Most Popular Book Reviews
02/17/2006
A number of introductions to the Bahá'í Faith have been published over the years. In English, the best-known are Esselmont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era and Hatcher and Martin's The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion. Books such as these set forth in straightforward fashion the basic facts about the history, teachings, and organization of the Bahá'í Faith. The newest entry in the category, Bahá'í: The New Vision by Lisa Janti, takes a rather different approach.
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08/22/2009
In her biography of Canadian Bahá'í Laura R. Davis, author Marlene Macke gives us a well-researched and very readable look at the development of the Faith in Canada and the key figures that carried forward that development.
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06/07/2008
I'm terrible at keeping diaries. If I had been alive when 'Abdu'l-Bahá was touring the United States, I would have been tagging alongside Him, just like that woman whose sister yelled at her for sitting at the feet of Jesus instead of helping her in the kitchen. I wouldn't have written down a single thing. So it's a good thing there were people like Agnes Parsons!
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02/02/2008
I first read this classic narrative of life in German-occupied Holland not long after it was first published, in the early 1970s, while we were vacationing at a cousin's house. Corrie ten Boom's story of how she came to be part of the Dutch underground, how her family hid Jews from the Nazis, and how her family's secret eventually was discovered and they were sent first to prison, where her father died, and then to a concentration camp where her sister would die, made a great impression on my fourteen-year-old self.
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The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus
01/19/2008
Jacques-Yves Cousteau has gone on to his work in the Abhá Kingdom, but for some of us fond childhood memories include eagerly awaiting his next TV show. At the age of eight, from my grandparents' house in Florida, I imagined an exciting career in oceanography, featuring trips to the bottom of the Marianas Trench and months living in Sealab. Well, everybody knows I didn't become an oceanographer, but I still love Jacques Cousteau and the marvelous gift he gave us all—the knowledge of our very own Ocean.
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Taking Action in a Changing World
10/20/2006
Everybody should read this book, right now! This book is for everyone who has struggled to get their community involved. This book is for everyone who has looked at social projects being carried out elsewhere and wondered "why can't we do something like that here?"
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07/28/2006
Among the key themes found in the Bahá'í Writings, the Covenant Bahá'u'lláh established with His followers is among the most crucial. References to the Covenant and to the importance of firmness of the Covenant can be found in all of the major works of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Study of the nature and features of the Covenant is therefore important for every Bahá'í.
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07/26/2002
If a Christian could hand-pick a Bahá'í to answer questions about the Bahá'í Faith, Thom Thompson might well head the list of candidates. The son of a Methodist minister, Thompson experienced salvation in Christ at the age of sixteen and attended seminary in preparation for a career in the ministry. In his twenties, he learned of the Bahá'í Faith and, after a sometimes difficult spiritual search, discovered in Bahá'u'lláh the return of Christ "in the glory of the Father."
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Praise His Name: A Music Review
12/31/2009
Walter Heath's collection of Bahá'í devotional music, Praise His Name, is a rich blend of prayer, melody, and harmony infused with spirit. Elizabeth Lehman reviews this powerful CD.
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12/27/2009
Serge van Neck's new book explores the similarities and differences between the Bahá'í Faith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). As a Bahá'í married to a Mormon, van Neck is in a unique position to present both faiths in a clear and positive light while demonstrating the commonalities that can help bridge the gap.
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Legacy of Courage: The Life of Ola Pawlowska
03/06/2009
The life of Ola Pawlowska, a Polish woman who arose to fulfill one of the goals of Shoghi Effendi's "Ten Year Crusade" is told by her daughter in Legacy of Courage. But this book is more than just biography. It's inspiration!
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04/04/2008
This may seem to be an unusual book to review in a column appearing in a Bahá'í publication. After all, Bahá'ís are supposed to be interested in peace. But it is clear from current world events that armed chaos is not going to stop overnight, and the problems to which force is nowadays applied are vastly more complex than in previous ages.
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03/15/2008
Every religion begins with a story. The oldest religions tell stories overflowing with symbolism, profound yet probably far removed from actual history. More recent religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam tell stories that no doubt contain a mix of the historic and the symbolic. By contrast, the history of the Bahá'í Faith is fairly well-known and has been told many times in many ways.
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Spiritual Journey: The Bahá'í Faith
08/24/2007
Various good introductory books on the Bahá'í Faith are on the market, so it might seem that there is little need for another. Yet every so often someone finds a special way to present the fundamentals of the religion, often geared to a particular audience. With over 30 years experience in education as a teacher, counselor, and administrator, I. Walter Tunick presents us with a new approach to Bahá'í fundamentals, this one geared towards the study of the religion.
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06/29/2007
The Chalice of Life is the beginning of a long journey for seven strangers who join forces to save their home land from a terrible fate. Bahá'í author Karen Anne Webb brings together a sorceress, a thief, a bard, a warrior, a healer-priest, a Tigroid, and a shape-shifter to find a lost prince who is the key to bringing peace and order to their world.
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