Kirjahaku

J.R.R. Tolkien was an orphan, a scholar, a soldier, a professor; and the author of what is considered by many to be the finest book of the 20th Century - The Lord of the Rings. In this carefully researched and engagingly written biography, you'll come to know Tolkien, the friends and family members who shaped his life, and the colleagues and fellow writers who influenced his career. You'll follow Tolkien from his early childhood in South Africa to what he assumed would be the pinnacle of his carrer - a professorship at Oxford. Little did he know, it was just the beginning. For it was there that Tolkien would decide to write The Hobbit, the story that started it all.

For almost half a century H.G. Wells was an international phenomenon, the only writer of his time who could command an audience with both Roosevelt and Stalin. His circle of friends included George Bernard Shaw, Rudyard Kipling, G.K. Chesterton, Somerset Maugham and, of course, the young Rebecca West, with whom he had a long term affair. Equally illustrious were his circle of enemies, including the indomitable Hilaire Belloc, who destroyed Wells in a vicious and public argument. Unlike any previous biographer, Michael Coren shows that while many have considered Wells to be on the side of the angels, he was in fact invariably on the wrong side in the major political and literary debates of the age. This work delves deep into the paradoxes that characterized Wells - the utopian visionary and staunch advocate of women's suffrage who was also a misogynistic womanizer; the epitome of liberal tolerance who was also a social engineer and thoroughgoing anti-Semite. Wells has hitherto remained untouched by charges of anti-Semitism, but Coren reveals for the first time his disturbing views on `the Jewish problem', views he defended vehemently even through the 1930s.The avuncular author of "Kipps" and "The Time Machine" is depicted, shockingly, as one who advocated concentration camps, racial eugenics and the incarceration or execution of those who did not `fit in'.

From the bestselling author of "Why Catholics Are Right," and now available in paperback, a new examination of the history, reasoning, theology, and politics behind the great genocidal phenomenon of modern times: the Islamist war on Christianity. Christians are the most persecuted identifiable group on earth. This is not the opinion of some but the informed view of most--including the United Nations. What is seldom admitted, however, is that the vast majority of the nations that carry out the oppression, intolerance, violence, rape, and murder are Islamic. While Christians suffer in North Korea and parts of India, it is in Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, and even Indonesia and Malaysia where the situation is dark and becoming worse. The statistics and stories are truly terrifying in proportion and degree and as Islam expands and becomes increasingly aggressive, fundamentalist, and confident, Christian minorities live in fear and face a bleak future. "Hatred" outlines the history of the relationship between Islam and Christianity, explains what Islam actually teaches about the Christian faith, and gives numerous examples of the experience of Christians throughout the Islamic world. It explains not only what happens, but why it happens, and deliberately challenges the comforting but false idea that all of this is somehow an aberration and contrary to Islamic thought."

From the posterboy of Catholic conservatism, a major change of heart and soul on one of the Church's most controversial and intractable stances."This past February, a conservative Roman Catholic blog, Contra-Diction, gave me perhaps my best headline ever: 'Michael Coren Complicit in Destruction of Souls Who Practice Homosexuality, Pt 1' (I'm still waiting for part two). It was one of countless posts, tweets, and articles that have condemned me for coming out in favour of same-sex marriage. I've also been fired from columns that I wrote for years, been banned from various Catholic TV and radio stations, had speeches cancelled, and been accused of cheating on my wife. My children have been called gay, and I have been compared to a child molester and a murderer. These are new experiences for me. Until last year, I was considered something of a champion of social conservatism in Canada and was well known among politically active Christians. I hosted a nightly show on Crossroads Television for twelve years, was a syndicated Sun columnist, and wrote briskly selling books with such titles as Why Catholics Are Right. Today, I am working away at a new book, Epiphany: Changing Heart and Mind on Same-Sex Marriage. How and why did it go so terribly wrong?" --Michael Coren What went "terribly wrong" is that Michael Coren had a profound spiritual and personal change of heart. Epiphany is about how and why that happened; the reaction from both sides of the fence; and how the Christian doctrine, when studied closely and without bias, heartily supports Michael's findings. As a middle-aged, very white, very straight, very Christian man, he was obliged, first reluctantly and then eagerly, to explore the complex dynamic between faith and homosexuality and to work out a new narrative. The crux of that narrative: God is love. Honest, brave, and rigorous in its scholarship, Epiphany is a groundbreaking book on one of society's most pressing issues.

“Integrity, wit and passion. A fine advocate for the best of Christian thought and a faith that encompasses the human as well as the divine.” —Stephen FryChristianity is in crisis, and its founder is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. This book presents the real Jesus: a rebel, a radical, and a revolutionary.What did Jesus — the original Jesus — say about the pressing issues of his and our day? He didn’t mention homosexuality but did call for the poor and marginalized to be protected and championed; he never spoke of abortion but did criticize the wealthy and complacent; he didn’t side with the rulers and wealthy but did condemn those who judged and exploited others and turned their eyes away from those in need and from the cry for justice. This was Jesus the rebel, Christ the radical, who turned the world upside down and demanded that his followers do the same. Too many of those followers, tragically, seem to have misplaced that vital lesson.

“Coren tells us the stories of his fascinating life with clarity, self-deprecating wit, and page-turning verve.” — STEPHEN FRY From England’s working class to high profile media personality, Michael Coren charts his encounters with people of faith, fame, and fortune.Michael Coren writes of his life leading up to entering the seminary and being ordained. Growing up in a working-class mixed-religion family, then entering a career in media, Coren was, and in some ways still is, the consummate outsider. He records his encounters and work with Oscar-winning writers, celebrities, and authors, and his early successes as a journalist.After marrying and settling in Canada, Coren became a darling of the Christian right, with his TV and radio shows and syndicated column. He describes his shift to more progressive Christianity and politics, and what happened personally and professionally when this occurred.Not just a humble admission of fault, but an articulate and convincing account of a spiritual awakening.

Provocateur and priest Rev. Michael Coren shares the joyful, heart-rending, and thought-provoking moments that fill his life.Michael Coren is a very rare figure: he’s an ordained priest of the Anglican Church of Canada working in a parish but also an internationally known columnist and bestselling author. In Diary of a Low-Born Priest, Coren takes us through a year in his life, a diary of the everyday journey of a cleric, who also deals with public controversy and profile as a writer. He chronicles pain, loss, joy, doubt, abuse, poverty, crime, and so many other aspects of what a priest sees every day. But he also offers historical examples, arguments for and against various beliefs, and acute observations of life around him. Like pebbles thrown into a lake, he records the ripples and the waves of the spiritual role he plays in his community.

Once the darling of conservative Catholicism and evangelicalism, the outspoken broadcaster and journalist Michael Coren had what he terms as a profound conversion and began embracing the issues he had previously judged. It cost him his lucrative broadcasting career and made him the target of vitriol, but he found freedom in the radical and progressive nature of the gospel and is today its champion. In The Rebel Christ he explores what Jesus said about the pressing issues of his and our day. Jesus may not have mentioned sexuality, but welcomed outsiders and the marginalized; he never spoke of social security systems, but did criticize the wealthy and complacent and called for the poor to be protected; he didn’t side with the powerful but did condemn those who judged and exploited others and turned their eyes away from those in need and from the cry for justice. This was Jesus the rebel, Christ the radical, who turned the world upside down and who today demands that his followers do the same.