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If there were, in fact, such a thing as Churchillian beach reading, Chasing Churchill would be it. The book begins deliciously with an anecdote describing the author's trip with her grandfather on the world-famous Christina - a voyage that marked the beginning of the epic love affair between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis. Wow! From the clothes to the food to the conversation, every detail drips with elegance. From there, though, the book loses steam, for the Christina story is by far the most interesting and well written. Perhaps because it's the only story related from the author's own memories. Other content comes in three forms: rehashing of accounts of Churchill's travels… Read more
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Pastor Lutzer has written his debunking of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" more or less to serve people who already agree with him. Condescending and dismissive, Lutzer asserts that willful misunderstandings of the issues presented in Brown's novel in general and the Gnostic gospels in particular are as common as "Elvis sightings". And this from a man who claims to wish to serve Christians in their quest to clear up questions raised by the novel! It seems he is only interested in those who cease asking the questions in the first place - exactly the kind of attitude that has made the church vulnerable to phenomena like "The Da Vinci Code" in the first… Read more
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Margaret Joan Anstee's life reads like the script of an epic movie: financially challenged semi-rural childhood redeemed by her parents' commitment to educating their daughter (not at all common in the early part of the 20th century), the intervention of a few kind and well-connected teachers, and the serious smarts of Anstee herself. From rationing and loss associated with World War II to the hallowed halls of Oxford to just about every important geopolitical event of the latter half of the last century, Anstee brings to life the people and places that colored her life (and impacted the world!). Anstee writes with a sense of humor and bemusement. Relating an episode wherein she and a… Read more
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