A call for Protestant Reformation–style spiritual renewal marred by ungainly hatemongering.
A Scripture-quoting jeremiad on the evils of organized religion.
Foster’s (A Land Called Pangaea, 2014) latest book has as its central premise the difference between faith (a personal interaction with the Christian God) and religion (which has “nothing to do with the Word of God and everything to do with the lies of Satan through men of theology”). In this “no holds barred search for the truth in God’s Word,” Foster specifically refers to a sequence of “Blood Religions” that exalt ancestor worship over faith in God (Judaism), worship a false god (Catholicism), or praise a false prophet (Islam). Liberally seeded with biblical quotations, his text contends that by following the state-sanctioned, power-enabling Blood Religions, humanity has been led astray, a process that has been hastened by scholars “who intellectualize religion through education.” Foster tells readers that God prepared the world to receive his son, Jesus Christ, and this reception can only be accomplished by studying the King James Bible (which, curiously, is itself a translation from Hebrew and Aramaic made by highly intellectual scholars). Unfortunately, this type of standard American revivalist rhetoric is accompanied by hatred and bigotry. Jews—often referred to as “the Jew”—are collectively blamed for the death of Jesus; California’s droughts are God’s punishment for the state’s liberalism; President Barack Obama is a Muslim; homosexual acts are sinful; etc. Even as he declares that Satan has conquered the world through the works of Jews, Catholics, and Muslims, Foster claims to mean no harm to anyone; it’s doubtful his Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, liberal, intellectual, gay, or secular humanist readers will agree.
A call for Protestant Reformation–style spiritual renewal marred by ungainly hatemongering.Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-692-32640-4
Page Count: 258
Publisher: The Emerald Rainbow
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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