reviews

100 years of empire... Authors:  Tariq Ali and Oliver Stone Sometimes it’s important to get a second opinion. This is as true in history as it is in any other endeavor.  When it comes to American history, the view of an outsider can often provide illumination.  A case in point is British Pakistani military historian Tariq Ali, who began critiquing US imperialism during the Vietnam War.  He hasn’t let up any since then.  Filmmaker Oliver Stone recently worked with Ali on South of the Border, a 2009 documentary.  Following this project, the two men teamed up to produce On History, [...]

Anne of Green Gables Second Set of Adventures Author: L.M. Montgomery Returning to the magic realm of Green Gables and the novels that in one boring summer vacation transformed me into an excessive bookworm, I followed my reading of Anne of Green Gables with its sequel, Anne of Avonlea. Here, we follow Anne from sweet-sixteen to eighteen as she grows from an imaginative child into an idealistic and enthusiastic young woman. This is a quiet spot in Anne’s life in the series as she stays with foster mother Marilla abandoning college and settling down to teach school and keep the happy Cuthburt farm alive. [...]

The Shack: Profound Spiritual Fiction Author: WM. Paul Young Seeing The Shack for sale in a cozy independent bookstore in Chattanooga brought back the intense memories of having first read this moving and unique novel during my early teens. Caressing the snowy cover depicting light and spring emerging around a dilapidated, abandoned shack, I decided that it was long since time to re-visit a novel that proved integral to my spiritual growth and understanding and also to my general enjoyment of encompassing fiction. I also took the boyfriend along for the ride, this being his first acquaintance with The Shack and my first [...]