Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510230087
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: F5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY NELSON HARRIS AND LARRY SHIELD
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By Frances Stebbins. $6.50.
Frances Stebbins, long-time religion reporter for The Roanoke Times, recently completed a personal interpretation of the history of the Roanoke Valley Ministers Conference. Her history, covering the period 1953 to 1993, provides significant insight into the religious history of the Roanoke Valley as filtered through the programs, ministries and meetings of the RVMC.
Contained within "One Spirit ... Many Voices" is discussion of the assimilation of blacks, women and non-Protestants into the valley's religious leadership as well as the local birth pains of the ecumenical movement in the '60s and '70s. Stebbins also writes of the now divergent segments of evangelical and mainline ministers who, in many respects, have gone their separate ways in fellowship and conference meetings.
Using the river motif, Stebbins weaves within the historical narrative her personal faith pilgrimage and how, over the years, the ministers and conference have contributed to that journey.
(The book can be obtained directly from the author by writing Frances Stebbins, 1106 Grace St., Salem, Va. 24153.)
- NELSON HARRIS
The Mississippi Delta and the World: The Memoirs of David L. Cohn.
Edited by James C. Cobb. Louisiana State University Press. $24.95.
David Cohn, a prolific writer for the Atlantic Monthly and the author of some 10 books, was one of the more influential, courageous and progressive political and social commentators of the '40s and '50s, particularly in regard to issues emanating from the deep South. Cohn also served as a speech writer for such prominent Democratic political figures as Adlai Stevenson, George McGovern and Lyndon Johnson.
Having begun his memoirs in 1953, Cohn was unable to complete them prior to his death in 1960. James Cobb, professor of history at the University of Tennessee, has taken the original draft and edited the material for publication. The finished product is a rich literary collection of Cohn's best writing and reflections. As Cobb describes it, "I have sought to let the memoir convey to the reader, with minimal interpretation and encumbrance, David Cohn's vision of both the Delta and the world, and his remarkable ability to draw on his knowledge of one to enrich and enliven his discussions of the other."
- NELSON HARRIS
A Thousand Miles from Nowhere: Trucking on two continents.
By Graham Coster. North Point Press. $20.
This reprint of a British-published book describes the trials of being a long-distance trucker in Europe and the United States. Translating the British idioms detracts from the book's appeal - the most important translation required is that a Mars bar in England is a Milky Way bar here in the colonies. The author begins the book by narrating his experiences at the British equivalent of the United Truck Driving School. They weren't pretty. After graduation, he advertised for a ride with a trucker driving loads between the U.K. and Russia. During the trip, he noted that while most of the food was bad, the biggest problem was passing through the endless custom checks throughout Europe.
Having successfully driven to Moscow and returned, Coster decided to see what long distance trucking was like in the United States. During his U.S. travels, he noted that while most of the food was bad, the biggest problem was getting wide load permits from the multiple state highway authorities. Frightening.
Included in the rear of the book is a rather good discography of country and western music used by U.S. long-distance truckers to keep awake.
- LARRY SHIELD
Raptor Red.
By Robert Bakker. Bantam Books. $21.95.
With the success of "Jurassic Park" and its sequel, interest in dinosaurs continues. "Raptor Red" is paleontologist Robert Bakker's attempt to describe dinosaur life in a fictional setting. Bakker is the maverick scientist who popularized the notion that the great lizards were active, warm-blooded creatures instead of the plodding, cold-blooded lumps depicted by others. Unfortunately, the book tries to be all things to all people - exciting plot and accurate natural history. Trying to be both, the book fails to be either. James Michener uses natural history to set scenes is several books - "Centennial," "Hawaii," and "Chesapeake" among them. He is successful because he limits the natural history fiction to short chapters. Bakker tries to sustain both interests for an entire novel. He fails.
- LARRY SHIELD
Nelson Harris is pastor of the Ridgewood Baptist church.
Larry Shield trains dogs and horses in Franklin County.
by CNB