Author:Malidoma Some
Maliodoma Patrice Some was born in a Dagara Village, however he was soon to be abducted to a Jesuit school, where he remained for the next fifteen years, being harshly indoctrinated into european ways of thought and worship. The story tells of his return to his people, his hard initiation back into those people, which lead to his desire to convey their knowledge to the world. Of Water and the Spirit is the result of that desire; it is a sharing of living African traditions, offered in compassion for those struggling with our contemporary crisis of the spirit.
A symbol of serenity, a spiritual leader second only to the Pope
—— IndependentThe Dalai Lama is the most influential person in the world
—— Time magazineHe draws crowds that no other spiritual leader or politician could hope to match...he seems to look at life in a different way to everyone else
—— The TimesExtraordinary and compelling
—— Victoria Glendinning , Daily TelegraphShe manages always to keep Pilate living and breathing in the text, and occasionally kicking and screaming
—— Independent on SundayA. N. Wilson's admirable and compelling biography should encourage many to revise their view of the Apostle, if only because, despite its sound scholarship, it is destined to reach a wider audience than most learned studies. Wilson shows clearly that without Paul, Christianity would have been impossible for us to seperate the two... One of the great strengths of Wilson's book is that it reveals the extent of our ignorance about the origins of Christianity.
—— Karen Armstrong , The Timesgloriously engaging and readable ... De Hamel wears his erudition lightly, and the reader is taken deeply into the worlds of individuals who lived across almost a thousand years of history
—— Richard Ovenden , Financial TimesThe story of the people who created, saved and collected Europe's most sumptuous manuscripts, it's beautifully illustrated, a rich feast of scarlet and gold.
—— Dominic Sandbrook , Sunday Times Books of the Yearan eccentric but charming and instructive book which is oddly difficult to put down
—— Jonathan Sumption , SpectatorExtraordinary... She allows her book to grow and swell, like a symphony, expanding and deepening its themes until the traditional wisdom and life of the mountain envelopes you entirely. Rather like a spell, in fact.
—— Country LifeIt soars with the luminous prose and unflinching honesty we have come to expect from this brilliantly gifted writer. Elixir is an extraordinary, profoundly moving book... Her prose is breathtaking, the stories heartbreaking.
—— Feminism and ReligionA joyous celebration of the Pomak community in southern Bulgaria.
—— Spectator, *Books of the Year*