Product Description
I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp.

So begins Mildred Kalish’s story of growing up on her grandparents’ Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering.

Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed—and valiantly tried to impose—all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared.

Filled with recipes and how-tos for everything from catching and skinning a rabbit to preparing homemade skin and hair beautifiers, apple cream pie, and the world’s best head cheese (start by scrubbing the head of the pig until it is pink and clean), Little Heathens portrays a world of hardship and hard work tempered by simple rewards. There was the unsurpassed flavor of tender new dandelion greens harvested as soon as the snow melted; the taste of crystal clear marble-sized balls of honey robbed from a bumblebee nest; the sweet smell from the body of a lamb sleeping on sun-warmed grass; and the magical quality of oat shocking under the light of a full harvest moon.

Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a “hearty-handshake Methodist” family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish’s memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like “quite a romp.”


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (128)

Memoirs of a Depression Kid
How things have changed from yesterday to today.This is a delightful memoir filled with loads of humor.In fact, there are quite a few laughs to be gotten from reading this book, plus lots of human knowledge.There was plenty of hard work, both housework and farm chores that needed to be done.But there were many hands to get it accomplished.Even the youngest, the little kids, as the author calls them were made to help.So the family all worked together.

There were seven in Mildred's immediate family, Mildred's grandparents, her mother, two older brothers, Mildred herself, and her little sister.Her father was absent from the family and never heard from.Mildred never knew why.

The grandparents were strict and expected good behavior, good manners, and good conduct from their grandchildren. Strong character was needed and should be built from babyhood.Grandpa was land rich, he owned four farms, but money was scarce.During long cold Iowa winters only the living room and kitchen were heated to conserve heat.Mrs Kalich was brought up upon saving,recycling everything.recycle, recycle as everything was used and reused and reused again in her childhood home.That family was today modern as people of today are encouraaged to recycle, recycle, recycle.The kids were required to eat healthy and to eat everything on their plates.Waste not, want not was one of the mottos of the grandparents plus many other bon mots.Mildred, her mother and other siblings would move out to Grandpa's farm from September until Christmas and attend a one room school where her mother had once taught.Their mother pretty much allowed her kids to do whatever they wanted to, to have much more freedom.So Mildred and her brothers and sister were brought up in two opposite ways, too strict, too much freedom.

There was wonderful Great Aunt Belle who was as much a kid as her great nephews and nieces and was good at spoiling them, making up parties and games.She gave Mildred a good opinion of herself.She was as good and as pretty as any other little girl.Mildred, as too many little girls, felt she was not pretty.

There was plenty of food.Thanksgiving was well celebrated.Relatives came together and all brought their best dishes.Mrs Kalish writes about all the home grown food plus well fed animals.To this day she states she has never tasted food as good as the home cooking, home grown food of her childhood.There is a section in this book containing recipes for farm food.This family had an abundance of food.Books and magazines were welcome in this house and the kids were encouraged to read.The whole family, except Grandma, was readers.This is so, so, so different from many homes during the Great Depression.Too many people had little food and couldn't even afford newspapers.This house was well to do.However, there was very few homes with indoor plumbing in the small Iowa town Professor Kalich was from.Indoor plumbing was a luxury.Children were switched with a buggy whip.When they got in trouble in school they got worse when their parents heard of their misdeeds.Things are much different today.Mildred went to the small town school when she was staying in town.

Because of her country upbringing, Professor Kalich learned to know the names of trees, flowers, plants and to love all of them.She had many different animal pets, both domestic and wild.She learned to love the verdant country with its seasons to love nature and wild things.

Mrs Kalich has come far from her childhood roots but it has made her into the strong and independant woman she has become.

A Little Disappointing
I had this recommended to me and read many of the reviews before buying. But no where did I find anyone who mentioned the bad language. In fact, there's a whole chapter,listing the words that were said and by whom. Also, I guess I expected the book to be one about survival but the author's family was obviously well-to-do. My parents grew up on farms in big families during the Depression but their lifestyles were obviously much different. I didn't see any cornbread and buttermilk suppers. Also, much of their daily lives were built around the church, something the author has little use for.It's probably the area of the country they were raised in but I read this book, planning to pass it along to the four "girls" still living (2 in their 90s) but I'm afraid it's a little too "high spirited." It frankly sometimes read almost like it was being copied from a notebook and the author wanted to make certain she included everything that was expected in a book like this. A few times the book was entertaining but other times I was left wondering if some of these things really happened or they were just included to "spice" up the book. I sure would haveliked to have known the names of the "Big Kids" and "Little Kids", their anonymity leaving the reader wondering. I can't recommend this to my 91 year old mother or my 13 year old grandson because of the language and of the cavalier attitude toward churches, both something that some people take seriously.

Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm durning the Great Depression
I recommend Little Heathens completely.Mildred A. Kalish captures the experience of growing up during the depression on a farm so completely. Her book is an inspiration and so very highly recommended.Although I am somewhat younger than Mrs. Kalish,I grew up in similar circumstances on a Michigan farm & found it hard to put the book down. Enjoy.
Robert Jones

A book to own and keep
I read this book when it first came out, loaned by my library.A year later, I want to re-read it and knew it was a keeper, so I bought it through Amazon.Even if only
for the recipes, one should own this book, but I have now re-read it three times for memories and prose as rich as fresh cream from Millie's Iowa farm.Millie is
a great role model in another way:how old was she when she first published a book????Thank you, Millie.

Iowa book
LITTLE HEATHENS gives the experience of a young girl growing up in Iowa during the Depression.Good portrayal. ... Read more

Product Description
"No better than a pack of heathens." That's what their grandmother called Charma Deane, Bess and Minnie, three cousins growing up in rural Orla, Arkansas. To them,nothing could be better than being a heathen girl. But when life gets complicated, even the wildest girls grow up. Charma Deane learns that lesson the hard way when Bess steals her fiancé, fails to tell her about her mother's death and then threatens to evict their aunts from their family home.

Now, years after leaving the "Aunt Farm" behind, Charma Deane's back to make peace with the past and repair the strained ties with Bess. Together again, the three heathen girls face their demons and remind each other of their old vow: live without limits, love without question, laugh without apologies and make sure that whoever dies first won't be sent to heaven looking like hell.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

storyteller
Heathen Girls! I never actually understood what that meant. It took a while to get the characters and their names straight in my head. As most books, the actual drama occurs in the last one or two chapters.I had no feelings invested in these people. When it finally came together, everything was clear, but it didn't really matter because the three girls were still friends.One strong, one quiet, and one arrogant but expected to be still loved which she was till her end. All in all, it wasn't a great book or a bad book.I base my review on whether I would keep this book and read it again and the answer is no.

Looking for a great summer read
If only there were a whole shelf of Luanne Jones books to read my summer would be all about reading. Her characters are real with the flavor of the south.I am waiting for more from this very talented author.

Novel has Southern flavor, but themes are universal
The epic journey is a time-honored theme in fiction, and Luanne Jones's new novel HEATHEN GIRLS rests both plot and character on that theme. Although the main character Charma Deane's journey doesn't cover thousands of miles geographically, it does cover a lot of ground emotionally.

Charma is summoned to the Aunt Farm, the George family's spiritual center, where she spent summers with her cousins Bess and Minnie. Bess is about to evict her aging aunts, Fawnie and Shug. Both the older women were, at different times, married to the same man who died years before. They are affectionate rivals now for family attention.

In returning to the family home, Charma confronts ghosts from her own past as she attempts to deal with her aunts' eviction, her cousin Bess's pending death, and her cousin Minnie's conflicts with her own daughter. Mother of two grown sons, and now divorced, Charma dances around feelings for the man she almost married, Guy Chapman. Guy literally left Charma at the altar many years before, but as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent he had good reasons for doing so.

The story line rests on each character coming to grips with what the cousins call the "sacred self." Interwoven into the narrative are snapshots of Southern culture, both past and present. Urging the reader on are family secrets and customs, both specific to the George family, but also familiar to anyone with a large extended family.

There's a poignant passage where Guy Chapman, now owner of his family's funeral parlor, speaks of the new South, but the message stretches across a nation. Guy returned to his hometown to save the family business, but in truth, the business is run by Dathan, an African American. But Guy keeps up appearances, knowing the business would falter if the townsfolk knew the real brains didn't reside with a member of the Chapman family. "You know they can make folks integrate the schools and the work force," he tells Charma. "But in those most private places where you have to lay your hands on someone..."

Charma knows what he means, responding, "Churches, mortuaries, and beauty shops." (pg. 295)

The novelist tells her story in an unpretentious, spontaneous manner, with Charma as narrator. The main character and those closest to her complete a personal journey that, in the end, makes each of them a wiser and stronger person. Some passages will require a careful read; it's obvious the novelist has a higher aim than writing just another chick lit tale.

The reader will enjoy a zany romp through antics of a Southern family whose aunts are irreverent, and whose cousins prove that blood is thicker than near-sibling rivalry. Luanne Jones rests much of the storyline on dialogue, and it is inevitable for a reader to entertain hope that the book might make its way to the big screen.

HEATHEN GIRLS is an entertaining read and offers home-spun philosophies on families and friends that keep the story in the reader's heart once the book is closed. Jones is a very good story-teller. We could use more of that in contemporary fiction.-Reviewed by Kay Day, editor, Creative Writer US*;Based on a review published at CW

Great Story! Must Read.
This story of cousins who share a deep bond along with some family secrets is a must read for anyone who loves irreverant humor and characters who stay with you long after the book ends.

From the opening pages when I first met Charma Deane, her nemesis Bess, and the women who live in and around the Aunt Farm I was charmed, touched and tickled. The story explores relationships in all forms including social Southern small town life, true love, old friendships and new.But most of all it shows the power of women.

This is the kind of book that would be perfect for a book club or just to share among friends. It will be on my 'keeper' shelf.

Heathen Girls
Charma Deane thinks that her aunt has just summoned her to yet another "death watch" at the "Aunt Farm", Fawnie's regularly irregular decision that this is it, she's on her way out of life. However, that's not quite the case. Her cousin, Bess, has decided to dispose of the Aunt Farm, throwing Fawnie and Shug out on the streets, as it were. Charma has been elected to stop it. Charma's resented Bess for years, thinking that somehow Bess' pushing her into the water and the subsequent rescue by Charma's father caused his death. Now, she's ready for battle, in a weary way. However, it's a bit more complicated than that; Bess is dying, and wants to spend her final days at the Aunt Farm. She also wants to reconnect with Charma and Minnie, to make peace. That is something Charma definitely needs. She's had a few other things against Bess over the years, and has been trapped by all her fears. In her own way, she's dying inside. Now, the three cousins will have a chance to live and love again, in the shadow of death.

*** This is a complex book, in the vein of Nicholas Sparks or Steel Magnolias. The characters are earthy and real. Like the aforementioned books, this one takes a different spin on what a happy ending means. It's a rainbow composed of smiles and tears, not tear free. Though the plot is virtually not present, there is a lot said here. ***

Amanda Killgore ... Read more

Product Description
Moments after finishing a six-month sentence in the Roanoke jail for a crime he might not have committed, Baptist minister Joel King is served some unwelcome papers.His wife wants a divorce, and the teenage vixen everyone believes he seduced is suing him for five million dollars.Holding on to his faith with a white-knuckle grip, Joel accepts a ride out west with Edmund Brooks, a member of his former flock who has some Commandment-challenging ideas about helping Joel help himself.From the author the New York Times Magazine called “the drinking man’s John Grisham,” Plain Heathen Mischief ranges from the cross to the double cross, from Virginia to Las Vegas, from courtrooms to trout streams, as Martin Clark follows his Job-like hero through dubious choices and high-dollar insurance scams to a redemption no reader could possibly predict. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Really Good Stuff
Well written and very engaging. This author knows what he is doing and has concocted a very entertaining read. Bravo!

Great Author
Author is a local judge in the circuit court.He must have some imagination and is probably something to see in court.This is his 3rd book and each one is better than the last.

Disappointing
There appareantely are two different authors with the same name.This isn't the same author who wrote Legal Limit.I found this book very slow going, without much point.When I was through, I wondered why I had bothered to read it.

Not a fan
I read his other book (Mobile Home Living or something) and this was no better.Boring at best.

Umm, that's Missoula MONTANA!, folks . .
Set predominantly in the Big Sky country, my state of birth, "Plain Heathen Mischief" is a most interesting morality play.Are there shades of grey?Or is anything beyond the straight and narrow path just plain heathen mischief, as the protagonist's old professor (who he used to call Dr. Brimstone) used to say?Often quite unlikeable, Joel King nonetheless does what he does with a consistent desire to do whatever it is he is doing for the greater good.With often misplaced loyalty - and with the burden of being seen as a child molester by the law enforcement community, even if the young woman who he is accused of having sex with was 17 and even if she was the aggressor - he fumbles along, straying farther and farther away from his beginning point as a Baptist preacher.With his sister Sophie - who is often earthy to the point of vulgarity - to act as a foil to his prudery, I found myself liking this book despite myself.Not knowing Missoula very well, I can't tell if the landscape was described very well or not - maybe a native Missoulan can step up and tell us?But Montana winters were definitely described to a "T" - Brrrrr!Recommend from me for anyone looking for something a little different to pass the time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Looking for Magic in Melanesia
This is one of the best travelogues you will ever find about any place, anywhere!
Not to mention about countries as obscure as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands - two rarely visited, but fascinaing archipelagos indeed.
The author does in-depth research about the history and culture of these places before setting out on a personal voyage retracing a route that was taken by his great-grandfather who had been a missionary in these parts. His homework pays off very nicely: not only does he succeed in getting everywhere he wants to, but also writes a book rich in background info in addition to his personal impressions and adventures. And he certainly does get to some remote parts of these remote countries: the Banks Islands and Maewo in Vanuatu, or Temotu province in the Solomons are out of the way places visited by very few.

Why only 4 stars then?
Well, even though the author claims to be an atheist and thus tries to examine the role of religion in local cultures objectively, he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of finding "magic" ("true" magic, that is) in these islands. He is hoping to find it performed by everyone and anyone from traditional medicine men to the local Anglican clergy, undeterred by the fact that he himself admits every single incident he has managed to observe was either a very obvious trick or at best the result of what could well have been a natural coincidence. This change in focus of the book became a bit annoying eventually.

But all in all, an excellent, amazingly well researched account.
Definitely recommended if you are interested in this region at all.
I read the book just before visiting Melanesia, and it was as good a reading as any to prepare me for my trip there.

And a tip: the book is still available in new copies on Amazon's Canadian site - have a look there if you can't find it here.

Enthralling and inspiring journey
This book is a fascinating journey that explores the power of simply believing in something, whether it be religion, myth, an icon or people themselves.It presents facts without prejudice yet reveals fascinating details of the author's personal, emotional and geographical journey as he follows his great grandfather's footsteps to the other side of the world.It combines stories of academia, theology, history and contemporary issues in a non-confrontational yet intriguing presentation of generations and cultures colliding in our ever-shrinking global community.I highly recommend reading Charles Montgomery's "The Last Heathen".It is an exceptional story which deserves a captive audience.

A Terrific Read
Fabulous book.Part travel, part history, part meeting of two cultures, the author lays it all before you with a delightful sense of humour, a discerning eye, and a sincere respect for the people of Melanesia.It opens up a window to a world most people know nothing about and are unlikely to ever encounter. For me, as a frequent visitor to that part of the world, it was wonderful a trip down memory lane.

magic
By the time a little packet of sand gets opened on page 2 of the book, I got swept up in a tale much grander than the postcard idyll of the cover seems to suggest. The narrator travels tough terrain and has adventures of the kind best experienced in an armchair; he tells them eloquently and passionately; but the real magic of the book is how these experiences are woven into larger and deeper ideas that elevate it past almost all travel writing.
It is beautifully written, it is a great book and like all great books, it transforms the reality of the reader; in the end it is their world that has changed, that has become less familiar, less certain, and strangely more alive. ... Read more

Product Description
Most intellectuals agree that Christianity had influenced Western culture. Members from different cultures experience many aspects of the world differently. This title serves as a theoretical study of both culture and religion in the West. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a 111 page softback authored by Richard Wolff and published by Back to the Bible Broadcast in Lincoln, Nebraska. Contents include: The Problem Stated, Distinguishing Things That Differ, What Do the Heathen Know About God?, Ignorance and Worship of the Heathen, Infant Salvation, The Question of the Moral Heathen, Is There a Second Chance?, The Justice of God's Judgment, The Commission to Preach the Gospel. Great MISSIONS resource. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 164 in the The Civilization of the American Indian Series The Treatise of Hernando Ruiz de Alarcón is one of the most important surviving documents of early colonial Mexico. It was written in 1629 as an aid to Roman Catholic churchmen in their efforts to root out the vestiges of pre-Columbian Aztec religious beliefs and practices. For the student of Aztec religion and culture is a valuable source of information.With great care and attention to detail Ruiz de Alarcón collected and recorded Aztec religious practices and incantations that had survived a century of Spanish domination (sometimes in his zeal extracting information from his informants through force and guile). He wrote down the incantations in Nahuatl and translated them into Spanish for his readers. He recorded rites for such everyday activities as woodcutting, traveling, hunting, fishing, farming, harvesting, fortune telling, lovemaking, and the curing of many diseases, from toothache to scorpion stings. Although Ruiz de Alarcón was scornful of native medical practices, we know now that in many aspects of medicine the Aztec curers were far ahead of their European counterparts."J. Richard Andrews and Ross Hassig have produced what will undoubtedly be the definitive translation for some time.. The editors provide a valuable and comprehensive explanation of the ecclesiastical context of the conquest, native religion and medicine, and religious syncretism."- THE AMERICAS ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

REVIEW of Alarcon's Treatise
REVIEW: If you have an interest in Mexica incantations, Mexica medicine, or first hand accounts of the every day life of the Mexica, this editorial team has translated one of the best source books you can find. Written in 1629 by Alcaron as a guide to understanding the Mexica religion and beliefs that were hampering the conversion of the Indians.

Alcaron's goal was to prepare other Catholic Priests by education of the past. Along the way, Alcaron wrote a fascinating collection of various incantations used by the Mexica for such things as blessing a fishing net to curing a broken heart. His attention to Mexica herbal medicine along with generous recent research by the editorial team, has combined to serve as a textbook on the subject.

The book is easily read and the incantations are in Nahuatl as well as paraphrased in English. Some of the more interesting incantations related are: About the Incantation and Spell of Those Who Rig Lime Kilns, About the Incantation or Witchcraft That They Use in Order to Hunt, Beginning with the Hunting of Fowls, About Fortune-telling with the Hands. Further contains a host of incantations for medical purposes including, belly pains, bone fractures, and others simple and complex illnesses.

Appendices attached to this book are full of information relating to place names and linguistic terms that will be of interest to a serious reader. Of interest is the attention to the breakdown of the meaning of the Nahuatl terms to the root level. This work will leave you questioning traditionally accepted terminology and academically accepted myth. ... Read more

Product Description
Mildred Kalish is a retired professor of English who grew up in Garrison, Iowa, and taught at several colleges. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Little Heathens was a great read!
This book was such a good read I bought it for my in-laws, who hail from Iowa farms during the Depression.They loved it too.

book review
Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a "hearty-handshake Methodist" family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish's memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like "quite a romp." ... Read more

Product Description
An amply illustrated description of the pre-history of Sweden. Translated from second Swedish edition by the author and the Rev. F.H. Woods. ILLUS. Maps.

THIS TITLE IS CITED AND RECOMMENDED BY:Books for College Libraries. ... Read more

Product Description
Richard North offers a complete revision of our view of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian paganism and mythology in the pre-Viking and Viking age. He discusses the pre-Christian gods of Bede's history of the Anglo-Saxon conversion with reference to a god known as Ingui. Using expert knowledge of comparative literary material from Old Norse-Icelandic and other Old Germanic languages, North reconstructs the slender Old English evidence in an imaginative and original treatment of poems such as "Deor" and "The Dream of the Rood." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

North nails it!
North has done his homework and put together a truly educational journey through history and literature. North clears the way to better understanding of the old Gods, their roots and the language used on the continent and in Anglo-Saxon England. He demonstrates how early historians and writers re-mapped and influenced so much of what modern scholars and Heathens hold dear by the way of Icelandic poems, sagas and other early writings. (Beowulf included) After reading this your eye and ear will be more the keener to any text you digest in your studies of Northern ways and history. If you are among the Vanir, this is a must read. If Woden is of interest to you, this is a must read. This book is indispensable.
Yes, pricey. Worth every dollar.

The most vital book on the subject in fifty years

North has done something no author has done with regard to his subject in far too long; he actually took the time to look into it and put forth his own thoughts instead of regurgitating the works of others. (Most notably Stanley's "search for AS paganism")Just when I thought there was little ground left to break on the subject, along comes North's book and challenges long held and long overlooked aspects of Anglo Saxon pagan belief. From the onset of the book to the final chapter on Paulinus and the Stultus Error (which is brilliant I would like to add)I did not set this book down once.A must have for the student of Anglo Saxon culture and Theodisc Heathens alike.Brilliant work from a brilliant scholar.Wes thu Peter North hal! ... Read more

Product Description
Heathen Slaves and Christian Rulers is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, but not complete.
This is a great guide for assembling different Northern magic practices into a coherent practice.It does not contain any really deep information on these required skills, however.If you already have experience in Rune magic, Seidr, shamanic journeying, etc... then you can jump right in.If not, be prepared to study those subjects first.

guide to galdr
This book is a great guide to galdr and other asatru subjects. these folk have a different view of the world tree than most other asatruers but don't insist that their view is the only one.Great book

Galdrbok
I have thoroughly enjoyed the book.It is interesting, informative and has an easy style.The information is invaluable for any Anglo Saxon heathen and a MUST if you follow the path or even wish to have a greater understanding of what makes us as we are.This is the Shamanism based on the Anglo Saxon or Northern European culture and it is great to have this information. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (16)

TONGUE IN CHEEKLEFT WING SARCASTIC ESSAY ON ESCHATALOGY
A CONTEMPORARY TOPIC(RAPTURE) DESCRIBING RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES WHO 'WILL NOT'MAKE THE RAPTURE

A TONGUE IN CHEEK ORSARCASTICESSAY ON MATTERS OF ESCHATOLOGY FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION IN THE BIBLE

BORDERS ON HERETICAL DEFINITIONS OF STANDARD OLD AND CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS OF 'WHEN WILL THE RAPTURE OCCUR AND WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE ?

A very poor attempt at humor.
I should have read the description of the author: "Jim Gerrard is (a)...stand-up comic." Reading it is almost like listening to a bad comic tell bad jokes and not being smart enough to know that the shtick is over. This book is half-informative, half stupid jokes and all bad. Many times, a paragraph will start out serious and I think I'm going to learn something but then it turns into a bad joke. F'rinstance, "To boil down Revelation, it's God going postal on the unrepentant and an awful wicked beast ruling the whole world while flipping God the bird." All of the jokes are bad. At least all of the jokes in the first two chapters were bad. That's all I could take.
Every once in a while you find a book that makes you think, How did the author find a publisher to put up the money to print this book." This is one of those books.

Witty Rapturemania
Jim Gerard takes a look at Rapture culture in an incredibly hilarious way. Gerard peels open the layers of Rapturemania with wit, sarcasm, humor, and facetiousness that are sure to many any Armageddonist laugh at their own beliefs. Gerard gives the reader a taste of what is actually believed mixed in with slap-your-knees humor and stiletto-style wit that shows belief in a Rapture and Armageddon to be what they really are: downright silly. Gerard's look into the Second Coming, Rapture, End Times, and Armageddon is equally enlightening as it is humorous. Beam Me Up, Jesus is a wonderful coffee table book and must-have for any collection.

not very good
The impression I got of this book was that it was a humourous look at the Christian 'end of the world' or book of Revelations. But it just wasn't funny and was rather weak. To be honest, I don't think I got 25 pages.

Not what I expected, and not in a good way
No, I'm not a Christian rapture-ist and I actually wanted very much to like this book. After all, the size and influence of the fundamentalist Christian movement in this country are immense, apparently extending all the way into the White House and the Oval Office. I know this is just my own humble opinion, but I find this scary and depressing.

So I do believe that a good, clear, *well-researched* "guide to the Rapture" by a non-believer would be timely and useful to those of us who don't embrace the notion that one day Jesus will issue a call and naked believers' bodies will fly upward toward heaven, etc., not to mention the roles of the "mark of the beast" and the rest of the nonsense contained in the Book of Revelations.

And yes, this book could be humorous, but in my own view, most of the humor would derive naturally from the peculiarity of the doctrines and beliefs that comprise Rapture Christianity. Instead, however, author Jim Gerard has apparently done only a small amount of research and then has embellished his meager findings with a whole lot of kooky commentary and absurdist tangents. It's a kind of Dave Barry-esque treatment, and for me it just did not work. In some places it's actually difficult to differentiate between what is truly strange or funny about the Rapture community and what is merely "schtick" added by Gerard to beef up his chapters and evoke readers' guffaws.

Some people obviously enjoy this type of humor, and hey, more power to 'em. I just found the book to be unacceptably thin on actual material and way, way too long on contrived one-liners.

... Read more

Product Description
Carey was an early 19th century missionary and Baptist minister. He was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society. He is credited with translating the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and many other languages. Carey states that in order to spread the word of God it is first necessary to understand the religion of the world. Carey believed it is necessary to understand sin and how it has spread. Carey proposes that we look at the state of the world and then decide what more a Christian can do to enhance the Christian way of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A mission book from 1792! From the Father of Modern Missions
An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen by William Carey was first printed by Ann Ireland in 1792. The original 1792 edition contains antiquated spelling and old grammar and language construction, but is still very readable. This had just 86 pages and consisted of a little more than 25,300 words.

The full title of William Carey book (1792) is: An Enquiry to the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen. In Which the Religious State of the Different Nations of the World, the Success of Former Undertakings, and the Practicability of Further Undertakings, are Considered.

William Carey's book is very enjoyable and a fascinating insight into the man who became the `Father of Modern Missions,' Carey inspired the founding of the first mission society in the world and I am sure his book gave extra credence to its cause. Carey was Baptist minister and cobbler and school teacher (to supplement his meagre income who went onto spend 40 years in India as a missionary, translator / scholar, amongst other things and founded the Serampore Mission near Calcutta.

The book is split into five sections:
1. An Enquiry whether the Commission given by our Lord to his Disciples be not still binding on us - This is all about our responsibility to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth - the Good News, the Great Commission.
2. Containing a Short Review of former Undertakings for the Conversion of the Heathen -
This is an oversight of the Gospel advance from the disciples throughchurch history up till the Moravians and Wesley.
3. Containing a Survey of the present State of the World - This is split into four parts: Europe, Asia, Africa, and America which is sub split into various countries (many of which have since had name changes) and Carey then proceeds with their population (some of which is estimated), type of civilization, and religion which is divided into Christian, Jewish, Muslim and pagan. Section 3 is a most gallant effort when one man gathered all the `known' information of the world and put it all together.
4. The Practicability of something being done, more than what is done, for the Conversion of the Heathen - Carey goes on to give examples from history how barbarian Briton was converted amongst other nations and states that if we can be civilised then so can any nation and people. THEN Carey proceeds how to go about it, being inspired in his writings by the Moravian Missionaries. Mission colonies should be planted, consisting of two married men with other families joining them in the practical support of the colony. This whilst some get on with the spiritual aspect of the work, others support those on the front line of missions. Carey also talks about language acquisition, planting seeds, knowledge of the soil, husbandry etc, and a give us a number of implements and seed to take, though only a brief mention of the spiritual state of missionaries - those of piety etc.!
5. An Enquiry into the Duty of Christians in general, and what Means ought to be used, in order to promote this Work - Carey says we must relay heavily upon prayer and the outpouring of the Spirit in the latter days for the advancement of the Gospel and a BIG AMEN to that. And the finances needed for the job and calls for a tithe towards this great work of missions, as well as asking other denomination to make their own mission society and that individual groups can also have societies at home where the Gospel is preached. Carey ends on the note of future rewards in heaven as an additional incentive to get up and get going towards to the work of missions.

Within section 1 and 5 there is many answers to objections - undoubtedly, what Carey had heard said amongst the fraternal of fellow ministers of Northampton and the general opinion of the day. That if God wants to save the heathen, He can do it without our help! This view, whilst totally unscriptural was the predominant Calvinist view that straggled the life of Christian responsibility whilst throwing everything onto God's Sovereignty.

The book also covers / mentions where the 12 disciples went, Paul's four journeys, missionaries to Britain, France, Germany, Persia, China etc.Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Eliot, Brainerd, Ziegenbalg, numerous statistics, impediments to the spread of the Gospel. How to be a missionary - eat local food, expect hardships, take corn and cattle! Pray for an effusion of the Holy Spirit, last days outpouring of God's Spirit, the spread of civil and religious liberty, a diligence use of means, prayer and work, contributing towards missions, tithing, penny subscriptions and a neat little reference to the boycott of West-Indian sugar because of its amoral means of procurement - via slavery, thus use that money, or a portion towards missions.

Modern missions How to Plan, Prepare and Successfully Complete Your Short-Term Mission

Pragmatically Biblical
This succinct investigation, defense, and practical application of Biblical principles is well worth the money and more. It will remain as a timeless testament to God's unfailing devotion to bring a fallen world to worship at His feet. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: London : C.H. KellyPublication date: 1895Subjects: Missionaries, WomenNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
Today, most intellectuals agree that (a) Christianity has profoundlyinfluenced western culture; (b) members from different cultures experiencemany aspects of the world differently; (c) the empirical and theoretical studyof both culture and religion emerged within the West.The present study argues that these truisms have implications for theconceptualization of religion and culture. More specifically, the thesis isthat non-western cultures and religions differ from the descriptions prevalentin the West, and it is also explained why this has been the case. The authorproposes novel analyses of religion, the Roman `religio', the construction of`religions' in India, and the nature of cultural differences. Religion isimportant to the West because the constitution and the identity of westernculture is tied to the dynamic of Christianity as a religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

most misunderstood
This work is most misunderstood by those who approvingly cite this, and by those who criticize this work. This misunderstanding has nothing to do with the structure of the book, but everything to do with the nature of any scientific hypothesis. The author has *not* criticized the concept 'religion' because the latter is western:do we think the concept of positron is western?And this book is not a critique of essentialism: entire natural sciences are `essentialistic.' `culture' is not monolithic; of course, species is not monolithic either, yet is amenable to study.What properties of Christianity are ones by virtue of which Christianity is a religion? Here Sweet Willman, in his criticism of the book, presumed that the properties of Christianity = the properties of religion. There are others who criticize it because it conflicts with their intuition.Of course, the author explained the necessity of experiencing religion in India.

Coming back to what the book does: the author identified a set of problems through historical research. Any theory of religion has to solve these problems.The author proposed a hypothesis of religion that solves these problems, and further explains the experience of believers; that shows why one can't study, say, Christianity as religion without being a believer. Then it is showed, one is compelled to do theology in order to study Christianity as a world view. Given this, the author shifted the study to a different level of abstraction: religion as that which generates a configuration of learning. This hypothesis sheds light on various issues: skepticism of Antiquity; origin of natural sciences in the West; vacuous debates of all sorts of relativism; cultural differences; theories of actions; etc. In other words, this theory does generate more problems, and can solve the same problems-in the long run.

The author nowhere did mention that `Hinduism', `Buddhism' etc. are not `something' else but not religions; whatever conceptual gestalts these entities `Hinduism' etc. refer to are non-existent in the way unicorn is.

An excellent book: read it.
It is not often that one reads a book that changes one's outlookdrastically. This is one such book. I am really impressed. Sooner or later,the ideas propounded in this book will prove to be a major challenge tomany disciplines like anthropology, religious studies, and such like.

An excellent book: read it.
It is not often that one reads a book that changes one's outlookdrastically. This is one such book. I am really impressed. Sooner or later,the ideas propounded in this book will prove to be a major challenge tomany disciplines like anthropology, religious studies, and such like.

A Clear Stream of Reason
Although the theory on religion that is submitted in this book is generally found to be highly controversial, Balagangadhara's arguments are so strong that one cannot simply dismiss this theory as intellectual'spielerei'. His account identifies crucial constraints on Western thinkingabout other cultures and the social world in general, and convincinglyexplains why even 'giants and geniusses' have not been able to surmountthese constraints. I heartily recommend this fantastic book. In thelegendary words of one reader: "it might even change your worldview." ... Read more

Product Description
Overlooked and unavailable for more than forty years, Heathen Valley is an extraordinary novel, a book that surges with power, character, and insight. Romulus Linney's haunting and original work was born from the church histories of the Valle Crucis mission in western North Carolina. Told in four parts, it is a story set in an almost unknown valley, "Heathen, a Valley That Forgot God." With a quiet, muscular violence and biblical cadence that readers of Cormac McCarthy will recognize, Linney takes us into the 1850s, where an idealistic bishop from New England and a life-whipped, sorrowful transient named Starns struggle to win souls and transform the valley. Widely reviewed when it was first published in 1962 and selected as an alternate for the Book-of-the-Month Club, Romulus Linney's first novel, Heathen Valley, was never reprinted and has never before been in paperback. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Yeayah!
Freakin' coolest play ever.I loved it so much.So much drama.A bishop, a missionary, and an orphan try to help a group of heathens become better and have God in their life.They start to find religion, but not in the exact manner as the bishop would hope.After a while he gets upset and changes the church so that it is more Catholic and the town does not approve of this and they all go back to being Heathens again.It is a play about friendship, religion, betrayl, and finding your home.

"If I had a home, I would never leave it.I would keep it with me, always."
~Billy

Touching, worthwhile and fascinating story of Appalachia
If you are interested in the early American protestant church, Appalachian history, America in the 1830's, or a good, gripping story with real people, this is a great book.The author reconstructs a bishop's project ofbuilding a mission in an area that has forgotten God - folks who'sgrandparents fled the revolutionary war and became heathens.The storyreminds me of "The Education of Little Tree" but with teeth andwith a strong message. ... Read more

Product Description
This monograph is an original study of what is commonly termed the American "myth of Ham". It examines black and white Americans' recourse to the biblical character of Ham as a cultural strategy for explaining racial origins. Previous studies in the area have been restricted to associating the Hamitic idea with pro-slavery arguments, whereas the thesis of this project reveals a fundamental irony: black American Christians who reinforced the meanings of illegitimacy by appealing to Ham as the ancestor of the race.
... Read more