bookpagedev

by Margaret Feinberg

With all the cute bunnies and Easter eggs around, sometimes it’s easy to forget that there’s a deeper meaning to Easter. The celebration of this holiday marking the resurrection of Jesus offers Christians an opportunity to pause and reflect on their faith, and several new books can serve as guideposts for the journey.

The God Who Hung on the Cross (Zondervan, $18.99, 214 pages, ISBN 0310248353), by Dois I. Rosser Jr. and Ellen Vaughn with a foreword by Chuck Colson provides a testament to the power of the Christian message in far-flung spots around the world. Now in his 80s, business entrepreneur Dois Rosser founded International Cooperating Ministries, which works with Christian leaders in developing nations. Since it began in 1988, the ministry has established more than 1,400 churches, developed a radio program that reaches nearly three billion people, and helps care for the orphans and poor. Not bad for a guy most of us have never heard of.

And that’s the message of this fascinating book. God uses little people like you and me to accomplish His biggest miracles. The authors include stories of faith from such diverse locations as Cambodia and Zimbabwe, and along the way readers begin to recognize the God who hung on the cross from a global perspective. Readers interested in an historical view of Jesus should consider The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story ∧ Significance of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus ∧ His Family by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95, 207 pages, ISBN 0060556609). This new book explores what some are calling the “the most astonishing find in the history of archaeology, ” first announced by scholars last fall. An inscription on a newly discovered, first-century ossuary (a limestone chest where the bones of the deceased were stored) reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” The inscription carries significant religious implications, since it serves as what the authors describe as the first confirmation of Jesus’ existence in an archaeological context. This easy-to-understand book examines the inscriptions, the response of the media to the discovery and the role of James in the early church. Anyone with an interest in archaeology or the historical Jesus will find this book fascinating and find themselves digging a little deeper into their faith this Easter season.

If you know anything about popular writer Joyce Meyer, you’re probably aware that she doesn’t mince words. This gifted Bible teacher, speaker and author of more than four dozen books cuts right to the heart of the matter in her latest title, Knowing God Intimately. Loaded with Scripture, anecdotes and solid Bible teaching, Meyer’s book explores in-depth the Holy Spirit and His role in believers’ lives. The book is divided into four sections described as intimacy levels. Each section is designed to challenge readers in the depth of their relationship with God. In practical terms, Meyers explains how the Holy Spirit can be a tangible part of every believer’s walk with God. And, finally, as a Sri Lankan minister and director of Youth for Christ (YFC), Ajith Fernando is on the frontlines of church work. He has seen firsthand how discouragement, moral failure and compromise can get the best of church leaders, and he challenges Christians of all ages and stages to adhere to the basic tenets of the faith in Jesus Driven Ministry (Cross- way, $19.99, 255 pages, ISBN 1581344457). In this well-written, practical book, Fernando walks readers through fundamental principles of church leadership such as growing team ministry, discipling, scheduling retreats and making pastoral home visits. The pages are filled with inspirational reflections that older believers will find helpful and newer believers will find encouraging. Best of all, Fernando’s background as a Sri Lankan gives him a fresh perspective on timeless truths. Margaret Feinberg writes on Christian publishing from her home in Sitka, Alaska.

With all the cute bunnies and Easter eggs around, sometimes it's easy to forget that there's a deeper meaning to Easter. The celebration of this holiday marking the resurrection of Jesus offers Christians an opportunity to pause and reflect on their faith, and several new…

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

New books explore the Christian journey of faith

Review by bookpagedev

by Margaret Feinberg

And that’s the message of this fascinating book. God uses little people like you and me to accomplish His biggest miracles. The authors include stories of faith from such diverse locations as Cambodia and Zimbabwe, and along the way readers begin to recognize the God who hung on the cross from a global perspective. Readers interested in an historical view of Jesus should consider The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story ∧ Significance of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus ∧ His Family by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington. This new book explores what some are calling the “the most astonishing find in the history of archaeology, ” first announced by scholars last fall. An inscription on a newly discovered, first-century ossuary (a limestone chest where the bones of the deceased were stored) reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” The inscription carries significant religious implications, since it serves as what the authors describe as the first confirmation of Jesus’ existence in an archaeological context. This easy-to-understand book examines the inscriptions, the response of the media to the discovery and the role of James in the early church. Anyone with an interest in archaeology or the historical Jesus will find this book fascinating and find themselves digging a little deeper into their faith this Easter season.

If you know anything about popular writer Joyce Meyer, you’re probably aware that she doesn’t mince words. This gifted Bible teacher, speaker and author of more than four dozen books cuts right to the heart of the matter in her latest title, Knowing God Intimately (Warner Faith, $21.99, 301 pages, ISBN 0446531936). Loaded with Scripture, anecdotes and solid Bible teaching, Meyer’s book explores in-depth the Holy Spirit and His role in believers’ lives. The book is divided into four sections described as intimacy levels. Each section is designed to challenge readers in the depth of their relationship with God. In practical terms, Meyers explains how the Holy Spirit can be a tangible part of every believer’s walk with God. And, finally, as a Sri Lankan minister and director of Youth for Christ (YFC), Ajith Fernando is on the frontlines of church work. He has seen firsthand how discouragement, moral failure and compromise can get the best of church leaders, and he challenges Christians of all ages and stages to adhere to the basic tenets of the faith in Jesus Driven Ministry (Cross- way, $19.99, 255 pages, ISBN 1581344457). In this well-written, practical book, Fernando walks readers through fundamental principles of church leadership such as growing team ministry, discipling, scheduling retreats and making pastoral home visits. The pages are filled with inspirational reflections that older believers will find helpful and newer believers will find encouraging. Best of all, Fernando’s background as a Sri Lankan gives him a fresh perspective on timeless truths. Margaret Feinberg writes on Christian publishing from her home in Sitka, Alaska.

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

New books explore the Christian journey of faith

Review by bookpagedev

by Margaret Feinberg

The God Who Hung on the Cross, by Dois I. Rosser Jr. and Ellen Vaughn with a foreword by Chuck Colson provides a testament to the power of the Christian message in far-flung spots around the world. Now in his 80s, business entrepreneur Dois Rosser founded International Cooperating Ministries, which works with Christian leaders in developing nations. Since it began in 1988, the ministry has established more than 1,400 churches, developed a radio program that reaches nearly three billion people, and helps care for the orphans and poor. Not bad for a guy most of us have never heard of.

If you know anything about popular writer Joyce Meyer, you’re probably aware that she doesn’t mince words. This gifted Bible teacher, speaker and author of more than four dozen books cuts right to the heart of the matter in her latest title, Knowing God Intimately (Warner Faith, $21.99, 301 pages, ISBN 0446531936). Loaded with Scripture, anecdotes and solid Bible teaching, Meyer’s book explores in-depth the Holy Spirit and His role in believers’ lives. The book is divided into four sections described as intimacy levels. Each section is designed to challenge readers in the depth of their relationship with God. In practical terms, Meyers explains how the Holy Spirit can be a tangible part of every believer’s walk with God. And, finally, as a Sri Lankan minister and director of Youth for Christ (YFC), Ajith Fernando is on the frontlines of church work. He has seen firsthand how discouragement, moral failure and compromise can get the best of church leaders, and he challenges Christians of all ages and stages to adhere to the basic tenets of the faith in Jesus Driven Ministry (Cross- way, $19.99, 255 pages, ISBN 1581344457). In this well-written, practical book, Fernando walks readers through fundamental principles of church leadership such as growing team ministry, discipling, scheduling retreats and making pastoral home visits. The pages are filled with inspirational reflections that older believers will find helpful and newer believers will find encouraging. Best of all, Fernando’s background as a Sri Lankan gives him a fresh perspective on timeless truths. Margaret Feinberg writes on Christian publishing from her home in Sitka, Alaska.

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

Putting his best foot forward

Review by bookpagedev

by Deborah Hopkinson

It’s important to have a shoe that fits right just ask Cinderella! And in this clever, original tale we meet a shoemaker who has the ability to create shoes that make each and every person feel like royalty.

At first glance, Hans Crispin seems like an ordinary, traveling shoemaker. But when he strides into town it soon becomes clear that this cobbler boasts an extraordinary talent. Hans can create shoes like no one else! When he meets a short man, Hans creates special shoes to make him taller. A little girl who is tired of being overlooked gets shoes so ornate and fantastic, she is sure to be the center of attention. And when the fisherman’s boat springs a leak, he turns to Hans for some shoes that help him float on water.

Everyone is happy with Hans Crispin’s fantastic shoes. Everyone, that is, except the grumpy old town cobbler. Jealous, he tries to get rid of Hans by suggesting that the newcomer make a pair of shoes for Barefootus, the giant. Of course, Hans doesn’t realize the cobbler is tricking him: the giant is much more interested in dinner than in a new pair of shoes. Captured by the giant, Hans comes up with a solution that not only saves his skin, but gives the giant a new view of the world at his feet.

Steve Light, the author, also illustrated the book. Light, who often teaches art to children, explains in a note how the idea for the design of the book arose. One day the children in his class noticed the fascinating patterns made by their shoe prints when they tracked paint on the floor. The artist scoured the town for old shoes and used the soles to make patterned, hand-printed paper, on which he placed his bright-colored collages. The result is a humorous, original tale, which is also bound to inspire some fun art projects at home or school.

It's important to have a shoe that fits right just ask Cinderella! And in this clever, original tale we meet a shoemaker who has the ability to create shoes that make each and every person feel like royalty.

At first glance,…

Children's & YA

Children's & YA

The boy behind the mask

Review by bookpagedev

by Alice Cary

Nino’s Mask is a feast for the eyes and the imagination an action-packed picture book sure to intrigue readers on several different levels. Youngsters will enjoy finding out about Mexico’s Fiesta of the Tigre (Jaguar) and learning some Spanish words. Jeanette Winter’s art is a lively explosion of color, the perfect introduction to the spirit and culture of Mexico.

The story opens with a village mask-maker who explains that every year the Fiesta of the Tigre is celebrated with masked villagers playing the parts of hunters and dog (the Perro), all trying to capture the Tigre, whose spirit can destroy their crops. Young Nino yearns to join the celebration and wear his own mask, but his parents tell him he must wait until he’s older. Undaunted,
Nino manages to wear the wooden mask of the Perro and a wild chase ensues over a high wire, over roofs, up and down hills, with masked festival-goers chasing the Perro and the Tigre. Ultimately,
Nino catches the Tigre, earning the adulation of the villagers, who lift him in the air and chant, "Olé
Nino!" and "Viva
Nino!"

The book’s dialogue is set forth in comic-book-style balloons, adding to its easy-going charm. The last page also features a short but helpful glossary of the Spanish words used in the story, and a few details about Mexican masks and traditions. The mask-maker explains that this is a story of "one little boy who discovers the magic of masks," and, indeed, a magical aura envelops all. Jeanette Winter has beautifully blended diverse elements in a seamless, simple way. Her vibrant colors are indeed a Mexican fiesta (amazingly, all were created using felt-tip pens.) Look closely, at the very end, and you’ll find a small self-portrait of the author, hidden behind a drawing of one of her own masks. Olé, Jeanette Winter you’ve created a winner!

Alice Cary writes from Groton, Massachusetts.

Nino's Mask is a feast for the eyes and the imagination an action-packed picture book sure to intrigue readers on several different levels. Youngsters will enjoy finding out about Mexico's Fiesta of the Tigre (Jaguar) and learning some Spanish words. Jeanette Winter's art is…

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

A giant’s kind-hearted striptease

Review by bookpagedev

by Jan Smith

The Spiffiest Giant in Town takes place in an enchanted land where giants loom over a smaller world inhabited by people, elves and animals, and where all coexist peacefully. It’s a magical land beautifully drawn by Axel Scheffler: envision Richard Scarry’s Busytown combined with Hansel and Gretel, set in a European-looking, storybook world.

Scottish children’s author Julia Donaldson writes about a lovably, truly scruffy giant named George, who one day decides it’s high time to give himself a giant-sized makeover. He heads to a haberdashery run by small people in a small store, which means he can’t go in, so he views the merchandise by lying on the ground and peeking through the door. Soon he’s outfitted and seemingly a new man, having traded his worn-out, monk’s-style gown and grungy sandals for a "spiffy" shirt, pair of pants, belt, tie, socks and shiny black shoes.

George’s new look doesn’t last long, however, as he runs into a series of creatures who need help: a giraffe with a cold neck, a goat whose boat needs a sail, a family of mice whose house has burnt down. Immediately, he starts doling out his clothes to help. His tie warms the giraffe’s neck, his shirt becomes a sail, and one of his new shoes becomes a mouse house. Before long, George has given away practically everything, only to finally find himself outside the haberdashery in his skivvies! The store is closed, and George can only put on his dirty old clothes once more. In the end, however, George is warmly thanked by all those he has helped, and he learns a valuable lesson: that it’s much more important to be kind than spiffy.

Young readers will enjoy the form of the story, the repetitive sequence of different creatures who need George’s help. They’ll also enjoy guessing what article of clothing George might next peel off to help each creature he encounters. The tale is simple yet delightful, and its moral is one that people of all ages and sizes should keep in mind. The world definitely needs more Georges like this gentle giant.

The Spiffiest Giant in Town takes place in an enchanted land where giants loom over a smaller world inhabited by people, elves and animals, and where all coexist peacefully. It's a magical land beautifully drawn by Axel Scheffler: envision Richard Scarry's Busytown combined with…

Children's & YA, Middle Grade

Children's & YA Middle Grade

Dinosaurs behaving badly

Review by bookpagedev

by Sandy MacDonald

The team that brought us How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? is back with a sickbed corollary that goes down as easily as a good laugh. Both dinosaur books are essentially didactic: backhanded primers indicating, by bad example, the way children ought to behave. But because the dinosaurs depicted are such monstrous miscreants, kids get to exult vicariously in their capers while absorbing useful pointers.

The new book is peppered with leading questions. "What if a dinosaur catches the flu? / Does he whimper and whine in between each Atchoo? / Does he drop dirty tissues all over the floor? / Does he fling all his medicine out of the door?" Read-along audiences will eagerly provide the correct answers: a resounding "No!" accompanied by the occasional "Ewww." Ten successive dinosaurs-as-children (each one gets a spread, with its name emblazoned somewhere in the scene) tackle such touchy issues as throwing up, visiting the doctor, "opening wide" and getting the necessary rest.

Teague’s illustrations expand on the ingenious conceit begun in the first book of otherwise ordinary households in which the resident "child" happens to be a gigantic dino. The scenario leads to such visions as a rattle-tailed Euoplocephalus irritably tossing off his covers and a mom trying in vain to drag her balky Styracosaurus in to see "the doc." The real miracle is how much human expression Teague manages to eke out in his portrayals of these put-upon invalids. Bleary-eyed, bored, self-dramatizing, scared, obstinate, sneaky (that’s a Tuojiangosaurus trying to hide behind a magazine in the clinic waiting room), greedy (at the prospect of a lollipop) and cozy (tucked at last in bed), these dinos run through the gamut of sickly emotions. Little listeners, some of whom may themselves be bed-bound, get to empathize and enjoy the fun.

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

How the Wrights took flight

Review by bookpagedev

by James Webb

When you consider the effect for both good and bad that flight has had on civilization an effect even greater, it could be argued, than the atomic bomb it’s remarkable that we know so little about the men behind the phenomenon. But all that should change, as 2003 marks the centennial of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s first excursion into the wild blue yonder. Peter Busby’s fascinating book First to Fly is part of what is sure to be a flood of volumes for both adults and children on the subject.

The book begins with something that kids everywhere can relate to a new toy. In this case, it’s a popular plaything of the late 19th century, a gadget called a "bat," which was essentially a toy helicopter. The young Wright boys loved the thing, and by depicting their fascination, Busby shows how the toy inspired the kids, who, encouraged by both their parents, were already fledgling inventors. They took the thing apart, made some of their own and much later, decided to try to build a machine that would take a man into the air. This episode from their youth also demonstrates that what the brothers would accomplish was not totally an original idea, but an amalgam of knowledge already available, coupled with their own research. David Craig’s detailed illustrations in First to Fly colorfully evoke an antique, turn-of-the-century feeling. There are plenty of period photographs as well, but Craig’s paintings take the reader where no tintype could ever go directly above Orville and a military observer as they frantically try to maneuver a damaged flyer to the ground, for instance.

From their inquisitive boyhood, to their entrepreneurial days, to their recognition as world-famous men, First to Fly will give a young pilot or inventor a look at how ordinary people with extraordinary dreams can accomplish the impossible.

When you consider the effect for both good and bad that flight has had on civilization an effect even greater, it could be argued, than the atomic bomb it's remarkable that we know so little about the men behind the phenomenon. But all that…

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

Finding harmony in the Kentucky hills

Review by bookpagedev

by Dean Schneider

The Collins girls are loud, loud, LOUD. Kentucky Collins is 14, the oldest and most popular. Virginia Collins is 12 and the prettiest. Georgia is 11 and the smartest. And Carolina is the 10-year-old runt of a narrator who feels there is nothing special about her. Mama doesn’t have a chance against the four of them, not without Daddy, who left when Carolina was two. It’s 1955, and the Collins family lives in the Kentucky hills in a small house that has electricity when the family can afford to pay the bills. A good time out is a trip to town to get permanents or see a James Dean movie. Into their lives comes Winston Churchill Birch, nicknamed Tadpole after the time he took a dare and swallowed a tadpole, only to throw it up later and return it still alive to the creek. Tadpole, now Tad, has run away from the abusive relatives raising him and has come to live with the Collinses. He sings, plays guitar, rallies the neighbors for social events and manages to get free passes for the carnival.

There is a lot going on in this laid-back, easy-feeling story. Characters "worsh" their clothes, "borry" a fiddle and "hear tell" the Breaks of the Cumberland is a wild and beautiful place with a view "you couldn’t beat with a stick." These folks are well-drawn people who go through believable changes and learn important lessons about family, place, dreams, child abuse and dealing with the hard times life sometimes delivers.

White, the author of the Newbery Honor-winning Belle Prater’s Boy, writes warmly and sensitively about this Kentucky hill family that owns so little, yet has so much. Her tone is pitch-perfect as she portrays Carolina coming into her own and finding what makes her special. She has noticed her knack for harmony the layers of music, the notes running below the melody, as Tad explains to her and by the end of the novel, Carolina knows who she is in her family: She’s the talented one.

Dean Schneider is a middle school English teacher in Nashville.

Ralph Lauren’s rise

Review by bookpagedev

by Stephanie Swilley

Michael Gross’ Genuine Authentic reveals how young Ralphie Lifshitz became the man behind one of the best-selling and best known fashion brands. Calling Lauren "the haberdasher of modern ambition," Gross peels back the layers of Lauren’s insecurities, revealing a man obsessed with image and appearances. Lauren’s transformation from a poor Jewish kid to an entrepreneur worth more than $2 billion is fascinating, and Gross’ familiarity with the fashion industry makes the inside peek all the more compelling. Lauren doesn’t do fashion, "he does lifestyle," says Gross, and the business lessons are clear. Lauren succeeded in re-creating his own life, and now he designs the fairy tale for consumers.

Michael Gross' Genuine Authentic reveals how young Ralphie Lifshitz became the man behind one of the best-selling and best known fashion brands. Calling Lauren "the haberdasher of modern ambition," Gross peels back the layers of Lauren's insecurities, revealing a man obsessed with image and…

Memoir

Memoir

Memories of a Depression-era American boyhood

Review by bookpagedev

by Edward Morris

Memoirs of a remote childhood tend to be either idyllic or pockmarked with trauma. In his new autobiography, The Growing Seasons: An American Boyhood Before the War, Samuel Hynes’ often lyrical recollections lie somewhere between. The period Hynes chronicles is from 1924, when he was born in Chicago, until his induction into the Navy in 1943. His mother died when he was five, but his stepmother was kind, cheerful and attentive. His father was financially ruined in the Depression, yet the family, while living frugally, never lacked the necessities. Most of the action takes place in Minneapolis, although the author presents a charming chapter on the summer he and his brother spent on a farm while their father was getting family affairs in order.

Now retired from Princeton University, where he was a professor of literature, Hynes author of a previous memoir, the much-praised Flights of Passage invests his book with academic exactitude. He recalls or has researched for the reader’s benefit the precise names of classmates, neighborhood streets and stores, household products, the arrangement and furnishings of rooms and even the broadcast times of his favorite radio shows. He remembers recipes and “wise sayings” and the character of particularly brutal snowstorms.

Buttressing this factual precision are family pictures and reproductions of newspaper photos and headlines. Reading Hynes’ accounts of strikes, placid summer amusements and local murders is like paging through the musty black-and-white pages of old Life magazines. His book is as valuable for the local history it preserves as for the personal insights it reveals.

The Depression endowed Hynes with an economic outlook that will seem strange to those who are accustomed to maxing out their credit cards. “Spending isn’t a gift you’re born with,” he says, “you have to learn how to be extravagant. On my birthday, one of those kid years, I was given two dollars and told to buy a toy. I walked all the way to the Sears store on Lake Street and spent an hour or more moving slowly along the counters of the toy department, looking at every single thing there. I didn’t want any of them. . . . But I was supposed to spend my two dollars and so finally, desperately, I bought a Detective Set . . . and walked the long walk home crying, because I had spent my money for something I didn’t want and didn’t need.” Another element younger readers may find quaint but which will be instantly recognizable to older ones is Hynes’ slow and circuitous introduction to the joys of sex from listening to deliciously misinformed playground chatter and peeking through a neighbor girl’s window to the inevitable letdown of first consummation. Hynes is at his best when he moves from description to emotional substance, as he does here in relaying how he felt after his stepmother gave away the train set she thought he’d outgrown. “I felt my loss bitterly. It wasn’t grief, exactly. [It was] more like what you feel when a favorite thing is smashed, or swept away by a stream, or dropped from a moving car onto a highway. . . . Something that was yours is gone forever; and if that can happen, if this thing you treasured can be taken away from you, then everything can.” In our need to reverse such losses, we write memoirs. Or read them.

Travel

Travel

The elusive power of flamenco

Review by bookpagedev

by Alison Hood

Andalusia, a region of southern Spain, is a land of contrasts. Its dusty summer days seethe with intense heat and gradually fade into balmy, scented, star-filled nights. The silent, hot Andalusian afternoons, especially in the gypsy towns of Sevilla and Granada, tremble with the whispers of shimmering sun. The streets and cafes brim with the staccato rhythms and incendiary cries of flamenco dance and song. Jason Webster captures the essence of this culture in his passionate new memoir, Duende: A Journey into the Heart of Flamenco. Choked by the bleak drabness of an academic life in Oxford, he succumbs to the mesmerizing flame of the flamenco life. Unsure of his ultimate direction but starved for life experience, he escapes to Spain, to the eastern coastal city of Alicante, where he studies flamenco guitar and begins an earnest quest to understand duende, that elusive, organic essence of soul connection and emotion conjured by the power of flamenco.

After an intense, destructive love affair with a married flamenco dancer, the author flees to Madrid, friendless and broken-hearted. There he ingratiates himself with outlaw circles of gypsy flamenco musicians. Practicing the guitar endlessly and performing for hours with bleeding fingers, Webster leads a life that is manic and raw, ravaged by drugs, alcohol, crime and poverty. After his treacherous compatriots abandon him, he is bewildered and no closer to grasping duende. Webster goes next to Granada where he recalls a friend’s first words upon his arrival in Spain, “You will go there one day . . . and it will change you forever.” In the magical serenity of the Alhambra’s Generalife gardens he meets an eccentric, older British woman who, ironically, brings him closer to the grail of duende than his gypsy teachers ever could.

Soul odysseys often demand that we lose our way before finding any important truths, and it is a bit painful following the author on his dangerous travels toward self-awakening. But Webster’s evocative descriptions of place blended with his wry, honest, inner narrative seduce readers, as do his exotic glimpses of gypsy ethos and flamenco culture. As for enlightenment achieved, Webster returned, after a five-year absence, to settle in Valencia with a flamenco dancer, still in thrall to the mystery of duende, still “fascinated by Spain, perhaps the only country, as Hemingway suggested.” Alison Hood writes from San Rafael, California.

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

In the beginning was the word

Review by bookpagedev

by Lynn Green

“Let thy words be few,” the Bible admonishes us (Ecclesiastes 5:2), but the Bible itself is the source of a surprising number of the words and phrases used today in the English language. Word sleuths Stanley Malless and Jeffrey McQuain have collected 150 examples of these biblically rooted expressions in a fascinating new collection, Coined by God. Subtitled “Words and Phrases That First Appear in The English Translations of the Bible,” this slender volume is filled with unexpected finds: the word “uproar,” for example, first appeared in Tyndale’s 1526 translation. “Puberty” was introduced by noted biblical translator John Wycliffe in 1382. Such common words as “appetite,” “glory” and “zeal” all first appeared in the Bible. Many of the phrases cited are familiar (“land of nod,” from Genesis and “salt of the earth,” from Matthew), but the authors add tidbits of biblical background and historical context that make the entries a lively treat for any lover of the language.

"Let thy words be few," the Bible admonishes us (Ecclesiastes 5:2), but the Bible itself is the source of a surprising number of the words and phrases used today in the English language. Word sleuths Stanley Malless and Jeffrey McQuain have collected 150 examples…

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New books explore the Christian journey of faith

New books explore the Christian journey of faith

New books explore the Christian journey of faith

Putting his best foot forward

The boy behind the mask

A giant’s kind-hearted striptease

Dinosaurs behaving badly

How the Wrights took flight

Finding harmony in the Kentucky hills

Ralph Lauren’s rise

Memories of a Depression-era American boyhood

The elusive power of flamenco

In the beginning was the word

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