I met Samuel Chand after he spoke at a conference in Los Angeles, and bought his book right off the table. My wife and I had been struggling to plant a church in South Central Los Angeles, and at the time were stinging from several painful setbacks... could we have done anything to avert those disasters? 20-20 hindsight always accuses "Yes!". Chand's book helped us deal with our failure, pick up the pieces (those available to pick up at least) and continue on. Best thing about this book: it is not mere cheerleading or positive-thinking, but honest, bold approach to understanding and redeeming failure so that "all things [really do] work for the good of those who are called according to His purpose". Don't read it when things are going well. Read it when you are angry, despairing, or ready to give up.

The Story Behind the Book

It was the first Monday in August 1985. Mondays can either be real good or real bad for pastors depending on the day before Monday-Sunday! Sunday is the day the self-worth and even the calling of the pastor are tested to its limits. An experienced pastor has counseled wisely, "Never resign on a Monday!" On this particular Monday, I walked up to a few pastor friends who were gathered in the parking lot of the Conference center. The annual denominational conference was about to begin. The typical Monday morning pastor's conversation was in full bloom. "So, how many did you have in church yesterday?" was the operating question. Now, we all know that that question is usually asked by pastors who had a "good" Sunday, and this is the way they can let others know how well they did. Actually, it is a very self-serving question. It is not about the questioned; it is about the questioner! The respondent, who usually had a "bad" Sunday responds by shuffling his feet, clearing his throat, and saying something like, "We've had a lot of sickness in our area and seems like so many people were out on vacation. . ." This one-upmanship in the parking lot that Monday morning got the best of me. So, as a junior member of the clergy, I timidly asked, "Do any of you have low Sundays? Do you ever get discouraged? Do you ever feel like giving up? Do you ever wonder if it's worth it?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had said the wrong thing! Why deal with reality when denial serves us so well? The book in your hands was born on that Monday morning in that parking lot. The accounts in the book finally answer the questions that were asked in the parking lot and remind us that failure is the womb of success. As you read this book, you will laugh and you will weep. You will shake your head in agreement as well as amazement. Failure is not a popular subject. Go to your nearest bookstore and look for the shelf marked FAILURE; that shelf does not exist! Everyone wants to talk about success (it sells), but we all know we fail at more things than we succeed at. So let's talk about it! This book will get you started.

Samuel R. Chand Coordinator and collaborator of this book

Samuel Walker has created a wonderful book on the history of the ACLU, In Defense of American Liberties, that is a must for anyone concerned with the history of freedom of speech and the men and women who fought for them in America. This book shows the development from fringe to mainstream of the ideas shared by a group of people in the 1910's. The book is by no means hagiography as the darker moments of the ACLU are presented with clarity, such as their hounding and forcing out of Communist members simply for their beliefs. It is both very informative and truly entertaining. A wonderful book that demonstrates the importance the ACLU has had in the twentienth century shaping political ideas.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to take a critical look at the administration of justice in the U.S. Dr. Walker has a very simple, straightforward style of writing that makes this book accessible to virtually anyone, even someone with limited background in the area. His information is very up-to-date and his arguments are clear, concise and well-supported.

This book gives a good overview but just that - an overview. The events and circumstances surrounding the use of the A-bomb simply must be addressed in greater depth for one who wishes to become truly knowledgable on the subject. However, its brevity is also a strength in that for one just getting into the subject it serves as a fabulous introduction and for those already familiar with the subject, it sums things up into a nice recap. Contrary to some reviews of the book, the author does NOT ever say or even imply that the bomb should not have been dropped. Quite the opposite, he provides compelling reasons why the decision to use the bomb was sound and wise militarily, politically, diplomatically, and morally. Nor is this book any where near a "one-stop-shop" on the subject. So while not the final say, this book would be a good addition to a collection for the reasons mentioned above. The research is credible and the arguments are as a whole very sound. Highly recommended.

This book is an important contribution to the ongoing (and seemingly never-ending) debate on the reasons why the U.S. chose to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. The author took it upon himself to clearly determine whether the bomb was militarily necessary - as has been suggested by many U.S. historians writing before J. Samuel Walker - or whether it might have been used for purely political reasons such as intimidating the Soviet Union.

The results he comes up with are in many ways quite remarkable. For instance it becomes evident that then president Harry S. Truman was never confronted with the categorical choice between using the bomb and invading the Japanese main islands (which might have involved heavy U.S. losses). Indeed, by the beginning of summer 1945 Japan was believed to be so weak that the war was expected to come to an end before an invasion began, and even if it had been necessary to proceed with an invasion, the resulting casualties were supposed to be much fewer than Truman and his top-level advisers claimed after the war. However, Walker demonstrates rather convincingly that whichever alternatives might have existed, the bomb nevertheless proved to be the best means to win a decisive victory at the lowest cost in American casualties. Taking into account the element of time, one begins to understand how great the temptation must have been for Truman and his cabinet to drop the bombs and thereby finish the war with a clean stroke. Although other reasons, too, played an important part in the ultimate decision, the finding that using the bomb simply provided the president and his advisers with the most convenient measure to end the war is a compelling one and without doubt the book's most valuable message.

J. Samuel Walker has to be applauded for presenting the reader with this highly readable account of the line of reasoning behind the U.S. decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. The book is both concise and completely free of any emotion otherwise detrimental to a scholarly approach to this debate: a truly outstanding work - and probably the final say on the subject!

This is a jewel of a book on the end of World War II. There have been many myths about Truman's decision to drop the bomb-he even made a brief film explaining how he made the decision, but this clears the air. Truman never actually decided. Everyone involved simply assumed, and correctly so, that once it was completed, it would be used. The author points to many reasons why the atomic bomb should not have been dropped on Japan, most of them valid and discussed previously in historical circles. However, there is a very interesting tidbit about Stalin and some other surprises. It is well worth reading.

Heilman takes you to places you could never go on your own. His is a Jerusalem that is below the surface of the one most tourists see. These days, when people are often afraid to visit this Holy City, sacred to the 3 great Abrahamic faiths, Heilman's book is a great incentive to make the trip. Read it on the plane before you go, or on the plane after you come back. Or if you read it on the ground, you'll get a rise out of it.