Richard Foster – författare

LIFE WITH GOD is Richard Foster's first major new work for nearly a decade and is of similar magnitude to his classics: PRAYER, CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE and STREAMS OF LIVING WATER.The starting point of LIFE WITH GOD is that so many of us want to make the Bible the foundation of our way of life, but struggle to make sense of this huge, apparently disjointed book. Why is that Christians try so hard to place the Bible at the centre of their lives, but in reality get very little from it in terms of genuine life-transforming practice?Richard Foster believes that it is because we fail to grasp the overriding coherent message of the Bible - that all of Scripture is unified around the theme of living a vibrant and dynamic life with God. Breaking up history into fifteen epochs that reveal the unfolding of God's plan for seeking out a relationship with us, Foster sees the Bible as 'the loving heart of God made visible and plain.'Readers will discover a whole new way to read Scripture, making it a doorway to a lifestyle we can master, rather than merely knowledge we understand.

Arguably the most established contemporary spiritual classic by our most profound living religious writer. This timeless classic has helped well over a million people discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace and a deeper understanding of God.The book explores the 'classic disciplines' of Christian faith: the inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study; the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission and service and the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance and celebration.

A comprehensive, profound and immediately accessible book which opens the way for all to increase their understanding and develop their practice of prayer. Richard Foster explores the riches of the historical classics of prayer as well as his own personal experience and roots his teaching in scripture. No one who reads PRAYER will remain unmoved; all will find encouragement within its pages.

No issues touch us more profoundly or universally,' writes Richard Foster. 'No topics cause more controversy. No human realities have greater power to bless or curse. No three things have been more sought after or are more in need of a Christian response.'Money, Sex and Power discerns the biblical principles that enable us to live out a relevant and authentic response to the three greatest temptations of our age.Gerard Kelly writes: 'Foster follows a road few in recent years have travelled, and does so with depth, wit and down-to-earth wisdom. Don't assume for one moment that this book is anti-money, anti-sex or anti-power: the author has a healthy respect and admiration for all three as sacred gifts of a loving creator. What he does urge us to do, though, is to "live rightly" in respect of these key ares, and so to be freed into a life of creative celebration.'

Norman Mailer - American Writers 73 was first published in 1968. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.This pamphlet series has been hailed by critics, teachers, and librarians as an ideals means of introducing both students and general readers to American writers of all periods. Choice has commented: "For the small library this series offers at small cost introductions by reputable critics o dozens of significant authors, and the larger the library the greater the number of undergraduate students looking for a place to start on some writer." The New York Times Book Review has called the pamphlets "extraordinarily good," pointing out that "they are just long enough (forty-eight pages) to permit a real survey of an author's work and short enough to attract the casual reader, the anxiety-ridden student, and the professor desperate for the straight word on an unfamiliar writer."

Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century was first published in 1968.This volume, based on material from the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers, provides concise critical introductions to six nineteenth-century American novelists of major importance. The novelists discussed and the contributing authors are "James Fenimore Cooper" by Robert E. Spiller, "Nathaniel Hawthorne" by Hyatt H. Waggoner, "Herman Melville" by Leon Howard, "Mark Twain" by Lewis Leary, "William D. Howells" by William M. Gibson, and "Henry James" by Leon Edel. Biographical information about the writers is included with the critical discussions of their work. A selected bibliography for each novelists lists his works and critical and biographical writing about him.In his introduction to the volume Professor Foster offers a perspective view of the genius of nineteenth century American literature, a literature of innovative vision which he calls unique in its time. "Only one other national literature of the nineteenth century was so marked by intensity, idiosyncrasy, and the spirit of discovery as America's - that of Russia," Professor Foster writes. "If their typical postures in relation to 'Europe' were different, American and Russian writers of the nineteenth century nevertheless had in common something far more significant: the uniquely dramatic subject matter, bequeathed them by history, of a nation's self-discovery and self-creation. This was epic material; and fiction, especially the novel, was the aptest means of imaginatively encompassing it."

Nathan Foster has lived with the spiritual disciplines all his life, but has had to find his own unique path. As he sought - sometimes rebelliously - to develop habits that would enable him to live more like Jesus, he encountered problems both personal and universal. Gradually he discovered creative new ways to practice disciplines such as fasting, meditation and simplicity, to live as Jesus lived. With a foreword from Nathan's father Richard, who provides a fresh introduction to each of the disciplines, The Making of an Ordinary Saint invites us to be formed into the likeness of Christ's character.

'At the very heart of God is the passionate disposition to be in loving fellowship with you... From the human side of this equation it is meditative prayer that ushers us into this divine-human fellowship.' Richard Foster, bestselling author of CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE and founder of Renovaré, writes these words as one who has experienced what they describe. This new book gently guides you along the path of meditative prayer, so that you too can know a deeper fellowship with God.Weaving together quotes and stories from the lives of mothers and fathers of the faith as well as powerful encounters with God from his own life, Foster describes the riches of quieting your mind and heart in order to listen to and obey God more closely. Along the way, at his clearest, most practical best, he also provides the biblical teaching and step-by-step help you need to begin this prayer practice for yourself.

'I recommend Streams of Living Water everywhere I go. My own personal copy is dog-eared, underlined and annotated by hand. Anyone with a heart for Christian unity should read and celebrate the message of this book. I consider it to be a seminal title for our time' - Pete GreigIn this landmark work, Richard Foster examines the 'streams of living water' - the six dimensions of faith and practice - that have defined Christian tradition around the world and down the centuries. In this inspiring book he looks at: - the Contemplative tradition - or the prayer-filled life- the Holiness tradition - or the virtuous life- the Charismatic tradition - or the Spirit-empowered life- the Social Justice tradition - or the compassionate life- the Evangelical tradition - or the word-centred life- the Incarnational tradition - or the sacramental lifeFoster's celebration of the spiritual life incorporates history's most significant Christian figures and movements and argues for a rich, well-rounded faith, free of constricting labels.'A book that will make you adore God' - Dallas Willard

Documenting the renowned swimmer Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals while breaking seven world records at the 1972 Olympics. Every aspect of his roller-coaster career is recorded, from an age-group prodigy and four-medal flop' at the 1968 Olympics to an outstanding collegiate career at Indiana University and a gold-medal haul in 1972 followed by lucrative endorsements and an unsuccessful stint in entertainment. Personal notes about his stormy relationships, his father, and the anti-Semitism he faced throughout his career are also included.'

Where have all the ravers gone? Following his debut, Flower Factory, Richard Foster presents a new batch of psychedelicized, autofictive fairy tales from the Netherlands. The Punk Rock Birdwatching Club introduces a diverse cast of voices - from addicts to grandmothers - who narrate eight stories dealing with the major social changes that country underwent during the mid-noughties. We learn of the upheavals brought on by the Euro and the influx of Polish workers alongside the slow disappearance of the British and Irish worker-raver tribes post-Schengen, all set against a backdrop of rising costs, political murders and foreign wars. We also learn of the shock of new party snacks, like asparagus sticks wrapped in ham. Like Flower Factory, The Punk Rock Birdwatching Club is set in the southern part of the Dutch Bollenstreek: an agro-industrial district that is always changing, but somehow manages to stay exactly the same.

Freedom of movement wasn't always an alien concept to the British. Flower Factory tells of an English seasonal worker going to live and work in the Netherlands at the turn of the millennium. These psyched-out remembrances are set in the Bollenstreek of South Holland, an area that produces flower bulbs by the billion. Casual workers from all over Europe created their own ecosystem of squats, parties and alternative living practices around the working seasons, raving hard and living for the weekly pay packet. In the year 2000 it seemed nothing would change in this free-and-easy land, but the narrator witnessed the last beating of the 24 Hour Party drum. Featuring original line illustrations by the author, this surreally comic and immersive novel is a dreamlike snapshot of life in Europe just two decades ago: the book shines a lurid light on a world that's difficult to recognise today.