End-of-Life Books

For Americans who know London's East End only from Bob Hoskins' movies (e.g., "Mona Lisa") and the BBC (e.g., the "EastEnders" soap opera), Alan Palmer's "The East End: Four Centuries of London Life" interjects needed reality and perspective by surveying the East End since the 1600s.

Now, I would have appreciated more on the first two of those four centuries -- Palmer rushes so fast to the 1800s that his subtitle should be "Two Centuries of London Life." Still, he locates the essence of the East End in its people and public meeting places when much of the private property was on church land. Absentee ownership prevented long-term leases, encouraged short-term hangouts, and deterred investments that could've renovated the area. But through the centuries, Palmer makes plain, the one constant in the East End has been the creative tension produced by generation after generation emigrating from around the world. Thus it's long been more akin to New York City than to the quiet villages or university towns of English novels and their Masterpiece Theater dramatizations.

Palmer is a good writer, with a style at once spirited and blunt -- the two character traits of the archetypal East Ender. I especially appreciate Palmer's treatment of the 1990s, a decade during which the East End's blue-collar pubs and poverty were contrasted by glassy new Thameside skyscrapers and white-collared wine bars.

This book was brought to my attention when Amazon.com listed it under the name of Peter Ackroyd, who wrote its literate introduction. As complements to Palmer's history, Ackroyd's biographies and novels are surely the greatest contemporary writings on the story of London: on East End themes for the 17th century, read Ackroyd's "Hawksmoor"; for the 19th century, "The Trial of Elizabeth Cree" (American title for the British "Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem"). For the 21st century, read either of these Ackroyd novels, as he typically creates fictions where present-day London fuses with historical London. In this manner, we find agreement with "The East End" because Alan Palmer, too, describes the timelessness by which four centuries' worth of East Enders join in a communal effort to create what Palmer makes feels like the soul of London.

A wonderful conclusion to Books 1 & 2 adventure with the crew of the podship "Pioneer 4" from their castaway trials and tribulations from the Tauron Ambush; and, their subsequent survival on the benighted planet of the Thilen Nine System. Answers are given to a lot of the eluded plots set up in this novel's prequels, and The System society is further explained as well as the role of the Echelon. Nicraan and Retho's relationship blooms while Moela discovers a new love as Dara and Capel draw closer as everyone mourns the loss of Lunon on a journey "home". A great read for any science fiction adventurer who has a few heart-strings to tug on!

Henry May's work clearly exposes the ways in which American society moved out of the Victorian era and toward a vibrant reform period that most think occurred actually after the end of World War I. May shows through the actions and words of prominent figures ranging from literary figures, university presidents, and persons in prominent social positions that the undercurrent for such reform long predated 1919 and significant progress was undertaken to erode and eventually collapse whatever was left of the Victorian era before and during the war. May's work poignantly illustrates that for a person to properly view the Roaring Twenties, he must first begin in the early 1910s. The major difficulty here is that May states that his work lives in the field of cultural history yet he focuses exclusively on prominent persons, mostly well-to-do and powerful, and does not include any reference to the average people. He hints at and points to ordinary citizens but does not afford them the same coverage as the other characters who comprise the bulk of his work. Notwithstanding that sway in focus, this work remains a vital looking glass view into the inception of the post World War I era.

I'm not a nurse. I'm a pastor and graduate student in Social Gerontology. This book was an assigned text for a course I took on Grief and Loss. As a non-nurse, I found this book informative and helpful and am glad that it is part of my library.

The book provides insight and understanding of nursing as a profession to the non-nurse. Since it is written from a holistic perspective, other professions are able to draw from the material packed in the pages and apply it to their own field of expertise. As a non-nurse I found the book interesting in that common chronic health conditions and the death trajectories are described in an understandable manner. This kind of background information is helpful in understanding what is happening to people that I work with who have these chronic health conditions.

The death and dying process is outlined from several perspectives and the "scientific" or "medical" material is explained in such a way that the non medical professional can take away a greater understanding of the physiology of death and dying as well as the various methods of dealing with symptoms and the provision of comfort care.

I appreciated the fact that authors presented the grief and bereavement process from a variety of perspectives (Kubler-Ross, Wordon, and others). The authors also presented how grief is experienced and processed at different stages in the life cycle as well as how deaths of persons at different ages are perceived and handled.

There is solid information on Pediatric Palliative Care and prenatal, perinatal and infant death. Death and Grief issues of children and adolescents are discussed in a depth where the material can be useful in providing bereavement care to those affected.

The chapters on communication are most helpful to the non-nurse in that they provide helpful advice and models to talk about death and dying to family members. What is most important is that these chapters also provide people with the tools to talk to dying people about their experiences of 'living until they die'. These chapters are solid information for any human being wanting to make a human connection with a person at the end of life.

I couldn't put this book down. It is more than a peek inside a nursing home and assessment of today's health care for the elderly. This is an intimate viewing of a surprising relationship between two people who truly care for each other.
Paul is dealing with aging, Parkinson's disease and trying to find his "life" in a care center. Ruth is a scholar researching care for the aged, who discovers her role in his "life" is more than her work. Their age differences only seem to enhance the love they experience.

Anyone who is concerned with the end of life will find hope, humor and honesty in this writing.

I found Peter Youngrens thoughts to be very insightful. He has a deep understanding and wonderful relationship with Christ. To be able to place these 2 things in a book was ingenious.

They don't make childrens books like this anymore. I enjoyed these so much when I was a child I'm buying for my daughter.

Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon". So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

This supernatural event happened when the rag tag band of Israelites led by Joshua entered the promised land to fight the pagan tribes which lived in Israel more than a thousand years before Christ. Before Christ's second coming, christians like myself believe that there will be signs in the heavens heralding His coming, and ultimately upon His return He will appear in the clouds, just as He did when He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of G-d in Acts 1:11. The day of the Lord (from Joel 2:2, 31) will be 'a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great people and powerful; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after...The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. Indeed, when I read Revelation, especially, I feel like the passover story, the ten plagues G-d sent to punish the Egyptians, is being replayed. G-d is making His interventions on behalf of His people in real time, in real history repeat episodes.

So much doom and gloom in the prophets and apocalyptic books like Daniel, Revelation and Zechariah. Yet, there is reason to hope for those who put their trust in this G-d who has ordered the heavens and who will subject all creation to Him. Although today, it doesn't seem that way so many times, yet 'all creation hangs on your Word' as Mercyme sings; G-d is sovereign and He is in control, though surely His Spirit is grieved by the evils that seem to be escalating all over the world. That is what this Jews for Jesus publication is all about:to offer hope and to instruct and forewarn people about what the bible teaches about this 'time of trouble'. It's a good introduction to end times prophecies, and is meant to also introduce people to G-d's saving spirit who will protect us, save us during this 'time of trouble' (much in the same way the blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from the angel of death which killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians). All you have to do is pray to Jesus, believing that He is the One who died for our sins, ask Him to pour out His spirit on you, and He will. It's that simple. I don't believe you need to join a congregation, pay money etc.; I do think it's critical to read scripture and pray and never doubt that He will fail you in any way, even in the darkest of times. He promises us that He will be with us to the end of times.

There are some nice diagrams in the back though they're a bit simplistic, yet for someone totally oblivious to this subject, I'd think it might help anyone understand. My favorite is the one in Appendix 2 of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 predicting Christ's crucifixion and death and the final week of seven years which will be the Great Tribulation. In the middle of that week, the two lampstands and two olive trees (in Zechariah 4:14) will be prophesying, giving their testimony in Revelation 11. The key chapters I think which signal that this tribulation is ongoing are Revelation 11-13. And, it seems there is a contest going on much in the same way as that that went on against Elijah on mount Carmel in I Kings 18. In Rev. 11-And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. The beast of Rev. 13 perform(s) great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (I don't believe we are in the great tribulation period yet, not yet, but I do take these particular prophecies literally in terms of the number of days, e.g. the 1260 days, 3 and one half years-the time that it didn't rain on the earth during Elijah's prophesying against Ahab and Jezebel).

There is much speculation on the rapture (when believers will be joined with Christ in the air found in I Thessalonians 4:16-18), when it will happen etc., and many books have been written like the Left Behind series which are fictional books based on scripture; I believe, however, that in actuality they're too speculative, since prophecy by its very nature is very sketchy. I purposefully don't read them for that very reason, though many people have recommended that I should. Will G-d's people be spared this great tribulation or will they suffer??? We know in the end, we will be with G-d, in heaven, and will witness/participate in the beginning of the messianic kingdom, and will see death finally 'swallowed up in victory'. In this book, David Brickner only briefly explains the different hypotheses about the rapture.

Most importantly to me are prophecies about apostasy among Christ's followers and this false christ. From Mark 13:22, Christ says, "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." From 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, about the false christ's appearance: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause G-d shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. Also from Daniel, the false christ will put down three kings, will throw truth to the ground, yet by no human hand he will be destroyed. (Probably much in the same way Herod died in Acts 12, or even as Antiochus Epiphanes died insane after exerting all his energies in trying to stamp out all vestiges of jewish culture.) He will THINK to change the times and the law. He will wear out the saints. Several of my bible study teachers have said that satan knows scripture too, yet, from Daniel, G-d has the upper hand and as the psalmist says in Psalm 31:15 'My times are in Thy hand."

Yet there is hope from Daniel 12:1: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people (Israel) shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

James Marshall's stories are both original and familiar. It's like getting someone else to hang out with people you're curious about, only to find we are all so similar. I might not follow forest fires, hang out in strip bars, or have a friend who looks just like Jesus, but after reading this book, I understand a world where I might. These stories are brilliant and funny, filled with a strange, lonely, and aggressive hope. I can't wait to see what this author is going to write next.

Though I have owned this two-disc triology for many years, I must confess to embarking on the project of listening through and reviewing it with some reluctance. (The album is called a 'trilogy' because it republishes three previously released albums.) It's not that I have any issues with Michael Card's intentions or modus operandi. On the contrary, I've known and appreciated his music for ages.

It's just that there's a *lot* of music here and Card's earnest but otherwise undistinguished tenor, largely unaccompanied by other voices, had me all set me up for a marathon experience. The kind where you're happy when it's over and you ramble on about the 'great experience' after you've forgotten the pain.

But THE LIFE deserves more than that. It's a herculean effort to tell the Jesus story with due attention to how the gospels and the apostle Paul interpret it, including its precursors in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. As the labors of an evangelist, even a pastor, Card's work deserves our admiration.

As a musical achievement, it flies at a lower plane. But not very low.

A lot of acoustic guitar and solo voice spin out songs like the ones that the Jesus people sang in the 70s before others of us joined in at church youth groups and adolescent summer camps. Through it all, Card's emphasis fall upon the humanity, even the personality, of 'the Nazarene', as the second track on the second cd is titled:

'For the fact of his humanity
Was there for all to see
For he was unlike any other man
And yet so much like me'

What one must take for Card's own discovery of the Nazarene still shines through the processed product that is performed and recorded music. The same can be said on literary grounds of the New Testament materials.

If Card's precedents go back that far, he also sings in the tradition of the medieval Passion Plays, an art form that has been fairly singled out for its anti-Semitic spin on Jesus' murder. There is no hint of such malice in Card's work, but one can imagine a 14th-century audience nodding along with the occasional smile of recognition as Card lingers over some detail of Jesus' life, death, or resurrection.

In the end, it is an endearing and uplifting project, like going to a Christmas Eve service and remembering what's important. I think I'll listen to it once a year.