The Cross and the Switchblade by Pastor David Wilkerson

In 1962 Pastor David Wilkerson, along with John and Elizabeth Sherrill published The Cross and the Switchblade, detailing the first 5 years of Pastor Wilkerson's work with troubled youth in New York City.  After seeing a cover photo on Life Magazine of teenage boys on trial for murder, David feels a magnetic pull to help them.  Putting his "fleece before the Lord", he is given clear indications that he is needed in NYC.  What he thought would be a one time trip, ended up changing his life and his family's lives forever.  Ultimately it resulted in a Teen Challenge center in New York City, serving youth in the most dire spiritual and temporal circumstances.

While David never spoke to the boys he felt called to help, he found hundreds of other boys and girls that he could.  This book was about faith in action.  It reminds us what power for good there is in all of us when we heed the counsel of the Lord.  It inspires us to look and even ask for miracles and to put our full faith and confidence in God.  It encourages us to think about our own priorities and how we help others.  The book reminded us that with God, all things are possible, including recovery from serious drug addictions.  Additionally, it was a great example of how different faiths can come together and work towards a common goal.

After the book was published, the story lived on.  In 1970 there was a film version of the book starring Pat Boone and Erik Estrada.

In 1968 Jamie Buckingham published Run, Baby, Run detailing his side of the story.  His life in the gang, meeting Pastor Dave and becoming an Evangelical Christian.

In 1972 there was a Comic Book released.

After reading this book, I really wanted to know, Where are they now?  Pastor Wilkerson turned over the Teen Challenge centers to the Assemblies of God.  They have locations all over the United States and have 12 month residential centers for those with serious drug addictions.  Their "tagline" is "Freedom through Discipleship".  That phrase can be used for all sorts of good purposes.

David Wilkerson died on April 27, 2011 in a head-on collision with a tractor trailer.  Pastor Wilkerson had crossed the lanes into oncoming traffic.  His wife Gwen was injured but survived.  She passed away on July 25, 2012 from cancer.  The Wilkerson family now runs World Challenge.  They focus on feeding the abject poor and on orphan care.  It seems that there are no small dreams in the Wilkerson family.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the first in a series of Sherlock Holmes stories featuring a new heroine, Mary Russell.  Through books and movies, Sherlock Holmes has been consistently portrayed as a genius detective, in a league entirely his own.  Here we see a woman who can match his intelligence and wit, while adding compassion and ingenuity into the cases they work.  Mary Russell has a deep theological background and an inquisitive mind, as well as the courage to act when necessary.

At first the glaring age difference made it an unlikely pairing of minds.  However, as the story progresses, the age difference becomes less and less pronounced.  Although Mary Russell has flaws, it was nice to see such a strong female character.

Laurie R. King wrote the Beekeeper's Apprentice back in 1994.  Laurie fashioned the character of Mary after herself as a young girl.  Laurie grew up in California and the Pacific Northwest.  In fact, I discovered that for a few years in her childhood she lived in exactly the same neighborhood I did growing up (many years before I was born though).  She studied Theology in college and married an Anglo-Indian.  They have a home in California and one in England, splitting time between them.  They also travel frequently.

Laurie has written many other novels in the Mary Russell series.  The next book in that series is scheduled to be released in 2015.  Laurie R. King has also written another series of mysteries featuring another female lead, the Kate Martinelli mysteries.  The first book in that series, A Grave Talent, won the Edgar award in 1993.  The Edgar award is given to the best fiction book written that year by a first-time novelist.

If you are interested in delving into more of the Sherlock Holmes or Mary Russell stories, here are some things to check out:

- The BBC Sherlock Holmes series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman is airing season 3 on January 19th on PBS.
- The Beekeeper's Apprentice tumblr has some interesting pictures and ideas for movie casting, etc.
- Via YouTube I found a 6 minute clip that includes footage from the actual area in England where Holmes and Russell first meet with some lines of the book being read by Laurie R. King.
- If you are looking for more information on Sherlock Holmes the character, look here.

And for fun, here are some pictures of the various Sherlock Holmes in TV and Film:

 From the 1900 William Gillette Play

 Benedict Cumberbatch in the current BBC Sherlock Holmes series

 Jeremy Brett starred in several Sherlock Holmes movies and TV series through the 1980s and 1990s

Douglas Wilmer played Sherlock Holmes in the 1964 BBC version

Johnny Lee Miller in the series Elementary

Robert Downey Jr. in the most recent Hollywood version of Sherlock Holmes

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

This seemed like the perfect book for summer.  A light, happy read, but with undoubted substance.  I hope you all read it and enjoy.

There is also a version with digital images of each page of the 1st edition which had illustrations.  Here are links to those illustrations:
Matthew brings Anne Home
Anne has words for Rachel Lynde
Anne's First Day at School
Anne breaks the slate over Gilbert's Head
Anne Walks the Ridge-pole
Gilbert Rescues "Elaine"

Anne and Diana
Gilbert walks Anne home (where she finally forgives him)

I'm sure I'd heard of it before, but my real introduction to Anne was in the Spring of 1999.  My mother had discovered she had cancer and as she was recuperating after her first surgery and getting ready to start chemotherapy a friend recommended she read Anne of Green Gables.  Mommy LOVED them all.  She even dreamt once that she was having tea with Anne.  They kept her hopeful and positive and we all honestly believe she lived longer out of sheer will.  With the books came the movies and we all watched those together as we peeled and processed apples (bumper crop that summer John and I lived there!).
John and I finally read them aloud together in the summer of 2007.  We, too, loved them all.  The last one is our favorite, but for different reasons.  He loves glimpse into the Canadian experience in World War I (which was fascinating) and  I loved it because it's about Anne's youngest daughter, Rilla. Being a youngest child I could identify with many of her concerns.  It is naturally a more serious book than the others and despite Rilla's happy ending it has plenty of heartbreak.
For those who have read the rest of the books, this is no surprise.  There is heartbreak in the them all which is part of what makes these books so good.  When tragedy strikes Anne puts it into words and somehow managed to cope and be hopeful.  

If you don't have a copy of the book you can read it online here.

There is a Lucy Maud Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Here are some links to interesting pages there. . .

The Life of Lucy Maud Montgomery and a Time Line of her life

The Works of L.M. Montgomery (it's a lengthy list)

Teacher's Corner which looks well-worth exploring.

Heading up to PEI?  Here's some tourist information.

A brilliant sentiment from L.M. Montgomery!

The Official Movie Website.  They claim to have some lost footage in their video section!

For any who have not yet seen the movies the 1st two are a MUST.
The 3rd is a must NOT.  Geez what a mess!

What the what? What's wrong with this picture?

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

This is a novel that I've often referred to as the grandfather of the English novel.  It has elements that seem so clearly those of Dickens or Austen and even the Bronte's and yet this novel came first. And he fits it all into 224 pages!

Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728 and died at the age of 43.  He wrote plays, poems and this novel.  He was friends with Samuel Johnson*, who, according to Wikipedia related the following about the sale of the The Vicar of Wakefield to a publisher.

"I received one morning a message from poor Goldsmith that he was in great distress, and, as it was not in his power to come to me, begging that I would come to him as soon as possible. I sent him a guinea, and promised to come to him directly. I accordingly went as soon as I was dressed, and found that his landlady had arrested him for his rent, at which he was in a violent passion: I perceived that he had already changed my guinea, and had a bottle of Madeira and a glass before him. I put the cork into the bottle, desired he would be calm, and began to talk to him of the means by which he might be extricated. He then told me he had a novel ready for the press, which he produced to me. I looked into it and saw its merit; told the landlady I should soon return; and, having gone to a bookseller, sold it for sixty pounds. I brought Goldsmith the money, and he discharged his rent, not without rating his landlady in a high tone for having used him so ill. ”  The novel was not published until 1766.

 I discovered that there are paintings of scenes from the book and so I included a few of those for fun.

*(For those who recognize the name Samuel Johnson but can't recall what he's known for, I'll help you out, since it was driving me crazy and I had to look it up myself.  "After nine years of work, Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. It had a far-reaching effect on Modern English and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship."  He also annotated Shakespeare's plays and Rasselas and wrote A Journey toe the Western Islands of Scotland and what wkipedia describes as the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, a collection of biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets. 
Here's a painting of him reading the manuscript to the Vicar of Wakefield