Three Books About the Copts:
Dr. Wakin, a prize winning journalist who travelled the world with a sociologist observing eyes, wrote this valuable book while he was a resident reporter in Cairo. He searshed the facts and traveled with Fr. Ayrout, the late Libanese director of the Jesuit schools in Egypt. Although the book was published fourty years ago, yet its impact remained and was recently translated into Arabic and distributed to the Copts in the USA & elsewhere.
In 1918 the British orientalist Leeder wrote his famous book: Modern Sons of The Pharoes, still in print. Recently, the English Coptologist Dr. john Watson wrote a compelling study of the Copts and their curia.

8 Millions of Egyptian Christians:
In three coordinated parts, edward Wakin servays Egypt and it political milieu of the sixties, in part 2, he explains the sociopolitical conditions, and the history of the Moslem Brotherhood, which was nurtured 10 years lkater by the believing (Moslem) president:Anwar El-sadat, which promoted Islamic terrorism, and got assasinated by the gamaa Islamia in 1981.

The Copts,their Church, and Leadership:
In the third part , which is the most interesting of the three Dr. Wakin discusses the crisis of Coptic leadership, and recounted some stories of a recent desert Father, Abba Kyrillos, the solitary patriarch whose spiritual authority touched the lay copt as much as Patriarch athenagorus, and Pope Paul sixth. He delves to the desert and its monasteries where the revival of Coptic monastic life was just starting. He explains how the Coptic Church is the Church of the people, and how did it always influence the Coptic community.

The Rise and Siege of the Coptic Church:
For those who enjoy the survival of ancient community, when two millenia ago, in the city of Alexandria st. Mark first convert was the cobbler Anianos, the first bishop alexandria, while the therapeutae (Alexandrian essene Jews)accepted the Gospel, followed by the rest of the Egyptians. This Church became that of the Martyrs suffered from Pagan,Arian, Bezantine, moslem, Memluks, and Turks, but servived. Is it going to survive the Islamic Fundamentalism, of which they sometimes suffered collective masacres?

Companion Readership:
Among the Copts, Rev. Dr.John Watson,
Sussex Academic Press, 2000

BR>Dr. Wakin, a prize winning journalist who travelled the world with a sociologist observing eyes, wrote this valuable book while he was a resident reporter in Cairo. He searshed the facts and traveled with Fr. Ayrout, the late Libanese director of the Jesuit schools in Egypt. Although the book was published fourty years ago, yet its impact remained and was recently translated into Arabic and distributed to the Copts in the USA & elsewhere.
In 1918 the British orientalist Leeder wrote his famous book: Modern Sons of The Pharoes, still in print.

Edward Wakin writes A Lonely Minority in an attempt to portray the struggle for survival by millions of Christians who take pride in being known as the "original Egyptians." Minorities in today's world have always been fighting for civil liberties and rights, yet in this case, these Egyptian Christians are still being denied of their privileges. The author travels throughout Egypt with a Jesuit priest, Henry Habib Ayrout, and describes his findings. With this book, which had to be smuggled in to Egypt, the author unveils some of the secretive facts that he discovers throughout his journey.
The author achieves his objective by breaking down the book into three distinctive parts. The first part is called "The Coptic Presence." In this part, he explains who the Copts are and how they were a dominant part of Egyptian life, yet there power ultimately declined. The second part is called "Cross and Crescent." In this section he depicts the persecution the Copts have faced thus far and how Gamal Nasser, Egypt's President, is preventing them from climbing the ladder for better social status. The last part of the novel is "The Pursuit of Survival," where Wakin shows signs of Coptic life and presence that is striving to further accelerate Coptic equality in Egypt.
The lonely minority of Copts numbers at least six million. Their weak Diaspora is the reason for their minute presence and power in Egyptian society. This includes the following, which the Egyptian government tries to hide from the rest of the world: not a single Christian has been appointed to the judicial system for ten years; presidential decrees are required before Christians can build or repair their churches; Egypt's governing party did not nominate any Christians for the parliamentary elections; Christians are excluded from the police academy and any military school; and Christians must list their religion on ID cards and job applications (ix). In the Middle East, the Copts constitute the largest body of Christians. It is likely that 80 percent of present day Moslems stem from Coptic family ties. They are Monophysites, where they believe that Jesus Christ was one person from two persons, God and man, and had one nature without "commingling" his human and divine natures" (7).
Copts, in fact, used to rule Egypt, because at the time of the Arab invasion, 90 percent of Egypt was Christian. With the Roman Empire, the Mameluke Dynasty and the Turkish conquest, the Christians have faced bloody persecutions, mirroring the Holocaust. Also, the Copts helped the Moslems end the British conquest in 1922. They finally got "stabbed in the back" because as the Moslems took power, they prevented
Copts from being able to find suitable jobs. In this way, the Copts have lost so much power that it has taken small steps to prevent the extinction of their race. Even though there are signs of equality listed in their Constitution, they are denied their rights due to discrimination. Wakin claims that their qualifications and skills are overlooked for the last name, because a Moslem or Christian distinction can be made. There is a rough estimate that 5,000 Copts become Moslems each year to provide better opportunities for themselves.
To many Copts, President Nasser always seems to hide from the issues concerning Coptic discrimination and does not address the problems with serious attention. The Copts see their community being pushed downhill into oblivion, yet they are not allowing their voices to be heard. This is the problem in which Wakin seems to highlight. The Copts, with great skills, job qualifications, strong families, and a fairly large number for a minority should be taking a more active role in establishing their equality.
Their failure in achieving equal status can be related to their crisis in leadership. The crisis is in reference to the banishment of their Patriarch, Anba Yusab II. It further embarrassed their church and community relationship when they elected Patriarchs by chance from drawing names out of hat. Because the clergy has little esteem, it has attracted recruits of low quality, which perpetuates this church led by second-rate people. The Community Councils, established in 1873, have brought about new policies increasing opportunities for Copts, and are assigned the administrative, educational, financial and judicial functions. Wakin, in the final chapter, sums up the Copt's struggle to survive with the following quote: "A minority can be sentenced to death by the majority or it can commit suicide as an identifiable group by assimilating" (167).
I believe that this novel proficiently depicted a struggle to survive for this Egyptian Christian minority. I felt the study was worthwhile with the many interesting figures at numbers the author discovered in Egypt. I am always the one feeling sorry for minorities and underdogs, and in this case, my heart goes out to the author. He presents his objective, in the three different parts; he seems to tie in the history, discrimination and last struggle for survival in an effective way. He describes the struggle through personal accounts and encounters. His documentation primarily consists of first-person interviews with stories as well. It is adequate enough for the author to make the Moslem Egyptians look as the bad guys but then again; there is not one source that he spoke of in his novel. He always mentioned "one Coptic priest" or "one Coptic family," but never mentions an exact name. Therefore, I believe some of the information he reveals might be rumors with no definite proof. He is convincing with his argument because of the stories he hears, but can this be considered as the truth? Also, in consideration, this novel was copywritten in 1963, so I believe we need to see how the present standards are in Egypt. If they are the same, I believe this novel is compelling enough to further some type equality movement in Egypt. Just like the Jews fought to create the state of Israel for themselves, the Copts are not just trying to find a homeland, but just have fair and equivalent rights to the Moslems. Edward Wakin does an excellent job in presenting the struggles faced by the Copts, yet he needs to tie his novel with some definite facts to sway the public in believing his argument, because even though I do, there are many who are not convinced.

Anyone living in America has experienced firsthand the short-term changes caused by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. But what about the longer-term changes? What can we expect, and how will it affect our lives? Betting on America offers a lucid, thoughtful scenario of life in the months, and years ahead. The authors include a historic perspective in showing us how we can individually, and collectively, become stronger, more secure, in dealing with the future. America has always had a strong resolve; Messrs Cortada and Wakin help us understand why. A must buy book for anyone interested in knowing where we go from here.

This is a timely and important book. Written in a clear and lively style, "Betting on America" is the first book to put the horror of September 11th into its historical context. But most crucial in these uncertain times, this work reminds us of how American has always endured in the past and will endure now. The changes we now face will not only help us prevail, but help us to rise to a new level of greatness as a people and a nation. A must read for all concerned Americans

The war against terrorism has spawned countless commentaries, but this intelligent, insightful, inspiring book stands out from the crowd. Instead of more rage and mere rhetoric, it offers much reason. Like its upbeat title, the book captures America's can-do spirit and offers must-do advice on how we can rise to these challenges and ultimately triumph. The authors make a clear, compelling case for why America has always been the odds-on favorite against its foes. When it comes to life-and-death struggles between good and evil, history shows that betting on America is really no gamble at all.

Ed Wakin has written here an eminently readable and important book, But it is not just for Irish-Americans. It is for anybody interested in the story of how American was created. With over 40 million Americans today tracing their roots back to Ireland, the Irish-American experience in America far transcends green beet and blarney one day a year. This book puts in historical and human perspective how the immigrant Irish forged a double identity, shaping and being shaped by America. They became Irish-American, and, along with all other immigrants groups, shaped the American Dream. Wakin is a great writer. He makes history interesting and understanding. I highly recommend this book for all Irish-Americans interested in learning about their heritage, and all Americans interested in learning about our shared past.

This book is a unique book that profiles successful online entrepreneurs. We could find their motivation, strong point, business model, etc. Because the market is getting cold, rational and systematic business model is becoming important. This book suggested the ways for final winner in business. This book profiles twelve entrepreneurs who have started successful online businesses and provides information on the companies they founded, why they founded them, and how they succeeded. These entrepreneurs have been winners of Ernst & Young's prestigious "Entrepreneur-of-the-Year" awards. From person-to-person interviews with each entrepreneur such as founder of eBay, priceline, etc we could find their secret, important know-hows. I strongly recommend this book.

I found "Beyond Loneliness: A Practical Christian Response" not to be "practical" in the least, nor is it the "unique guide that will help everyone deal with loneliness," as it states on the back cover. In just under 100 pages it rather restates the obvious, quoting from numerous sources to bolster its authority but never penetrating deeply the true nature of loneliness in a sensitive manner and how to come to grips with it. The two authors are Ph.D.s who conduct workshops, according to the back cover, but their writing lacks authenticity; I do not get the sense that either of these two men have ever truly dealt with penetrating loneliness. This is a rather generic book that fails to examine deeply and empathically any real-life situations or loneliness that is particular to either sex. The book never deals with the issue of marginalization. Rather, it faces loneliness as a kind of temporary problem, something akin to an experience that a child might face when there is no one available that day to play with after school. It seems to be directed toward people who are used to being continually busy and suddenly find themselves with time on their hands, the authors' thesis being that solitude is necessary in order to draw us closer to God. Well, of course it is. But the authors themselves seem to confuse loneliness with solitude, even though they attempt to draw the distinction in their book.

Not much guidance and enrichment to be found in this little tome for dealing with the deeply spiritual problem of loneliness and isolation in the modern era.