No comments about My People Is the Enemy: An Autobiographical Polemic.

5 comments about Imprisoned in Iran: Love's Victory over Fear (International Adventures) (International Adventures).

1. One of my favorite things about this book is that you can see that Dan loves the Iranian people. Dan is just a guy who went to a different country, with his own human foibles, but a special love for his Muslim friends. Even though Dan was imprisoned in Iran, the Muslim people are portrayed compassionately. One thing connected to this, is a small insight into the hidden supernatural realm and how it negatively affects one of the prison guards from his usual demeanor.



2. I have bought this book for so many people as gifts to encourage them. People who are not "into reading" can't put it down. Dan reveals the depth of his love of God & man while honestly sharing his fears, doubts and needs. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about Christians or Muslims.



3. I bought this book after meeting Dan Baumann at a Conference he was speaking at. I read it straight through and couldn't put it down. During the conference he spoke about his experience in Iran and I was deeply moved by the conviction he had for God throughout the ordeal. He turned what most of us would have given up at into a form of praise and worship. He witnessed many miracles and many hardships, and his experience is nothing short of amazing. He made me think seriously of how I would react in a similar situation.
   At the conference Dan was humble in sharing what he endured from start to finish. He never acted proud for having survived, but always gave the glory where it was due, to the Lord. Whenever he mentioned Jesus he wasn't simply using a name, he was speaking to him. I was touched by his sincerity. So when I read the book I had high expectations, and they were met splendidly.
   The book is well written and nicely organized from start to finish, in my opinion. I never felt that it was sluggish or repetitious. You can only say so much about being in a prison cell 24 hours a day, so with what he had to work with he did wonders. All in all, the straightforwardness and honesty of his dialogue impressed me and kept me reading.
   I would recommend `Imprisoned in Iran' to anyone and everyone. Christian and non-Christian alike should read this personal account of confusion, suffering, and ultimately deliverance through belief and trust in Jesus Christ.



4. This volume is part of YWAM's series of International Adventures. Baumann, holding dual American/Swiss nationality, was falsely accused of espionage by the Iranians and jailed from January to March of 1997. Imprisoned in Iran seems to be an accurate reconstruction of these events and, unlike Joly's Tomorrow You Die (1997), Baumann does not appear to be over-sensationalizing his experience. As Floyd McClung indicates in a Foreward (at pp. 7-8), Baumann does not write as if he is a Christian hero, and his book is all the more effective for this. Similarly, it is clear that the author does not divide Iranians into the "saved" and the "unsaved"; his nuanced approach gives his prison memoir special credibility.
   
   While Imprisoned in Iran is particularly pertinent for its Christian perspective, it also serves as a useful account of the attitude of Iranians toward Westerners. Baumann has provided a record of his three-month ordeal that is destined to stand the test of time.
   
   Samuel Pyeatt Menefee



5. I personally liked this book. Why? Because it was about a man who wanted to goto Iran and share the Gospel with a particular group of people, but instead he got to witness to the Iranians. He was arrested for not having a particular stamp in his passport so they took his passport from him and his friend (it's illegal for any non-citized not to have their passport). They told him he had to travel back into the city to get is passport. Well as he was in the office trying to retrieve his passport with the help of the African Embassy he was then thrown into prison, and abused for "not telling the truth". From there he was transferred to the highest of all high security prisons in iran, which is where the guards seen Christ through his example and they even began to talk about Jesus and His true purpose in this life. I recommend this book for all ages, and is a book which will make you want to jump into an airplane and share the Gospel with people who are hungry for the truth. This book is a MUST READ! It will keep you on the end of your seat! (I read it in about 2-3 days)

5 comments about Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux.

1. It is a well written, inspirational text. I really liked the historical aspects as well as the religious excerpts. Great book for anyone experiencing an ongoing illness. It helps to put the disease in perspective. :)



2. Rev. Thomas Taylor's early 20th century translation of the memoir of St. Therese of Lisieux, unfortunately republished in 2006 by Echo Library, was made from the only manuscript then available outside her monastery, one substantially rewritten by Therese's sister Pauline, who made seven thousand changes. Scholars interested in the documents which gave rise to the cult of St. Therese may wish to consult early versions of Taylor. I urge those who want to read what Therese wrote to read the third edition of "Story of a Soul" translated by Fr. John Clarke, OCD, and published by ICS Publications in 1976. The Clarke translation, made from the unretouched manuscript written by Therese (an authentic manuscript published in French only in 1956), is recognized as the standard throughout the English-speaking world. No other translation compares to it. The book is enriched by an introduction, afterword, and easy-to-read notes that set Therese's manuscripts in the context of her life, and the index makes it even more useful. Whether you have not read "Story of a Soul" or have read only earlier English translations (Taylor, Knox, Beevers), the Clarke translation will open the world of Therese to you. Don't miss it. You'll find it at Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, Third Edition



3. Excellent book and in her own words unedited. Also a good little book on St. Therese is 'Heart of a Soul'. This book Iam reviewing is A MUST Read.



4. This book is a great place to start learning about Therese. Includes the full text of the autobiography, and some supplementary material incl. a introduction to the autobiography and life of Therese and some of her letters and prayers. You can get much of this stuff online, but the book is a delight, with many pictures.
   
   Therese is a very special person, and I recommend a familiarity with her beautiful soul.



5. St. Therese has a lot to say to this day and age. Her "Little Way" is so simple and based on love. I have personally found Story of a Soul very useful in my spiritual life. Even though she is a saint, she is very easy to relate to where ever you are in life's journey. It is a book that I certainly will be reading again as it has made such an impact on my life. Saint Therese may be called The Little Flower but after reading this you realise that she is a stirdy little flower made of steel! A lot of people can be put off her by how she is portrayed, as was I before I read about her life in her words. So get to know her!

1 comments about Muslim Women Mystics: The Life and Work of Rabi'a and Other Women Mystics in Islam (Great Islamic Thinkers).

1. I love any book celebrating women and their strength in spirituality/religion/mysticism. This book is must have for any woman seeking to learn more of these powerful women. These are the feminine "rumi's"

No comments about Lords of the Earth: An Incredible but True Story from the Stone-age Hell of Papua's Jungle.

5 comments about A Question of Honor: The Cheating Scandal That Rocked Annapolis and a Midshipman Who Decided to Tell the Truth.

1. I rated this book as average. I think Gantar whines way too much to open the book and makes lame excuses for his actions while simultaneously accepting responsibility for his guilt and coming clean. It introduces the question of telling the truth for the sake of honor or lying to save your butt. Toward the end of the book I think there was a little too much talk about Gantar's "finding god". Overall; good ideas, strong conflict, but not well written or thought out in my opinion. This has a "Christian" theme to it, though you may not realize it until the end of the book.



2. Having been a Washington insider for two decades, I know we have needed a book that would capture our deepest feelings about integrity and accountability. This book should be required reading in every classroom in America.--Thomas s. McFee, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Personnel Administration



3. This is, for the most part, a well-told story that exposes the conflicts and flaws in the honor systems of our national military service academies. The story reveals that while the Naval Academy's honor system is considered sacrosanct, so is its unwritten rule that one must not, under any circumstances, "bilge" one's fellow midshipmen. The system requires those who violate the cherished trust granted in them by the honor concept to turn themselves in. Yet, doing so in Jeff Gantar's case would have required him to violate the cherished trust against "ratting out" his classmates, rather than simply admit his own guilt and take his punishment for it. I am completely in favor of the concept of a strict student-enforced honor code that does not tolerate cheating and dishonesty. However, as this book shows, such a system does not work when it engenders such potential conflicts as those arising under the naval Academy's traditions. While I do not consider Jeff Gantar to be a "hero" of the magnitude described in the gushing comments found on the back cover of the book, I did come away from this book with great respect for the courage and dignity he and his roommate, Brian Pirko, displayed in the end. I also believe that in view of the total circumstances of the case, their punishments were unfairly harsh. My criticism of the book, and what I found to be objectionable, unfortunate and unnecessary, is that this otherwise well-told story had to be made into a Christian morality play. Rather than simply staying with the book's real premise, that people sometimes have to make tough and courageous choices in life in order to do what their consciences tell them is the right thing to do, the authors seem to have found it necessary instead to make it the book's premise that Jeff Gantar chose his ultimate course of action because he was a "good Christian." Written between the lines, without undue subtlety, they seem to be saying that the ability to make the correct and moral choices in life are the sole and exclusive province of such "good Christians."



4. Wow, what a dissapointment. This book is simply Mr. Gantar's endless whining about why he got tossed out of the Naval Academy. Its actually pretty simple: he cheated. Period. Granted other's might have gotten away with it, but in the end, this book is nothing but dreary rationalization cloaked in strange self agrandizing moralizing. Don't waste your money.



5. The photograph on the front of this book is inaccurate: the person is posing in a Midshipman's uniform, but holding an officer's hat. That lack of attention to detail seems to encapsulate a lot of what's wrong with the book.
   As a USNA alumnus ('80) I am familiar with the Honor Concept and life at the Academy, so much of the book was more familiar to me than to the general reader.
   That said, I was a bit frustrated by the poor organization and focus of the book. It's one man's story, of course, and doesn't pretend to be a journalistic expose of the cheating scandal, but even so, it was arranged pretty sloppily.
   The story of the cheating scandal is presented as though things happened very quickly; as you read the book, it seems to have all happened in the space of a few months. But the exam in question took place in the middle of their junior year, and the author's final expulsion came at the very end of his senior year.
   In fact, he was on restriction until the end of the semester and finals, until just before graduation. Yet, he didn't finish his degree. Why? It's never explained.
   Part of the story is told in the captions of the photos, rather than the text of the book, which strikes me as a pretty sloppy way to write.
   Throughout the explication of the cheating scandal, it sounds as though just about everyone in the junior class was involved on some level (and that might have been the case, "gouge" flows pretty freely) and so it's a surprise to read the jacket notes after finishing the book to learn that "only" 133 people were accused and 29 were separated. During the course of the book, those numbers are never made clear. Except, of course, that the football team all got off scott-free. (There was a saying when I was there: if God had been a Mid, He'd have bagged it for six days, and pulled an all-nighter. If He'd been a football player, He'd have bagged that too, and gotten the gouge first period. Apparently, some things don't change.)
   2/3 of the way though the book, we're abruptly introduced to the second author, Tom Patten, who plays a peripheral role in the story (he's the therapist who helps Jeff confront his issues.) Patten is also getting run out of the Navy because a CO a few years back decided to "get him." The effect of weaving Patten's story in with Gantar's is to create the message that "the Navy sucks, and the honorable people get run out." Which is certainly a valid opinion, but turns the question from "what happened with the EE311 cheating scandal, and how does that challenge the Honor system?" to a much less interesting and much less useful "the Navy teaches you to cheat, and we're the martyrs because we had principles."
   
   The subtitle is "The Cheating Scandal That Rocked Annapolis and a Midshipman Who Decided to Tell the Truth." The book might more accurately be subtitled "How I Got Past my Childhood Abuse and Married a Good Woman, Due to My Participation in the Cheating Scandal."

No comments about Know the Truth: A Memoir.

3 comments about The Legacy of Buck and Dottie Rambo.

1. Dottie Rambo is the most gifted songwriter of all time. I have read the Legacy of Buck and Dottie Rambo many times! I think and know God has used and continues to use Dottie and thank God for that! Buck talks underatedly about Dottie and should give her much praise. Dottie we love you write our book soon!!!!



2. I just recently purchased the Legacy of Buck and Dottie Rambo at a Dottie concert. She stated that Buck Rambo wrote this book own his own without any input from her. I can believe it. Anyone that has ever heard Ms. Dottie sing, knows that the Spirit of God just flows from her in every song. Whether it be one that she wrote or just one that sings from another writer. He gives her some credit but not enough. A person can only believe that it is through her belief and faith in God that keeps her going through all of her health problems. Anytime you need an uplifting experience just read the book and pay attention to Dottie's unending never wavering faith in GOD.



3. I knew Buck, Dottie and Reba, before Reba was old enough to sing with them. I was a 12 year old boy who sat mesmerized by Dottie Rambo playing the red Gibson guitar on the platform of our United Pentecostal Campmeeting in Louisiana. At the time they traveled as the Gospel Echos. The Rambo's came to my local church several times in Westlake, Louisiana and the place would be packed. Dottie wrote some of the most anointed songs that have been written. They will be sung throughout the ages.

5 comments about Pope Benedict XVI: Servant of the Truth.

1. This glorious coffee-table photo-biography of Pope Benedict is a wonderful,unique combo volume - some 150 striking photos of the Pope's life from his boyhood thru the first year of his papacy, and really excellent commentary on the life & impact of Benedict/Ratzinger by Peter Seewald.
   As the book blurb says, Seewald wrote those two popular book-length interviews of Cardinal Ratzinger (SALT OF THE EARTH, GOD AND THE WORLD) which dramatically changed Seewald's own life, bringing him back to the practice of his Catholicism after having fallen away for many years. So Seewald knows this man so well, and he is such a good writer, that his fine writing & insights on the various stages of the Pope's life are a great complement to the amazing photos in this keepsake of a book.
   It is the ideal Christmas gift book!



2. Informative about our new Pope. One picture is worth a thousand words! I leave it out on our coffee-table for all to see. I consider it a treasure to have ammong my books! It is well done!



3. nice to know the pope can afford 500 dollar shoes while 1/5 of the worlds population is starving to death.



4. Of all the unselfish things that this Pope has done in his long life that YOU have to focus on something so miniscule as a pair of shoes........GROW UP and smell the condition of the world!



5. Do you really think the Pope pays for his shoes? Unlike you, most people want to reverence him as the Vicar of Christ on earth. Donated shoes and cars are just part of being loved my millions of people. If you were the owner of Prada, would you give Jesus a pair of shoes?

No comments about Padre: The Spiritual Journey of Father Virgil Cordano.