A likable memoir, full of the author’s love of life, even if it often covers familiar territory.
Walter’s debut memoir, set in post–World War II America, delves into the importance of faith and self-reliance.
The author grew up in a classic 1950s family in a small town in Colorado, and he had loving parents, “three square meals a day, warm clothes, a home with enough beds for everyone and a real sense of pride in America.” Walter takes us back to a simpler time in this memoir, when people could leave their cars unlocked and didn’t overprotect their children, and the country rose to global economic and cultural dominance. The text moves from story to story, using folksy colloquialisms reminiscent of a kind grandfather’s, and a running theme becomes clear: God, the author writes, has provided the author with blessings—miracles and angels—despite his wavering (and sometimes nonexistent) belief in the Almighty. He depicts his life as being guided by an unseen hand to happiness and joy, from his birth in the United States, to his success in business, to meeting his wife. Walter’s previously written articles about faith are included throughout, including such maxims as “a good wife will always let you know you're unzipped before you leave the house.” Some readers may find it corny, but they’ll also enjoy the author’s comfortable, casual style as he episodically relates his life story. Critical readers, though, may find the memoir to be an unconvincing argument for faith and may merely regard it as one man’s trip through America’s past—which may seem a bit too idyllic. That said, the author truly believes in his faith and loves telling his story, and his pleasure may become the reader’s.
A likable memoir, full of the author’s love of life, even if it often covers familiar territory.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-1477498231
Page Count: 326
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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