual journey that must be undergone by anyone who aspires to be a Wanderer--a person who transcends illusion and embraces primal reality, unmediated by religious doctrine or intellectual constructs. The woman asks him to show her how to release herself from the emotional pain that paralyzes her, and gradually, over a series of meetings, Chamau reveals to her the secret of reconnecting with the spirits of the ancestors and of Pachamama, Mother Earth.

Presented as a series of conversations, Chamalu encompasses teachings that can be lived and experienced by anyone who truly desires to learn.

Simply told in language that appeals directly to the heart, Chamalu allows the reader to experience Andean shamanic teachings based on the ancient Inca heritage of wisdom, inner power, simplicity, and joy.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Teachings of Andean Shamanism.......2006-11-05

In this time of growing and unfolding consciousness there are many writings regarding how to be. Few teach how to connect with all that is in such a powerful and moving way as Chamalu'. A beautiful masterpiece of working from the heart.

Outstanding!.......2003-01-12

This book truly captures the essence of Shamanism. A must read!

Simple and refreshing..........2000-12-21

It would be hard not to like Chamalu! Although his material is consistent with that of others (e.g., John Perkins), it is refreshing in it's simplicity. Although at times the concepts seem too general to be applied in a practical sense, it is certainly worthy of a quick read and a possible re-read.

great book for everyday life.......1999-09-15

I loved this book! To use almost as a guidebook for everyday life. What an eye opener, life looks so good after this book.

Brilliant read for anyone, even if not interested in Shamani.......1999-04-10

Although a quick read, this was a wonderful book which I will treasure for a very long time. I will need to read this over and again. The messages are simple but devastatingly effective.

Book Description

Winner of the M-Net Book Prize
Shortlisted for the CNA and Noma Awards

In Ways of Dying, Zakes Mda's acclaimed first novel, Toloki is a "professional mourner" in a vast and violent city of the new South Africa. Day after day he attends funerals in the townships, dressed with dignity in a threadbare suit, cape, and battered top hat, to comfort the grieving families of the victims of the city's crime, racial hatred, and crippling poverty. At a Christmas day funeral for a young boy Toloki is reunited with Noria, a woman from his village. Together they help each other to heal the past, and as their story interweaves with those of their acquaintances this elegant short novel provides a magical and painful picture of South Africa today.

Ways of Dying was awarded South Africa's prestigious M-Net Book Prize, awarded by the TV channel M-Net to books written in one of South Africa's official languages, and was shortlisted for the Central News Agency (CNA) Award and the Noma Award, an Africa-wide prize founded by Shoichi Noma, onetime president of Kodansha International.

Customer Reviews:

Simply Great.......2006-12-14

This book is simply great, it was a lot more than i had expected...i recomend it very much to anyone who is looking for an intersting piece that explores what the end of of one of the darkest times in south africa

one of south africas black celebrated authors.......2005-08-22

Recently i had the pleasure of reading material from one of South Africa's most celebrated black authors, Zakes Mda. An Oxford University Press published book titled "Ways of Dying", this is a South African fiction selection. Being a fiction, it is wtitten in a very creative manner that i could hardly associate with any of the books i had read before.

This is a story of love written with expectation of one's imagination to take over. The wording, grouping, style and context of this book make it so. It is mainly based on two characters and the way they live their lives. Toloki is a man consumed with the profession of mourning the dead whilst his love Noria has lost immensely through life, still has the ability to show Toloki how to live.

There are various different characters in this novel, which make it as interesting. Even with their differences, they jell well together making the story line easily readable and understandably creative enough to follow. The vast lines go from Toloki who grew up as the ugliest boy in the village and people taking no note of him to the same character turning into a man who is widely respected for his chosen profession in the city outskirts where it was the only place he found recognition. In the village where he grew up Toloki had a friend who had the identity he wanted. Her name was Noria. Toloki hated and loved her with the same heart. Noria was everyone's favorite in the villafe; she had her mother's beauty and brought all the boys and towns' man attention and had the most amazing laugh that made all the village people happy whenever they heard it. When she was sad, everyone was too.

The writing style used in this book is that which is very easy to follow. There are no bombastic (big) words used nor are there times where you could lose the story. Every word flows into a paragraph that combines to others that make this a brilliantly written story.

One of the other things that make this an interesting read is the humor infused.

This is a brilliant written book that everyone with a sense of adventure and imagination will enjoy.

A wonderful terrible book.......2003-03-06

WAYS OF DYING is one of the most fascinating novels that I have read in years. The book is set in South Africa during a period that seems to span the end of the apartheid regime and focuses exclusively on the lives (and deaths) of poor South African Blacks in rural villages and urban shanty towns near what I suspect is Durban. Fans of Marquez will feel very much at home here in a world of "magical realism", yet while Mda may have been influenced by novels like 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE he has a voice that is uniquely his own, and one that I sense is profoundly rooted in Africa. Mda's "hero" is a self-declared Professional Mourner, who ekes out an existence at the edge of society. Some aspects of his life are almost grotesque in form, and the deaths that surround him are often truly horrifying, yet somehow I found this a profoundly optimistic and human book. In spite of the worst that the world can throw at him the Professional Mourner is able to transcend mere existence & by the end I was shamelessly rooting for him. I should add that I used this book in a course on the Turn of the Century, and one of my toughest-case students, whom I had failed to excite with anything else, came into my office today saying "I just LOVE Mda" You will too,

At last a new African writer! And he's good! Yay!.......2003-01-14

I am an avid reader of African literature, both fiction and non-fiction (especially memoirs). I am always searching for contemporary non-white writers (the white writers are good, but it is not unreasonable to want other perspectives), so I was happy to learn about Zakes Mda from a recent New York Times book review column, and I ordered his two books immediately.

'Ways of Dying' is not about post-apartheid South Africa, though the blurb suggests that. I estimate it to be set in the late 1980s, shortly before the end of the old regime was drawing near.

It's a short book, but it's well written, and paints a vivid picture of life in South Africa. And yes, the 'black perspective' is different, and very interesting, and most welcome.

Best South African writer I have read.......2000-02-28

Like all recent South African fiction I have read, this one is full of horrible violence. But it is a love story, and much more optimistic than Coetzee or Brink.

Eating Your Way Across Kentucky: 101 Must Places to Eat

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Eating Your Way Across Kentucky: 101 Must Places to Eat
Gary P. West
Manufacturer: Acclaim Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0979002516
Release Date: 2006-11-20

Product Description

"Eating Your Way Across Kentucky" - A traveler's guide to local favorites. There are literally thousands of eating-places in Kentucky. Some are outstanding, some good, some fair and some not so good. It seems it would be easy to identify 101 must places to eat in the state, but it is a much more daunting task than one would think. What author Gary West has done in these pages is to select eateries that in all probability you may not even know about. Oh sure, the locals eat there and know they are great, but some of the restaurants are not well known to outsiders - until now! The criteria for making the 101 is simple: it cannot be a chain restaurant and, except for a rare exception, must have been in operation for at least five years. And, of course, the food must be exceptionally delicious! Beautifully illustrated with detailed directions and menu reviews, this book is guaranteed to thrill the traveler trekking across the bluegrass in his never-ending pursuit of his next dining delight. 6 x9" hardcover w/ full color dust jacket 232 pages w/ photos

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