Trials Books

This book is a MUST HAVE. The stories are touching and inspiring - bringing both tears and laughter. The author is a talented, gifted perosn and it is very evident in her writing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for inspiration and guidance for their life.

This book was easy to read, while still having great depth and meaning. The stories are funny, sad and tales of daily life--all with words of inspiratation. Awesome book--I'd recommend to anyone!

As a novice Civil War Buff and North Carolina Historian, I found the book very comprehensive in its coverage of this interesting facet of Civil War, Reconstruction, and North Carolina history. Click focuses on a group of slave refugees set up in a freedmen's colony by Northern evangelists and Union military personnel and their struggle to survive in a post-slavery world. The book's rich detail is further strengthened by its ease of read and overall interestingness making it a true gem for someone researching or just looking for a good read.

Even though I am a self-taught researcher of local and NC history and genealogies, I had not heard of this publication until I saw the author on PBS TV. I ordered the book from ... and am still in the process of reading it. It seems well documented and contains information I was not aware of until I read this book. I have helped two different African-American individuals research their families and so this subject was of interest to me. I recently was in court as a juror and was approached by a bystander who heard me describe my "line of work." I told her of this book and how she could obtain a copy. She said she would like to add this publication to her personal library of publications on Black Research. I purchased this book for our local historical/genealogical library so that it could be used by everyone doing black research. I ony live about 60 miles as the crow flies from Roanoke Island and had never heard of this Freedmen's Colony until now.

Robert Zelazo gives an accurate and riveting account of a number of the most significant challenges we may all face in modern life in America. This is a must read for any professional and anyone interested in the challenges of our aging population. A good, quick read written by some one who knows what he's talking about!

Zelazo has you right there by his side as he deals with the emotions of a malpractice suit, his wife's diagnosis of Alzheimer's and the empty nest syndrome. He invites you into his heart to share his feelings about the medical & legal professions, his relationship with his wife and his daughters. A blend of page-turner and polemic. Refreshing to read as the story unfolds in the New England town of St. Albans which is close to where I live. The people and the places seemed very familiar to me which made the story very credible.

I stumbled across this book while looking for something about The Lipstick Killer of Chicago, William Heirens. He, too, is believed to have dismembered at least one victim during his reign of terror from 1945-1946 in Chicago. (His culpability in the crimes is also circumstantial.)

Instead, I found this book about the John Dick murder/mutilation in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1946. I had never heard of this case before, and it is still the only account I have read of it yet. But this book has made me want more.

From the Prologue, I was intrigued. Vallee is such an interesting writer. His words and phrases are crafted for mood, clarity, and objectivity. He leads the reader through this small Canadian town; through the lives of these seemingly ordinary, if not strange, groups of people. It is still as salacious a story as when the news initially broke in those early days of March 1946.

John Dick, an immigrant man who recently married, is missing. His employer is the only one who seems concerned, while his wife and her family continue to engage in some strange behavior. Her deepest concern is that he still owes her money, while her father's sole concern is that no police should be called to his daughter's house. As the investigation unfolds, we find a string of love affairs, a dead infant, shoddy police work, and some criminal masterminds. Love, murder, money, greed--all seem to be personified by the enigmatic Evelyn Dick. Is she guilty... or just a victim?

Brian Vallee takes an even handed approach to this complex story. He takes account of nearly every side and every issue. The story itself is fascinating, and as was stated by one contributor, better than any work of fiction. For all the titillating details, Vallee constantly reminds his readers of the gruesome crimes that made these people infamous. His compassion and objectivity do allow him to come up with his own conclusions about the crimes, ending the work beautifully.

Highly recommend!

If you've seen the movie, or know of the case, this book provides some interesting information. It is relatively well-written, contains pictures, and is easy to read. I recommend it.

Frank Retief, the senior pastor of a large evangelical church in Cape Town, South Africa,
reviews a surprise disruption and wild shooting spree in their church on the Sunday evening of July
25, in 1993. As a result, 11 people died, and 55 were injured, some maimed for life. Using the
lessons learned in the after-math, and as he led his congregation to recovery from the trauma, this
pastor shares some profound and helpful insights into how Christians should respond to severe
trials and suffering.

Although few of us, percentage-wise, can expect such extreme situations to arise in our lives, the
things we do experience are just as intense and hard to bear for us. It is these general principles
of how to understand the events, and God's role and character throughout, and what He asks of us -
these are crucial and applicable in any hard times we face. This pastor ably shares the principles
we can apply to our own situations.

Frank Retief does an excellent job of this. His insights are clear and his ability to convey how to
make them ours is exceptional. I commend him for writing this book.

First he gives us a thorough narrative of the massacre at St. James, their church. Although not
present himself, as he and his family had just returned the night before from a trip to England,
and he had a headache, and they were still suppose to be on vacation, he has reconstructed the
event, and the immediate reactions, and how he was called, and he hurried over to help deal with
the crisis and the media which descended on them. (I personally had not heard of this through the
media, but I felt this book did a fine job of describing it).

After any crisis people start asking "Why me, Lord?" type questions. While there are many different
reactions to hard times or trials of any kind, he saw that sooner or later, almost everyone had to
deal with this concept; why did God allow this to happen? Why to them?

His conclusion, we are called to suffer. Bad things do happen in this fallen world, and they
happen to Christians as easily as to anyone else. We are not marked out because God is angry at us.


The question that followed for most was, can God ever be trusted again? Retief develops God's
faithfulness and the problem of good and evil. God does not stand behind good and evil in the same
way. If He did he would be entirely amoral. It would mean that though He is powerful, God is not
necessarily good. But God is not only sovereign, He is also both transcendent and personal.


Then there is also the Joseph principle, taken from Genesis 50:19-20, where Joseph says to his
brothers who had sold him into slavery, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." I
agree with Retief, once we grasp that God can use the evil that happens to us, to turn it into
something for our good and His glory, we really have a better handle for trusting God in all events.

This book handles many other questions about trials. Who is really responsible for our suffering?
How to rebuild confidence and be able to pray again after a great shock? What about forgiveness?

The media people were very surprised that the church people were able to openly forgive the
perpetrators. This gave the church as a whole great opportunities for witness to the power of
Christ to help them forgive. But Retief adds some key points about forgiveness we must remember.

1." A new, undesirable relationship comes between an offender and a victim." That needs to be
resolved.
2. By choosing to forgive you are not condoning what happened. The wrong done is still wicked, but
now we leave it to God to punish the offender justly. We are giving up our right to revenge. (Even
in our imaginations).
3. For true forgiveness to be received there has to be repentance and as far as possible,
restitution. Again, our forgiveness does not erase the wrong done to us, it just frees us from the
bondage to the hate and anger and desire to retaliate.

Retief discusses the devil and his role and our attitude to him. It is a temptation to discuss some
of these items, but this is not the place. I did like the Martin Luther quote which I had not seen
before, that "'The devil is God's devil.' They are not two equal beings, but rather a subordinate
created being who rebelled against the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe." (pp.175).

How true. Just because we can choose whom to serve, doesn't make them equal.

There are many other good points in this book, and it is well worth a reading and a re-reading or
two. Do what you can to get a copy and to give a copy to someone else.

How can Christians believe in a loving God who allows such suffering? [Don't read here, get the book!!!]

Frank Retief, minister of St James Church Capetown, speaks of his personal understanding of a personal God, amidst suffering from terrible atrocities.

If you've ever wondered what kind of God allows these things to happen, GET THIS BOOK!!!!!!

This is an excellent story of the author's life and a geography lesson on early Texas. Ride the brush country with Sterling on horseback and in the Model T. Follow along as this Texas Ranger's life evolves with the change of time. This is an excellent read about - One Ranger.

this is a very well written account of the authors life and career,as a member of this legendary organisation. it spans the period from about 1915-1935.during this time sterling rose from private to commanding the entire ranger service. the second part of the book offers full chapters on famous rangers.this book is required reading for any serious student of the texas rangers.

Trails, Trials & Triumphs is the inspiring and informative story of Tony Rowe's (2004 National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year) Raging Red Line, from Daviess County High School in Kentucky. In his nearly 30 years of coaching, Coach Rowe led his team to 7 team state championships, with numerous individual champions, all the while coaching with a bigger goal for his young men...to develop into productive members of society grounded upon the concepts of faith in God, discipline, selflessness and teamwork. This book provides an excellent overview of the history of the "Raging Red Line", along with coaching tips, inspirational stories, and great lessons learned from the Coach himself. As a member of Coach Rowe's original Raging Red Line teams (1977, 1978 & 1979) I am proud to be a part of the Daviess County tradition, and highly recommend this book for any one interested in running, coaching and/or developing young men....thanks Coach Rowe

This was a great book. Coach Rowe is one of the best XC and Track Coaches in Kentucky. Great read about his methods of coaching coupled with stories about each season. It's a very easy read and very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

This book is very useful. It is concise, informative, and very readable. If you want a good guide book on comparative religion, but don't want to spend a large amount of time tracking things down, then this is the book for you.

Just finished this title. It's in a pamphlet form, but is very comprehensive and brilliantly formatted. I now have a much better understanding of the cults compared to orthodox Christianity. If you have ever been interested in what cult members believe, you must add this book to your collection.

People often tend to think that during the days of segregation, Blacks meekly submitted to racist attacks and lynching. Tom Rubillo exposes one of many little known cases where African-Americans chose to fight the power as opposed to submitting to such atrocities. The story is well researched and the scene where the Blacks refuse to allow John Brownfield to be lynched (1,000 strong chanting "Free John! Free John!") is tailor-made for the cinema and will make you put the book down and cheer!

The only weakness in this book displays Rubillo's knowledge of the legal profession by getting a bit heavy into the legal explanations which occasionally holds up the story. That aside, it's an excellent book for fans of underground history.

Someone send Denzel a copy.

Tom Rubillo's work "Trial and Error" gives excellent insight into the race relations of the South and how the Jim Crow mentality influenced criminal trials. Rubillo does an excellent job with his research as he examines the trial of John Brownfield. Important read for those interested in law or history, but an enjoyable read for anyone, regardless of interests.

In this case, Nancy must fight to keep her father's (Carson Drew) innocence after he is accused of bribery to a judge. The thing is, the judge he supposedly has bribed has been a close friend of Carson's for years! Why would he wrongly accuse his friend? But all evidence is erased when the judge is murdered, and it's up to Nancy to rediscover it!

I really like this book. It's full of plots, action, and suspense, and different from the other Nancy Drew books that I've read. Nancy's father, Carson Drew, a famous lawyer, has been accused of a crime and it's up to Nancy to clear her father's name. Nancy ended up going undercover as a cabdriver. In her investigation, she found out most of her father's trusted clients and friends have turned against him. Why? Read it to find out for yourself!