The Sword Of The Lord, Book Review

 To change the future, you have to live a new story.

Biographies, personnal or family, have rarely posed any attraction for me but I thought Andrew Himes presented his book  in a very informative format. History always beckons.

The Sword of the Lord includes many interesting factual stories, historical pivoting moments and resulting human triumphs as well as failures.

There is a definite feeling of hope despite the struggles and the convictions we can triumph over adversity comes through clearly.

Andrew Himes recounts for the reader the history of his family and Fundamentalism in a faithful, beautifully written narrative. Tracing back his roots to the Scots-Irish times of the 1700's up to his own life was truly a labour of love.

We actually feel with him the pain of his family's trek from its early "Borderers" as he described it, a largely Presbyterian assortment of Scots, Irish, Welsh and English Yeomen through the Civil War and he does not shy away from letting us know the family owned slaves.

As Andrew tells his story he includes an amazing amount of details and research gathered on Christianity and the early Church in America, even its impact on politics. From presidents to Moral Majority, he includes every little detail which makes ultimately this book very good!

Definitively an interesting book!

I could not give it anything less than 4 1/2 stars!

Founded in 1934 by the author's grandfather John R. Rice, The Sword of the Lord newsletter was a very influential fundamentalist publication. Despite their differences, you discern a profound respect from the author for the man he calls "GranDad".

Note: The author will be speaking at 5pm PDT in Town Hall Seattle and it will be a live streamed event.

The Sword of the Lord is also published today 15 May 2011!

I received this book free from Chiara Press, Seattle WA as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not asked to write a positive review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.