en-US Tue, 06 Sep 2016 15:06:57 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 26002828 200 Randy Hain Randy 5 5.00 2015
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 30221826 302 Randy Hain 1941447562 Randy 5 5.00
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 17568801 No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth.

Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.� The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal.

Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God.

Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry—a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy.

Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction; a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately the seditious “King of the Jews� whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime. Aslan explores the reasons why the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity.

Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus of Nazareth’s life and mission. The result is a thought-provoking, elegantly written biography with the pulse of a fast-paced novel: a singularly brilliant portrait of a man, a time, and the birth of a religion.]]> 296 Reza Aslan 140006922X Randy 0 to-read 3.83 2013
author: Reza Aslan
name: Randy
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 16481787 Laurie R. King 1461833485 Randy 0 to-read 2.88 2011
author: Laurie R. King
name: Randy
average rating: 2.88
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25586986 220 Randy Hain 1941447112 Randy 5 4.71 2015
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 4.71
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/05/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 21918132 � Dream big and have faith � Entrust everything to Mary � Create something beautiful for God � Discover new ways to reach today’s youth * Live an authentic faith * Be courageous

Joyful Witness introduces us to individuals who have accomplished amazing things for God, things that have made them extraordinary Catholics. This book will inspire you to be extraordinary, too!]]> 160 Randy Hain 1616368101 Randy 5 3.80 2014
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/05/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 21894580 270 Randy Hain 1940329825 Randy 5 4.43 2014
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> 19125144
Here is what a few folks had to say ...

"We all lose our jobs, or our jobs lose us, and it is time to move on. Change is never easy but with Landed! in your hands, your odds just got WAY better. Randy Hain has seen it all, and he can share with you all you need to know to find the next great career in your life. Read it, believe it, do it! You will have no regrets." -Chester Elton, author of the New York Times best sellers, "The Carrot Principle" and "All In"

"Landed! is a must-read for both senior executives and recent graduates alike who want to take their career to the next level whether they are currently in a job or looking for the next one. Randy provides keen insights from his own experience while summarizing helpful 'best practices' from his vast network of experienced corporate leaders, HR professionals and entrepreneurs. Take great notes because Landed! is full of tips that really work!" -Tim Tassopoulos, executive vice president of operations for Chick-fil-A

"As a college student looking at a tough job market in a few years, I appreciate the practical lessons here. I want to find the right job and best fit for me and think this book can help. I appreciated the sections on interviewing and negotiating. Definite must read for students and anybody looking for a new job." -Brian Anthony, student at Clemson University]]> 174 Randy Hain 1489557946 Randy 5
]]> 4.45 2013
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/01/01
shelves:
review:
I hope readers enjoy my 4th book, LANDED! Proven Job Search Strategies for Today's Professional and find it useful in their search for a new job or in evaluating their next career move. The book is very practical and filled with action-oriented suggestions as well as helpful contributions from hiring managers, professionals who have been through transition and subject matter experts.


]]> 16270442
Randy Hain's third book offers a much needed guide to any business professional seeking more from life than work alone. Through his over two decades experience in interviewing and working with other business professionals, Hain captures the best of what he has learned and observed about how to pursue a life filled with meaning in this book. In addition, Hain has interviewed over a dozen professional men and women from around the country in the book who are actively pursuing their own lives filled with meaning. Their combined and eclectic experiences greatly enrich "Something More" and offer the reader an authentic guide filled with practical wisdom which will connect with almost any interested reader.

After exploring our motivations for the choices we make and the obstacles which get in the way, Hain addresses work/life balance, recalibrating our thinking, serving others, job satisfaction, using our gifts, authenticity, the role of crisis, courage and the role of faith from a broad and ecumenical perspective. This multi-faceted approach will help the reader embark on the path to a more meaningful life headed in the right direction and armed with the tools they need for the journey. The thought-provoking discussion questions at the end of each chapter will challenge the reader's perceptions and encourage different thinking about the path of their lives.

"Something More" is ideal for any business person from new college graduate to retiree. The book is accessible, practical, authentic and filled with wisdom. Anyone seeking more out of life than simply their job will find the book helpful, engaging and inspirational.]]> 144 Randy Hain 0764822470 Randy 5 3.64 2013
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/08/05
shelves:
review:

]]> 12986489
Their teachings and insights not only brought peace and understanding to the Church of their time, but continue to anchor the Church of today. They brought clarity to the fragments and simplicity to the complex.

They used speeches, documents, poems, and songs to reach the people of their time. Now Pope Benedict XVI explores the lives and significance of thirty-two of the Doctors of the Church like no one else can. Taken directly from the pope's addresses in his weekly audiences, Doctors of the Church is an incredible journey through time to better understand these individuals who explored and explained the critical questions of the Church.

---Who is Christ?
---How do we know Christ?
---How do we act as Christ's disciples?
---How are we in Christ?

"The mission of the Church in every age is to introduce the world to Christ, its savior. The Church cannot accomplish her mission without learned men and women who are saints of God."---
Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago]]> 272 Pope Benedict XVI 161278576X Randy 5 currently-reading 4.44 2011
author: Pope Benedict XVI
name: Randy
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/02/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 15732628 150 Randy Hain 0764821644 Randy 5 4.57 2012
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/02/05
shelves:
review:

]]> 12975375 216 Patrick Lencioni 0470941529 Randy 4
"Organizational health will one day surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage." He has peeked inside the world's top companies for years to gain a perspective and valuable insight that has informed his important views in this book.

His humble style, direct way of communicating and easy to follow recipe to achieve organizational health makes this the must-read book of 2012 for all business leaders, especially CEOs. The talent wars are heating up and it will only become more difficult to attract and retain top talent in the future. Acting on the "advantage" Lencioni outlines in this great book will help smart companies leave their competition in the dust. ]]> 4.12 2012
author: Patrick Lencioni
name: Randy
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/05/07
date added: 2012/07/08
shelves:
review:
Patrick Lencioni has nailed the competitive advantage that has been under our noses for years! Lencioni writes:

"Organizational health will one day surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage." He has peeked inside the world's top companies for years to gain a perspective and valuable insight that has informed his important views in this book.

His humble style, direct way of communicating and easy to follow recipe to achieve organizational health makes this the must-read book of 2012 for all business leaders, especially CEOs. The talent wars are heating up and it will only become more difficult to attract and retain top talent in the future. Acting on the "advantage" Lencioni outlines in this great book will help smart companies leave their competition in the dust.
]]> 324253 125 Thomas Dubay 1586171178 Randy 5 4.35 2006
author: Thomas Dubay
name: Randy
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/07/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 302731 640 Nathan Miller 0688132200 Randy 4 4.15 1992
author: Nathan Miller
name: Randy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:
Good general bio of Theodore Roosevelt. Enjoyable read.
]]> 824938 1088 Martin Gilbert 0805023968 Randy 4 4.06 1991
author: Martin Gilbert
name: Randy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2010/01/01
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:
Martin Gilbert is an outstanding biographer and his work on Churchill is a must-read. You feel like you are standing next to Churchill throughout his long and adventurous life thanks to Gilbert's work.
]]> 861456 728 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138221 Randy 5 4.81 1989
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.81
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:
I have been reading the In Conversation with God books by Francis Fernandez since my conversion into the Church in 2006. The books have had a significant impact on the growth of my faith and I highly recommend them!
]]> 1603615 404 Jean-Pierre de Caussade 1602064334 Randy 0 to-read 4.13 1861
author: Jean-Pierre de Caussade
name: Randy
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1861
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 631405 384 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138361 Randy 5 4.93 1988
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.93
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1230554 408 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138256 Randy 5 4.89 1991
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.89
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1134738 590 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138248 Randy 5 4.85 1988
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.85
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1808415 387 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138205 Randy 5 4.77 1989
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.77
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 169901 609 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138213 Randy 5 4.86 1989
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.86
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 15026 This seven-volume set gives you brief (five to six pages) meditations for every day of the Church's entire liturgical calendar, including feast days and each of the three cycles of Ordinary Time on Sundays. Author Francis Fernandez-Carvajal makes generous use of the writings of the great saints as he brings you focused and moving meditations on themes taken from the Mass readings for that day, the liturgical season, and more. This work is rich and extensive enough to serve as your spiritual reading for a lifetime, as it helps you relate the particulars of the message of Christ to the ordinary circumstances of your day. Each volume is small enough for you to carry it to Adoration or some other suitable place for meditation. The whole set comes with a handsome slipcase that prevents wear-and-tear on the individual volumes.

]]> 3800 Francisco Fernández-Carvajal 0906138191 Randy 5 4.76 1992
author: Francisco Fernández-Carvajal
name: Randy
average rating: 4.76
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 30621 220 Joseph Pearce 0898709792 Randy 0 to-read 3.80 2003
author: Joseph Pearce
name: Randy
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1319537 452 Joseph Pearce 0898707900 Randy 4 4.28 1999
author: Joseph Pearce
name: Randy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 174964 658 Fulton J. Sheen Randy 0 to-read 4.57 1952
author: Fulton J. Sheen
name: Randy
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 298724 160 Charles J. Chaput 156955191X Randy 5 4.16 2001
author: Charles J. Chaput
name: Randy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 2939516
--From the Introduction

Few topics in recent years have ignited as much public debate as the balance between religion and politics. Does religious thought have any place in political discourse? Do religious believers have the right to turn their values into political action? What does it truly mean to have a separation of church and state? The very heart of these important questions is here addressed by one of the leading voices on the topic, Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver.

While American society has ample room for believers and nonbelievers alike, Chaput argues, our public life must be considered within the context of its Christian roots. American democracy does not ask its citizens to put aside their deeply held moral and religious beliefs for the sake of public policy. In fact, it "requires "exactly the opposite.

As the nation's founders knew very well, people are fallible. The majority of voters, as history has shown again and again, can be uninformed, misinformed, biased, or simply wrong. Thus, to survive, American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry --people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square--respectfully but vigorously, and without apology. Anything less is bad citizenship and a form of theft from the nation's health. Or as the author suggests: Good manners are not an excuse for political cowardice.

American Catholics and other persons of goodwill are part of a struggle for our nation's future, says Charles J. Chaput. Our choices, including our political choices, matter. Catholics need to take an active, vocal, and morally consistent role in public debate. We can't claim to personally believe in the sanctity of the human person, and then act in our public policies as if we don't. We can't separate our private convictions from our public actions without diminishing both. In the words of the author, "How we act works backward on our convictions, making them stronger or smothering them under a snowfall of alibis."

Vivid, provocative, clear, and compelling, Render unto Caesar is a call to American Catholics to serve the highest ideals of their nation by first living their Catholic faith deeply, authentically.]]> 258 Charles J. Chaput 0385522282 Randy 4 4.29 2008
author: Charles J. Chaput
name: Randy
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 666640 471 Frank Sheed 0898704707 Randy 0 to-read 4.53 1946
author: Frank Sheed
name: Randy
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3690
In his introduction, John Updike calls The Power and the Glory, "Graham Greene's masterpiece�. The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the will toward compassion, an ideal communism even more Christian than Communist."]]> 222 Graham Greene 0142437301 Randy 5 3.99 1940
author: Graham Greene
name: Randy
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1940
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 325188
Peter Kreeft is professor of philosophy at Boston College and the author of many books, including Between Heaven and Hell, Socrates Meets Jesus and (with Ronald Tacelli) Handbook of Christian Apologetics (all IVP).]]> 120 Peter Kreeft 0830823166 Randy 5 4.03 2002
author: Peter Kreeft
name: Randy
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 13258980
To have any hope of succeeding as a manager, you need to get your people all in .

Whether you manage the smallest of teams or a multi-continent organization, you are the owner of a work culture—congratulations—and few things will have a bigger impact on your performance than getting your people to buy into your ideas and your cause and to believe what they do matters.

Bestselling authors of The Carrot Principle and The Orange Revolution, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton return to answer the most overlooked leadership questions of our day: Why are some managers able to get their employees to commit wholeheartedly to their culture and give that extra push that leads to outstanding results? And how can managers at any level build and sustain a profitable, vibrant work-group culture of their own?

These leading workplace experts teamed up with research giant Towers Watson to analyze an unprecedented 300,000-person study, and they made a groundbreaking finding: managers of the highest-performing work groups create a “culture of belief.� In these distinctive workplaces, people believe in their leaders and in the company’s vision, values, and goals. Employees are not only engaged but also enabled and energized (termed the three Es), which leads to astonishing results—average annual revenues three times higher than for organizations lacking such a positive culture. And this was true during a period that included this most recent recession.

Based on their extensive consulting experience and in-depth interviews with leaders and employees at exceptional companies such as American Express, Cigna, Avis Budget, Pepsi Bottling, and Hard Rock, the authors present a simple seven-step road map for creating a culture of belief: define a burning platform; create a customer focus; develop agility; share everything; partner with your talent; root for each other; and establish clear accountability. Delving into specific how-tos for each step, they share eye-opening stories of exceptional leaders in action, vividly depicting just how these powerful methods can be implemented by any manager.

All In draws on cutting-edge psychology and all of the creative genius that have made Gostick and Elton a must-read for leaders worldwide. This vital resource will empower managers everywhere to inspire a new level of commitment and performance.]]> 242 Adrian Gostick 1451659822 Randy 4 3.69 2012
author: Adrian Gostick
name: Randy
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 8882633 220 Tim Elmore 0578063557 Randy 4 3.89 2010
author: Tim Elmore
name: Randy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 811202
Doing the right thing at work isn't always easy, but James Nolan helps the Catholic layperson succeed in doing so everyday. His five-point program identifies and helps us better understand what drives people in the workplace and what motivates a person to do the right thing. Nolan calls on readers to examine their own level of self-awareness, to expand their horizons, engage with others, build community and finally to incorporate prayer into one's daily life and in the workplace. Drawn from his years of experience at the Woodstock Business Conference, Doing the Right Thing at Work outlines ways for people of all professions to perform in the workplace without losing or displacing their spiritual center.

"…an outstanding job of showing how Christian values can provide the moral compass for 'doing the right thing' for those called to the vocation of business. Nolan makes a unique and significant contribution in an era of both unprecedented ethical breaches, and an increasing search by many for meaning in their personal and professional lives."—Michael J. Fischer, Ph.D., C.P.A., dean of school of business and of graduate studies, St. Bonaventure University]]> 143 James L. Nolan 0867166762 Randy 4 3.50 2005
author: James L. Nolan
name: Randy
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 13561471 138 Kevin Lowry 1592760163 Randy 5 4.03 2011
author: Kevin Lowry
name: Randy
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 175078
The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man, who at the age of twenty-six, takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks. At the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he has fully immersed himself in it. At the abbey, he wrote this extraordinary testament, a unique spiritual autobiography that has been recognized as one of the most influential religious works of our time. Translated into more than twenty languages, it has touched millions of lives.
Ěý±Ő±Ő> 467 Thomas Merton 0156010860 Randy 4 4.05 1948
author: Thomas Merton
name: Randy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1948
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 236405
Bestselling author Scott Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, has experienced the doubts that so often drive discussions about God and the Church. In the years before his conversion, he was first a nonbeliever and then an anti-Catholic clergyman.

In REASONS TO BELIEVE, he explains the "how and why" of the Catholic faith—drawing from Scripture, his own struggles and those of other converts, as well as from everyday life and even natural science. Hahn shows that reason and revelation, nature and the supernatural, are not opposed to one another; rather they offer complementary evidence that God exists. But He doesn't merely exist. He is someone, and He has a personality, a personal style, that is discernible and knowable. Hahn leads readers to see that God created the universe with a purpose and a form—a form that can be found in the Book of Genesis and that is there when we view the natural world through a microscope, through a telescope, or through our contact lenses.

At the heart of the book is Hahn's examination of the ten "keys to the kingdom"—the characteristics of the Church clearly evident in the Scriptures. As the story of creation discloses, the world is a house that has a Father, a palace where the king is really present. God created the cosmos to be a kingdom, and that kingdom is the universal Church, fully revealed by Jesus Christ.]]> 227 Scott Hahn 0385509359 Randy 4 4.18 2007
author: Scott Hahn
name: Randy
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 28883 As seen on EWTN, bestselling author Scott Hahn unveils the mysteries of the Mass, offering readers a deeper appreciation of the most familiar of Catholic rituals.

Of all things Catholic, there is nothing that is so familiar as the Mass. With its unchanging prayers, the Mass fits Catholics like their favorite clothes. Yet most Catholics sitting in the pews on Sundays fail to see the powerful supernatural drama that enfolds them. Pope John Paul II described the Mass as Heaven on Earth, explaining that what we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy.

The Lamb's Supper reveals a long-lost secret of the Church: The early Christians' key to understanding the mysteries of the Mass was the New Testament Book of Revelation. With its bizarre imagery, its mystic visions of heaven, and its end-of-time prophecies, Revelation mirrors the sacrifice and celebration of the Eucharist.

Beautifully written, in clear direct language, bestselling Catholic author Scott Hahn's new book will help readers see the Mass with new eyes, pray the liturgy with a renewed heart, and enter into the Mass more fully, enthusiastically, intelligently, and powerfully than ever before.]]> 174 Scott Hahn 0385496591 Randy 3 4.42 1999
author: Scott Hahn
name: Randy
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 117531 On the mystical path, the experience of night is neither dark, nor dramatic, nor tragic. This magnificent poetic treatise shows, on the contrary, that she is the recipient of divine lessons. A major work of the negative path.


« Plus les choses divines sont en soi claires et manifestes, plus elles sont naturellement obscures et cachées à l’âme. Il en est ici comme de la lumière naturelle : […] plus on veut fixer le soleil en face, et plus on éblouit la puissance visuelle et on la prive de lumière […]. De même, quand cette divine lumière de la contemplation investit l’âme qui n’est pas encore complètement éclairée, elle produit en elle des ténèbres spirituelles, parce que non seulement elle la dépasse, mais parce qu’elle la prive de son intelligence naturelle et en obscurcit l’acte. »
Sur le chemin mystique, l’expérience de la nuit n’est ni noire, ni dramatique, ni tragique. Ce magnifique traité poétique montre au contraire qu’elle est réceptrice de leçons divines. Une œuvre majeure de la voie négative.]]> 111 John of the Cross 0486426939 Randy 0 to-read 4.17 1584
author: John of the Cross
name: Randy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1584
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 753314 202 Walter Ciszek 0898705460 Randy 5 4.59 1973
author: Walter Ciszek
name: Randy
average rating: 4.59
book published: 1973
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 11149 The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging and humorous account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.^]]> 209 C.S. Lewis 0060652896 Randy 5 4.17 1942
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Randy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1942
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1812457
In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!]]> 248 William Paul Young 0964729237 Randy 1 3.73 2007
author: William Paul Young
name: Randy
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2007
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 325190 What is the purpose of education?
Why do we make love?
What good is money?
Can computers think like people?
Is there a difference between Capitalism and Communism?
What is the greatest good?
Is belief in God like belief in Santa Claus?
In twelve short, Socratic dialogues Peter Kreeft explodes contemporary values like success, power and pleasure. And he bursts the modern bubbles of agnosticism and subjectivism. He leaves you richer, wiser and more able to discern what the best things in life actually are.]]> 190 Peter Kreeft 0877849226 Randy 0 to-read 4.07 1984
author: Peter Kreeft
name: Randy
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 2603026   Perhaps a few remarks from the book best explains The point of the
 The point of the Imagine a storm has downed a telephone wire so that everyone who touches it is shocked in every cell of his body. Well, the storm of God’s crazy love has “downed� (incarnated) Jesus, and everyone who touches this “live wire� is shocked in every cell of his soul.
 The question of the Why is “Jesus� the most non-neutral, the most controversial, the most embarrassing name in the world? Why is talking about Jesus like talking about sex?
 This whole book is really about a single movie line, the greatest line in the greatest movie in history. Bet you know what it is.
 Jesus-Shock is about the Real Presence of Christ in the Gospels and in the Eucharist. It
is not about the theology of the Real Presence, but about the experience of Him there, and about the experience of everyone in the Gospels who met Him.  What was the bitterest controversy of the Protestant Reformation, both between Protestants and Catholics and between different Protestant denominations, the one that had both sides calling the other not just heretics but devils?   
  It was not Justification by Faith, the hallmark of the Reformation, even though that question is about nothing less momentous than how to be saved, how to get to Heaven. It was not the relation between religion and politics, even though that was a matter of life or death (literally, on battlefields and at guillotines and hangings) and not just a matter of truth or falsity, or of good or evil. It was not about the sufficiency of the Bible, or the corruption in the Church, or the relation between the Bible and the Church. It was not about the Pope, and the governance of the Church. It was not about Mary or saints or angels or Purgatory. It was not about the Incarnation or the Trinity or the Atonement.
 It was about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Jesus-Shock, in addressing this controversy forcefully and faithfully, shows the reasons why to this day the name of “Jesus� stirs up controversy, even revulsion, in polite society. In the true spirit of ecumenism, it also points the way toward a true rapprochement among His modern-day disciples.]]> 176 Peter Kreeft 1587313944 Randy 4 4.21 2008
author: Peter Kreeft
name: Randy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1396925 264 Peter Kreeft 1580512240 Randy 4 4.16 2007
author: Peter Kreeft
name: Randy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 754771 306 Thérèse of Lisieux 0935216588 Randy 0 to-read 4.41 1898
author: Thérèse of Lisieux
name: Randy
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1898
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 7639691 Who was Theophilos? Scripture scholars do not know, making him a fit subject for Michael O'Brien's vivid imagination. In this fictional narrative, Theophilos is the skeptical but beloved adoptive father of St. Luke. Challenged by the startling account of the "Christos" received in the chronicle from his beloved son Luke and concerned for the newly zealous young man's fate, Theophilos, a Greek physician and an agnostic, embarks on a search for Luke to bring him home. He is gravely concerned about the deadly illusions Luke has succumbed to regarding the incredible stories surrounding Jesus of Nazareth, a man of contradictions who has caused so much controversy throughout the Roman Empire.
Thus begins a long journey that will take Theophilos deep into the war between nations and empires, truth and myth, good and evil, and into unexpected dimensions of his very self. His quest takes the reader into four ancient civilizations - the Greek, Roman, Jewish, and that of Christianity at its birth, where he meets those who knew this man that some believe is the Messiah.
Though Theophilos is a man of the past ages, he is as familiar to us as the men of our own times. Schooled in the empiricism of both medicine and philosophy, Theophilos is well suited to speak to our age in which seeing cannot be the basis for faith, but rather hearing the witness of those who have been touched by God and opening ourselves to the possibility of an encounter with the living Christ. This is a story about the mysterious interaction of faith and reason, the psychology of perception, and the power of love over death.]]> 448 Michael D. O'Brien 1586173685 Randy 4 4.24 2010
author: Michael D. O'Brien
name: Randy
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 550996
Father Elijah is a convert from Judaism, a survivor of the Holocaust, a man once powerful in Israel. For twenty years he has been "buried in the dark night of Carmel" on the mountain of the prophet Elijah. The Pope and the Cardinal Secretary of State call him out of obscurity and give him a task of the highest sensitivity: to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Their purpose: to call the Man of Sin to repentance, and thus to postpone the great tribulation long enough to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

In this richly textured tale, Father Elijah crosses Europe and the Middle East, moves through the echelons of world power, meets saints and sinners, presidents, judges, mystics, embattled Catholic journalists, faithful priests and a conspiracy of traitors within the very House of God. This is an apocalypse in the old literary sense, but one that was written in the light of Christian revelation.]]> 597 Michael D. O'Brien 0898706904 Randy 5 4.43 1996
author: Michael D. O'Brien
name: Randy
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 12707152 1076 Michael D. O'Brien 089870815X Randy 5 4.09 2011
author: Michael D. O'Brien
name: Randy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 158620 The Wars of the Roses is history at its very best—swift and compelling, rich in character, pageantry, and drama, and vivid in its re-creation of an astonishing period of history.

Look for special features inside.
Join the Circle for author chats and more.
RandomHouseReadersCircle.com]]> 463 Alison Weir 0345404335 Randy 3 4.00 1995
author: Alison Weir
name: Randy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 45546 592 Stephen E. Ambrose 074347788X Randy 4 4.21 1996
author: Stephen E. Ambrose
name: Randy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 7613
The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, however, the rebellion is betrayed, and the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals � inspired by his philosophy of Animalism � plot a rebellion against Jones.

Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall...]]> 129 George Orwell Randy 4 3.90 1945
author: George Orwell
name: Randy
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 402826 The Lamb's Supper.

In The Lamb's Supper, Catholic scholar and apologist Scott Hahn explored the relationship between the Book of Revelation and the Roman Catholic Mass, deftly clarifying the most subtle of theological points with analogies and anecdotes from everyday life. In Hail, Holy Queen, he employs the same accessible, entertaining style to demonstrate Mary's essential role in Christianity's redemptive message.

Most Christians know that the life of Jesus is foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament. Through a close examination of the Bible, as well as the work of both Catholic and Protestant scholars and clergy, Hahn brings to light the small but significant details showing that just as Jesus is the "New Adam," so Mary is the "New Eve." He unveils the Marian mystery at the heart of the Book of Revelation and reveals how it is foretold in the very first pages of the Book of Genesis and in the story of King David's monarchy, which speaks of a privileged place for the mother of the king.

Building on these scriptural and historical foundations, Hahn presents a new look at the Marian doctrines: Her Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, Assumption, and Coronation. As he guides modern-day readers through passages filled with mysteries and poetry, Hahn helps them rediscover the ancient art and science of reading the Scriptures and gain a more profound understanding of their truthfulness and relevance to faith and the practice of religion in the contemporary world.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 208 Scott Hahn 0385501684 Randy 4 4.34 2001
author: Scott Hahn
name: Randy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 528905 When does human life begin?
Should we legislate morality? What would happen if the Socrates of old suddenly appeared in modern Athens? Peter Kreeft imagines the dialog that might ensue with three worthy opponents--a doctor, a philosopher and a psychologist--about the arguments surrounding abortion. Kreeft uses Socratic technique to strip away the emotional issues and get to the heart of the rational objections to abortion. Logic joins humor as Socrates challenges the standard rhetoric and passion of the contemporary debate.]]> 155 Peter Kreeft 0877848106 Randy 4 4.14 1983
author: Peter Kreeft
name: Randy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 68538 182 Kimberly Hahn Randy 5 4.38 1993
author: Kimberly Hahn
name: Randy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 7118898 501- 1000 - 55%
1001 - 2000 - 60%
2001 and up - 65%]]> 196 Larry Richards 1586174037 Randy 4 4.28 2009
author: Larry Richards
name: Randy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 5907 Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).]]> 366 J.R.R. Tolkien Randy 5 4.29 1937
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Randy
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 549003 195 Peter Kreeft Randy 4 4.27 1986
author: Peter Kreeft
name: Randy
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 393289 216 Jeff Cavins 0965922839 Randy 3 4.34 2000
author: Jeff Cavins
name: Randy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 417292 260 George Weigel 0465092616 Randy 3 3.97 2002
author: George Weigel
name: Randy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 6495777 Scott Hahn, the bestselling author of The Lamb's Supper and Reasons to Believe, celebrates the touchstones of the Catholic life, guiding readers to a deeper faith through the Church's rites, customs, and traditional prayers.

Signs of Life is beloved author Scott Hahn's clear and comprehensive guide to the Biblical doctrines and historical traditions that underlie Catholic beliefs and practices. Devoting single chapters to each topic, the author takes the reader on a journey that illuminates the roots and significance of all things Catholic, including: the Sign of the Cross, the Mass, the Sacraments, praying with the saints, guardian angels, sacred images and relics, the celebration of Easter, Christmas, and other holidays, daily prayers, and much more.

In the appealing conversational tone that has won him millions of devoted readers, Hahn presents the basic tenets of Church teachings, clears up common misconceptions about specific rituals and traditions, and responds thoughtfully to the objections raised about them. Each chapter concludes with loving, good-natured, inspiring advice on applying the Church's wisdom to everyday life.]]> 288 Scott Hahn 0385519494 Randy 4 4.23 2009
author: Scott Hahn
name: Randy
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 398753 600 Franz Werfel 1586171712 Randy 5 4.23 1941
author: Franz Werfel
name: Randy
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1941
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 180463 192 The Arbinger Institute 1576751740 Randy 4 4.09 2000
author: The Arbinger Institute
name: Randy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 21343 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams.

Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.

Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.]]> 228 Patrick Lencioni 0787960756 Randy 4 4.09 2002
author: Patrick Lencioni
name: Randy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1618 226 Mark Haddon 1400032717 Randy 5 3.89 2003
author: Mark Haddon
name: Randy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 10883
He was, during his 84-year life, America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical—though not most profound—political thinkers. He proved by flying a kite that lightning was electricity, and he invented a rod to tame it. He sought practical ways to make stoves less smoky and commonwealths less corrupt. He organized neighborhood constabularies and international alliances, local lending libraries and national legislatures. He combined two types of lenses to create bifocals and two concepts of representation to foster the nation's federal compromise. He was the only man who shaped all the founding documents of America: the Albany Plan of Union, the Declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the peace treaty with England, and the Constitution. And he helped invent America's unique style of homespun humor, democratic values, and philosophical pragmatism.

But the most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first great publicist, he was, in his life and in his writings, consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity.

Through it all, he trusted the hearts and minds of his fellow "leather-aprons" more than he did those of any inbred elite. He saw middle-class values as a source of social strength, not as something to be derided. His guiding principle was a "dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people." Few of his fellow founders felt this comfort with democracy so fully, and none so intuitively.

In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklin's amazing life, from his days as a runaway printer to his triumphs as a statesman, scientist, and Founding Father. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. He also shows how Franklin helped to create the American character and why he has a particular resonance in the twenty-first century.]]> 586 Walter Isaacson 074325807X Randy 4 4.04 2003
author: Walter Isaacson
name: Randy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 11138 191 C.S. Lewis 0684823780 Randy 5 4.32 1952
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Randy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1952
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 2203
In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life-journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot -- "the colossus of independence," as Thomas Jefferson called him -- who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second President of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as "out of his senses"; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history.

Like his masterly, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Truman, David McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. It is both a riveting portrait of an abundantly human man and a vivid evocation of his time, much of it drawn from an outstanding collection of Adams family letters and diaries. In particular, the more than one thousand surviving letters between John and Abigail Adams, nearly half of which have never been published, provide extraordinary access to their private lives and make it possible to know John Adams as no other major American of his founding era.

As he has with stunning effect in his previous books, McCullough tells the story from within -- from the point of view of the amazing eighteenth century and of those who, caught up in events, had no sure way of knowing how things would turn out. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, the British spy Edward Bancroft, Madame Lafayette and Jefferson's Paris "interest" Maria Cosway, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, the scandalmonger James Callender, Sally Hemings, John Marshall, Talleyrand, and Aaron Burr all figure in this panoramic chronicle, as does, importantly, John Quincy Adams, the adored son whom Adams would live to see become President.

Crucial to the story, as it was to history, is the relationship between Adams and Jefferson, born opposites -- one a Massachusetts farmer's son, the other a Virginia aristocrat and slaveholder, one short and stout, the other tall and spare. Adams embraced conflict; Jefferson avoided it. Adams had great humor; Jefferson, very little. But they were alike in their devotion to their country.

At first they were ardent co-revolutionaries, then fellow diplomats and close friends. With the advent of the two political parties, they became archrivals, even enemies, in the intense struggle for the presidency in 1800, perhaps the most vicious election in history. Then, amazingly, they became friends again, and ultimately, incredibly, they died on the same day -- their day of days -- July 4, in the year 1826.

Much about John Adams's life will come as a surprise to many readers. His courageous voyage on the frigate Boston in the winter of 1778 and his later trek over the Pyrenees are exploits that few would have dared and that few readers will ever forget.

It is a life encompassing a huge arc -- Adams lived longer than any president. The story ranges from the Boston Massacre to Philadelphia in 1776 to the Versailles of Louis XVI, from Spain to Amsterdam, from the Court of St. James's, where Adams was the first American to stand before King George III as a representative of the new nation, to the raw, half-finished Capital by the Potomac, where Adams was the first President to occupy the White House.

This is history on a grand scale -- a book about politics and war and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, John Adams is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.]]> 751 David McCullough 0743223136 Randy 4 4.08 2001
author: David McCullough
name: Randy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 2279
The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid characters—Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson—and dramatic events. In this riveting biography, acclaimed historian David McCullough not only captures the man—a more complex, informed, and determined man than ever before imagined—but also the turbulent times in which he rose, boldly, to meet unprecedented challenges. The last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Truman’s story spans the raw world of the Missouri frontier, World War I, the powerful Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the legendary Whistle-Stop Campaign of 1948, and the decisions to drop the atomic bomb, confront Stalin at Potsdam, send troops to Korea, and fire General MacArthur. Drawing on newly discovered archival material and extensive interviews with Truman’s own family, friends, and Washington colleagues, McCullough tells the deeply moving story of the seemingly ordinary “man from Missouri� who was perhaps the most courageous president in our history.]]> 1120 David McCullough 0671869205 Randy 5 4.15 1992
author: David McCullough
name: Randy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 13052622 160 Randy Hain 0764820524 Randy 5 4.11 2011
author: Randy Hain
name: Randy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/20
shelves:
review:

]]>