The Slumber of Christianity : Awakening a Passion for Heaven on Earth

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WAKE UP!!!!!!

Slipping into Slumber

Remembering heaven

4 1/2 Stars...All About Attitude

The Slumber of Christianity

The Slumber of Christianity : Awakening a Passion for Heaven on Earth
Ted Dekker
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Customer Reviews:

WAKE UP!!!!!!.......2007-09-27

There are several legends in the world of Christian fiction. But when it comes down to it, I've had two personal favorites for quite some time, Frank Peretti and Ted DeKker. If Peretti would have never endorsed DeKker's debut, "Heaven's Wager," I suppose I never would've given DeKker a chance. To top either of these two authors in the world of Christian fiction, then you have achieved quite the accomplishment. But Frank Peretti finally came blasting out of the blocks with his first non-fiction, "The Wounded Spirit." It was explosive, and it got my attention. And I know I wasn't the first person to wonder when DeKker would throw his hat into the world of non-fiction. So here it is with "The Slumber of Christianity."

Ted encourages us to eagerly await our day in Heaven with reckless abandon. Hey, if we're Christians in today's world, we should be as excited as a child on Christmas morning! Right? But we don't act like it. We walk around in some half-assed "Purpose Driven" haze, and then we wait for the next 40 Days of Purpose! I wanna tell you something. When I finished Warren's book, I shook my head thinking, "Who gives a crap?" I know I certainly didn't! DeKker gives us more to look forward to. He shows us a prize that we should be pressing on for. When a pain of some sort bites you in the butt, WAKE UP!! Keep moving! Don't let "The Slumber" keep you from enjoying what God has given us.

In the end, DeKker clearly points out that he attempting to win anybody over. Then again, he never needed to with me, "Thunder of Heaven" did that pretty quickly! He is encouraging us to wake up to The Truth. If anybody felt like the point didn't come across, Rick Warren probably has more "Purpose Driven" thing of some kind coming out in the future. I'll stick with Ted DeKker in this instance. I'm always waiting with great anticipation for more of his work to emerge. His non-fiction will be no exception!

Slipping into Slumber.......2006-11-08

While I have thoroughly enjoyed Ted Dekker's soul stirring fiction, I was curious about this, his first non-fiction book. Here, Ted emphasizes the necessity of hope which thematically intertwines his stories. Using his own truly extraordinary testimony, he explains how hope is the key to a vibrant Christian life. I won't give into the temptation to tell you more, you should read it yourself, it is worth it.

I only disagree at the one point where Ted seems to argue that we should use our heart and intuition more to the exclusion of our intellect. Of course he does use the `intellect' to argue his case which is an inconsistency. Throughout the book however, it is obvious that he stands against the post modern flimsy view of truth, being unattainable and unknowable. It is regretfully disappointing that he seems a bit cloudy on the role of the intellect in the Christian life.

The book had only one or two slow spots. The reading was well done on the audio format.

-A Dekker Fan

Remembering heaven.......2006-11-01

Best known for his fast-paced, thought-provoking fiction, Dekker scores a touchdown with his first non-fiction book. In _The Slumber of Christianity_ Dekker reminds us all that we are only passing through this life. Real life awaits us on the other side. The blessings and thrills of this world? Only a foretaste of eternity. The hurts and pains of this world? Nothing compared to the glory that is waiting. I've read almost all of Dekker's novels, but this one book stands out as my favorite of his works.

4 1/2 Stars...All About Attitude.......2006-10-27

A great title. An eye-popping cover. A renowned writer. I picked up "The Slumber of Christianity" secure in the knowledge that Dekker can communicate spiritual ideas, but wondering if these ideas would be meaty enough to warrant 200 pages. The answer is yes--and no.

Since the beginning of his meteoric fiction career, Dekker has shown an amazing capacity for couching biblical truths in page-turning stories. He tells parables in a modern form, driving home truths that speak to the heart while entertaining his readers. Dekker's writing voice is suited for non-fiction, unpretentious and direct. I particularly enjoyed the sections where he shared glimpses of his past, snippets that provide a foundation for understanding his purpose as a writer.

The question he poses right up front is relevant, emergent, post-modern--and all those other catch phrases. It speaks to the struggle most Christians face daily: Why am I not satisfied, though I have Christ living in me? In a sentence, the answer Dekker offers is that we have lost sight of our hope in a heavenly future. He makes thought-provoking points about the enjoyment of pleasure on earth as a spiritual foretaste of heaven. He underlines the ways we have wandered from the hope of glory. In a few places, he distracted me with simplistic logical jumps, expecting me to follow without question. I could never disagree with his arrival point, though. He wants to say something, and he wants to get us there quickly.

On a conceptual level, I loved the book. I think Dekker does a superb job of communicating clearly, without turning the book into a theological exercise. He wants this to be practical, applicable. Which is where he lost me just a tad. I would've liked to see more real-life examples of how to apply this hope to the rent that comes due the same day the car blows a head gasket. We are spiritual and physical beings. Dekker makes a good point that our emotions and physical side are part of God's good creation, not results of the Fall. Yet we must negotiate this world, with its turmoils all around. In a sense, he says, it's all about an attitude.

Ultimately, "The Slumber of Christianity" shakes us. It speaks to our heads and hearts, demanding that we break away from hopelessness and fix our eyes ahead, that we move through life with vision and hope. These are valid and vital concerns. Applying these to everyday life requires an active relationship with the Author of that Hope. There are no easy answers, no quick fixes here, but in a world full of spiritual sleeping pills this is a strident call to rise from our slumber with focused purpose.

The Slumber of Christianity.......2006-08-14

"The Slumber of Christianity" begins with a truth. We Christians are not happier than secular people. Much as we may hate to admit it, we're getting sucked into the secular culture around us. We're earning money, spending money, focusing on our jobs, on economics, on politics, on family issues. Bit by bit, we lose sight of the goal, and we end up in the same mire as everyone else. That much is true, and I don't think any intellectually honest Christian would deny that it's happening to many people in America today.

However correct his analysis may be, Dekker's proposed cure is, to my mind, simplistic and off the mark. The basic tenet of his book is that we should focus on--obsess over, in fact--the life to come. He wants us devoted to yearning for the day of our death when we are truly reunited with God. There is no true happiness on Earth, only in Heaven.

This might at first look like an updating of Augustine, who said that earthly life is suffering and our only hope is Heaven. In the second half of his book, he explains that we can find partial happiness here by focusing our minds on the glories to come. He suggests meditating, reading about the coming glories, and creating rituals or centering our celebrations around thoughts of Heaven. In that way, Dekker's viewpoint may be closer to Aquinas than Augustine. Aquinas, of course, carefully built a theological case around the fact that God created the universe with a purpose and that we achieve happiness on Earth by joining with that purpose.

The biggest problem with "The Slumber of Christianity" is that Dekker never builds that case. Consequently, his vision remains highly abstract and the specifics we get feel rather shallow. Aquinas, by contrast, gives us a much broader range in which to find happiness. His vision allows us to find our purpose in numerous ways: through service, through ritual, through intellectual study, through family. Dekker, at first appearance, seems to believe that everyone must do it his way. He doesn't tackle the questions of how the variety of well-known approaches to a Christian life would fit into his grand scheme.

"The Slumber of Christianity" is not a well-written book, I must say. The writing is often trite and repetitious to the point of self-parody; I lost count of the uses of the phrase "groaning for the day". Bad writing can be superceded by great ideas. Where this book truly comes up lacking is in exploring a vision of earthly life broad enough to include the real lives of all good Christians. In "Orthodoxy", G. K. Chesterton remarked that we should be dazzled by the fact that a rhinoceros exists. The dazzlement would be worth less, I think, if we bash ourselves with the fact that it's only a crude parody of the rhinoceroses in the world to come.

(Incidentally the best parts of "The Slumber of Christianity" are two long exerpts from Dekker's own fantasy novels. Based on those, I'd say that that he handles words in a fictional context much better than in a nonfiction one. Perhaps I'll check out those novels some day.)

Passion for Creation: The Earth-honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart

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Pure Genius
Passion foro Creation: The Earth-honoring spirituality of Meister Eckhardt
Passion for Creation
Spiritual food for starving souls

Passion for Creation: The Earth-honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
Matthew Fox
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0892818018
Release Date: 2000-01-01

Book Description

â€¢ Matthew Fox's comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart's sermons is a meeting of true prophets across hundreds of years that results in a spirituality for the new millennium.

â€¢ A brilliant interpretation of Eckhart's teachings on creation spirituality.

Passion for Creation (formerly Breakthrough) is Matthew Fox's comprehensive translation of and original commentary on the critical German and Latin texts of 37 sermons by Meister Eckhart, the noted 14th-century Dominican priest, preacher, and mystic. The goodness of creation, the holiness of all things, the divine blood in each person, the need to let go and let be--these are among Eckhart's themes, themes that the best-selling author Matthew Fox brilliantly interprets and explains for today's reader.Â

Passion for Creation will be embraced by theologians, students, and all seekers of truth. It will be especially welcomed by those interested in creation spirituality, which Eckhart advocated six centuries ago and which Matthew Fox has promoted as a spiritual path for the new millennium. Simply put, this book is a meeting of two prophets across hundreds of years. The outcome of that meeting is a fount of wisdom.

Customer Reviews:

Pure Genius.......2005-10-20

My copies called "Breakthrough - Meister Eckhart's Creation Spirituality in New Translation" published in 1980, i guess this is the new version.
This is one of the most important spiritual books I have. Along with Bernadette Roberts' books, Eckhart is probably about as far as you can go towards a universal spirituality within the christian framework (i'm not a Christian by the way). It's not conservative stuff, no way, no repressive crap here - this is liberation, love and life. Did you know Eckhart was a large intellectual influence on Heidegger? "God is Being". His work is obviously pantheistic - God is the world, the world is an aspect of God. It's fully world loving and accepting. If you swapped "God" for "Dzogchen" then there would be a large cross-over with that Tibetan tradition. i.e being is present and presence is the creative/energetic aspect of the godhead.
If your liberal in your spirituality, if you love the earth like your mother, if you've got a brain and can think - then this book is for you. Thank-you to Matthew - great job! Eckhart lived 1260 to 1329 and more important and relevant now than ever.

Passion foro Creation: The Earth-honoring spirituality of Meister Eckhardt.......2005-08-14

Passion of Creation if a compilation of Meister Eckhardt's sermons. His view of God and God's relation to his creatures - humans and the rest of creation is very different from many views of this subject. Each sermon is followed by an explanation by Matthew Fox. Eckhardt feels that God is everywhere - within us, around us, in all of creation. I find the book very comforting. Lest you think this is some new idea, Meister Eckhardt was a Dominican priest who lived in the 15th century. Passion of Creation is a book that will be read and re-read until the cover falls off and one has to order a new one

Passion for Creation.......2002-10-17

Of all the books I've read on spirituality in the last thirty years this book "Passion for Creation" (Formerly Breakthrough) has to rank as one of the best works for its refreshing and stimulating understanding of the content of Miester Eckharts thought.

We indeed are indebted to Matthew Fox for his integration and synthesis of the core of Eckharts thought. His is a rich, systematic presentation of Eckharts vision of the holiness and blessing of that which we call life.

His commentaries will provide many hours of delightful and challenging reflection for those whose path or journey leads them in the direction of intellection and erudite study. For those who are of the western contemplative or eastern meditative tradition, or anyone whose joy it is to spend time in deep prayer, will find in Eckharts thoughts, a path which is delightfully familiar, one that gives credence and expression to their everyday experiences, and will truly make one feel at home in their growth in spirituality

Spiritual food for starving souls.......2000-03-13

I began reading excerpts from Fox's book on Eckhart several years ago on a backpacking trip. Each page seemed like a delicious morsel of spiritual food to roll around inside my heart and savor.

The full text is presented in Fox's four path's of creation spirituality. Fox's commentary is deep, eloquent and helpful. Eckhart's writings on "letting go and letting be" take us very close to a meeting of the Occident and the Orient. Stranded on a desert island, this is the book I would choose.

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praise for Sandra Gulland

So beautiful.....

Superb

Great historical fiction; readable without insulting your intelligence!

Smooth and feminine

The Josephine Bonaparte Collection: The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B., Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe, and The Last Great Dance on Earth
Sandra Gulland
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

praise for Sandra Gulland.......2007-07-20

These three books held me spellbound. I'm usually disappointed with series books, as I think most of the concentration is in the first volume--not so with this set. Ms. Gulland is an accomplished story teller. She has an imaginative way with words. I can hardly wait for her next series--hopefully there will be one soon.

So beautiful............2006-09-09

I just finished the third book in the trilogy and I am literally choking back tears because I hate it that there is no more left to read!

Sandra Gulland has brought Josephine and Napoleon's romance to life through these incredible books. You feel like you know them personally and you care about their lives. I learned more about France in that time period than I ever did in a world history class! And it was done in an exciting way. There were no boring "skim over" areas in these books!

She has done a first class job with this trilogy and she truly does justice to these famous historical icons.

Superb.......2006-02-21

This is a captivating and tactile series. Ms. Gulland obviously put an enormous amount of research into the books, and they are a great primer for the events surrounding the French revolution. The history, however, is a subtle bonus; the facts and historical figures are woven effortlessly into a rich narrative as told from Josephine's point of view.

A friend passed this gem on to me, and everyone I know who has read it since ended up reading late into the night, entranced by the story. I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

Great historical fiction; readable without insulting your intelligence!.......2006-01-27

I expected very little from these books except a good beach read and I was SO pleasantly surprised at how well-written, readable and informative they were. I knew very little about this time in history and now want to know more (plus, I want to read more by Sandra Gulland!). These were SO GOOD! I went through the trilogy within a month's time and was so happy that I had #2 and #3 ready to read once I finished the previous books! I highly recommend these books.

Smooth and feminine .......2005-10-17

The Trilogy was a very sympathetic account of Josephine's life written in a very smooth and readable style. The thee books read like one book. The style had a very feminine feel as it emphasized the emotions of the events that took place. I enjoyed the books tremendously.

A Passion for This Earth: Exploring a New Partnership of Man, Woman, and Nature

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A Passion for This Book
both personal and provacative
A Passion for This Earth: Exploring a New Partnership of Man, Woman, and Nature

A Passion for This Earth: Exploring a New Partnership of Man, Woman, and Nature
Valerie Andrews
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0062500686

Customer Reviews:

A Passion for This Book.......2006-11-10

For fifteen years, "A Passion for this Earth," by Valerie Andrews, has been
high on the list of books I have recommended to my creative writing and
mythology students. Ms. Andrews writes in the passionate tradition of Rachel Carson, Thomas Berry, and Annie Dillard. I find her book to be a resounding call for a "new story, a new mythology" that reconciles women and men with the earth. To my lights, Ms. Andrews' prose is stunningly beautiful, and her conviction about the role of passionate storytelling, in an era marked by irony and cynicism, is a balm for the soul. -- Phil Cousineau, author of "The Art of Pilgrimage"

both personal and provacative.......2005-09-14

What an odd comment from Library Journal! Its sister publication, Publisher's Weekly, got it right. The book is a good companion for those of us who are tying to live a more balanced life (inner and outer), in tune with nature, better balancing feminine and masculine. As to the particulars in the Library Journal review, nowhere does Andrews say that the term childbearing has to do with bears (Was that in another book?). Many writiers, including Riane Eisler have since pointed out that any society which values the gifts and accomplishments of one sex over the other is one-sided. The early chapters of Passion read a bit like Garrison Keillor on the importance of a sense of place and are friendly reminders of what us baby boomers lost as we saw our hometowns invaded by malls and freeways. But Andrews also takes us on a literary jaunt, showing how our inner lives have changed as we altered our relation to the land. She cites the Arthurian legend of Dame Ragnell; the 19th century playwright Von Kleist on the tangle between the Amazon heroine, Penthesilea and the Greek warrior Achilles; Tolstoy's War and Peace; and Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbevilles. In fact, Passion has been used in college level courses that focus on eco-spirituality.

Andrews edited "Dream of the Earth," Thomas Berry's classic on Deep Ecology, and she is familiar with scholarly sources, but her writing is personal and immediate, and she often gives us examples from her life. It's a book I've had on my bedside table and found to be like an ongoing dialogue with a faithful, stimulating friend. The writing is personal and provocative and makes us think about our values and our chosen way of life.

A Passion for This Earth: Exploring a New Partnership of Man, Woman, and Nature.......2005-09-13

Andrews received glowing reviews from the Jungian community for this book. Marion Woodman called it a courageous work, best selling author Jean Shinoda Bolen said this is a powerful and poignant meditation on our need for a sense of place in a time when most people experience some form of uprootedness. As a pastor, I know how much people are in need of reorientation, and how our modern mobility often leaves people cut adrift, without a sense of community, without a deep connection to a certain place. In my own work, I am greatly concerned with the balance of masculine and feminine- and a divine model for creation that draws equally on the gifts of both ways of being in the world. This book has much to say about the way and individual can draw on each.

Robert Johnson, another best-selling Jungian analysis says, "I have a consuming hunger for a new mythology that will be loyal to the past but rises above the one-sided patriarchy that has occupied humanity for several millenia. Valerie Andrews writes with the grace and insight on this subject that only a woman could provide. It is good to hear a reconciling female voice."

The best part of this book is the author's even handedness when describing relations between men and women, and our common goal: to serve the life force and reconcile ourselves with our own internal opposites. The essays are really about our own inner work as much as they are about the broader canvas of nature, and the workings of the living world. I've also found the films the author cites useful in my own educational work.

Preaching with Purpose and Passion: The Greatest Call on Earth (Life Impact)

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Preaching with Purpose and Passion: The Greatest Call on Earth (Life Impact)
Frank Damazio
Manufacturer: City Christian Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 159383036X

Jerusalem on Earth: People, Passions, and Politics in the Holy City

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Jerusalem on Earth: People, Passions, and Politics in the Holy City
Abraham Rabinovich
Manufacturer: Free Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0029257409

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Jerusalem on Earth-People, Passions, and Politics in the Holy City.
Abraham. Rabinovich
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O3TQPS

Optimizing Luck: What the Passion to Succeed in Space Can Teach Business Leaders on Earth

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Optimizing Luck: What the Passion to Succeed in Space Can Teach Business Leaders on Earth
Thomas Meylan , and Terry Teays
Manufacturer: Davies-Black Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Motivation & Self-Improvement | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 089106222X

Book Description

Charged with running Science Operations for NASA and playing an integral part in one of the world's most successful international astronomy satellite projects, Meylan and Teays share their first-hand experience of how leaders and managers, by example and practice, can establish and reinforce luck-optimizing habits of behavior with direct reports, peers and teammates, and across the organization. In this in-depth business profile, the authors take an analytical approach to understanding what it takes to truly succeed in business regardless of changing circumstances, competitive interference, near-disastrous breakdowns in processes, and more than the occasional human failing.

The Passion and Exaltation of Jesus: A series of oil paintings and related Bible quotations of Jesus' last few days on earth covering His trial, crucifixion, burial, resurrection and Ascension

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The Passion and Exaltation of Jesus: A series of oil paintings and related Bible quotations of Jesus' last few days on earth covering His trial, crucifixion, burial, resurrection and Ascension
Billy F. Baumann
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Religious | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1418448478

Book Description

Georgia Jensen and friend, Ellie Forsythe, find themselves embroiled in another suspicious death when Georgia, against her better judgment, agrees to speak at a symposium for historians. The most Georgia expected was publicity for her one-woman retiree's business, "Historical Research, By George," not a dead body. But that's exactly what Ellie finds shortly after she joins Georgia on the final day of the symposium. Hoping the death of one of the speakers would put an end to what Georgia termed "two of the worst days of her life," their hopes were dashed when the final day wasn't cancelled, and the police ask that everyone involved stay on campus until they complete their investigation. Unhappy with having their vacation plans disrupted, Georgia and Ellie set out to 'help' the police uncover the real motive for the rising young historian's murder by following the victim's research trail through the 1920s. Wading through old newspaper microfilm, books and old city directories, they begin to realize that those efforts may not be enough to lead them to a cold and calculating murderer. The reason may lie in the past of one of others involved in the gathering of illustrious academicians, some of whom aren't exactly what they seem to be and something much more difficult to research. The deeper they dig, the more muddied the situation becomes. And their efforts may lead to naught. Unbeknownst to them, a killer is watching and waiting, prepared to put an end to their meddling if need be. As they move closer to the truth, the killer might just manage to do away with the problem of Georgia and her research, especially if Ellie doesn't find Georgia's note in time!

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A Passion for Gold is golden
This book is gold for those with any passions.
Thrusting Often Occurs During Orogeny

A Passion for Gold: An Autobiography
Ralph J. Roberts , and Mary Beth Gentry
Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Ralph Roberts's is not a household name in Nevada, but it should be-it was he who discovered the Carlin Belt gold deposits that created a major mining boom in the state in the last four decades of the twentieth century. But this discovery was only one episode of his remarkably eventful life. A Passion for Gold is Roberts's account of that life, a story as colorful and adventurous as that of any fictional hero.

Roberts's engagingly told autobiography traces his life from its beginnings in eastern Washington State to his fame as a world-renowned geologist, skillfully alternating personal experiences with the development of his understanding of the structure of Nevada's geology and the forces that shaped it. His fascination with ore-bearing minerals led to a long and productive career with the U.S. Geologic Survey, which took him to extended postings in Central America and later to Saudi Arabia, where he was instrumental in the redevelopment of the ancient gold mines at Mahd adh Dhahab, possibly the site of the biblical Ophir. But he returned again and again to Nevada, intrigued by its geological complexity and the precious minerals that lay hidden beneath its convoluted surfaces, and was involved in the development of a number of the state's most significant gold-mining areas.

Roberts's account conveys his abiding enthusiasm for the processes of geology, and his captivating text allows his reader to share and understand that enthusiasm. His story is that of a geologist of unusual astuteness, a man whose professional successes were only part of a life marked by devotion to family and an unremitting curiosity about the world and people around him.

Customer Reviews:

A Passion for Gold is golden.......2006-01-02

While doing due diligence on The Cortez Trend in Nevada I came across this wonderful autobiography of the geologist that reinterpreted earlier work in the Nevada basin and range and discovered the Carlin Trend gold belt, also the Battle Mountain Trend and the Cortez Trend. Nevada had been scoured by prospectors since the gold rush of 1849 and the Comstock Lode silver discovery. Virtually all surface deposits had been found and exploited. The Carlin Trend is micro-gold which does not show up when panning, it must be assayed. With the advent of heap leaching Nevada has produced in excess of 600 million ounces of gold and this will continue for quite some time with the prospective development of The Cortez Trend. Dr Roberts tells of his work in the USGS in Central America during WWII, Nevada, Utah and Saudi Arabia. He gives us his reasons for believing the Ophir mine that produced the gold of King Solomon is in Saudi Arabia. It was very interesting to read about the life of a field geologist.

This book is gold for those with any passions........2002-11-05

Excellent read with good intermix of personal and professional history. It is inspiring to read as well as educational. Thank you Dr. Roberts.

Thrusting Often Occurs During Orogeny.......2002-08-10

Ralph J. Roberts has found that a devotion to family and geology can lead to a life well lived and he relates the story of his life well in A Passion For Gold. Roberts spent 44 years with the United States Geological Survey and after retiring, became a private consultant. His most important discovery was the Carlin-type gold deposit. The reader with a non-geologic background will want access to a copy of the Glossary of Geology to help with the few technical sections included in the book [there is a glossary at the back of the book, but it is not thorough enough]. There are a few awkward sentences and some extraneous commas [I think, being the extra comma and awkward sentece king myself], but this is a suprisingly comfortable read considering that most of Mr. Roberts' earlier writings were technical papers. I trained as a mining/exploration geologist and so it was easy for me to relate to this autobiography, but non-geologists should find much of interest in Ralph Roberts' life story. It was on top of one of the mines near Battle Mountain, Nevada that Mr. Roberts writes about that I found myself deciding to abandon my masters thesis in geochemistry and to devote my life to the education of America's younger citizens [I teach earth science at the high school level]. I knew I couldn't help folks did big holes in the ground just for a little gold. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone with an interest in geology, but I can't give A Passion For Gold a full five stars because I think the technical sections could have been handled in a way that would have made this book a little more accessible to a wider audience.

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