Book and Movie Recommendations, March 1, 2013

Clarity Magazine recommends the following books and movies:

BOOKS

Abraham Lincoln: Lessons in Spiritual Leadership

by Elton Trueblood

In this classic work, Christian philosopher and statesman Elton Trueblood reveals how Lincoln’s leadership skills flowed directly from his deep faith in God and his deep desire to follow God’s will. Trueblood shows how the combination of moral resoluteness and astute political skills enabled Lincoln to accomplish what few thought possible—to save the union and abolish the evils of slavery.

Elton Trueblood (1900-1994), a former chaplain both at Harvard and Stanford universities, was a noted 20th century American Quaker author and theologian, and the author of several bestselling religious books.

An Untamed Land

by Lauraine Snelling

In this the first of six books in Lauraine Snelling’s Red River of the North series, Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund are lured from their beloved home high above the fjords of Norway and travel to America drawn by the promise of free land and a good life for themselves and their children. They settle finally in the Dakota Territory of the 1880s, on the banks of the Red River of the North. But the virgin prairie refuses to yield its treasure without a struggle.

Lauraine Snelling, a bestselling author of over forty novels, also writes for a wide range of magazines and teaches at writers conferences across the country.

Treasures against Time

by Brenda Lewis Rosser

Shortly after Paramhansa Yogananda arrived in Boston, MA as a delegate to the Congress of Religious Liberals in 1920, he met Doctor and Mildred Lewis, who became his first disciples in America and worked with him throughout their lives. Their accounts of their early years with Yogananda are filled with humor and many inspiring stories.

Edited by Brenda Lewis Rosser, the daughter of Doctor and Mildred Lewis, Treasures Against Time gives us a beautiful, intimate portrait of Dr. Lewis’s relationship with his Guru and provides insight into the earliest beginnings of Yogananda’s mission to the West. Included are 97 previously unpublished letters from Yogananda to Doctor and Mildred Lewis, written over a 32 year period.

Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing

by Dr. Vasant Lad

Dr. Vasant Lad, considered one of the foremost Ayurvedic practitioners in the United States, explains clearly and concisely the principles and practical applications of Ayurveda, the oldest healing system in the world. With more than 50 charts, diagrams and tables, as well as a glossary of terms, this book is an excellent introduction to the principles and practice of Ayurveda and a holistic approach to good health.

Saint Teresa of Avila

by Marcelle Auclair

This well-researched book is considered the definitive biography of the dramatic and courageous life of Saint Teresa of Avila. First published in 1953, the author lovingly captures the energy, magnetism, intelligence, and the genius of this great woman saint and, above all, her deep attunement with Christ in her search for spiritual perfection.

The Fabric of the Cosmos

by Brian Greene

Brian Greene, one of the world’s leading physicists takes the reader on grand tour of the universe that helps us see reality, and especially space and time, in a completely new way. From Isaac Newton’s theories of absolute time and space, to the world of quantum mechanics, Greene reveals our world to be very different from what common experience leads us to believe. Sparked by wit, humor and brilliant use of analogy, Greene takes us on a journey to new levels of reality lying just beneath the surface of our everyday world.

MOVIES

Forrest Gump, 1994

Forrest Gump, a 1994 romantic comedy-drama, depicts several decades in the life of am Alabama man, whose boyhood IQ fell a few points short of minimal school requirements. Aided by a loving and determined mother, Gump goes on to become a college football star, a Vietnam War hero, a beacon of the peace movement, an international Ping-Pong champ, and a shrimp tycoon. Despite his charmed life, all he deeply cares about is finding his childhood sweetheart and best friend, Jenny, whom he eventually marries. Tom Hanks excels in the role of Forrest Gump.

Based on Winston Groom’s 1986 comic novel, the film won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, and Actor, and multiple other awards. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected Forrest Gump for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Available: DVD; Rated PG

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, 1986

In the year 2286 Admiral Kirk and his crew of the USS Enterprise discover that planet earth in grave danger of being destroyed by an unknown alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. In order to save mankind they must travel back in time to the 20th century to recover two humpback whales, the only creatures that can answer the probe’s calls.

Great science fiction entertainment and the best of the Star Trek movies.

Available: DVD; Rated PG

The Wizard of Oz, 1939

When young Dorothy Gale finds herself somehow magically transported to the enchanted land of Oz, she must follow the Yellow Brick Road to the all-knowing Wizard to find her way back home. Along the way she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, who help her to fend off the Wicked Witch of the West.

Notable for its use of special effects, technicolor, fantasy storytelling, and unusual characters have made The Wizard of Oz one of the best known of all American films.

Available: DVD; Rated G

Cool Runnings, 1993

Cool Runnings is a wholesome, engaging, inspirational film that captures the spirit and determination of the first Jamaican bobsled team to compete in the Winter Olympics. Against all odds the team makes it to the 1988 Olympic finals, but in the end discovers that winning isn’t everything.

Available; DVD; Rated PG

The Rookie, 2002

This movie is based on the inspiring true story of Jim Morris, whose major league baseball career was cut short by a shoulder injury at age 27. After teaching high school chemistry for 12 years and coaching the school baseball team, Morris agreed to a professional try-out if his team won the district championship.

As his team went from worst to first, the 39year-old father of three was forced to uphold his end of the bargain. Finding himself at a rookie try-out camp for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, his all-but-forgotten dream of pitching in the big leagues is revived.