Blogcritics Author: Karen Phillips

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Book Review: The Last Reunion by Daniel and Mary Ann Nusbaum

Karen Phillips — Thu, 8 Mar 2007 19:45:04 EST

Scanning the market for "Last Days" fiction, one might categorize that genre as oversaturated. However, The Last Reunion provides some twists different from recent forays into this genre. The beginning, set at an orphanage in rural Indiana, evokes the old-fashioned feel of the classic "Last Days" novel, The Twinkling of an Eye. During a blizzard, the custodian of the orphans' home discovers a basket containing a newborn baby. The first miracle of Jim Hoeven's life occurs in the next few minutes, and the reader senses, correctly, that little Jimmy is no ordinary baby. The opening chapters describe mysterious wolf-like creatures, which connect to the child's fate and fortune. These fearsome beasts appear more than once to threaten Jimmy and those he loves, and each encounter proves more dangerous. The lack of details about Jim's mother's or father's origin, about which the writers make certain implications by referring to Scripture, will probably not deter the reader from focusing on the growth and adventures of the protagonist. An early blood test reveals his first anomaly to Jimmy's adoptive parents, foreshadowing his strange, often heroic feats. The child encounters leopards at the circus, as well as confronts the wolf-like animals. He shows athletic prowess and intelligence beyond his years, swimming at a tender age and enrolling in college at age twelve. As Jim develops under the loving supervision of his parents, who oversee the orphanage, he seems a healthy, normal child, except for special strengths and gifts reminiscent of Superman.The introduction of a sinister man, Wendell Anderson, alerts the reader to the presence of Jimmy's lifelong enemy and the threats this boy must constantly evade. At two different points in Jim’s life, Anderson plants a different woman in Jim’s home, attempting to destroy him. In the meantime, the Governor and his wife, who become close to Jim through their friendship with his adoptive parents, involve the young man in politics and diplomacy. The knowledge Jim gains over the years through this long-term internship will serve him in his ultimate calling and his final showdown with Anderson.Scenes recounting medical or forensic detail come to life, as the research for this novel proves meticulous to the last detail. Hospital or crime scenes at times have a stilted, overly scientific feel, but they are realistic. We know the authors aren't inventing medical or police procedures or terminology; instead, the vivid images come off the page like an <i>E.R.</i> episode.Taken strictly as fiction, and not as Bible prophecy explained in fiction, I enjoyed the book, especially the first half. The tension accelerated and the plot action moved at a steady rate, holding my attention. I felt that the second half of The Last Reunion lost some of its momentum, though the plot and characters, especially Jim Hoeven, had already reeled me in so much that I had to see what happened next. The scattered implications from the villain, of Jim’s identity, may mislead some readers, even though the novel’s denouement clarifies the truth. None of these flaws detracted from my enjoyment. As I questioned aspects of the implied “End Times” eschatology, I accepted the challenge to return to the pages of Bible prophecy to see for myself what Scripture says about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. This story defies the reader to put down the book!

Karen answered her call to write when her nest emptied. She draws on her faith, love of books, and family life for inspiration. See her blogs at http://sky-highview.blogspot.com, http://blog.myspace.com/writethetruth, and http://www.shoutlife.com/karenhphillips .

Book Review: A Time to Embrace by Karen Kingsbury

Karen Phillips — Sat, 3 Mar 2007 01:37:35 EST

It was inevitable that I would read the sequel to Karen Kingsbury's, A Time to Dance, having enjoyed the first book. In it she creates memorable, lovable, and fallible characters. John and Abby Reynolds are a married couple who struggle with their relationship while trying to put on a good face for their church, community, and family. This couple met in their teens and fell in love with each other at an early age. Somehow, they have wandered away from a love that once amazed all who know them. Now Reynolds, a successful high school football coach, and his journalist wife, Abby, go through the motions publicly but battle each other and their own emotions privately. They deal with temptation to stray, and struggle with a love turned to loathing and faith that has wandered from God's commands and promises. This novel will reward and affirm both the happily married reader and the one who stands on the brink of divorce. I initially encountered Kingsbury's writing in A Time to Dance, and after reading both books in this series, I'm still hooked.In A Time to Embrace, John, Abby, and their three children meet a new challenge - one that threatens to turn their lives upside down. I warn the reader that he must not read the summary inside the book’s back cover, because it gives away too much of the plot. If I am any indication of a normal reader, I want no more than vague, general hints as to what might happen to the characters.Coach John Reynolds worries about several issues as the book opens: troubled teens he coaches and teaches, severe criticism of his coaching from parents of the players, pressure to win from fans and administrators, a serious problem with his own son. He prays for wisdom and talks with Abby about these new troubles.Tragedy strikes, testing the faith of John, Abby, and most specifically, their daughter Nicole. The author handles the responses of all the characters in a realistic way, which makes the story poignant for the reader. I found myself tearful at the tender moments of the various Reynolds' family members and friends' responses: expressing doubts, growing in faith, reacting in anger and sorrow, triumphing over feelings and circumstances.Besides the problem with revealing plot details, my only criticism of the story was an uneasy feeling the book gave me that the subplot and the main plot were too simply resolved. One of the very things I loved about the first book -- the tension between the characters and the conflict that seemed insurmountable -- was not as well developed in A Time to Embrace. This left me slightly hollow and off-center when I finished the book. Still, it's a good read, and the characters are more real than ever. Karen Kingsbury writes straight to a woman's heart, and non-Christians may find her books as appealing as do Christians.

Book Review: Gifted Hands - The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson and Cecil Murphey

Karen Phillips — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:52:17 EST

God smiled on me in the form of Cecil Murphey. I met him online through a Christian writers' group; and whether he knows it or likes it, this past year he has become one of my best writing mentors. As we began corresponding by email, Mr. Murphey offered me an original edition paperback autographed copy of Gifted Hands, his 1990 ghostwritten autobiography of Benjamin Carson, M.D. (An updated version with a new cover is now available.) This famous super specialist neurosurgeon has perfected some operating techniques that have saved and enhanced many lives. His story proved an intriguing read to me.I come from a medical family: My dad and brother are doctors. My cousin was a doctor. His wife is a nurse. My husband is a pharmacist. This heritage and exposure alone drew me to the book. However, I'm not up on all the latest technology and complicated medical jargon. That kind of knowledge is not required for readers of Gifted Hands.For about ten years, I've become somewhat of a success junkie; that is, I love to read and study about the lives of successful people and what makes them tick. Ben Carson does not disappoint me. He chose, with the encouragement of his mother and others along the way, to overcome his broken home and impoverished background. He turned his poor grades into a quest for knowledge and his selfish thinking during adolescence into a mission to serve God and his fellow man.Ben's band teacher, Mr. Doakes, demanded perfection from his students in playing music. Doakes also told Ben, "Carson, you have to put academics first. Always put first things first." One of three ROTC colonels in Detroit by the time he was a senior in high school, Ben turned down a scholarship to West Point. The reason? He knew he wanted to be a doctor, that he was called to be a doctor.Because Ben had applied himself wholeheartedly to his studies, he received a 90 percent scholarship to Yale University. During medical school at the University of Michigan, he invented a new surgical technique on his neurosurgery rotation. Neurosurgery, he says, "became a compulsion." The same drive and faith in God that led him to this point continued to guide Dr. Carson, through years of training and experience, to what he describes as a "groundbreaking surgical procedure," one that brought ABC television's 20/20 seeking him for a story and interview.When I reached the concluding chapters of Gifted Hands, which delved into the complex surgeries, which would bring hope to patients once declared hopeless, the details given by worried parents and Carson himself touched me to tears. I imagined my children in the same dilemma as these struggling babies, grade-schoolers, or adolescents. The miracle and mystery of how God could use this man to deliver these people from their worst nightmares amazed me. The best aspect of this narrative exposing the struggles and successes of Ben Carson's life? His constant insistence on giving credit to others for his personal success and for his accomplishments in the medical field. So many have benefited, yet he never fails in each chapter to mention someone, including God, to whom he owes a debt of gratitude.

Book Review: John Wooden's My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey

Karen Phillips — Mon, 5 Feb 2007 18:23:44 EST

Many coaches aspire but few can live up to the legacy that John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach, has created. In his autobiography My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey, written with Steve Jamison, a best-selling author and public speaker, Wooden tells his not-so-secret formula for turning out winning teams and a winning life. The reader starts back at the coach’s own beginning on a farm in Indiana. I liked the homespun yet intelligent appeal of the book, sharing the background of this legendary man. With amazing recall, Wooden names the rules for living from the role models of his past, including his father, Joshua. For example, Joshua Wooden kept a seven-point written creed on a card. He taught these principles to all his sons. My favorite of the seven: “Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.” Wooden cites his mother, for her hard-working spirit of fortitude, and coaches of his own basketball career for their various influences, as other models. Wooden learned the importance of the basics in the round-ball game from Coach Glenn Curtis at during high school in Martinsville, Indiana. Curtis had already won two Indiana state basketball championships by 1926, when Wooden joined his team.Continuing to recall people with an extraordinary impact on his life, Wooden introduces us to teammates, players he coached, and the love of his life, Nellie. We watch him evolve from the influenced to the influencer, as he develops his Pyramid of Success, a diagram of the building blocks he considers essential to success in any arena of life. He sets the foundation of this pyramid as industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm, topped by succeeding rows of other character traits. This chart appears mid-book, but the building and application of this blueprint for success is demonstrated throughout Wooden’s life story.I found myself fascinated with Wooden’s own character and the character studies of the people in his world. He sought to coach with discipline but without anger, and this moderation appears in the description of others who factored in his development. Coach Piggy Lambert at Purdue affected his player, John Wooden, more than he could imagine. An unpopular decision by Lambert involved refusing to take his players to a tournament at Madison Square Garden. He believed visiting this venue might corrupt the students. Wooden the Boilermaker player caught the concern for students’ welfare and the commitment to those students from Coach Lambert. This became a key in Wooden’s relationships with his own players.Wooden’s tales of losses, such as his father’s death, and victories, including turning UCLA from a losing to winning season the first year he coached the team, cannot fail to touch readers. I felt the loneliness of Wooden and his family as they strove to adjust to California. I sensed his frustration in efforts to make a team out of the raggedy-uniformed Bruins.Wooden and Jamison join as the ideal team for this overview of Wooden’s life and coaching success. The book is neither overly sentimental nor boringly obsessed with detail, but gives just the information readers crave. My own basketball playing never passed the backyard, but this book hooked me on Wooden and his brand of ball. For success-story junkies, college basketball fans, and sports lovers, this volume is a winner.