While charming enough to delight children, The Lost Princess Of Oz is not one of the more exceptional books in L. Frank Baum's Oz series. The problem lies with both writer and illustrator; Baum's cast of characters has been poorly chosen, and John R. Neill's usually masterful, visionary illustrations are in many cases merely serviceable.

The book features four child protagonists - Dorothy, Trot, Betsy Bobbin, and lone male Button-Bright - which is three interchangeable child protagonists too many (in several chapters, Trot and Betsy, though ostensibly present, do not speak and play no part in the action). As in most of the Oz books, the plot revolves around a journey, and those chosen in this case to undertake the search for the kidnapped Ozma are simply too bland a group. Colorful eccentrics the Woogle Bug and Jack Pumpkinhead are missing, and while Scraps the Patchwork Girl is included, she ambles about on the periphery of the story for most of the book with little sign of her trademark intrusive spark and spunk. There are also too many talking animals -whether of 'meat' or magical origin - the Cowardly Lion, Hank the Mule, Toto, the Woozy, and the Sawhorse (and later, the Big Lavender Bear and the Small Pink Bear). Though several interesting conversations arise from their differing philosophical viewpoints, the characters - which also include the 'Little Wizard' of the original title - are portrayed too homogeneously, and thus the tension and flair usually found in Baum's stories and dialogue are absent. Baum does score with the introduction to the series of the Frogman, a fun, imaginative character rivaling the Woogle Bug, the Gnome King, Tik-Tok, and Jack Pumpkinhead in pleasant absurdity, vibrance, and potential. But Baum's descriptive portrayal of his fairyland is sadly pedestrian throughout, as if these as - yet undiscovered kingdoms in the marvelous landscape of Oz are simply to be taken for granted.

All of which may explain Neill's largely uninspired, functional illustrations. Neill's usual genius is almost entirely missing, though careful readers may notice the dramatic and humorous illustration of the wizard standing before a walled city, addressing the heads of numerous giants who stare him down from the other side. All are grisly, bearded, and fierce, except one, who resembles a breathless, slightly overweight, slightly effete matinee idol of the period. Another chapter features a mechanical, jeweled dragon, which Neill inexplicably ignores.

Baum surprises with a hilarious scene in which the traveling assembly is anxiously ushered past a gauntlet of giants to meet a king rumored for his cruelty, only to find him delicately combing his eyelashes. The evidence and subtext in The Lost Princess Of Oz suggest, as many other titles in the series do, that women are by far the stronger and more spiritually refined sex. The Wizard is a well-known humbug, the Lion is a coward, the Frogman is a pompous fabricator, and Button-Bright, in behavior and dress, is in no way significantly different from Dorothy, Betsy, and Trot, who form a kind of juvenile triple-faced goddess. Glinda the Good, Oz's lone sorceress, and Ozma, the kingdom's child ruler, are strong, wise, and fundamentally incapable of error or even ungracious behavior. The Patchwork Girl is clever and indomitable under any circumstance. Was Baum slyly poking fun at his adult audience and critics? Considering Neill's strangely out - of - place, sissy-faced giant, is it an accident that the kingdom of the bears is ruled by the Big Lavender Bear and his constant companion, the sooth-saying Little Pink Bear?

Adults desiring to introduce children to the Oz series should start with the first three books, The Wizard of Oz, the better The Marvelous Land Of Oz, the odd, sometimes bizarre Ozma Of Oz, and then progress through the rest of the titles. Little Wizard Stories Of Oz, beautifully illustrated and colored by Neill, and specifically written for a younger audience than the regular titles, is also an excellent choice. The optimistic series, with its beautiful evocation of a better world and happier days, are perfect for today's children, who, as the success of the Harry Potter books show, are starved for imaginative, magical, and archetypal fare.

Although it is really hard to decide on a "favorite" of the series, everytime I have read (or early on, had it read to me) this book I have been delighted by the quality of the story and the writing. I highly recommend this, as well as all the other Baum books, to anyone with an active imagination.

The Lost Princess of Oz is one of L. Frank Baum's most imaginative books. It begins with a serious problem, Ozma's disappearance, and with many of the favorite characters. Yet in a parallel story, an early chapter takes us to the Winkie Country and introduces us to some delightful new characters, The Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook. We know that Cayke's stolen magic dishpan is somehow related to Ozma's disappearance.

I love the role that Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, plays in this book. We meet some whimsical new villages and the beings who inhabit them. We pay attention to small details that are nonetheless important to those most affected by them, such as Toto's missing growl. Illusions are turned upside down and inside out, making us think. It's a delightful journey, all in all, one that I highly recommend.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz is by far L.Frank Baum's best book! I like the Glass Cat. My favorite Oz book! L. Frank Baum is brillant!

Have fun following Ojo the Unlucky, Bungles the Glass Cat, and Scraps the Patchwork Girl on their quest, in which they make some unusual aquaintances! See Ojo look for ingredients to bring Unc Nunkie back to life! And, on the way, see him try to get rif of the "Un" in "Unlucky," so he can be Ojo the Lucky! This book will tickle your funnybone!

Recognizing the increasing danger from lands beyond, at the end of 1910's The Emerald City Of Oz, child ruler Ozma and sorceress Glinda decided to magically close Oz off from the outside world forever. In reality, Baum was tired of Oz and wanted to develop other ideas and projects. But hounded by young fans to provide more stories of the utopist fairyland, in 1913 Baum again took up his pen as Royal Historian. Explaining to readers that he had begun receiving new tales from the Shaggy Man via a wireless telegraph in Oz, the fruit of this partnership was The Patchwork Girl Of Oz, probably the general favorite of Baum's novels among dedicated Oz enthusiasts. In fact, the Patchwork Girl Of Oz is the book appreciated even by those who dislike the Oz series as a whole.

In poetry - spouting Scraps the Patchwork Girl, Baum introduced a vibrant, riveting figure to his fairyland, one equal to earlier classic creations the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooglebug, and the Gnome King. Rowdy, grotesque Scraps was perhaps Baum's last great character; indefatigable and indomitable, Scraps was also Baum's most original and fully realized female character, whether human, fairy, sorceress, or otherwise. A winning combination of common sense and nonsense, Scraps, a kind of nightmare version of Raggedy Ann, is pleasantly naive, utterly free, tactless, curious, and enthusiastic about all facets of life, including romance. Though stuffed with cotton, Scraps finds the straw - packed Scarecrow a perfect dreamboat, and finds twig - bodied Jack Pumpkinhead attractive as well. John R. Neill's illustrations of the Scraps and the Scarecrow's ' hearts aflutter ' first meeting is hilarious. A reconfiguration of the happy peasant figure who blissfully notices that the emperor is naked and doesn't hesitate to say so, Scraps, though not an outright trickster figure, approaches trickster status.

The Patchwork Girl Of Oz is Baum's most fluid, well rounded, and detailed children's novel. Unlike some of the other titles in the series that have a predominantly sketchy narrative, the Patchwork Girl Of Oz is composed of enthusiastic, rollicking prose that allows the reader to happily suspend disbelief. All Oz titles have filler chapters that pad the books and add little to their forward motion, and the Patchwork Girl Of Oz has its share. However, the filler chapters here -- 'The Troublesome Phonograph' and 'The Foolish Owl and the Wise Donkey' -- don't irritate or distract from the story's forward motion as much as they might.

Far from being finished with Oz, in 1913 Baum was still working out the magical laws that would govern his fairyland kingdom; readers will note that those laws applied here differ somewhat from those provided in 1918's The Tin Woodman Of Oz. Most noticeably, young Ojo the Unlucky is described as a growing boy; in the later books, all characters would be permanently fixed in their ages and physical growth or decline would become impossible. The Patchwork Girl Of Oz is almost free of the occasionally unsettling, cruel, or bizarre elements that Baum unconsciously allowed to mar his books; there is a brief explanation of how "meat" beings, if chopped into pieces, would continue to live, if not thrive, in their newly minced state. Unlike some of the other books in the series, the natural world in the Patchwork Girl Of Oz is lushly underscored and doesn't seem to be a brittle facsimile of the natural world known to readers. There is a loving description of Jack Pumpkinhead's pumpkin patch home, of the Munchkin gardens of "blue flowers, blue cabbages, blue carrots, and blue lettuce," and a defense of country living by the itinerant Shaggy Man.

A classic of children's literature, the Patchwork Girl Of Oz is Baum's best, and a far better book than its more famous antecedent, the Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. Highly recommended.

When L. Frank Baum set out to write and produce a second Oz musical for the stage, he discovered he had signed away the theatrical rights to his early Oz stories and characters. Apparently unwilling to create new material, Baum drafted a play that he called Tik - Tok Of Oz, which was simply a retelling of his third Oz novel, 1907's Ozma Of Oz, with some character names changed and minor plot elements rearranged. Since he owed publishers Reilly & Britton a new Oz book, Baum then rewrote his new play into a novel, and 1914's redundant Tik - Tok Of Oz was born.

With such a circuitous pedigree, it's no wonder that Tik - Tok Of Oz is a generally unimpressive entry into the Oz chronicle. Baum was occasionally careless with his prestigious fairyland, and nothing suggests that here more than the fact that wind - up mechanical man Tik - Tok, though his name lights up the book's title, is only a secondary character in the narrative and often appears to be absent from much of the story, even when present in theory. In fact, the Tin Woodman or Jack Pumpkinhead could have replaced the clockwork man without altering the essential plot in the least. But the uncomplicated Tik - Tok was particularly useful in a lazily composed narrative, since, as a preprogrammed machine of limited potential in need of continuous winding, Baum could silence him at any time by simply having him run down, no dramatic action or mental fatigue required. Despite several warm and imaginatively written chapters, such as 'The Lovely Lady Of Light,' the book plods on without building in strength or imagination until its final section, when it suddenly awakens to life.

Dorothy Gale doppelganger Betsy Bobbin, accompanied by sidekick Hank the Mule, reaches the shores of fairyland when a ship on which she is inexplicably a passenger explodes at sea. Baum's ho - hum attitude towards his material is immediately evident when introducing Betsy, who does indeed do some "bobbing" up and down on the waves and billows: "Suddenly the sea was lighted up by a vivid glare. The ship, now in the far distance, caught fire, blew up and sank beneath the waves." No mention is made of the fate of the other passengers or of Betsy's guardians. Meanwhile, in the tiny northern Winkie kingdom of Oogaboo, irritable queen Ann Soforth ('And so forth') has decided to conquer all of Oz through the use of her army, which consists of four Colonels, four Captains, four Generals, four Majors and one soldier. The third plot thread finds the Shaggy Man tramping across Oz in search of his missing brother, who he believes has been captured by the Nome King. Ozma, concerned about the Shaggy Man's progress, sends Tik - Tok to assist him, though he promptly gets thrown down a well.

Potentially interesting new character Princess Ozga, a beautiful vegetable woman grown from a rose bush, remains underdeveloped and underutilized, while the apparently always - on - standby Polychrome strays from the rainbow yet again, and acts, here as elsewhere, as a convenient deus ex machina whenever Baum writes himself into a tight corner. To his credit, Baum allows Polychrome a little more common sense and perception than she reveals in other titles. Arch Oz villain Ruggedo, whose original name was Roquat before he drank from the 'Waters of Oblivion,' is alternately called the Metal Monarch or the Nome (Gnome) King, while on the other side of the planet readers are introduced to the "Famous Fellowship of Fairies," which is overseen by the Jinjin, who is also known as the Private Citizen and as Tititi - Hoochoo, a name which must have delighted grade school boys and irked educators for decades. Readers never learn the true name of Shaggy Man's brother, but, when he is not referred to as such, is simply called the Ugly One due to a punishing enchantment Ruggedo has cast upon him. Like the Little Wizard and Dorothy and Captain Bill and Trot, the Shaggy Man and Betsy eventually form a partnership: elderly man - little girl relationships lacking blood ties are common in the Oz chronicle.

A good indicator of a weak Baum title is an absence of imaginative description, as readers will find here. Baum's Nome Kingdom might have been wondrously described, as E. T. A. Hoffman detailed his own underground fairyland in 'The Mines of Falun.' Hoffman's underground caves, mines, and tunnels emit a claustrophobia readers can feel, a strange otherworldly magic that is both threatening and powerfully seductive. Once Baum establishes that his characters are underground, except for a brief scene in a metal forest, readers are left to visualize the rocky, gem - rich nome world as best they can, or rely wholly on John R. Neill's humorous illustrations.

In an apparent mistake on Baum's part, sorceress Glinda the Good's castle on the far boundary of the southern kingdom of the Quadlings is said to "stand far north of the Emerald City where Ozma holds her court," despite the two comprehensive maps which open and close the book and demonstrate that the castle rightly stands in the red southern kingdom of the Quadlings where it should.

Oz newcomers beware: Tik - Tok Of Oz reads much like the uninspired retread it is; like the clockwork man himself, the book is sorely in need of additional winding under its left arm. Baum should have saved the few good ideas he introduced here for his next entirely new manuscript. This is one of the few Baum - authored books in the Oz series which readers may decide to put aside before finishing.

Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Books of Wonder edition)

Tik-Tok of Oz is a delightful book with an interesting story of how it came to be. A small Editor's Note by Peter Glassman on page 10 of this book tells the story. There had been two successful stage plays based on the first two Oz books and Baum wanted to write a play based on the third, Ozma of Oz. However, he found out he couldn't use many of the characters because he had already sold the stage rights to them. He took the plot of the third book and changed Dorothy and Ozma into two new characters Betsy Bobbin and Queen Ann Soforth. Then he used the popular Shaggy Man who was introduced in The Road to Oz and changed many of the incidents in the story to create a new script for the stage that he called The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. The play was a success so he then rewrote it into this novel.

If you have read Ozma of Oz, you will indeed see the similarities. Once again an army of one soldier and many officers is led by a girl leader in an attack against the Nome King. This time it is Queen Ann Soforth from the smallest and poorest kingdom in Oz. She is young and tired of her tiny kingdom and wants to seek adventure. When her sister jokingly suggests that Ann raise an army and conquer Oz, Ann likes the idea. She convinces all but one of the eighteen men of her kingdom to join her army and they set out. However, the sorceress Glinda, learns of her plans and magically transports Ann and her army across the Deadly Desert and out of Oz entirely.

Meanwhile Betsy Bobbin, like Dorothy in Ozma of Oz, is lost at sea in a storm with her companion Hank the Mule. They are cast up on shore of the Rose Kingdom where they meet up with the Rose Princess, the Shaggy Man and Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter. This group goes on a quest with the Shaggy Man who is seeking his lost brother, a prisoner of the Nome King. They meet up with Queen Ann's army and Tik-Tok. This large group decides to go in search of the Nome King together.

Their quest leads them to the fairy kingdom of the great Jinjin, Tititi-Hoochoo where they meet a young dragon named Quox. Their encounter with the Nome King is terribly amusing and their search for the Shaggy Man's brother has a remarkable outcome.

What starts out as a reworking of another story takes on a life of its own to become an entertaining and amusing story. The John R. Neill illustrations are wonderful and there are 12 full-page color plates. The end papers present the first published map of the land of Oz.

Tik-Tok of Oz is one of the best books in the Wizard of Oz series! It introduces many characters, such as Betsy Bobbin, Hank the Mule, and Queen Ann of Oogaboo. (I won't name then all.) Shaggy Man is in search of his brother who is imprisoned by the evil Nome King. The most exciting part of the book is when they visit the Nome King. The things that happen are really funny and very interesting. And, at the end, you'll get to see Ozma, Dorothy, and the Wizard.

You should buy this book!

"The Road to Oz" is the fifth book in what is perhaps the greatest fantasy series of all time.. however, it's not really a book I'd recommend to show people how wonderful the series really is. At this point it seems that Baum was getting a little weary, and it shows, as this book has almost no discernable plot or conflict at all. Dorothy, again, gets lost in a fairyland, and again makes her way to the Emerald City, assembling a small band of strange and endearing characters along the way -- the same as she'd done three times before. What made this a weak entry is that there was no sense of urgency here. Dorothy was never worried, she knew as soon as she found Ozma she'd have a way home, there was no villain... by the time she made it to the Emerald City the book had been liberally dotted with references to how everyone in Oz loved one another and nobody was ever mean -- unless, of course, you're a wicked witch, but they had both long been vanquished at this point.

The land of Oz is built on strange situations and characters, but also on story. In the original "Wizard of Oz," Dorothy and her friends faced the witch, hoping to send her home. In "The Land of Oz," Pip had to deal with an entire invasion of the Emerald City. In "Ozma of Oz" there was the wonderful story of the rescue of the Royal Family of Ev.

By book four, "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz," Baum seemed to have run out of plots and contented himself, in these few volumes, with just bringing in new characters and not bothering to craft a story around them. In book six, "The Emerald City of Oz," he took the step of placing Dorothy in Oz permanently, which was probably the best thing he'd ever done, because later volumes no longer needed to concern themselves with finding ways to get to Oz and just told really wonderful fantasy stories. ("Tik-Tok of Oz" is still my favorite in the series.")

The Oz books, in toto (no pun intended), are wonderful for people of any age, but this installment is really for completists only.

Everyone has their favorite Oz novel, but of the 14 which Baum wrote, this one is, in my opinion, the weakest. Unlike other Oz books there is little in the way of plot. This makes reading it uncomfortable as the reader spends most of the book waiting for somehting to happen, only to realize at the end that nothing happened. Also, I loved the tense yet humorus situations Baum masterfully set up in the other books. I rorared with laughter in the second book when Jelia Jamb "translated" for the scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead. The trial from book four and Dorothy's capture by the people of Utensia in book six also made me laugh while also clutching the book with fascination. There are no comperable scenes in "Road to Oz" and this is sorely missed.

However, the book is still worth reading. For one thing it introduces the Shaggy Man, who proves to be a most enjoyable character. The Shaggy Man carries a device called the love magnet, which causes people who see it to love him. This subplot introduces a very mature and though-provoking conflict. Is it right to enchant people into loving? Is this a power that one person, even a well-intentioned one, can hold alone? What are the drawbacks of being loved by everyone? This subplot held my interest and made the story readable.

Finally, there are cameo appearances in the end from many of Baum's non-Oz books. Clearly these appearances are a plug for his other works. One cannot fault him too much for doing this though. Baum wrote many fine books which had nothing to do with Oz, and this needs to be remembered.

Despite this book's weakness, it did not signal the decline of the series. Most of the later books were quite good, and I found "The Tin Woodsman of Oz" (number 12) to be one of the best. Keep reading, as altogether there is nothing like the Oz series.

...but it's an Oz book so in comparision to other children's novels that aren't from the Oz series it still gets a 4 out of 5. Worth reading, but don't expect the excitement of some of the earlier and later works by Baum and Thompson.

I agree with the author. I find many of the creative attempts of the mainstream Christian culture very bland. I feel that we have lost many of the traditions of great writers like C.S. Lewis and artist working in a myriad of other genres. However, aside from communicating his premise and a few morsels of truth this book falls on its face. I was left to puzzle out specific examples of mediocre art, no specific examples were given. Further the author also jumps into tirades about abortion. Abortion is wrong, but what does that have to do with the arts?

I wish that the author had some training in classical argument, or had hired a ghostwriter to present his arguments. If he had I might not be left with the irony that his book is mediocre.

An excellent book with a lot to offer the continually diminishing world of quality Christian art. Lot's of opendendedness in my opinion--do this, but how. His book is where practicality and creativity collide. I don't think he INTENDED to give any answer about how to do it other than: CREATE. He did draw some excellent conclusions about how we (Christians) have compartmentalized almost everything in our lives and placed certain values on different vocations and ways of life. Necessary reading for Christian actors, writers, visual artists, and housewifes wishing to raise children that think.

This book is a rare treat because Schaeffer does what few others have the courage to do: take Christians to task for their flawed views of God, art and man.

If the book is at times stinging in its criticism, that is only because it is so accurate that it makes us wince, and rightly so.

Schaeffer's discussion of the utilitarian approach to art which the Evangelical community has adopted, and the further discussion of how the effects of that have crippled the church in some significant ways, is sobering.

The often abrasive tone is reminiscent of the prophets in the Old Testament who challenged and prodded God's people. Schaeffer serves that same purpose here. Much like Leyland Ryken's book The Liberated Imagination, Addicted to Mediocrity urges us to recapture the Imago Dei - the truth that we are created in God's image and that therefore we are all creative in some fashion.

For the past 20 years, at least, artists who are also Christians have been pushed farther and farther to the fringes by the evangelical community, force to justify their art to skeptical evangelicals who search for an exact accounting of evry line in a poem, or every brush stroke in a painting.

This book is encouraging to me as as artist, and opens the door for further exploration with the understanding that "Art needs no justification" as Schaeffer says.

Schaeffer is a talented writer and I did enjoy his portrayal of Italy and Switzerland, but I thought his recurring scenes of teenage petting and masturbation were annoying and juvenile and grossly repetitive. The author seemed to take perverse pleasure in using "naughty words" and pushing the envelope. This might have been fine if he'd managed to make the pleasure seem like 14-year-old Calvin's, but instead it smacked of author intrusion. A redemptive, satisfying ending might have salvaged the book for me, but instead it ended abruptly without resolving two main plotlines!

Given what I know about Schaeffer's family, and having read (though I didn't necessrily agree with) many of his parents' books, Saving Grandma and its predecessor, Portofino, seemed to be mean-spirited and vindictive. A disclaimer in the front of the book states "...any resemblance to persons or events...is entirely coincidental." I find it difficult to see how he could have included this with a straight face or a clear conscience!

Saving Grandma is a fascinating book. I read it practically in one sitting. Besides the fact that the book is fast-paced and humorous a la Adrian Mole, it intrigued me because I happen to know that the author is himself the son of Calvinist missionaries who established an institute similar to L'Arche in the same region of Switzerland that the book is set in. I do not know all the details of Frank Schaeffer's life as a young man, but I do know that some of the incidents in the book bear a remarkable resemblance to real-life events. After having participated directly in his parents' enterprise, Frank Schaeffer has rejected their Calvinism and converted to Greek Orthodoxy. Can we expect to see a third novel (Portofino was the first, and I can't wait to read it!) in this series in which young Calvin grows up and adopts the Greek Orthodox faith or something very much like it? I certainly hope so, for I am very fond of Calvin Becker, and I congratulate Frank Schaeffer for the progress he has made in his spiritual life. Nothing deadens the human soul like the Calvinist doctrine of predestination.

I read Portofino & really enjoyed it & was anxious to read the sequel. I enjoyed it, too, & even laughed out loud at a number of places. Grandma is a great character & a good addition to the Becker fictional family. But nonetheless, there's a disturbing note of bitterness in this novel that wasn't there in Portofino. The whole Becker clan -- except for the two non-calvinists, Calvin & Grandma -- have gone totally bonkers & Dad is getting more violent by the day. We know that Frank S. has rejected Calvinism & his parents' ministry & has gone to Orthodoxy. I guess these novels are Franky's revenge.

I bought this book out of curiosity, having long ago read the author's father (Evangelical/Presbyterian/Fundamentalist/Dispensationalist Protestant minister Francis Schaeffer)'s books, and some of Franky's as well. Franky--or Frank--usually sounds bitter and sarcastic, but I did enjoy his novel Portofino. Twenty-some years ago, I was a Protestant, and was, as a youth, somewhat impressed with Francis Schaeffer's works. (I am not impressed now.) Anyway, I was interested in learning about Franky's pilgrimage to Orthodoxy, and was expecting a personal account. Instead, I find a bitter diatribe against Protestantism and Catholicism. Schaeffer's words are obviously those of a new and zealous convert. He warns us in his "Note of Acknowledgment" that he is not an historian nor a theologian, nor a scholar. Yet he proceeds to write as if he were all three. He is not convincing. He does, however, make some good points regarding Protestantism, and much of what he says concerning the Orthodox churches apply to the Catholic Church. He bitterly attacks the Papacy, having thoroughly absorbed the resentment towards the West of many Orthodox writers. (Of course I am admittedly biased, and consider "the Schismatic Church" an apt appellation for the Orthodox!)
Nevertheless, I think Shaeffer has moved in the right direction, and it is better to be "only" in schism rather than in heresy and schism. But for a good short introduction to Orthodoxy, I think Timothy Ware's The Orthodox Church is a better treatment of the subject. At least you will get the perspective of a longtime adherent, and more reliable historical information. Frank Schaeffer is much better at writing fiction (and I really do recommend Portofino, especially if you have ever been an Evangelical Protestant--it'll keep you laughing).

At first read, Frank Schaeffer's diatribe against Protestantism is unsettling. It would be simple to write off his fervor as pent-up anger if his subject was anything else. However, Mr. Schaeffer is writing of the ONE, TRUE, CHURCH , which he has come to believe is the Orthodox faith. The correct tone when instructing others in a serious matter in which they are mistaken is staunch authoritarianism, mixed well with compassion and personal relevance. Mr. Schaeffer combines these elements well, and takes the reader on a soul-wringing trip through history.

In the first section of the book, Mr. Schaeffer documents the history of Protestantism and draws connections between its strayed theology and many of society's ills. Though this section is dry if you are not a history buff, it is necessary to set up the argument for the Orthodox Church.

I grew up in a very Protestant home, and after a period of soul-searching and questioning, motivated by the desire to be "different and separate", I chose a Protestant church home. What characterizes Protestantism above all else is incessant questioning-a personal proof of faith based on what the individual chooses to believe and how they interpret scripture. I have yet to lose this knack for picking and choosing, so in my very Protestant way, let me tell you what I like about Orthodoxy as Mr. Schaeffer describes it:

1.Orthodoxy is a sure thing! If I'm right, and in the spirit of democracy, you are right, then I end up being wrong. Not so in the Orthodox Church. There: "this is right, this is what the Church has always taught."

2.I have always believed the Bible to be the infallible word of God, protected and passed down to us through the ages. The Orthodox Church didn't even have the canon of the New Testament when it began. That part of the Bible grew out of the tradition and development of the Church!

3.Who is the Orthodox Church to say they have the ONE TRUE WAY ?!? Well, they do have documentation of the succession from the apostles, and Christ gave special dispensation to those MEN to carry out the work of the church. Ok, well, who's to say that they haven't had outside influence and that their worship is just as different from the New Testament Church as Mine is?!? Ok, but the apostles to whom Christ gave those special powers and instructions to start THIS Church said, "...The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

I received this book as gift from my step-father (who I love, and who loves me as real as you can get!) He sent this book from Amazon.com via post while I was making wedding preparations (and almost got me in trouble for spending money on-line!) and then called two days later to see if I had read it, and what I had thought. I hadn't even touched it yet. I did get to read it in the Mojave on my Annual Training with the Texas Army National Guard. I can't say that I am converted because I have yet to do all of the research (and there isn't an Orthodox Church where I live). But it has certainly made points I can not ignore. Frank Schaeffer continues in his father's footsteps as an insightful theologian, sensitive to the evil of relativism in our society.

Frank Schaeffer's book is an excellent introduction for those interested or curious about Eastern Orthodoxy. As the son of perhaps this country's most famous Protestant theologian, Francis Schaeffer, Mr. Schaeffer's book is instructive on a number of levels. The book is part testimonial, part explanation and defense of Orthodox theology, and part cultural critique of contemporary American culture. Mr. Schaeffer sets out to explain why our individualistic, feel-good social ethic has compromised many denominations and why Orthodoxy offers an organic, living form of worship and piety that is Christianity in its completest form. Mr. Schaeffer references Church Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils in his explanation of Orthodox doctrine in his defense of Orthodoxy's claim to being the living, True Church of Christ. This may upset or surpise some who accept today's ecumenical claim that all the denominations taken together are branches of the one true Church; but, as Mr. Schaeffer points out, you cannot have a number of Churches who all claim different things that contradict the claims of each other comprising the one True Church: this is a contradiction that makes no sense. Mr. Schaeffer's book will be of particular interest to anyone interested in Orthodoxy, whether he be Orthodox, Protestant, or Catholic. This is important since Mr. Schaeffer IS NOT saying (nor does the Orthodox Church teach as much) that you can only be saved or please God if you are Orthodox; the mystery of a man's salvation is something man cannot judge and is for God alone to know. However, Mr. Schaeffer is interested in establishing the historical and theological case that establishes Orthodoxy as the one True Church of Christ that possess the fullness of Christ's Truth that other churches that split from Her do not possess. In a world where many traditional forms of worship and piety have been forgotten or dismissed, where other liturgical churches have abandoned or gutted their liturgies, taking a serious look at Orthodoxy might be of value for those disaffected with modernist denominations and parishes.