This is an extremely good book but also very sad. I explained a little about what happened in this story to my mother (who reads animal ark books after i do) and because she doesn't like sad books she couldn't bear to read it. I recommend this book if you don't mind sad books but I wouldn't recommend it if you don't like sad books

I loved this book! It was cool how Nick tried to save the farm all by hiself but had to get help in the end. I was confused though. The first twin foals were black not brown. but then I figured out why they had brown colts. If you love animal ark, or just like horses, you should read this book.

Very good theological overview of the events that shooked our world in the 20th century.

This book is an inspiring compilation of efforts at reconciliation in some of the most tangled conflicts around the world, including South Africa, Rwanda and Northern Ireland. Specific projects and processes are deliniated with enough clarity to see some of the things that worked as well as false steps taken along the way. Some lesser known conflicts are particularly instructive such as from Fiji and with the Canadian "First Nations" as the indigenous people there are called.

As a PhD student of the topic Baum covers in this book, I was quite excited to hear of this book. The topic is a fascinating one: the theology behind the German Protestant Church in East Germany, a communist state whose Marxist-Leninist ideology made it naturally opposed to religion. Unfortunately, Baum takes an important and interesting topic and tries to simplify it ad absurdum. The book is riddled with factual errors that are inexcusable, for example by using the scandalous self-immolation of a pastor to explain events that happened *before* the pastor's suicide (Baum apparently didn't know the exact date of Brusewitz's death). Similarly, to talk of the "theology of the Kirchenbund (Federation of Churches)" (which is the central point of Baum's book) is pure nonsense. The Federation was made up of eight regional churches and each church was made up of a multitude of pastors. In this environment beliefs were diverse and often opposing -- in short, no one could claim that there was *one* theology of the entire federation.

Baum's writing is clear and easy to understand; he could have done the job very well had he taken the time to run this by more experienced scholars first to correct the numerous errors. As it is, the danger remains that readers will think they understand the situation after reading this book, when in reality they have merely been misinformed.

As a PhD student of the topic Baum covers in this book, I was quite excited to hear of this book. The topic is a fascinating one: the theology behind the German Protestant Church in East Germany, a communist state whose Marxist-Leninist ideology made it naturally opposed to religion. Unfortunately, Baum (a non-expert) takes an important and interesting topic and simplifies it ad absurdum. The book is riddled with factual errors that are inexcusable, for example by using the scandalous self-immolation of a pastor to explain events that happened *before* the pastor's suicide (Baum did not bother to check up on the exact date of the pastor's death and got it wrong by several years). Similarly, to talk of the "theology of the Kirchenbund (Federation of Churches)", which is the central point of Baum's book, is pure nonsense. The Federation was made up of eight regional churches and each church was made up of a multitude of pastors. In the tense and dangerous environment that surrounded them, the pastors had beliefs that were diverse and often opposing -- there was no one single theology of the entire federation, a federation which was in any case very loose.

Baum's writing is clear and easy to understand. Even as a non-expert, he could have done the job well had he taken the time to run this by more experienced scholars first to correct the numerous errors, or talked with some of the bishops and pastors he writes about (most of whom are still alive). As it is, the danger remains that readers will think they understand the situation after reading this book, when in reality they have merely been misinformed.

Baum does an excellent job of locating the major theological underpinnings of the former Protestant church in the GDR. His study is lucid, intended as an introduction to the East German context (1949-1989). For many readers, this book will open up a whole new understanding of the delicate position that the church in the former GDR held--it was not for socialism, not against socialism, but it was in socialism. In short, as Baum argues, the church leadership developed a unique position, one which was in "critical solidarity." Baum is to be applauded for laying out the (often complex) theological sources in a manner that the average reader can understand, but at the same time still technical enough to provide the North American English-reading scholar with useful insights.