Excerpts from Three Reviews from the April 10 Issue of Publishers Weekly

-- Publishers Weekly, 3/29/2006

Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God
Mark Galli. Baker Books, $17.99 (208p) ISBN 0-8010-1284-8

Christianity Today editor Galli explores the less lovable side of the Christian deity, offering a well-written, thoroughly researched look at Jesus. "The warm and friendly Jesus, although an attractive idea, is but an idol," Galli says. He uses 17 passages in the Gospel of Mark to present a Jesus who is much less loving, gentle and patient than many Christians would like to believe. This Jesus can be stern, confrontational, purposefully confusing and even impatient. He sometimes shames and scares us, but loves us enough to draw us inexorably toward him.Galli's writing is clear and concise, his logic smooth, his knowledge of early Christian saints helpful, the discussion questions on target and his conclusions inescapable. Readers will come away with a disconcerting new understanding of  "Jesus mean and wild." (July)

The Universal Spirit of Islam
Judith Fitzgerald and Michael Oren Fitzgerald. World Wisdom [1501 E. Hillside Drive, Bloomington IN 47401], $14.95 paper (176p) ISBN 1-933316-16-0

The Fitzgeralds, a married couple and co-editors of the award-winning book Christian Spirit, collaborate again in a collection of quotations from Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, and the hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad passed down by Muslims in the centuries since his death. The book sets out to explore if these sources provide a basis for improving interfaith relations. The selections of Qur'anic and hadith passages show a unique sensitivity to and understanding of Islam. Accompanied by lovely photographs, some of which are from the co-editors' travels in the Islamic world, as well as reprints of Islamic art and illuminated Qur'ans, the titular "spirit" of Islam comes across as reflective, wise and bridge building. (May 31)

Pocket Guide to the Bible: A Little Book About the Big Book
Jason Boyett. Relevant, $11.99 paper (224p) ISBN 0-9768175-4-3

Boyett (Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse) packs a surprising amount of information into this little guide. With humor always at the ready, he dashes through a glossary of biblical terms, a list of key characters and a summary of every book of the Bible. The introduction kicks off with a nod to the difficulties of biblical interpretation and a few of the less-than-stellar movements it helped inspire. This forthright tone continues throughout, though Boyett clearly writes from an evangelical perspective. The book also includes an interesting history of the English Bible and a summary of translations. Overall, the guide is well written, fun and brief—which, when you're attempting to summarize the entire Bible, is quite an accomplishment. (June 6)