Organizations and Institutions Books

The Contentious Triangle is a tribute for Harvard Professor emeritus George Huntston Williams. Contrary to what Amazon.com lists in their entry for the volume, the editors are actually Rodney L. Petersen and Calvin Augustine Pater, and it is in honor of his 85th birthday, rather than his 90th. Both the scholarship and the contributors of this book are first rate. Contributors include Jaroslav Pelikan, Peter Gomes, J. Bryan Hehir, Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy, Harold O.J. Brown, Heiko Oberman, and Demetrios Trakatellis, among others. This group of internationally repected church historians, church leaders, philosophers and theologians write on subjects that span the history of the church, in the spirit of Williams own overarching perspective of the discipline.

I saw this book out of the corner of my eye as I was rushing through the church bookstore on my way home from yet another sunday service. It caught my attention, and even though I had been on many short term mission trips to China before (and thus had a sound knowledge of modern day China), I was compelled to buy this book and read it.

I'm certainly glad that I did. This book provides a balanced and in-depth view of China and Christianity today. It answers the questions many of us have about modern-day China and the role we have to play in it's future.

Don't read this book expecting your life to be the same afterwards. You will be challenged to the core. You will find yourself called to live a life of action - a life of passion.

The continuing heartcry for China goes on... Can you hear the call?

This is a fine history of a particular convent/religious order (the Angelicas) in Milan from its origins in 1530 to around 1630 in detail, and then a quick epilogue to its suppression in 1810 and refounding in 1879. While there is lots of good, primary source information about the convent itself, in many ways the convent history is a springboard to larger issues of the day -- various class and gender issues, along with a general look at Milan, church politics, etc. I found it particularly interesting because I have always viewed the Tridentine enclosure as a positive, freeing act for the nuns. This book, however, has a slightly different, though quite fairly and well delineated take on it.

I should also comment that the book seemed especially well written to me. The author has a good command of words and I look forward to any future work she may produce.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the period, in general, and gender or Church history in particular.

This is a great book, a collection of interviews with Josemaria Escriva. The interviews were written at different time's and for different publications.

Pedro Rodriguez for Parabra
Peter Forbarth for Time Magazine
Jacques Guilleme-Brulon for Le Figaro
Tad Szulc for the New York Times
Enrico Zuppi & Antonio Fugardi for L'Osservatore della Domenica
Andres Garrigo for Gaceta Universitaria
Pilar Salcedo for Teva
And a homily given by Escriva October 8th 1967

These articles will give you a very clear view of Josemaria's vision and mission for members of Opus Dei, for how they can sanctify work, be sanctified and sanctify others through their work.

This collection will be a great introduction to Escriva's though and the work.

This is a glorious book of photographs, taken by Claudia Yvonne Wiens over an eight-month period in Egypt in 2001. Wiens has done many photographic studies and projects in this area. Unlike many books on communities in Egypt and other Middle-Eastern nations, this one does not concentrate on ancient sites and pyramids and tombs, but rather on the living culture and people who make up the community of Coptic Christians.

Coptic Christianity has a pedigree as old as any branch of Christianity, arising in the southern Roman imperial provinces, largely continuing in Egypt after the rise of Islam, the East/West split, and into the modern times. Coptic Christianity is very much a part of the lives of the people, and symbols and reminders of this are everywhere present as people live their lives in the larger Muslim society.

Wiens looks at everyday life, special events such as marriage, and religious/monastic life. This is a fascinating study, without much commentary, although the narratives attached do fill in lots of details.

A beautiful text!

Gawdat came to my college this summer and taught about Coptic Art History using this book. The course was just wonderful and Gawdat is a great teacher. The book is very well written, and readable even for someone like me who knows almost nothing about Coptic monasteries and art. The book makes you want to learn more, and there are plenty of references for exploring topics further. The book provides more up to date information than many sources, including information not found in the Coptic Encyclopedia (from 1991). The text is highly readable, but not dumbed down. The book is short, but informative, and has some good color photos of the art and architecture from each monastery. Also included are groundplans and maps. The information is relevant for any scholar of medieval and/or Coptic art history, and is useful also for visitors travelling to Egypt. You'll definitely want to visit at least one of these monasteries in addition to the pyramids if you go to Egypt. All in all, a good book for people new to Coptic art and great for those who are scholars as well. The text is written in an art historical style. I highly recommend this book for students of art history, especially if you are at all interested in the beginnings of monasticism and medieval art history.

My predecessor recommended this book and let me borrow her copy. I immediately knew I needed my own copy. I hope he comes out with an updated version (as some things in this field change with the economic times) soon. BUY IT!

In Creating New Schools: How Small Schools Are Changing American Education, Evans Clinch has assembled informative contributions from sixteen educational scholars and experts who share their critical views of the standards and testing movement; as well as explore the major reform issues currently facing American educational institutions. Their collective wisdom is sound in its consideration of the difficulties with implementing educational reforms in the fact of structural and ideological limitations. Creating New Schools is both a survey of the role small schools are playing in influencing American educational practices and expectations, it also offers cogent, balanced advice for those seeking to understand or inspire educational reform within their own educational facilities and programs.

I think this book does a very good job examining the origins of NATO. Definitely worth buying. Definitely.

This is one of the few books on school improvement that is written from a practitioner's experience coupled with solid research. As an educator, I know that the real challenge is translating research into manageable practice. If that is your goal, get this book. No one has the whole story on this topic but for educators, parents, board members and all those who work at genuinely making progress in our schools this is an essential book.