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Patches of Godlight: Father Tim’s Favorite Quotes (The Mitford Years)

Throughout his years as Mitford’s beloved Episcopal priest, Father Tim Kavanagh has been reading and also pondering two crucial questions: How can he guide and encourage his flock? How can he deepen and encourage his own spirit? The result is a wonderful collection of his favorite quotes from thinkers, theologians, poets, and philosophers—from Mark Twain and C. S. Lewis to St. Paul and Wordsworth.

Patches of Godlight is a stunning two-color facsimile of Father Tim’s own leather-bound notebook with his name gold stamped on the cover. Every quote is in his own handwriting, and scattered throughout the margins are his scribbled notes and doodles, even the occasional ink blot or coffee stain. Just as it has for Father Tim, this handsome, “must-have” quote book will provide wisdom and inspiration for millions of Mitford fans.

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Patches of Godlight: Father Tim’s Favorite Quotes (Mitford Years)

A beautiful collection of some of Father Tim’s favorite quotes and a great companion to the Mitford series by the bestselling author of At Home in Mitford and Somebody Safe with Somebody Good 

Written in Father Tim Kavanagh’s own hand, this wonderful collection of quotes brings to life the personal reflections of Mitford’s beloved Episcopal priest. Here Father Tim has carefully recorded his favorite quotes from a variety of thinkers, philosophers, and poets whom he has admired over the years. Next to the quotes are Father Tim’s personal comments, scribblings, and doodlings. From C. S. Lewis and Mark Twain to Aristophanes and St. Paul, these heartwarming words on love, life, and faith are a perfect addition to the Mitford series–and a must-have for Jan Karon’s millions of readers.

Further inspirational and uplifting quotes are collected in a second volume, A Continual Feast.

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41: A Portrait of My Father

George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, has authored a personal biography of his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st President.
 
Forty-three men have served as President of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a President told the story of his father, another President, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career, including his service in the Pacific during World War II, his pioneering work in the Texas oil business, and his political rise as a Congressman, U.S. Representative to China and the United Nations, CIA Director, Vice President, and President.  The book shines new light on both the accomplished statesman and the warm, decent man known best by his family. In addition, George W. Bush discusses his father’s influence on him throughout his own life, from his childhood in West Texas to his early campaign trips with his father, and from his decision to go into politics to his own two-term Presidency.

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Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know

In today’s increasingly complicated world, it’s often difficult for parents to connect with their daughters–and especially so for fathers. In this unique and invaluable guide, Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician with more than twenty years’ experience counseling girls, reveals that a young woman’s relationship with her father is far more important than we’ve ever realized. To become a strong, confident woman, a daughter needs her father’s attention, protection, courage, and wisdom. Dr. Meeker shares the ten secrets every father needs to know in order to strengthen or rebuild bonds with his daughter and shape her life–and his own–for the better. Inside you’ll discover:

• the essential virtues of strong fathers–and how to develop them
• the cues daughters take from their dads on everything from self-respect to drugs, alcohol, and sex
• the truth about ground rules (girls do want them, despite their protests)
• the importance of becoming a hero to your daughter
• the biggest mistake a dad can make–and the ramifications
• the fact that girls actually depend on their dads’ guidance into adulthood
• steps fathers can follow to help daughters avoid disastrous decisions and mistakes
• ways in which a father’s faith–or lack thereof–will influence his daughter
• essential communication strategies for different stages of a girl’s life
• true stories of “prodigal daughters”–and how their fathers helped to bring them back

Dads, you are far more powerful than you think–and if you follow Dr. Meeker’s advice, the rewards will be unmatched.

“Reassuring and challenging . . . a helpful road map for concerned fathers [that] tackles difficult issues.”
–National Review

“A touching, illuminating book that will prove valuable to all of us who are fortunate enough to have been blessed with daughters.”
–Michael Medved, nationally syndicated radio talk-show host, author of Right Turns

“Dr. Meeker’s conclusions are timely, relevant, and often deeply moving. No one interested in what girls experience growing up in our culture today–and the impact that parents, especially fathers, have on the experience–can afford to miss reading this book.”
–Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., M.D., professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

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Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History

A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father’s story and history itself.Some historical events simply beggar any attempt at description–the Holocaust is one of these. Therefore, as it recedes and the people able to bear witness die, it becomes more and more essential that novel, vigorous methods are used to describe the indescribable. Examined in these terms, Art Spiegelman’s Maus is a tremendous achievement, from a historical perspective as well as an artistic one.

Spiegelman, a stalwart of the underground comics scene of the 1960s and ’70s, interviewed his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor living outside New York City, about his experiences. The artist then deftly translated that story into a graphic novel. By portraying a true story of the Holocaust in comic form–the Jews are mice, the Germans cats, the Poles pigs, the French frogs, and the Americans dogs–Spiegelman compels the reader to imagine the action, to fill in the blanks that are so often shied away from. Reading Maus, you are forced to examine the Holocaust anew.

This is neither easy nor pleasant. However, Vladek Spiegelman and his wife Anna are resourceful heroes, and enough acts of kindness and decency appear in the tale to spur the reader onward (we also know that the protagonists survive, else reading would be too painful). This first volume introduces Vladek as a happy young man on the make in pre-war Poland. With outside events growing ever more ominous, we watch his marriage to Anna, his enlistment in the Polish army after the outbreak of hostilities, his and Anna’s life in the ghetto, and then their flight into hiding as the Final Solution is put into effect. The ending is stark and terrible, but the worst is yet to come–in the second volume of this Pulitzer Prize-winning set. –Michael Gerber