Friday, January 1, 2010

“Book Reviews - Egypt Today” plus 4 more

“Book Reviews - Egypt Today” plus 4 more

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Book Reviews - Egypt Today

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 05:19 AM PST


Heliopolis: Rebirth of the City of the SunAgnieszka Dobrowolska and Jaroslaw Dobrowolski, AUC Press, 2006


Five thousand pounds and a dream. That's all it took for Belgian Baron Edouard Empain to go ahead with his 'green oasis in the desert.' Today, walking down the magnificently tree-lined streets, under impressive buildings emanating a palpable aura of history and tradition, it's hard to believe Heliopolis was nothing more than a desert plateau just over 100 years ago.

Agnieszka Dobrowolska and Jaroslaw Dobrowolski's beautifully crafted Heliopolis: Rebirth of the City of the Sun pays the perfect tribute to the leafy suburban city, succinctly encapsulating a century of history without bearing down on the reader with a ton of unnecessary facts. Indeed, 'Heliopolitans are likely to tell you there is actually very little to be gleaned from this book, with barely a few snippets of information they didn't already know.

For those who have a passion for architecture, however, this book is a treasure trove of information. It traces at length the technical process by which the city came to be, the local and international architectural influences, while highlighting Heliopolis' major landmarks: The Cairo Palace Hotel (then the largest in the world), the Basilica and of course the palatial residential buildings.

The work is broken up into five sections, the most enjoyable of which is the chapter entitled "The People Speak." Flip first to this series of mini-profiles of veteran Heliopolitans who talk fondly of their personal experiences of living in the Sun City. Meet Edward the bartender at perennial favorite Le Chantilly, diamond tycoon Berge Touloumbadijian and photography buff Emad Baki, from whom many of the book's illustrations come.

Dobrowolska and Dobrowolski — themselves Heliopolis residents for 15 years — approached the European Union to help fund this AUC Press publication. The couple's passion for the city permeates every page of the book, with an impressive cache of antique and present-day photographs lovingly arranged alongside reprints of official documents, plans and permits.

There is one glaring inconsistency readers are sure to immediately pick up the minute they turn to the last page. Despite the "Rebirth" touted in the title of the work, there is very little mention of any "rebirth" save for the work done in the run-up to the 2005 centennial celebrations. In fact, Heliopolis makes a point of chronicling how over the years the turn-of-the-century villas have been torn down for nondescript residential blocks, its streets jam-packed with traffic day and night and its once-abundant greenery eaten up by expanses of concrete. If anything the book ends on more of a sad note — nostalgia for Baron Empain's long-gone oasis in the desert. (NM)

MuntahaHala El-Badry, translated by Nancy Roberts, AUC Press, 2006

Hala El-Badry's deft attention to detail is the hallmark of her fifth novel, Muntaha. Famous for A Certain Woman (AUC Press, 2003), which was awarded the prize for best novel of 2001 at the Cairo International Book Fair, El-Badry's descriptive prose exudes the cool, damp scent of the Egyptian countryside — one can almost hear the crickets chirping in the distance as the story unfolds.

Set in a village, the book opens with a return and an escape. There is a truce in the 1948 Palestine War and Rushdy Al Musaylihi (brother of the village mayor, Taha) returns in the middle of the night. As Taha gets up to greet him, he catches Bashir — the household coffee server — sleeping with one of the servant girls. Naked, Bashir rushes up to the roof where Taha locks him up in a shed, only to be released by Taha's sister Ni'ma.

This dramatic opening serves a double purpose; it throws the reader straight into the heart of domestic life in Egypt on the one hand, and puts a spotlight on the dynamics of gender relations on the other. In El-Badry's unique handling of these intricate bonds, she creates a whole spectrum of characters corresponding to a range of social standards.

The village and the trials and tribulations of the mayor's family represent a microcosm of Egyptian political life during the turbulent events that led to the end of British presence in Egypt.

Despite the lucid English version, much is lost in translation. Native Arabic speakers — especially Egyptians — will catch themselves doing instant interpretations in their heads as they read this colorful portrait of rural life. The images are not only true to life, but will resonate with anyone who has even the most superficial experience of that unique culture — even if only through Ramadan soap operas. (RM)

Scribbling the CatAlexandra Fuller, Penguin Press, 2004

Author Alexandra Fuller's first book, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, recounts her childhood in Zimbabwe (the former Rhodesia), during its civil war. Her second book, again set in south-eastern Africa but this time revolving around her adult adventures and musings, begins with a visit to her family's home in Zambia. Fascinated by her parents' mysterious neighbor and further enticed by her father's warning that "curiosity scribbled the cat" ("scribble" is Afrikaans slang for "kill"), Fuller befriends the reclusive neighbor, a white Rhodesian war veteran whom she simply calls 'K.'

Troubled by her own past experiences, namely guilt for her unconscious involvement in the war, Fuller hopes to find answers by journeying with K through the shateen (the African back country) of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

As the trip progresses, she quickly discovers that although she and K have similar roots (both grew up in Africa), 30 years of civil war have scarred them, and the people they encounter, in remarkably different ways. While K relies on his faith to deal with moments of weakness, personal demons and nightmarish war memories, some of his war comrades have turned to alcohol and isolation, and the locals attempt to mend emotional wounds as they struggle to economically survive. All of this is in sharp contrast to Fuller's current place in life as an American "mommy," which seems at times superficial and unfulfilling.

Through vivid prose, unique description and the incorporation of Afrikaans and local Shona slang, Fuller brings to life the realities of Rhodesia's war, complete with personal pains and victims' scars, without delving too much into political history. It is her own connection, interaction and relationship with K that the story revolves around.

Although married, Fuller is attracted to K. She's enamored by his power and rugged handsomeness, and mesmerized by his contradictions. He can be both violent and emotionally vulnerable, cruel and generous, repentant and angry. But Fuller sees him as a decent man, a man troubled by war-fueled rage, a failed marriage and painful memories of the death of an only son.

His newfound Christianity provides him with only partial absolution. Gradually, K confesses the sins of his past soldier self to Fuller, unknowingly turning the trip into a journey of atonement for her complicity as a white girl in Rhodesia's war of white supremacy.

K reminisces grimly about his war deeds, tales involving nightmarish tortures and gruesome murders from his days of leading soldiers through the bush to launch attacks on forces hostile to the Rhodesian government. His emotional testaments cause the duo to cover as much mental landscape as physical African bush country but in the end it is unclear if these confessions hurt or healed K. The story seems to be less a tale of reconciliation, and in fact, more an account and warning of what can happen when a person tries to look too closely into their own past. (NAS)

The Loved OnesAlia Mamdouh, AUC Press, 2006

In a Paris hospital behind door number 44 lies Suhaila, in a coma, and unaware of the world around her. Her close friends and son, Nader, fly from all around the world to stand by her, watching and hoping that she will recover, immersed in their stories and letters.

The Loved Ones, by Alia Mamdouh, clearly portrays Suhaila's pre-Paris life through the eyes of her son. Suhaila comes alive for the reader as we find out about her past: an abusive husband, her exile from her home country of Iraq, a difficult and painful separation from her only son and a love for dancing and the arts in general.

Suhaila's close friends crowd around her bed to exchange stories and reminisce about the lives they had shared with her. They read passages from her diary of her days spent in Paris, illustrating her vibrant personality, the pain and hurt she has endured, and the strong woman she has come to be — all the while hoping that if she has been able to endure all of that, she will make it through this.

Although it takes the reader a few chapters to realize what's going on and who the narrator is, the story does pick up in pace. Eventually more of Suhaila's history, including how she ended up in Paris, is unveiled. The relationship between Suhaila and her friends and each friend's perspective of her also becomes clearer as the story progresses.

Mamdouh, an Iraqi, has written many other books covering the Iraqi experience from different points of view, including: Layla wa Al-Dhib (Layla and the Wolf), Habbat Al-Naftalin (Mothballs) which was translated into seven languages, and Al-Wala (Passion). The Loved Ones, originally titled Al Mahbubat, received the Naguib Mahfouz Award in 2004. (YM)

Palestine: Peace not ApartheidJimmy Carter, Simon & Schuster, 2006

The number of books that have addressed the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is countless, but until a year ago none of them had ever been authored by a former United States president and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Jimmy Carter, who successfully negotiated the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1978, provides a unique vantage point through his book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. The politician's constant involvement in the region, even after leaving office, has resulted in insightful, first-hand knowledge and a deep understanding of the complex issues that need to be resolved in order to achieve comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Through vivid descriptions and humorous comments, Carter provides the reader with a behind-the-scenes look at his term in presidency, laying special emphasis on the Camp David negotiations between Sadat and Begin. Rather than offering a day-to-day account of that period, he focuses on the pertinent elements and factors that form the roots of the present crisis in the Middle East. Making excellent use of his personal notes taken during meetings with various Arab leaders, Carter proceeds to evaluate the main players in the conflict by briefly reviewing their historical background and assessing their respective influence on both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

In a chapter entitled "My Visits With Palestinians," Carter speaks from the heart about his regular trips to the region, giving poignant voice to the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation to air their grievances and talk about the suffering and injustice they face in their daily lives — not only at the hands of the Israeli military forces but also at the hands of the settlers.

In the second part of the book, Carter examines the Middle East peace process from its hopeful beginnings in 1993 until today's stalemate. He argues that any step-by-step approach to peace, such as the Oslo Agreement or the Roadmap for Peace, is doomed to fail because the Israelis typically use it as a stalling technique. Insisting on an endless list of preconditions that the Palestinians can never realize, he continues, they have simultaneously changed the reality on the ground to their advantage with the building of the Imprisonment Wall. The resulting frustration and desperation on the Palestinian side usually leads to acts of violence against the Israelis who in turn respond with more oppression and reprisals.

Carter identifies two interconnected factors that have allowed this tragic cycle to continue: "The condoning of illegal Israeli actions from a submissive White House and US Congress during recent years, and the deference with which other international leaders permit this unofficial US policy in the Middle East to prevail."

Carter instead calls for a more comprehensive strategy that allows for immediate final status negotiations and deals decisively with major postponed issues such as the settlements, permanent boundaries, the right of return of the Palestinians and the territory of Jerusalem.

Mixing sharp political analysis with candid personal impressions, Carter delivers a profound book that is, in its essence, a passionate plea for leaders on both sides to accept painful but inevitable political concessions, ignore extremists and militants and listen to the voice of the majority of their own citizens who merely crave a peaceful future. (IS)  et

Book reviews of 'Worse Than War' by Daniel Goldhagen and 'Stripping ... - Washington Post

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 05:26 AM PST

Genocide, Eliminationism, And the Ongoing Assault on Humanity

By Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

PublicAffairs. 658 pp. $29.95

STRIPPING BARE THE BODY

Politics Violence War

By Mark Danner

Nation. 626 pp. $28.95

Daniel Goldhagen is on the side of the victims of war, massacre and genocide. He hears their cries and sees their maimed bodies; most of all, he is outraged that the international community refuses to protect them. His ambitious new book, "Worse Than War," springs from an immersion in their sufferings and the heartfelt desire to end it.

But even victims -- or, perhaps, especially victims -- deserve books that are clearly argued and clearly written. "Worse Than War" is not that book.

The first problem is conceptual. Drawing on his controversial 1996 book, "Hitler's Willing Executioners," which argued that longstanding "eliminationist" anti-Semitism was a main cause of the Holocaust, Goldhagen now puts forth the idea that eliminationist violence is the main threat in the world today. In his view, eliminationism includes pretty much everything from actual genocides, such as the one in Rwanda, to the United States dropping the atom bomb on Japan, the dirty wars against the left in Chile and Argentina, South African apartheid and, currently, China's occupation of Tibet and Islamist terrorist attacks. Goldhagen's impatience with diplomats who dither over definitions of genocide is understandable. But by conflating so many incidents, movements and events -- all of which are (or were) very bad, yet all of which are very different -- he makes the eliminationist concept virtually meaningless. He's like a doctor who thinks it doesn't much matter whether you have cancer or AIDS.

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Taking stock - Frontline

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 07:49 AM PST

VENKATESH ATHREYA


A QUICK look at the distribution of Frontline stories by broad content groups brings out a few interesting features. In an exercise undertaken in-house, all the stories that have appeared in Frontline since the inception of the magazine were categorised as belonging to a few broad content groups. It needs to be kept in mind that some arbitrariness is inevitable in any such exercise at grouping.

The stories were initially classified into the following groups: National issues (primarily political issues); world affairs; economy; environment; gender; social issues; communalism; public health and medicine; education; science and technology; nuclear issues; history; judiciary; culture; and others (a residual category).


Subsequently, some categories were combined. Gender, social issues, communalism, public health and medicine, education, history and judiciary were brought together under the category 'social and development issues'. Science and technology, nuclear issues and environment were combined into one group. Culture as a category was retained, but it must be noted that the bulk of this category consists of book reviews.

Table 1 shows the distribution of Frontline stories by the broad content groups. Several interesting points emerge from the table. First, Frontline must be rather unique among the print magazines in India and possibly elsewhere in that between half and three-fifths of all stories that appear have to do with national issues or global affairs.


Interestingly, the share of stories classified as concerning 'world affairs', after dipping from 22 per cent in 1985-89 to around 18 per cent during the 1990s, is back again in the decade of 2000-09 to the same level as in the second half of the 1980s. Even 18 per cent of all stories being on world affairs is extraordinary and brings out the importance rightly assigned by Frontline to keeping its readers informed of global developments through analytical articles and stories.

After an initial period of exceptionally generous coverage of issues relating to the economy, the share of stories relating to the economy has remained steady at around 5.5 per cent to 6 per cent. Keeping in mind the analytical character of Frontline stories on the economy, one can see that this is indeed a major contribution to public education. The share of stories on the environment, science and technology remain consistently significant at 7 to 8 per cent over the past two decades, after having been a little higher in the early period of Frontline.


Perhaps the most striking feature of the evolution of Frontline's story profile is the remarkable increase in the share of stories pertaining to social and development issues in recent years. This is brought out both in Table 1 and even more distinctly in Table 2, which compares the shares of stories classified into different content groups during the decades 1990-99 and 2000-09.

SOCIAL & DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

The information brought together in Table 2 shows the significantly greater share of stories on social and developmental issues in the current decade as compared with the 1990s. This can be interpreted as reflecting the widely shared concern over the social, political and gender dimensions of mass deprivation in India despite rapid economic growth.


It also reflects the impact of the widening and serious engagement of eminent social scientists and thinkers as well as activists and policymakers across the world with the social dimensions of development as much as with its economic dimensions. This is also reflective of Frontline's commitment to the creation of awareness and the promotion of reasoned discussion on such issues.


The fact that the political agenda in India, thanks to the active intervention of both the political Left and a large number of social movements, has expanded in recent times to include issues of gender, caste, education and health, should also be seen as a factor contributing to the changes under discussion. It is a fact, nevertheless, that such concerns rarely find prominent space or presence in most of the print media in India.

With inputs from S. Dorairaj, Romila Sudhakar and Sashikala Asirvatham

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Looking to Ramp Up Your Library Web Site? Try a Blog. - School Library Journal

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 06:30 AM PST

Does your library Web site feel a bit flat or just plain boring? Do you wish you could interact with students on your site and share more of your passion for learning? Then consider turning your site into a blog.

Blogging software lets you update your site easily and keep it current. LeighAnn McCready, teacher librarian at Milpitas (CA) High School, converted to a blog three years ago. "I created it when I initially arrived on campus because staff Web pages had to be submitted to the site webmaster and then converted to PDFs, which meant I couldn't have a dynamic page that changed often," she explains. "This [blog] was my workaround." New content, of course, appeals to students, accustomed as they are to Facebook, where content changes frequently via the news feed.

For a while, I'd been thinking that my library site had grown pretty static. Sure, I kept it updated, but I had this notion that the content had to somehow look the same each time students visited it. Meanwhile, I kept thinking of the dynamic sites that students use routinely and wondered if maybe I could ramp things up to really capture their interest and keep them coming by the library page more often.

I've been a devoted blogger for several years but it wasn't until this fall that it occurred to me—why not take my library site and make it a blog? So I took the plunge. I created a new front page for the library using blogging software, and voilà: an interactive and dynamic site that I was eager to share with the 2,400 students at my school, Westlake High, in Austin, Texas.

Prianka Ghoshal, a Westlake student, says that our new blog format is much more interactive. "At the old site, people mainly used the research links," she says. "On the new site I think students spend more time looking at 21st-century tools." These include fun stuff like polls, Flickr feeds, calendars, and visitor maps, which you can easily embed into a blog. Or how about posting YouTube videos of booktalks, CoveritLive for real-time chat or blogging, Slideshare presentations, or Animoto videos? All these elements can enliven your site and ramp up student interest.

Blog posts themselves are an opportunity to forge a meaningful connection. "I try to keep my post topics germane to my library, my campus, my school district, my profession, and my world," says Anna Koval, librarian at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, CA, whose site, Big House Library, was an SLJ Site of the Month. "And I try to mix it up, so that my local readers, especially my students, get a flavor for what's going on in the world, while my more far-flung readers get a taste for what's going on in Petaluma and the Bay Area, from my perspective, of course."

Getting started

The first step is to decide what features you'd like to have on your blog. Take a close look at other sites and note what appeals to you. (Below you'll find recommended sites based on blogs.) Then it's time to decide the blog's structure. What could function as more "fixed" content (like your database page)? What pages would you want to update frequently (a section on new books)? Again, visit other blogs to glean some ideas. For example, I pumped up our "About Us" page after reading the clever bio on author Libba Bray's blog.

Other possible pages you may want to include: database links; general research links (public or academic library sources, arranged by subject area); teacher projects/pathfinders; citation/copyright information; and your online catalog.

Choosing your software

There are several Web-based blogging tools to choose from, or your district's Web software may include a blog feature. Among the best-known online applications are Edublogs, Blogger, and Wordpress. Other options in simple blogging software include Tumblr, Weebly, and Posterous, which allows you to post from your phone.

Loaded with features, Edublogs is geared for the school community, which might make it more palatable to districts resistant to blogging. However, to eliminate advertising, the service now charges $4 a month. A popular choice among teachers, Edublogs does present a bit of a learning curve.

The Unquiet Librarian, a popular blog by Buffy Hamilton, a media specialist at Creekview High School in Canton, GA, runs on Wordpress, and she has found it very easy to use. I use Edublogs, and McCreary, Blogspot.

What next?
  1. Select your blog name and address (i.e. "mytitle.blogspot.com" or "mytitle.edublogs.org"). Here's your chance to devise a catchy URL, one that's easily remembered by students.
  2. Select a template from the choices provided. Choose carefully, as the page arrangement will make it easier or more difficult for your students to find things. Should it be two columns or three? Do you want extra pages displayed across the top or on the side? What colors will be easiest to read?
  3. Decide what type of content you want to include in your posts. Do you want to cover library events? How about sharing some helpful Web sites? Will you post student photos? (Some districts won't permit this.)

McCready's blog has a set schedule: book reviews on Monday, tech tips on Tuesday, and so on, or you can take a more flexible approach and feature events of the day. On my blog, I vary the posts and keep them topical. I've written up events like "World Kindness Week," for example, posted database widgets for students to try out, and featured movie tie-ins, as with the latest blockbuster in the Twilight saga, New Moon.

Some terms you need to know if you are completely new to blogging:

Pages versus posts. A post consists of time-sensitive new content, while a page is a separate, static element (i.e. the "About" page).

Moderated comments. You can choose to moderate comments on your blog, which means when people post a comment, it goes to your email for approval first. Unmoderated means visitor comments will post to your site automatically.

Widgets. A widget is an embeddable element, one that's usually dynamic, meaning it "does something." Picture a live poll, a database search box, or a box that displays your photos from Flickr—these are all widgets.

Built-in widgets are available for both Blogger (which calls them gadgets) and Edublogs, but you can also customize the ones you want. Edublogs has some helpful guides on using widgets.

Once you see what widgets can add to your site, you'll never go back to a static page again. One tool that I especially like, Clustrmaps, displays a world map showing the locations of visitors to your site. More widgets and examples of how they're used on library sites appear below.

What if your district doesn't permit blogging?

You have a few options. The first is to make a case for using blogs and, in particular, to showcase the library. The American Association of School Librarians' "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" or the "National Educational Technology Standards" of the International Society for Technology in Education can help support your cause. Examples of effective blogs can also help. The Blogging Libraries wiki is a good place to start, while Support Blogging provides another good list of choice sites. Then there's research to back you up. Don Tapscott's book Grown Up Digital (McGraw Hill, 2008) and the December 2009 study "Networked Learners" by the Pew Internet and American Life Project are two excellent resources worth citing.

If you're still prevented from using outside applications, reconsider the blog options within your district's software. Our platform, School Fusion, features a blogging tool, which some of our teachers use.

Even if you stay with a more standard page rather than switch to a blog, you can still dress up your site with dynamic elements. Polls, database widgets, calendars, Flickr photo feeds, and more can all be embedded. A changing array of photographs on your masthead can help freshen up your site, too. The idea is to make your Web presence more dynamic. It's not the same as a blog, of course, which allows for student comments, but some simple changes can help convey the look and feel of sites your students are used to. In Urbana, IL, the University Laboratory High School Library site is one example. There, librarian Frances Jacobson Harris has added the library's Twitter feed to the sidebar, giving a standard Web page a more contemporary feel.

Downsides of using a blog

Your blog may not be able to be viewed by schools that block them. There are, thankfully, fewer and fewer of these situations, but if you intend for your site to be viewed by all, it's something to consider.

Foremost, however, is the issue of time. Maintaining a current library Web page with frequently updated posts requires a lot of attention. But if you're using a Web-based application, you can update your blog from any location at any time, even, as Koval does, in the "wee hours" of the morning.

I think you'll find the benefits of blogging well worth the effort, with the potential of transforming your library presence into an actual destination for students, and one which represents all you and the media center have to offer. Hamilton says her blog serves as "a platform for sharing library news, celebrations, resources, and events of interest with students, teachers, and our library community." To Koval, "[a blog] is a wonderful way to document what I do without blowing my own horn. I can print out my posts for the year and include them in my annual report to my principal," she says.

Using a blog as your library site can inform students—and administrators—about the many activities going on in your library and the varied curriculum and interests you support, all while functioning as a practical tool for student research. Perhaps best of all, a blog conveys to your students and staff your own passion for learning.

Recommended library sites:

Milpitas High School Library
Librarian LeighAnn McCready livens up her site with the help of a number of elements, including widgets for LibraryThing and the library's subscription databases.

Big House Library
Librarian Anna Koval engages students at the site of the Casa Grande High School Library. Check out the fun polls, photos and videos, and a nice "About Us" page.

Westlake High School Library
Our library blog offers links and promotes events , while using sidebar widgets like polls and Flickr photo feeds; we create 24/7 access with our "Talk to us" page.

Kansas Libraries on the Web project
On the public library side, this project helps small public libraries create their own simple library blog sites.

Park County Library System
A conversational style and a clean layout distinguish this small public library's page.

Stillwater Free Library
Nice use of social networking icons, events listing, and Meebo live chat features.

Stevens Memorial Library
A simple, clean layout allows this library to feature its library events and services.

Some helpful widget sites:

Clustrmaps Allows you to display world map showing location of visitors to your site.
Polldaddy Allows the easy creation of embeddable polls and surveys; free
Flickr Photo hosting site that has an embeddable live feed; as you update photos of your library on Flickr, it updates on your Web site automatically
Delicious A social bookmarking service that stores your bookmarks online; you can create sets of bookmarks for students, which can then be displayed on your site.
Shelfari, LibraryThing Two services that allow you to create an online library of books. Use the services' widgets to embed photos of your "bookshelf" on your site.
Google Calendar Allows you to embed your library calendar, or any Google calendar.

These library blog pages are excellent examples of the power of using widgets:
Unquiet Library HarperCollins book jackets, subscribe feature.
National Cathedral School DC Shelfari, embedded videos.
Plymouth Regional High School Flickr/Twitter examples.
Veteran's Park Academia Media Blog Meebo chat box.
Big House Library Google translate, polls.
Milpitas High School Library Embedded Delicious bookmarks.
Westlake High School Library Clustrmaps, polls.


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Tumnus’s Bookshelf:The NarniaFans Book reviews. “A Year With CS ... - Narnia Fans.com

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 07:00 AM PST

Hey everybody! Welcome back to Tumnus's Bookshelf where we review any and all books by and about CS Lewis and the world of Narnia. Today we will be looking at the devotional book "A Year With CS Lewis" edited by Patricia Klein.

 

Title: A Year With CS Lewis

Author: CS Lewis

Editor: Patricia Klein

Publisher: HarperOne

ISBN-10: 0060566167

ISBN-13: 978-0060566166

Review

                Collecting brief excerpts form some of CS Lewis's most profound works, A year with CS Lewis is a handy devotional guide providing 365 day by day readings from one of the 20th centuries Greatest arm chair theologians, CS Lewis.

Summary:

CS Lewis's books make for the perfect companions to read during a devotional time, so it is only fitting that some excerpts form his own writings be collected into a handy, concise devotional book. A Year With CS Lewis is one of two devotional books out there containing his writings, and it is a very wonderful collection. Best of all, unlike many daily devotional books, there is an extra reading for the month of February to be read on Leap Day when that fourth year rolls around.

The daily readings come from Mere Christianity, Problem of Pain, A Greif Osberved, The Weight of Glory , miracles and Abolition of Man. Of his fiction, only The Screwtape Letters, and The Great Divorce faces are represented, perhaps because they have far more direct theological insights for a devotional guide then say the Narnian Chronicles, the Space Trilogy or Till We Have Faces. While the absence of his fiction writings, especially Narnia, may sadden many fans, in a way it reminds readers that there was much more to Lewis then just Narnia.

Many of Lewis's more challenging essays are also featured in this collection, and that is one of the things that make it so great .instead of just throwing readers a few soft balls, the editors wisely chose to make this collection as thought provoking as Lewis's texts themselves. After all, devotional time should not just be about happy warm feelings, but also broadening your mind for Christ and for thinking deeply about Him and His ways.

Also editor Patricia Klein includes on certain days trivia pertaining to CS Lewis. For fans wondering what day he was born, the year a specific book by CS Lewis was published or when he married Joy or even when Charles Williams, Owen Barfield or JRR Tolkien were born this book includes all of those facts.

For the most the excerpts appear as is. Every so often material is truncated, but it doesn't damage the overall flow of the point of the expert and in fact helps it for its devotional purpose. The point and the message of Lewis's writing is still intact and it will only enhance the readers devotional experience. Klein has done an exceptional job both to CS Lewis and his fans in putting this collection together.  I have used my copy for the past nine years and I am sure for other readers as well that it will become a treasured and valuable part of their daily quiet times.

Five out of Five Shields

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