Murray Books

Ironically, Major David Sterling, who organized the SAS in WWII
argued against the use of the SAS in the North of Ireland. Fr. Murray defrocks in great detail the terrorist mentality of the SAS on both sides of the border in Ireland. The American media
only expresses Ireland through an Anglophilic prism. Fr. Murray reveals the SAS from the Irish viewpoint. Highly enlightening and better than The Stocker Affair.

"The SAS in Ireland" is a detailed examination of the activities of the SAS in Northern Ireland from the perspective of the author, who is Irish, a priest, and a long-time human rights activist. Specifically, Fr. Murray asserts that wide-spread human rights violations have occurred in Northern Ireland because of policies empowering the SAS to employ interrogation by torture and to shoot-to-kill-on-sight suspected members of the IRA. The book is not a diatribe; rather Fr. Murray strives to prove his assertion through an extensive examination of SAS involvement in specific incidents. As the activities of the SAS in Northern Ireland have been and are cloaked in secrecy, the author has had to infer the involvement and actions of SAS personnel from court testimony and from the statements of eyewitnesses and victims. While such an analysis applied to a few incidents might leave one unconvinced of the author's basic premise, the cumulative effect of the many incidents the author examines - the book's page count is actually 500, not 240 - is compelling. And the author cites his sources: there are over 100 footnotes and an extensive bibliography and index. Some of you at this point may be possessed of something less than sympathy for Fr. Murray's claims, and you may say: Let's not lose sight of the fact that for decades the IRA have conducted a war of terrorism against the government and the people of Great Britain. Surely, the British government has a right, an obligation, to protect itself, and to use whatever instruments, such as SAS, it has at its disposal. Here you will have touched upon the larger question that hovers over this book: how should a democratic government, a civilized people, respond to terrorism? Fr. Murray believes, as do many others, that we must, even when dealing with terrorists, hew to codes of behavior that are absolute. Others, including many among the military, believe that it is foolish and dangerous to play by the rules when one's adversary does not. I placed myself firmly in the latter camp before reading this book, but now I am not so sure. This book is sobering and thought-provoking, and destined, I suspect, to reach all too small an audience.

On the face of it, or judging by the title, A Scottish Christian Heritage does not sound like the kind of book many people would enjoy. It sounds like a book that will dwell on a narrow topic and one that will be of interest to only a select group of people. But those of us who appreciate the writing ministry of Iain Murray know that what he writes is always worth reading.

The last few years have seen the publication of several books defending the view that, for a country of its size, Scotland has had an inordinate influence on history and, thus, on the world as we know it today. The Scots are a remarkable people and one that has surely had a great influence on Reformed Christianity. Yet, while this book praises the rich Christian heritage of Scotland, it is not a praise of Scotland as such. "These pages are not principally about books. The theme is rather people and movements; yet the books from those times bring the abiding spiritual lessons to us and prevent the history becoming an exercise in nostalgia."

The book is divided into three parts. In the first, Murray writes brief biographies of several great Scottish Christians--John Knox, Robert Bruce, Thomas Chalmers, John MacDonald and Horatius Bonar. He looks at their lives and then, similar to what John Piper does in his "The Swans are not Silent" series, reflects on their contributions to the church or on lessons we can draw from their lives. He examines their lives thematically, showing where each of them was used by God to lead and strengthen the church.

In the second part he writes about Scottish missionaries, initially discussing the missionary spirit that arose from within Scotland and then pausing to focus on Robert Moffat, the great missionary to South Africa. There are two predominant lessons in this section: first that a missionary spirit arises first in the lives of individual men and women and that its strength will always correspond with the strength of their spiritual stature; and second that a missionary spirit is founded on the basis of biblical truth.

The book's third part covers church issues and begins with a look at Scottish churches and Christian unity in Scottish church history. Though I am not a preacher, the chapter on "Scottish Preaching" was, strangely enough, probably my favorite. The chapter begins with a discussion of some of the criticisms of Scottish preaching--primarily that it was known for being strong in doctrine but weak in feelings and affections. This leads Murray into a fascinating look at expository preaching and the benefits and drawbacks of this method of preaching. While Murray deserves to be heard on just about any issue he decides to write about, it seems that his encyclopedic knowledge of church history should lead us to listen to what he says on this topic in particular. He concludes that exposition in a consecutive series is a great model, but one that may not fit the abilities of every preacher (with Charles Spurgeon standing as an obvious example of one who felt he would not be able to be effective with this format). Murray deals with both the pros and cons of this model of preaching. This chapter alone made the book seem a treasure to me.

The book's final two chapters discuss the Scottish view of the eldership and the tragedy that was the Free Church of Scotland and their descent into liberalism.

No chapter in this book is without some application to the contemporary church. In many ways these glimpses at Scotland's contribution to the church serve as a jumping-off point for the discussion of a variety of issues facing the church today. Through an examination of Scotland's great preachers and missionaries, and through the discussion of issues faced by this nation's churches, we get a glimpse of the blessings and failings of the church of our day. The old adage says that "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." These words are true, for by looking to the lessons of history, we educate ourselves and prepare ourselves for the trials we face today. In A Scottish Christian Heritage Iain Murray has done a masterful job of informing and edifying the church by drawing lessons from the history of just one small but influential nation. I recommend this book for any Christian, but particularly those in positions of leadership.

Excellent book. An enjoyable read about the men who fought for the faith.

This is an excellent collection of essays that anyone could enjoy. Authors ranging from Mark Twain to Henry David Thoreau, from Barry Lopez to Charles Darwin, share their experiences about the seacoast. These essays touch any subject of interest (such as surfing, the Hawaiian Coast, whales and coral reefs) and would be a great gift to anyone interested in the ocean/coast. I had to read most of the essays for my college english class and I have never enjoyed reading these passages as much as any other textbook assigned to me. This is definately a book I will want to reread again and again. I will be eager to find the rest of the series (subjects include mountains, rivers, endangered species, deserts, forests, etc) as soon as they are published. This book is truly refreshing and opens the senses to the coastal environment around you!!!

A collection of essays, rather than short stories, this is a very entertaining read. Different views, different shores, all centered on the sea. Notable: Mark Twain's account of a Hawaiian trip; Barry Lopez's essay on beached whales and Jan DeBlieu's story of a Cape Hatteras storm. Well edited, ideal beach reading. A wide-ranging assortment making this a great gift for everyone on your list.

A Brilliant read!
Authoritive and pleasurably exhausting book of Sean's long life. The author examines the historical influences of a turbulant Ireland upon O'Casey and the research into the playwright's personal life is second-to-none.
If you want to know even more about O'Casey, read the recent plays-
GRANDCHILD OF KINGS by Stage-Director HAROLD PRINCE and Irish Author Colm Toibin's BEAUTY IN A BROKEN PLACE.
Both of these are not referenced in Christopher Murray's book.

Grandchild of kings
Beauty in a Broken Place
Sean O'Casey - Autobiographies: I Knock at the Door ; Pictures in the Hallway ; Drums Under the Windows
Sean O'Casey: Autobiographies II : Inishfallen, Fare Thee Well, Rose and Crown, Sunset and Evening Star
Sean O'Casey and His World

Professor Murray, of University College, Dublin, has given the full biography of O'Casey, a shapeshifter as much as his dramatized characters in his name-changing, cap-donning, and ego-tripping (to use a later phrase). Like Roy Foster's massive biography of Yeats, or Anthony Cronin's on Beckett, this work gains much having been written by not only a fine scholar but a Irish writer who knows his country well and can convey it with verve and precision to a broader readership outside academia.

This study blends the literary criticism of Murray, an authority on modern Irish drama, with a scrupulous examination incorporating details from those still living who recalled O'Casey. He supports this by a massive array of primary and secondary sources--the endnotes and bibliography amount to nearly 100 pages. Murray writes for the general reader clearly and sensitively, eschewing jargon in favor of direct, spare, and clear prose. He takes you all the way from late Victorian times to "the new and bland Ireland" of 2004, in a thoughtful chapter on the "afterlife' of O'Casey's current reputation, vs. that in an Ireland that had spurned him, and vice versa, for so much of the 20th century.

With well-chosen illustrations (on the cover, a tellingly posed photo of the man at his most "thoughtful;" a colorful shot of a 2002 Abbey production on the jacket's reverse), this book presents finely-printed but well-paced text. With a careful separation of the man from the very-calculated character who wrote his notoriously "ornamented" six volumes masking as "Autobiographies," the examiner Murray faced a daunting task. How O'Casey, as defiant Communist, served so long the cause of Stalinism, defending it even after 1956 Hungary alienated many of his colleagues, and why he sought exile in Devon and popularity in the US more than in the Ireland for which he had joined in revolt in its "Citizen Army" make for fascinating anecdotes and thoughtful insight that shows depth behind the plays of their creator. As Murray remarks, the subtitle "Writer at Work" has a triple meaning: it refers to his avocation--he only labored as a "working man" briefly; to his efforts behind which he warned off others, as he attended to his "work at hand," and to the "arrogance of the disadvantaged man of talent who knows his own worth."(6) His complexity and self-mythologizing turned O'Casey early on into a toiler who sought to establish a worker's utopia but to keep humanist values that, by their nature, resist authority and oppression.

Also, you find how over his long career he kept producing dramas long after the initial punch of the Dublin trilogy about revolution, like that historical event itself, soured. Why and how Stalinism became his faith? For me, the politics of O'Casey even overpower his drama, and Murray examines both of O'Casey's passions meticulously. The reaction of critics to his work by many reviews quoted widens the context in which and for which O'Casey had to make his chosen living, adapting his romantic yet controversial yearnings into a delivery on stage palatable for a ticket-buying audience to be sustained over a lengthy career.

This predicament makes instructive lessons for what occurs when (like Wordsworth?), one outlives one's youthful idealism but still clings to its more distant warmth and spirit over the decades ahead the young 1916 red rebel never expected he'd face.

LHO as far as am concern had nothing to do whatsoever with the Murders of JFK or Police Officer JD Tippit.With tremendous Pressure from the White House for a quick fix Political solution to the Crime, regardless of the Evidence, The Dallas Police fueled by Media Hysteria convicted Oswald in the eyes of the World.in reality every piece of so called Evidence against Oswald could of been challenged in open court.in every concievable way the chain of evidence in this case had been broken.The Warren Commission for example was never able to prove exactly how and when the Dallas Police obtain the Smudge Palm Print that was Allegedly lifted from the Manlicher Carcano, the rifle Oswald alegedly used in the Crime.Oswald was and is Innocent.

As the 22nd of November comes around again,we are still not sure if the whole story of the Assassination of JFK is known.I have been following it since those terrible days when we were glued to our TV's watching this event unfold.
Many of us saw it live, as Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.At least that is what we thought we saw. We were horrified at the time, and wondered where this was all going to end.At the time,it almost seemed like Oswald's killing was being staged;and doubts remain to this day.Was that really Oswald,was he really shot,why was it allowed to happen,was it done to shut him up,why did Ruby do it,who else was involved with Ruby,did Ruby have connections to Oswald,why was Oswald so quickly and easily found,would Oswald have been convicted of being the lone killer of JFK if he had been put on trial,would Oswald have involved others,and many more questions were asked at the time and to a large degree remain in doubt today ,in the minds of most people.
This book was published in 1966,and I probably read it way back then. At least ,most of the issues raised in it are somewhat familiar to anyone who followed this event and kept looking for resolution of this crime ,which has captivated millions of people.
This book is a good reminder of many details and reads as well today as it did when first published.I know ,in my case,the question of Conspiracy has not been put to bed.The fact that after so much has been written and so little not resolved, after so many years,only enforces the suspicion that a conspiracy did take place.
This book would be well worth a read by anyone born years after the event,to see why there was at the time, and still remains, such doubt about the "official" version of what happened and why.

This is the ultimate book of prayer and the presence of God. I highly recommend it. It is a small easy to read book but one of the most powerful books on prayer that I have ever read.

I believe this is an annointed man of God and this book will be a blessing to anyone reading it.
If you have read any of his other books, you will know what I am talking about.

This book contains poems with a difference!
It's not like poems who'd read that are hard to understand and don't rhyme etc.
They make great sense, apply to everyone, and rhyme also!

I liked it a lot!

Self Expression was a great read. The depth of the writing is thrilling and amazing. It made me think about stuff I hadn't thought of in quite a while. Andrew seems to be able to touch people, different people, on a deep level. I look forward to reading more of his work.

This is a non-fiction account of Shakespearean drama performed before an audience of carefully selected patient/inmates within the walls of England's oldest asylum for the criminally insane. Indeed, it is a most compelling compilation of true tales told by the actors, patients, and psychotherapists. When The Royal Shakespeare Company came to Broadmoor Hospital, the epistemological obstacles normally separating art and science were obliterated! From reading this work, one may know the dramatic power of the literary metaphor to effect a medical metamorphosis!

This is a non-fiction account of Shakespearean drama performed before an audience of carefully selected patient/inmates within the walls of England's oldest asylum for the criminally insane. Indeed, it is a most compelling compilation of true tales told by the actors, patients, and psychotherapists. When The Royal Shakespeare Company came to Broadmoor Hospital, the epistemological obstacles normally separating art and science were obliterated! From reading this work, one may know the dramatic power of the literary metaphor to effect a medical metamorphosis!

Excellant photography. Simple instuctions and good tips. Addresses most paint and design techniques needed. Gives good ideas to create painted furniture with a personal touch. Well done.

This book provides all the information you might need to create painted furniture yourself.

I recommend it as concise, interesting with colored pictures and explanations. Good book for the topic.

This book presents an interesting account of a young Merchant Marine that heads to sea as World War 2 is winding down. The author recounts in vivid detail shipboard life, his round-the-world travels including various port calls and insight into the shipping business in general. This was an exciting time in history and through a colorful cast of characters that span the globe, the reader becomes part of the excitement and danger that comprised this young Officer's life. I found it to be a book that was difficult to put down!

In high school when World War II started it was clear that Mr. Murray was going to be involved in the war. He chose the merchant marine, entered the New York State Maritime Academy, graduating in 1945 with a license as a third mate and a commission in the US Naval Reserve.

I was a little surprised to find that at that time he was able to find work as a ships officer. I would have thought that with the draw down of the Navy and the Merchant Marine at that time there would have been a great surplus of men going after relatively few jobs.

But he did go to sea, and worked on a series of ships in all the oceans of the world for the next dozen years. This book is basically a diary of his travels, along with stories of living at sea.

This was a life that was unusual at the time, and with today's very small American merchant fleet is almost impossible (for a more current story read 'Looking for a Ship' by John McPhee).

Mr. Murray left the sea, to sail no more because he had a young family. He would up working for Westinghouse Oceanic Division as project engineer on Deepstar and Trieste II submersible programs. That would make another interesting book.