Four Reviews Coming in Publishers Weekly on Monday, March 24:
-- Publishers Weekly, 3/12/2008
The Last Secret of Fatima: My Conversations with Sister Lucia
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone with Giuseppe De Carli. Doubleday, $21.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0-385-52582-4
The apparition of Mary, the mother of Christ, that appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917 has long fascinated Roman Catholics and others intrigued by the vision's prophetic messages, particularly the so-called "Third Secret." Journalist De Carli explores the meaning of the visions and puts them in historical context in this extended interview with Bertone, the Vatican official charged with verifying the last secret. Before its release in 2000, Bertone met with the only surviving visionary, Sister Lucia, for confirmation. In subsequent meetings before her death, Bertone gained her assurance that no further secrets remained. This book also discusses the significance of the visions to the late Pope John Paul II, who believed his assassination attempt was foretold in the last secret and emphasized the visions' essential purpose of calling people to conversion. Included are a chronology, theological commentary written by Pope Benedict XVI when he was head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the last secret's text. This guide will be of special interest to Fatima devotees. (May 6)
Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices
Brian McLaren. Thomas Nelson, $17.99 (176p) ISBN 978-0-8499-0114-0
Prolific author and pastor McLaren is a big-picture guy. One of the most influential thinkers in the emergent church movement, he likes to analyze and categorize. This book, which inaugurates a series about traditional spiritual practices, paves the way for future installments by elaborating the big-picture rationale for spiritual disciplines: they cleanse us, enlighten us and bring us closer to God. As the title signals, they will also help us find our way past the unsatisfactory alternatives of secularism, dangerous fundamentalism and "mushy spirituality." The former English teacher has a gift for the pithy phrase that nails a concept: "faithing our practices" is seeing the sacred value of everyday activities, for example. McLaren fans will enjoy his usual breadth of vision, easy style of exposition and synthesis of big ideas. His more conservative detractors may find him too generous in his references to the other two Abrahamic faiths in discussing spiritual practices. This book nicely opens the door for a series as well as a more disciplined Christian life. (May 6)
When Men Become Gods: Mormon Polygamist Warren Jeffs, His Cult of Fear, and the Women Who Fought Back
Stephen Singular. St. Martin's, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-37248-4
This ripped-from-the-headlines exposé uncovers the rise and fall of polygamist Warren Jeffs, former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Based on interviews with ex-members, newspaper stories and trial records, it provides a raw and bracing account of Jeffs's sex crimes and fugitive years. Unfortunately, Singular's account is not burdened by nuance or significant attention to history or theology, ignoring important prior research on Mormon fundamentalism and painting all polygamists with the same broad brush. Some of this could be forgiven if Singular's lapses in understanding Mormon fundamentalism were not exacerbated by his frequent tactic of comparing the FLDS to Islamic extremists, which evokes the intended fear response but remains tenuous. However, the book's second half, which hews closely to the chronology of Jeffs's flight from the law and the individuals who helped to bring him to justice, is more balanced than the first. Singular is a strong writer who uses pacing, dialogue and drama to good effect. Readers will find this a troubling and fascinating, if careless, account. (May)
God's Master Plan for Your Life: Ten Keys to Fulfilling Your Destiny
Gloria Copeland. Putnam Praise, $19.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-399-15473-7
Author and evangelical minister Copeland cohosts the Believer's Voice of Victory television broadcast with her husband, Kenneth Copeland. In this inspirational self-help guide, Copeland offers Pentecostal Christians 10 keys to fulfilling God's destiny. They must accept Jesus as Lord and Savior; receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit; trust God's path and believe His plans are best; make time for Bible study; speak God's promises aloud; faithfully persevere past personal limitations; turn from sin and obey; be grateful and offer praise continually; let patience do its inner soul work; and cultivate God's word in the heart so that it produces spiritual fruit. As Copeland repeatedly reminds readers, God always has a purpose for us, though his children sometimes don't act on the promises and therefore forfeit God's "master" plan. Fans of the Copelands' ministry will be delighted with the author's personal story of faith through the years and the growth of the television program. Though well-written and engaging in scope, some Christians will take issue with themes of faith healing and name-it-and-claim-it theology sprinkled throughout. (May)
Two Starred Reviews Coming in PW on Monday, March 24:
Faith and Magick in the Armed Forces: A Handbook for Pagans in the Military
Stefani E. Barner. Llewellyn, $15.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7387-1194-2
In this practical handbook for pagans in the military, Barner reviews a wide selection of topics that could potentially confront this small group and their families. As the wife of a career Air National Guardsman who has seen two tours of duty in Iraq, she writes with firsthand knowledge about the difficulties pagans face in the military, where the majority of personnel and chaplains are evangelical Christians. Barner spells out what rights pagans have and even includes an excerpt from the Wicca section of the U.S. Army Chaplain's Handbook. More important, she lists the potential roadblocks thrown up by military chaplains and shows how best to overcome them without risk of punishment. The book is rounded out with several excellent spells and ceremonies for such things as deployment, going into battle and returning to the home front. It also includes a ritual for a pagan military funeral. Interviews with a pagan soldier, a spouse and the child of a soldier give additional insight into the struggles they confront. Barner writes fluently and with compassion about the warrior's path in today's world. (May)
The Emmaus Readers: Listening for God in Contemporary Fiction
Edited by Gary Schmidt and Susan Felch. Paraclete, $17.95 paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-55725-543-3
It's rare for an edited anthology to be consistently good, let alone exceptional, but this unassuming collection of essays on 12 novels with religious themes offers rich satisfaction. The essayists—all Calvin College professors and staff members—formed a group called "the Emmaus readers" in 2006 to better understand the role of faith in creating and interpreting fiction. The novels include overtly religious books, like Mr. Ives' Christmas and Mariette in Ecstasy, as well as less predictable choices, like Life of Pi and the graphic novel Road to Perdition. Each chapter offers a plot synopsis, an analysis, questions for discussion and suggestions for further reading. Readers will be introduced to some novels for the first time, and will attain deeper understandings of others they already love. Fans of Peace Like a River, for example, will delight in exploring the biblical and literary allusions of Leif Enger's Midwestern masterpiece, and many who neglected P.D. James's Children of Men will expand their understanding of her story's projected dystopia. Perhaps the Emmaus readers can pen a sequel taking on novels by the likes of Graham Greene, Chaim Potok, Gail Godwin or Vinita Hampton Wright. (May)
