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THE GOSPEL OF SELF

Name: THE GOSPEL OF SELF
Author: Terry Heaton
ISBN: 978-1-682190-83-8

HOW JESUS JOINED THE GOP

by Terry Heaton ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 25, 2017

Some intriguing, relevant 1980s history couched in too much self-flagellation and cultural criticism.

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A memoir from the heyday of Christian broadcasting.

Heaton (Reinventing Local Media, 2008) has endowed himself with a dual importance: first, as a critical (and regrettable) link in the formation of modern conservative media; and second, as a sage with a prophetic eye for the future of journalism. In these aspects, he overreaches. Nevertheless, the heart of his book, the story of the rise and fall of Pat Robertson and his 700 Club through the 1980s, is worthwhile reading. As a former executive producer of the 700 Club, Heaton was a daily confidant of Robertson during his period of greatest fame and success. He helped orchestrate the program’s rise to a zenith of televangelism while also taking part in its metamorphosis into a vehicle for the religious right, culminating in Robertson’s own run for the presidency in 1988. Throughout the book, the author makes it clear that despite having worked with good people and having done many good things, he sees himself as a direct link in a chain of events that led to everything from the popularity of Rush Limbaugh to the success of Fox News and, ultimately, to the election of Donald Trump. In hindsight, he sees their work on the 700 Club as having wrongfully mixed, or conflated, faith with politics. Nowhere is this more obvious than in a 1985 discussion in which Robertson stated that Christianity needed to form a “shadow government.” Heaton realizes now the prescience of that moment: “There are thousands of evangelicals today in positions of local level leadership within the Republican Party….There is little doubt that the shadow government exists and is operating as intended.” After recounting the political downfall of Robertson and his subsequent investigation by the IRS, Heaton concludes with a lengthy discussion of postmodernism, “post-Christianity,” and journalism’s switch from an era of objectivity to an era of transparency. Here, his own story seems out of place with such grand theorizing.

Some intriguing, relevant 1980s history couched in too much self-flagellation and cultural criticism.

Pub Date: May 25, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-682190-83-8

Page Count: 220

Publisher: OR Books

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.