Travis Books

A wonderful book. I can only recommend it for all Christian men. The novel really shows you the danger of falling into sexual temptation.

highly recommended.

Late afternoon in New York City. Michael sits in a small cafe, very much alone. He'd come to New York to finalize a business merger and leaves a failure. Papers unsigned, he has sixteen hours to fret how to break the news to the 250 employees whose jobs depended on this merger.

But Jasmine changes his focus. It shifts from his wife and family back home in Chicago, the employees whose future is shaky at best to the stunning blonde that has sought out his attention. Before she leaves, she hands him her phone number on the back of a business card. Back in his hotel room, the small slip of paper whispers to him in a voice he can't resist. When he dials the number, his descent into terror begins. He is drawn into New York's underworld, a universe his suburban lifestyle never imagined. Now all he wants to do is get on the plane and return home to his wife and children. Others want to make sure he never leaves.

"Blinded" is written in an unusual point of view--second person, present tense. This unique style drew me in from the first sentence and the pacing and unexpected twists and turns kept me turning the pages until late at night. Hightly recommended.

Travis Thrasher takes us where many Christian authors dare not tread: deep inside the struggles and temptations of men in our culture. Michael Grey has an extra night in New York City before he flies home the next day. After a business deal gone wrong, he decides to have a drink to try and take his mind off his problems. He is then approached by a beautiful blonde named Jasmine, who leaves her number and invites Michael to call her later. Suddenly Michael finds himself face to face with the strong temptation to spend time with this sensuous woman, despite the fact that he is married and has two children at home. What's the harm? Who will really know if he enjoys a drink or two with this gorgeous woman? One bad decision leads to a terrifying, unforgettable evening that will either ruin Michael or provide him with a much-needed spiritual wake-up call.

Travis Thrasher effectively portrays what it's like for men to struggle in our sexually charged culture. He doesn't just dwell on the problem, but he points us toward the solution that is found in a deep faith in God. Michael Grey is an intriguing character study waiting to happen, and it is frightening to witness Michael's progression as he quickly stumbles headfirst into temptation. This novel is real and powerful, and Thrasher's use of the second person narrative drops us right into the middle of Michael's struggle. Blinded is a challenging, eye-opening read that is both entertaining and enlightening. This is a must-read for Christian men and women. (From Christian Library Journal)

This book is a MUST read. I have read about 100 or more books, and this one really helped me UNDERSTAND things that I felt for so long but couldn't put words to. Trust me, if you are fed up with 'religion', but want a true walk with God, READ THIS BOOK.

I highly recommend this book to anyone raised in the church and have a warped view of God and are not experiencing His love and freedom. I struggled my whole christian life because I believed I needed to obtain a level of standard in order to be in relationship with God but this book helped me find my freedom in Christ!

As one who has struggled with legalism for years, this book was a refreshing reminder that we cannot earn our salvation. Mr. Anderson and his coauthors highlight some of the symptoms of legalism and discuss the implications of falling into a legalistic lifestyle. This book helps strugglers to understand that it is by grace alone we are saved, not by any of our efforts, without negating the importance of holiness or belitting the problem of sin.

This book is the inspiring story of the last surviving Ziegfeld Girl. The fabulous centenarian Doris Eaton Travis takes us on an amazing journey through the ups and downs of one family - members of which just happened to be stage performers. While several of Ms. Travis' siblings met tragic ends, she persevered - through her glorious Ziegfeld years, the sad days of the Great Depression, her loving second marriage, and her bittersweet (and ultimately disenchanting) relationship with Arthur Murray of dance studio fame. Nostalgic yet never melodramatic, Doris Eaton Travis' writing is fresh and upbeat. I was moved to tears at the end - not from sadness, but rather from awe at this magnificent woman with the indomitable spirit! I only wish I had the priviledge of knowing this lovely woman. A truly wonderful read - I simply can't praise this book enough!

I actually had the honor of interviewing Doris Eaton Travis last fall for my college English class... and I was definately honored when she gave me a copy of her book and autographed it for me... I read it right away and absolutely loved it! She is an amazing woman and has lead and incredible life which she tells about in her book. At age 99, she is still going strong and is as busy as ever! I loved meeting and interviewing her and definately loved this book! I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Doris Eaton Travis, at age 99, looks back at a full life, the early part of which is a valuable, firsthand portrait of early 20th Century entertainment, when vaudeville and the stage was still a central part of pop culture. Her frank appraisal of the rough road even successful performers would face as times changed is certainly an antidote to nostalgic ruminations about that long gone era! Highly recommended.

As both an attorney and a father of two sons, I know that this story is true. Every day in this country, some judges are taking kids away from dads. In a custody battle, a kid can become, literally, a prisoner of war. This dad refused to give up, refused to accept what the legal system had done. Even the Marines have never done a better rescue operation.

Lee Travis cast his Father-Son story as a novel, but it is based on Lee's own experience. A mother's family tries to keep a father away from his son after the long-divorced mother dies, perpetuating the harm done by the mother's campaign of alienation before her death.

Lee Travis cast his Father-Son story as a novel, but it is based on Lee's own experience. A mother's family tries to keep a father away from his son after the long-divorced mother dies, perpetuating the harm done by the mother's campaign of alienation before her death. EN

A very good book. I would recommend it to young and old alike. It is a good, clean, romantic story that shows how God has a plan for all of us.

This first effort is a gentle read. Suitable for adolescents as well as adult readers, Ms. Lewis entangles us immediately into the lives of her well-defined characters. I found myself caring about what happened next and hated to have it end. I particularly enjoyed the Christian focus which was laid-back but constant. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Lewis' books.

I was immediately absorbed in the lives of Lilly, Rose, Travis and Clarence. Lilly is able to reach everyone with innocence and compassion--a woman, yet still with the refreshing energy and naivety of a young girl. A touching and interesting story which has thread through the entire book love, compassion, kindness and Christianity. A great story and characters!

Very informative text. Packed with loads of full-color pictures. The most complete guide to Mustangs. The book features the options available on these Mustangs from the factory, and features excellent detail on aftermarket parts currently available.

I bought this Mustang book along with others and I thought this one was the best. It gives a good break out of the years of the mustang starting from 1979 to present. It also gives some great details on what parts go good with certain years of the mustangs. Wish they had more books like this one

This has taught me more that I care to know about Mustangs. Very informative piece. Great photos of models I had forgotten. A good buy. Thankx for putting this together to share.

A book that is just as funny for adults as it is for teens. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and could see where teens would cringe when well-meaning adults acted in what they thought were "cool" and "hip" ways. I've done it myself many times! A great, breezy read.

Everyone should read "How Not to Embarrass Your Kids". Parents with teens will love it. Teen agers themselves will howl. A must-read by two Huck Finn type of sixteen year olds. Simply sensational one-liners!

To Teenagers: these are all realistic things that embarrass you or annoy you. You'll be able to help your parents out a lot. To Parents: you can't deny that you do these things, so pick up a copy and help yourself and your kid. They'll thank you for it.

Ed Kienzle does an awesome job in Partners in the Wilderness. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. I can't think of any part of that book that was slow. The John Coulter thing was a great way to express how great the wilderness is. This book teaches people life skills that they can hold onto for the rest of their lives. I highly reccomend this book not only for wilderness lovers, but for anybody who wants a thrilling adventure!!!

.....Partners in the Wilderness.There are good lessons in this book for everyone. When you brag about hunting you probably won't get anything.When you imagine somebody you might want to take his/her advice. Travis imagines John Coulter the mountain man. Coulter gives him great life saving instructions. If you like to read an action book Partners in the Wilderness is the book for you

Partners In The Wilderness: Travis's Choice by Ed Kienzle is the engaging story of Travis Driskoll, a twelve-year-old Wyoming boy whose adventurous hunting trip turns into a nightmare when his father is attacked by a bear. Befriending the spirit of a legendary explorer, Travis learns independence and survival skills as he undertakes the perilous quest to save his injured father's life. An engrossing adventure from cover to cover, Partners In The Wilderness: Travis's Choice is highly recommended for young readers ages 12 through 18.

This book, along with D.A. Carson's "Becomming Conversant with the Emergent Church" are both NECESSARY critiques; and I m glad that someone has made them. If Christians cease to believe in the propositional truth-claims of Scripture, or at least cease to believe that they have any bearing on our lives, it will be giving up on alot!

Grentz's Primer is singled out by the articles in Reclaiming the Center because it is an important contribution to formulating a coherent view of postmodern thought; however, the direction that Grentz suggests in his conclusion is well-intentioned but misguided. A survey of recent intellectual thought within the Christian church shows the Grentz is within the missionary tradition of the church: he embraces certain aspects of postmodernism in order to reach postmoderns. The same desire gave rise to liberalism at the beginning of the last century: to reach adherents of enlightenment rationalism the gospel needed to accommodate itself to an intellectual world in which rational man was the center. Toward the middle of the twentieth century, neo-orthodoxy sought to communicate the gospel to existential man through a program of demythologizing the gospel, and form and redaction criticism. Likewise, Grentz seeks to convert postmodern individuals to Christianity by framing the gospel in postmodern terms. Like earlier attempts to convert people through by accommodating the message, there is a reaction. Some will embrace Grentz's program as a means of reaching the unchurched. Others, like the contributors to Reclaiming the Center, will reject Grentz's proposal as an unacceptable accommodation.

The fundamental question is whether postmodernism is compatible with historic Christianity. I do not believe that it is. First, Christianity makes universal truth claims. Jean Francois Leotard, the most famous European postmodern, in The Postmodern Condition defined postmodernism as "incredulity toward meta-narratives" because meta-narratives promise but cannot deliver. Christianity, like all philosophical systems, is a meta-narrative (cf. 1 Cor. 15; John 14:6f., 8:31f., 1:1ff., etc.). The gospel is a target for postmodern deconstruction because these truth claims are total and exclusive. Second, the Bible is a text that purports to be the word of God. Jesus said, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). For postmoderns, the authorial intent is impossible to assertain (contra E. D. Hirsch, Validity in Interpretation). And if intent could be assertained, it should be deconstructed because it is necessarily oppressive. Furthermore, if "every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16f.), then the subtext of scripture is oppressive. Postmoderns feel the need to deconstruct these oppressive elements to become liberators of a radical (Nietzschean) kind. Third, from its inception to the present, Christianity is fundamentally a belief system that can be expressed propositionally. The scriptures contain propositions or statements that can readily be transformed into truth claims. The historic doctrines and creeds for Christendom are expressed propositionally. Postmodernism rejects the validity of such claims. They are the social products of communities rather than discovered or disclosed truth. Grentz's evangelistic zeal leads him to seek accommodation with a school of thought that is antagonistic with what he holds most dear.

Experience over doctrine. Inclusivistic instead of exclusivistic. Discomfort with propositional truth. Synergistic. It may sound like ordinary heterodoxy, but it is a movement posed to take over normative church life--indeed, in some circles, it has already done so.

Reclaiming the Center seeks to reclaim what is being lost through the influence of "postconservative evangelicals" like theologian Stanley Grenz and pastor Brian McLaren. This recovery is presented from a wide-range of viewpoints--from philosophy to theology to historiography to third-world perspectives.

This theological pilgrimage begins with a concise and informative introduction to the issues (written by Justin Taylor), as well as an overview of how the book is organized and what each chapter is about (which I have in turn summarized in the next few paragraphs). Next is a chapter by D.A. Carson "summarizing and critiquing the broad outlines of Grenz's vision for evangelicalism" (p. 26).

After the introduction, a philosophical framework is begun. The three chapters in this section take a philosophical approach to answering postconservative accusations by discussing the correspondence theory of truth (Goothius, Ch. 3), foundationalism, reliabilism, inerrancy (Moreland and DeWeese, Ch. 4), and finally with epistemic/linguistic access to the real world (Smith, Ch. 5).

After setting up the philosophical framework (for every theology needs a foundation), the book moves on to theological assessment. Two of the chapters have to do with postconservative's view of Scripture. The postconservative cultural-linguistic model of Scripture is shown to be unreliable and the canonical-linguistic is put forth as a biblical alternative (Caneday, Ch. 6), and then Steve Wellum (Ch. 7) shows how "their doctrine of Scripture is incompatible with the Bible's own claims for itself and weakens the possibility of doing theology in a normative fashion" (p. 28). The final chapter in the section evaluates postconservative theology from a Third World perspective (Ch. 8, Donkor).

After the philosophical framework has been set and theological assessment made, the book moves on to historiography. Paul Helseth leads this section by showing that postconservatives have become a new brand of fundamentalism that they sought to remove themselves from (Ch. 9). Bill Travis then shows how orthodox doctrine has been a central concern throughout the centuries--even by those who have influenced postconservative ideas, contrary to the postconservative claim that commitment to orthodoxy is a relatively new "neo-evangelical" idea (Ch. 10). Finally Chad Brand wraps this section up by defining evangelicalism and showing what has been its historic doctrinal beliefs (Ch. 11).

The final section deals with the future of postmodernity. Jim Parker predicts a transmodern period, one that embraces the strengths of modernism and postmodernism but avoids both extremes (Ch. 12). Millard Erickson concludes with a prophetic vision for the future of evangelical theology that will help us navigate through the current "theological fog." It is a global, objective, practical and accessible, postcommunial, metanarratival, dialogical, and futuristic vision (Ch. 13). Such a vision is extensive and time will only tell if such a theology will result.

There are many strengths in this book. It is edited by three highly skilled theologians who promise to give you a fair and balanced look at the issues. The diverse nature of the chapters give the reader a taste for the many implications that such a shift in "evangelicalism" has.

This could also not be released at a better time. More people than ever are hearing about the "emerging church". Relevant magazine continues to grow in popularity. The interest of laymen continues to peak--especially with the younger Christians (whose culture has been "lobotomized by television" and the ever-present image), who realize some of their mumbo jumbo postmodern theology has a name.

All this brings me to two criticisms, both minor. The first is its highly academic nature. This is, of course, their intention because "as goes the academy, so goes the church" (p. 31), however, it would be helpful if it were a little more in reach of the average laymen who does not have extensive theological or philosophical training. I do believe most of the chapters are accessible to the majority of Christians, but for some of the more philosophically oriented chapters (especially 3-5) I recommend having something like the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy or the Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion handy.

My second criticism is the book does not deal with the practical church and dialog issues as much as I would have liked. How are we to interact with postconservative evangelicals in church settings? What is the best way to combat these tendencies from taking over our churches? In what way should we use medium--such as the Internet, one of postconservative's major strengths--to our advantage? Questions like these might take a sequel to answer. However, we may have to look to the upcoming Becoming Conversant with Emergent by D. A. Carson (expected April 2005) to address these questions.

While Reclaiming the Center is a thoroughly academic work, there is no reason for the book to be read only by those in academia. But don't just take my word for it. This book has endorsements by famous scholars such as J.I. Packer, Albert Mohler, Timothy George, Richard Mouw, and David Dockery. And, with them, I conclude that anyone who is interested in the emergent church movement will find this helpful and enlightening, and I highly encourage you to examine it and consider the devastating effects of postconservative theology in our calling to "test all things" and "hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Josh Sowin
fireandknowledge.org

It's a refreshing change to see a tough, hard-bitten detective roaming Hawaii. Florida's had more than its share, and Baron Birtcher has finally brought a great one to polynesia. Great action scenes, and a surprise ending. This one is worth the money.

I read this in one sitting, and it really moves. I read a little bit of everything, but keep coming back to mysteries. This one is a standout.

Baron Birtcher proves with Ruby Tuesday, his second Mike Travis novel, that Roadhouse Blues, his first, was no fluke. We now have a Great New Series Writer amongst us. In this newest adventure, Mike Travis, Ex-L.A. homicide detective, sails his yacht from Southern California to Kona Hawaii, only to find trouble awaits. As was the case with his first novel, this book is very fast paced, with more twists and turns than you'll find on the Saddle road between Kona and Hilo. Having moved from Southern California to Kona himself, Baron not only takes us on a wild ride of emotions, but also adds the natural beauty of the Big Island. As is the case with most excellent reads, the end, although unexpected, comes way too soon. I'm already looking forward to the next Mike Travis novel,and another trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.
I suggest, that as is the case with most series, if possible they should be read in order.