The Tulip Driven Life

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. Purchase The Orphan King here and The Fortress of Mist here . REVIEW: 3 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR EACH I have decided to review both of these books together since they belong together. I remember Sigmund Brouwer from when I was a kid. He had a snowboarding book out that I think I owned. Now, he has over three million books in print. Clearly he is an established author who has had success.  I can understand why from these books. I will break my review down into sections.  The Story: The story is good and super fast paced. Do I find it altogether believable? No. Do I think it hits the ball out of the park every time it swings for the fences? Not by a long shot. But Brouwer seems to be a cleanup hitter, spattering several doubles and a few home runs in his story at the cost of some strikeouts.  I think the pacing is great for someone who is wanting...

I believe I posted chapter 1 a long time ago as well. This, however, is the recently revised, and hopefully much improved, version (though it is still far from its final form). Hope you enjoy and your interest is piqued.  Book Excerpt Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Fletcher Booher Chapter 1 The tavern was old, smelling faintly of manure and smoke from the villager’s shoes and pipes. Grime and dirt salted the stone floor, and the dim candle light revealed walls stained with ale. A cloaked, hooded man huddled against the corner wall, one leg extended, the other bent. He rested a stein of ale on top of the bent knee, uncomfortably bracing his weight with the free hand, eyes fixed on the golden liquid in front of his concealed face. The hooded man was familiar with Old Mason’s Tavern, too familiar, and many who frequented the tavern were too familiar with him. At times he would drink himself into a rageful fit, cursing and spitting at others who had done him no w...

EDITORS NOTE 11/29/2020: Having re-read my review and seeing where Platt is now, it is clear to me that he has socialistic tendencies, and I can no longer recommend this book, even with qualifications.  Radical is a New York Times Bestseller and I believe was number one on Amazon for a while. It is written by Pastor David Platt, regarded as the youngest mega church pastor ever. The book is just over 200 pages long, and is a light, quick, yet very convicting read. In fact, it is probably the most convicting book (outside of the Bible of course) that I have ever read.  The subtitle of the book is "Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream," and that is exactly what Platt does in this book. We have grown comfortable and complacent in our faith, living in luxury and spending our time and energies on stuff- we have become materialists. And not just secular America, but Christian, evangelical America.  While we may all agree that we are neither thankful enough no...