Francis Books

..is how much FUN it is to read. This man wrote with such clarity and wit, I wish I had known about him much sooner, like in high school!

This is the ultimate apologetics guide. Or the ultimate personal spiritual guide. Read it even if you think you understand Catholicism. Among other things you will realize why God cannot be anything but a Trinity.

You may think you know your faith but you will still learn from Frank Sheed. He teaches: why we study theology, the Trinity,the nature of man, the sin of our origin,redemption,grace,virtue,gifts, Eucharist and Mass and so much more. He goes deeper than any teacher I ever had even at classses at seminary adult education classes. Give this book your full attention, take your time; take notes too. Make this book your New Year's resolution to learn more about your faith. You will not regret it.

I would strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the Catholic faith. It had answers to everything you would have a question about!

This is the best of class in Roman Catholic theology introductions. It provides a systematic overview providing the big-picture view one might miss short of reading the entire catechism. A good, solid, sound introduction that will be ideal for RCIA students and long-time Catholics alike. Included is a solid introduction providing the reasons to study theology and the rewards that come with it. Beginning with the seemingly simple assertion that God is spirit, Mr. Sheed carries us through the implications of that assertion through to the doctrines of the last things giving us all we need to form a coherent and solid foundation on which to build further. Indispensible and still the best of its kind.

I wish every catholic would read this book. I think that not only would they understand their faith better, they would be able to explain it better AND be more motivated to live it. Simple, simple, simple little short read with HUGE substance. Nothing has helped me grasp the trinity, heaven, grace, original sin, etc. like this book. It is my favorite of all favorite books--EVER!

this wasnt the best BJ (Brenda Jackson) book but it was still good! And adds to the series of family love! She is my favorite author!!

I fell in love with the Madaris Family after reading the first novel that was about Clayton and Syneda, that is still my favorite story but I started buying all of the Madaris family stories. I loved the Justin and Lorren story a lot as well. However as fascinating as the Dex and Caitlin story starts off it doesn't really keep my interest the same way towards the end. I was a little disappointed by the ending because I was expecting more drama or anything but it is still a book worth reading. So far it is my least favorite of the Madaris collection.

I will make this review short and sweet. The Madaris brothers. Need I say more. This story was passionate and at times torturous. I wanted this brother for myself. Breaking through his wall might have been a challenge, but well worth it. Excellet Brenda...excellent!

WoW i love this story great romance. she was way young but who cares KEEPER KEEPER.

I was just in high school when this book came out and I'm glad I bought it when I did, not realizing that this was going to become a series or anything. I thought I had written a review before but I guess not. This is the second book in BJ's Madaris family series. I read it a while ago but I decided to catch up on it since I've been getting more recent Madaris family books, I wanted to start from the beginning so I would know what was going on. This book is really good. I would recommend it. I recommend starting from the beginning so you would know what was going on instead of going off track.

This is an amazing book. The concepts make immediate sense as they are explained. Once the book is finished, you will have a thorough conceptual understanding of how and why relativity must work.

This book is a precious aid to help you develop your intuition about both special and general relativity. If you, like me, are someone who relies and feels comfortable more with intuition then reasoning, memory and abstractions, you have probably experienced quite a bit of discomfort studying and thinking about relativity. In other areas of physics, even quantum physics, you might have been able to come up with some sort of intuitive feel, but relativity, just a big void and a sense of "what this guys are taking about?". It's just about the fact that light velocity and strong gravitational fields are so outside of our reach that our intuition has nothing to work with, not even the "little balls" of particle physics.
Well this book is really helpful in starting to develop a visual and "gut" feel about relativity. Sometimes the drawings get a bit too fancy and confused, and you should avoid the pitfall of being led to believe you areally understand relativity just because you made something out of this book, but still it's a worthy, interesting and unusual read that will surely add something to your understanding.

This book provides a basic look at the What of relativity... but is seriously flawed when explaining the Why. And this is very problematic in a book that is constantly claiming that it's "showing" you why a fact about relativity is true. Epstein keeps "proving" things but when you really look at it he hasn't proven anything at all and you don't really understand relativity any better. For example, he loves schematic diagrams, and showing how something is true because it looks a certain way in a diagram. But just drawing something in a diagram and saying, "See, that's the way time works because that's how the line looks on the diagram" proves nothing. Why does the diagram represent reality? And why must the diagram be drawn in exactly the way he did? And the "diagram proofs" are just a symptom of the bigger problem here: a lack of valid argument to back up conclusions, and an overall lack of rigor throughout the book, from the terms used to the methods utilized for demonstration. Read this book if you are new to relativity and want to get an initial grasp of what it's about and the kind of phenomena it entails. But don't make the mistake of being fooled into thinking you're really undertsanding relativity, because for the most part you're not.

This is the best introductory book on relativity, period. What makes it different from others is how much it emphasizes a visual approach to the subject. The diagrams are not there merely to help you understand the main text; they are an integral part of the main text.

Even if you understand the basic concepts of relativity, you will probably learn something new. Consider, for instance, the following passage: "The reason you can't go faster than the speed of light is that... everything, including you, is always moving at the speed of light. How can you be moving if you are at rest in a chair? You are moving through time." Accompanying diagrams then clearly show how this is so, and how time dilation follows from it.

The theory of Relativity was Einstein's conceptual framework for explaining some weirdnesses physicists had uncovered about the way light waves, fast-moving objects, objects in heavy gravitational fields, etc. behave. Relativity is hard to understand partly because their behavior is hard to grasp -- it defies both one's normal intuition and the rules of Newtonian mechanics. So first off this book excels in explaining exactly what the weirdness is, what it was that had physicists scratching their heads in confusion and disbelief.

But Relativity is also hard to understand because of a lack of a simple explanation, a way of picturing what's going on. And this is the true value of this book, that it provides this type of concept.

By analogy, if you follow the motions of the planets with a telescope, you see them speeding up, slowing down, even reversing direction, in a way that would be hard to justify on simple principles... until you make the sun rather than the earth the stationary frame of reference. Then all that seemingly complicated motion reduces to simple elliptical orbits. And more importantly, this explanation gives you the sense of "getting it" conceptually. It's that kind of idea -- what the author calls a "myth" -- that this book uniquely provides for Relativity.

The ideas presented not only make Relativity comprehensible, they also hold up quantitatively (e.g. how much does one's clock slow down, how much does a body shrink, etc.)

Galileo's helio-centric writings got him into trouble with the Church, and he was forced to recant. In effect he said that he didn't mean that the Earth rotated around the Sun, only that the math is simpler with the Sun as a frame of reference. That the motions of the planets were calculable, but not comprehensible, was sufficient for the Church to spare his life.

To this day, Quantum physics remains mathematically rigorous and in perfect agreement with experiment, but no one understands it. It is my fondest wish that someone some day will come up with a conceptual touchstone for grasping Quantum physics that is as powerfully intuitive as what this author has come up with for Relativity.

I do have one caveat, which is that this book does not distinguish between Special and General Relativity. He never mentions uniform vs. accelerated motion. Although he does seem to explain some phenomena that I thought fell into General Relativity, I also thought I recognized one or two places where his explanation breaks down if General Relativity were taken into consideration.

I first encountered the books of Schaeffer in the mid 70s when I was a new Christian at the University of the Philippines. My cell group leader would often quote him. What I like about him then was he was able to explain the Christian faith in a rational and philosophical manner.

Reading again his "The God who is There" thirty years after brought these fond memories of him. I am privileged to renew my acquiantance with this intellectual giant.

A good friend who knew that I just bought Schaeffer's five volumes commented to me -- "Don't forget your wife and kids". Yes I intend to read the rest of the remaining 21 titles in the collection. This is my way of paying tribute to this great man. Mabuhay ka!

Thank you all for your reviews. You have already said just about everything I would have said far more elegantly than I could have. About the only thing that I would add is that were it not for this man (his "How Should We Then Live" film series to be precise) I would not be a Christian today.

Dr. Schaeffer was the first man in my life who said (without words), "It's OK to be a devout Christian without getting lobotomized."

Prior to Schaeffer I backslid twice. After Schaeffer I have been steadfast and stable primarily because I developed a fully formed Christian World View and Reformed Theology. (30+ years and still going strong)

Then I discovered Edith Schaeffer and the "softer" side of my Christian faith began to bloom.

I owe a tremendous debt to Dr. and Mrs. Schaefer and can't recommend this particular imprint highly enough. If I could give it more than 5-Stars I would!

Here a list of Edith's work that will help you develop the "softer" of your Christian faith:

The Tapestry: The Life and Times of Francis and Edith Schaeffer

L'Abri

Christianity Is Jewish

Forever music

A Celebration of Marriage: Hopes and Realities

Art of Life

Common Sense Christian Living

The Life of Prayer

10 Things Parents Must Teach Their Children (And Learn for Themselves)

Affliction

P.S.
Personal note: My faith has even survived the onslaught of the Schaeffer's obnoxious, abrasive, loud-mouthed, narcissistic son! I thank God that Dr. and Mrs. Schaeffer also taught me how to put my faith in God not men. However, Franky's sad outcome is a constant reminder to me that ministry to the world must never, never, never supersede ministry to my family (which seems to be the take away lesson of Franky's book "Crazy for God" - as in, "Don't let your kids end up like Franky Schaeffer!")

this collection is well printed and bound, contains all the books in 5 easy to handle volumes, good clear fairly large text and diagrams accurately reproduced. Francis wrote the foreword to this collection and explains some minor differences in the printing to previous stand a lone books.

an excellent buy

Francis Schaeffer pinpoints the problems of humanism and how they affect the 20th century. He give insights to the Christian to help him understand history and art and philosophy from a Biblical point of view. Schaeffer discerns the meaning and lack of meaning in the humanities for the bewildered secularized Christian.

Having recently reread many of the works of Francis Schaeffer, it seems right to list several lessons he can teach Bible-believing Christians (and others) today. Schaeffer was a prophetic generalist, pastor, apologist, and primarily an evangelist. That latter is how he typically explained himself.

1. Schaeffer had a passion for God and truth. This came out of his intellectual conversion as a teenager, after he read both classical Greek literature and the Bible, as well as from his intellectual crisis that hit him after over a decade of ministry. Having not see the reality of Christian love and the work of the Spirit, he questioned everything for several months, yet returned stronger, spiritually and mentally to the task.

2. Schaeffer cared deeply about the lostness of modern people. NonChristians were not "objects" for this man of God, but image-bearers of God who were hopeless apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Schaeffer exegeted culture, he did so with an angle on how so much of culture reveals a lack of hope and meaning. In his apologetic conversations, Schaeffer would not cognitively spare with opponents, but try to lead souls to truth through love and reason--and not without tears, as he often said.

3. Schaeffer was an unapologetic generalist for the cause of Christ. He studied the areas he thought pertinent to ministry and the calling of the church in his day. While some wrongly took his judgments as the last word, they were almost always a vital first word and call to further study and prophetic engagement with the world under Christ.

4. Schaeffer was not a self-promoter, but sought God for life and ministry. The L'Abri ministry of apologetics, evangelism, and study in the Swiss Alps developed as Francis and Edit responded to the needs of questioning students. Later in his ministry, Schaeffer was sometimes promoted too heavily. This may have been the fault of his son, Franky, who produced the film series, "How Shall We Then Live?" and "Whatever Happened to the Human Race?" (Franky is a sad story. He went on to leave Protestantism for Orthodoxy and to write series of not-so-thinly disguised autobiographical/fictional works criticizing his parents and their religion.) Schaeffer never even planned to write books, but wrote when his lectures and discussion were so well received that books were requested.

5. Schaeffer loved the arts, could recognize aesthetic goodness even in nonChristian (or anti-Christian) art, and gave Christian artists permission and vision for artistic endeavor. On all of this see Art and the Bible, recently republished with a foreword by musician and author Michael Caird. He often spoke of bringing "beauty" into the Christian life.

6. Schaeffer had a deep knowledge of and love for Scripture. The Bible was a living reality for his man. He said in The God Who is There that we must be studying the Scriptures daily in order to present the truth to unbelievers. He himself read at least three chapters from the OT and one from the NT each day. His writings exude biblical truth and wisdom. Let us do likewise (Acts 17:11).

7. Schaeffer was "a man of the Reformation," who, nevertheless, was not doctrinaire or haughty about his Calvinism. Schaeffer realized that the Reformation was necessary and that we must remain "a reformed church always reforming." The Reformers, while hardly perfect, brought the Scripture back to its rightful centrality and also opened up social and cultural wonders for the West, as Schaeffer pointed out in How Shall We Then Live? and A Christian Manifesto. While Schaeffer believed in and taught The Westminster Standards, his appeal radiated far wider than Reformed and Presbyterian circles.

In a time when some, such as emergent author Brian McLaren, are calling us to be "post-Protestant," this means needs to be heard and headed. The Five Solas of the Reformation are not optional for Christianity, but are its life blood. Nevertheless, those who hold to the Five Points of Calvinism (the TULIP), as I do, should do so with conviction, but also humility. Five Pointers can and should work with Christians of other persuasions so long as the essential gospel is not compromised.

Therefore, let read and reread Francis Schaeffer. I suggest you purchase The Collected Works and work your way through them--for the glory of God, for the good of his church, and for the furtherance of the Kingdom. If you think you have "no time" to read, then make time. Eliminate distractions and immerse yourself in these books.

All the recipes in this book are delicious, clear, and exciting, as the other reviews amply cover, but the anecdotes and essays and quotes are equal treasures. While the book is written from a missionary-Christian POV, I found it meaningful and touching as an agnostic sort-of-Jew, and never felt proselytized or talked down to, and it never seemed like the many different faiths and cultures of the people contributing the recipes were being disrespected. So don't let the fear of evangelizing put you off of it!

I LOVE THE INTERNATIONAL RECIPES. WHEN I CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING TO PREPARE FOR DINNER, GUESS WHERE I LOOK. SO FAR, I HAVE NOT PREPARED ANYTHING THAT I DID NOT LIKE AND AM FINDING FAVORITES IN THE PROCESS.

I have used this cookbook for a number of years and recommend it highly. I have never been disappointed by any of the recipes, and that's a pretty high accolade!

Index listed by dishes and countries is unique. A wonderful addition to More with Less cookbook.

to "More With Less." Refreshing, inspiring, and encouraging! The two make a great set, no matter what your income, life-style or family size.

Good quality used book, required for my high school AP Psychology course. Took about 12 days to arrive, which is too long.

A very good book for general psych. It will will help to lay the ground work for all your future psych courses.

Exeptionally good study guide. Has helped raise my son's grade in his AP physcology class.

I love this book, I'm 16 and I have no trouble understanding it (though I am smarter than your average teen). It's quite interesting and explains a lot. It's the perfect introduction to psychology for someone like myself looking to pursue it as a career.

This is the best textbook I've ever used. It is interesting and engaging. The content is excellent, but the charts, photos, quotes, cartoons, etc. make studying even more enjoyable. If you want to learn the basics of pyschology, but this book!

The novel is full of realistic Southern charm and characters. If you love Southern novels, don't miss out on this one! Shadow of Dreams by Eva Marie Everson and G. W. Francis Chadwick is a well-written, well-developed novel full of foreshadowing. The main character serves as an excellent example of what happens to many young teens glamorized by the big city and running from problems at home. Instead of the prodigal son, the main character, Katie, is the prodigal daughter. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen to Katie and her husband, and the bad guys. I loved the way the authors used literature for clues. I also loved the way the small-town Georgia guys protected their own and took care of the big-city guys. These authors do not preach, but they certainly know how to spin a tale that could serve to help others. These authors offer much insight, and a reflective reader will benefit from the experience of having read this novel. I have ordered all three Shadows books from Amazon, and I can't wait to read the other two. A good, reflective reader will find that this book is about many things that connect to life in such a way, it can't help but be realistic. The characters are realistic, not mere shells of characters. The way they talk and the things they say provide that realistic touch to make them come to life. I think this book would make a good movie; in fact, a three-part series.

Eva Marie's series is fabulous. I couldn't wait to find the time to read the next page. I fell in love with Katie and hope there are plans to read more of her. Eva Marie's 3 books in this series is filled with exciting plot twists, suspense, and drew me closer to the Lord, plus making me even more appreciative of my wonderful husband. These books are delightful!

Once more Eva Marie Everson and G.W. Francis Chadwick put together a best seller in this story of Katie and her struggle to keep her faith and continue living life even while not knowing if her husband is dead or alive. In the end, it leaves you waiting anxiously for the next book in the series.
I have actually been given the privilege of reading the first three chapters of Shadows of Light, book 3, and I can honestly say it promises not to disappoint!! You won't want to miss this one!

Everson and Chadwick have once again written a suspense-filled drama in their sequel, Summon the Shadows. Their behind the scenes look at a world unknown to most Christians evoke a predictable variety of emotions: anger, disgust, pity, compassion, hopefulness-while they weave yet another unpredictable fiction plot. The haunting question throughout the book keeps the reader hoping for an answer at the end: "What REALLY happened to Ben, Katie's beloved husband? Is he really dead? Clues say "maybe not," but reality says, "probably so." Will the three call girls ever make it in the "real" world? Can Katie hold out and hold on to the inner strength and faith she has found? You may have to wait until the very end to get any glimmer of an answer to those questions. Which opens the door to yet another sequel......

Couldn't keep this one to myself. I read it and immediately passed it on to a friend. : ) She also loved it. Gritty, real, and powerful.

This book was extremely helpful to me. I never gave much thought to the healing ministry, mainly because it all seemed so foreign and so over-the-top. I thought all faith healers were a bunch of kooks and that miraculous healings were few and far between. It's sad that I thought all of that because I am a Christian and I grew up in a Christian home. Then I started dating this guy who felt called into the healing ministry. I was really troubled by this (and so was my family). So I started doing research. I didn't want to just bail out on anything if the healing ministry is valid, if it's real and it's of God. I came across this book and it explained it all for me. If you have doubts about the healing ministry, or you just need some more information... Read this book. It's amazing. There are some things in it than I have doubts about, but those are just small issues; trivial things that probably aren't that important. I like this book because Dr MacNutt isn't some radical, holy-rolling, throw-the-spirit-at-all-people kind of person. He is down to earth and he lays out the facts like they are. He doesn't claim to know the mysteries behind healing and even confesses that he, in no way, has all the answers. But this guy is experienced and it is well worth your time to read this book.

I believe that every Christian should read this book. It explains God's healing power in a very understandable and down to earth manner.

This is a very informative and helpful book. I recommend it for anyone striving for an understanding of hands-on healing. The book is written for any Christian, Catholic or Protestant, not just clergy.

This book has become the model I use for the healing ministry I lead.
Practical & Spirit led.

MacNutt has compiled the definitive work in Christian healing. Any church with or without a healing ministry would profit from a study of this book

Part one walks us through the usually explanations and rationale that a lot of people need as preparation for healing if they've grown up in naturalistic, materialistic educational systems. We need to be reminded of the plausibility that the transcendent God we believe in really does transcend. The only thing I might have found interesting that isn't included here would be a brief background of the philosophical foundations of modernity and rationalism, although it might not have been appropriate for MacNutt's intended audience.

Part two is an essential reminder of the necessity of faith and loving when it comes to healing. The book strikes a good balance between the theological, the practical, and the exhortative.


Part three is perhaps the most useful part of the work. It divides healing into four categories: forgiveness, emotional healing, physical healing, and exorcism. It gives careful analysis of each situation and practical approaches to prayer. I appreciate that when he comes to exorcism, he is neither dramatic nor shy.

Part four is a bit of a mishmash of last details. He gives twelve reasons why people may not be healed, talks about the presence of healing in the (seven) sacraments, and gives due consideration to the importance of secular medical care in addition to prayer.

Having watched a healing ministry be established and flourish at a church, I now wish retrospectively that this was the foundational text. Pragmatically, it is at least the notes on the growth of a healing ministry in a well-written, complete, and balanced form.

Great books to help one to grow spiritually and to understand scripture as it was intended to be understood. Also great for daily application to one's life. Very good source for priests to prepare for homilies. If you want more nourishment with regard to homilies, these books are ideal.

I love it. As a Catholic seeking daily meditations, it was exactly what I was looking for. Though the price may seem steep, buying the books as a set saved me money over buying each book individually.

In Conversation with God, is a fantastic series of books that are helping me reflect and meditate on God and His love. They follow the Liturgy and give great advice on how to deepen one's relationship with God and with those around them through daily work and family life. I don't always have a lot of time to sit down and read, however with these wonderful books I can read a couple of pages in as many minutes and feel revived and inspired. These books are for EVERYONE. If you have a need to sit and converse with God and feel peace, these are the books for you. God Bless!

A wonderful series of daily thoughts and meditations based on the Catholic readings of the day that helps you realize what's important in living a good Christian life. The best daily readings that I have come across. A must have for every home!!!!!

If you are looking to follow the liturgical year, but the Liturgy of the Hours has left you feeling like you want something more, then I can't recommend this series more highly. It is very hard-hitting, but not theologically complex. It stresses holiness, and adds praticality (not the other way around).

The author is very sacramental, very well-versed in Church teaching and the Fathers of the Church, very Marian, and very loyal to the Holy Father. He quotes scripture, Church fathers, Councils, and, of course, Josemaria Escriva. His grasp of morality and human behavior is incredibly insightful and probably comes from studying traditional Catholic wisdom in pastoral matters.

The readings tend to follow the Gospel, and even on Sundays he has separate sections for each cycle of Sunday readings (A,B,C). There is so much material here, it can provide a lifetime of reflection and inspiration.

Just when I thought I had read everything about the space program, French and Burgess have done it again will a follow-on effort to their book "Into That Silent Sea."

I have no idea when they have the time to create such excellent work, but the latest book begins where the first one ended and includes much information I had never seen before, especially the chapters on the Apollo 1 pad fire and monumental Apollo 8 mission, it alone, a historic accomplishment rivaling the actual Moon landing.

Riddled with numerous never-before seen accounts (at least by me), the book is simply bulging with information such as Lola Morrow's dire premonition concerning the Apollo pad fire, and the raw emotional impact experienced by the crew of Apollo 8 upon seeing the first Earthrise observed by man.

I sincerly hope that Francis and Colin keep up the good work; maybe they could do a similar effort on underwater exploration? That would be such a contribution....

C. Newport, D.Sc.
Author of Lost Spacecraft: The Search for Liberty Bell 7

I own and have read most everything related to the Mercury through Apollo space program and this book shows new information that I hadn't seen in the other books published by many other astronauts and authors. Information was gathered from a myriad of sources and checked against other sources. The book greatly changed my opinion of a few astronauts and paints the entire NASA program in a more accurate light. The passing of time since the event depicted in the book has allowed the authors to see the "big picture" and step away being politically correct and instead be factual and accurate instead.

I just finished this wonderful historical and personal account of the race to the Moon, and feel privileged to know a little more about the brave men at the apex of mankind's tremendous achievement all those years ago. The authors have expertly captured the spirit of the times and given us the "warts and all" perspective on the personalities involved. For those who love history but are concerned that this book may be a "technical" account, there's no need to worry - it's exposition of events is clear and uncluttered, and clevery interwoven with the life stories of the people involved.

I strongly recommend this book as required reading to younger, high-school and college-age readers who may wonder today "How did we get there?". (Or sadly, even if we got there at all!). The answers are here, where we learn that despite our ever-present human failings, we CAN do great things when united to a common purpose. By the end of the book it will become obvious why and how we could reach the point where Armstrong and Aldrin could safely land on the Moon and return home - in fact it's almost anti-climactic!

Knowing more about the fallibilities of the astronauts has only deepened my respect for these remarkable and courageous men. As they grow old over a time when we haven't returned to the Moon, it's important to capture their stories for future generations, and French & Burgess have succeeded eminently in doing so.

My only niggle is that apparently the publishers balked at the idea of an index, which would have served as a guide for those who want to return to this book from time to time to "dip in" - as I'm sure I and many others shall do for years to come.

There are and have been hundreds if not thousands of books about manned spaceflight over the years but only a select few have really been able to communicate the true story and feeling generated by one of the most fondly remembered era's in American history. A time most commonly remembered as being one of technological marvel. However the true story is one of the men & Women who supported and flew the missions. This book goes deeper into the "Golden era" or manned spaceflight and tells stories that have never been told all the while keeping the reader enthralled. It touches on subjects long since forgotten or ignored and brings them to the fore. With first hand interviews with the people involved the authors really touch on the human aspect. I was especially taken by surprise that they told the story the way it should be. Not just the American effort, but the Russians too as there story never really gets told. I have read many books on spaceflight and I can honestly say this is one of only a few books that have kept me addicted and wanting to come back for more. Buy this book. You will not be disappointed. Even if you are not interested in manned spaceflight buy this book as you will be by the end. It reminds us all why we were interested in spaceflight to begin with. For a long long time the Book A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin was the book to beat. This is no longer the case.

What authors French and Burgess have managed to accomplish with their book "In the Shadow of the Moon" is a sense of being there.

This book transcends a third-party recounting of events. French and Burgess have created an extraordinary interface between the reader and the people sharing their stories. "In the Shadow of the Moon" does an exquisite job of bringing us into the fold, allowing a rather personal access to these astronauts' lives and innermost thoughts: helping us to better understand an experience we will never have ourselves.

The authors' skillful marriage of informing and storytelling help to ensure that it is a book that will be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their interest level in space history. The authors did an excellent job of introducing background information on a mission, and then following it up with personal interpretation by someone who was there. The authors' thorough research is apparent, but it is woven so well with the narrative that it allows the reader to simply take it in, absorbing it effortlessly.

By writing this book, French and Burgess share with humanity that which few have experienced. But more than that, they help us all understand a little better the magnitude of our venture into space. The accomplishments of the few, holding meaning for us all.