Media Theory, Religion and Theology

Author: Margaret Feinberg
ISBN: 9780310274179
Pages: 240
Summary: The Sacred Echo challenges readers not to listen for the seemingly distant voice of God as much as to listen for the echo. When God really wants to get your attention, he doesn’t just say something once, he echoes. He speaks through a Sunday sermon, a chance conversation with a friend the next day, and even a random email. The same theme, idea, impression, or lesson will repeat itself in surprising and unexpected ways until you realize that maybe, just maybe, God is at work. As God’s voice echoes to us, we are invited to echo back to him in prayer. We are invited to be persistent and tenacious not only in the things we ask but also in our desire for a relationship with him.

Author: Michael Medved, Diane Medved
ISBN: 9780060932244
Pages: 336
Summary: "Saving Childhood" offers parents and grandparents practical strategies to cope with a society that seems perversely determined to frighten and corrupt its young. Cultural critic and popular radio host Michael Medved and his wife, psychologist Diane Medved, argue that in a mistaken effort to curb problems plaguing its youth, our culture has changed from protecting childhood as a precious time of growth to hammering even the smallest youngsters with a grim, harsh, and menacing view of the world. The Medveds systematically present unassailable scientific evidence, moving anecdotes, and personal experiences of raising their three young children to explain the attack from four primary directions--media, schools, peers, and even well-intentioned parents themselves.
In a unique analysis the Medveds define innocence not as ignorance but as the result of three components--security, a sense of wonder and optimism. They empower parents and all who care about childhood with concrete, easily accomplished means to fend off the assault, as well as advice for handling hurdles such as the Internet, television, peer pressure, and the plague of pessimism. "Saving Childhood" enables us to restore and maintain for our children imagination, confidence, and hope for the future.

Author: Brian Mclaren
ISBN:
Pages: 256
Summary: When Brian McLaren began offering an alternative vision of Christian faith and life in books such as "A New Kind of Christian" and "A Generous Orthodoxy," he ignited a firestorm of praise and condemnation that continues to spread across the religious landscape. To some religious conservatives, McLaren is a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct cause. Some fundamentalist websites have even claimed he's in league with the devil and have consigned him to flames.
To others though, Brian is a fresh voice, a welcome antidote to the staleness, superficiality, and negativity of the religious status quo. A wide array of people from Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Protestant backgrounds claim that through his books they have begun to rediscover the faith they'd lost or rejected. And around the world, many readers say that he has helped them find-for the first time in their lives-a faith that makes sense and rings true. For many, he articulates the promise of what is being called "emerging Christianity."
In "The Secret Message of Jesus" you'll find what's at the center of Brian's critique of conventional Christianity, and what's at the heart of his expanding vision. In the process, you'll meet a Jesus who may be altogether new to you, a Jesus who is… Not the crusading conqueror of religious broadcasting; Not the religious mascot of partisan religion; Not heaven's ticket-checker, whose words have been commandeered by the church to include and exclude, judge and stigmatize, pacify and domesticate.
McLaren invites you to discover afresh the transforming message of Jesus-an open invitation to radical change, an enlightening revelation that exposes sham and ignites hope, an epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race, class, politics, or religion.
 "Pastor and best-selling author McLaren revisits the gospel material from a fresh-and at times radical-perspective . . . He does an excellent job of capturing Jesus' quiet, revolutionary style."
--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Here McLaren shares his own ferocious journey in pondering the teachings and actions of Jesus. It is McLaren's lack of salesmanship or agenda that creates a refreshing picture of the man from Galilee who changed history."
--Donald Miller, Author of "Blue Like Jazz"
"In this critical book, Brian challenges us to ask what it would mean to truly live the message of Jesus today, and thus to risk turning everything upside down."
--Jim Wallis, Author of "God's Politics" and editor of "Sojourners"
"Compelling, crucial and liberating: a book for those who seek to experience the blessed heat of Christianity at its source."
--Anne Rice, Author of "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt"

Author: Charles Taylor
ISBN: 9780674026766
Pages: 896
Summary: What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we--in the West, at least--largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean--of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.
Taylor, long one of our most insightful thinkers on such questions, offers a historical perspective. He examines the development in "Western Christendom" of those aspects of modernity which we call secular. What he describes is in fact not a single, continuous transformation, but a series of new departures, in which earlier forms of religious life have been dissolved or destabilized and new ones have been created. As we see here, today's secular world is characterized not by an absence of religion--although in some societies religious belief and practice have markedly declined--but rather by the continuing multiplication of new options, religious, spiritual, and anti-religious, which individuals and groups seize on in order to make sense of their lives and give shape to their spiritual aspirations.
What this means for the world--including the new forms of collective religious life it encourages, with their tendency to a mass mobilization that breeds violence--is what Charles Taylor grapples with, in a book as timely as it is timeless. (20070909)

Author: Neil Macgregor, Erika Langmuir
ISBN: 9780300084788
Pages: 240
Summary: Without contemporary accounts of Jesus' appearance, artists through the ages have been free to create many images of him--images that sometimes reflect the spiritual world of the artist and other times the desires of the patron or the needs of the spectator. In this magnificently illustrated book, Neil MacGregor traces the life of Christ and the development of Christian culture in the work of artists from different times and diverse cultures. Copublished with the National Gallery, London

Author: Kevin J. O'Neil
ISBN: 9780742532106
Pages: 192
Summary:

Author: R. Laurence Moore
ISBN: 9780195098389
Pages: 336
Summary: Religion in America is up for sale. The products range from a plethora of merchandise in questionable taste--such as Bible-based diet books (More of Jesus. Less of Me), Rapture T-shirts (one features a basketball game with half its players disappearing in the Rapture--the caption is "Fast Break"), and bumper stickers and frisbees with inspirational messages--to the unabashed consumerism of Jim Bakker's Heritage USA, a grandiose Christian theme park with giant water slide, shopping mall, and office complex. We tend to think of these phenomena--which also include a long line of multimillionaire televangelists and the almost manic promotion of Christmas giving--as a fairly recent development. But as R. Laurence Moore points out in Selling God, religion has been deeply involved in our commercial culture since the beginning of the nineteenth century.
In a sweeping, colorful history that spans over two centuries of American culture, Moore examines the role of religion in the marketplace, revealing how religious leaders have borrowed (and invented) commercial practices to promote religion--and how business leaders have borrowed (and invented) religion to promote commerce. It is a book peopled by a fascinating roster of American originals, including showman P.T. Barnum and circuit rider Lorenzo Dow, painter Frederick Church and dime novelist Ned Buntline, Sylvester Graham (inventor of the Graham cracker) and the "Poughkeepsie Seer" Andrew Jackson Davis, film directors D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, Norman Vincent Peale and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. Moore paints insightful portraits of figures such as Mason Locke Weems (Weems's marriage of aggressive marketing and a moral mission--in such bloodly, violent tales as The Drunkard's Looking Glass or God's Revenge Against Adultery--was an important starting point of America's culture industry), religious orator George Whitefield (who transformed church services into mass entertainment, using his acting talents to enthrall vast throngs of people), and Dwight Moody, a former salesman for a boot-and-shoe operation who founded a religious empire centered on the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (and who advertised his meetings in the entertainment pages of the newspaper). Moore also shows how the Mormons pioneered leisure activities (Brigham Young built the famed Salt Lake Theater, seating 1,500 people, months before work on the Tabernacle started), how Henry Ward Beecher helped the ardent Protestant became the consummate consumer (explicitly justifying the building of expensive mansions, and the collecting of art and antique furniture, as the proper tendencies of pious men), and how the First Amendment, in denying religious groups the status and financial solvency of a state church, forced them to compete in the marketplace for the attention of Americans: religious leaders could either give in to the sway of the market or watch their churches die.
Ranging from the rise of gymnasiums and "muscular Christianity," to the creation of the Chautauqua movement (blending devotional services with concerts, fireworks, bonfires, and humorous lectures), to Oral Robert's "Blessing Pacts" and L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology, Selling God provides both fascinating social history and an insightful look at religion in America.

Author: Annabel Jane Wharton
ISBN: 9780226894225
Pages: 296
Summary: Jerusalem currently stands at the center of a violent controversy that threatens the stability of both the Middle East and the world. This volatility, observes Annabel Jane Wharton, is only the most recent manifestation of a centuries-old obsession with the control of the Holy City—military occupation and pilgrimage being two familiar forms of “ownership.” Wharton makes the innovative argument here that the West has also sought to possess Jerusalem by acquiring its representations. 

From relics of the True Cross and Templar replicas of the Holy Sepulchre to Franciscan recreations of the Passion to nineteenth-century mass-produced prints and contemporary theme parks, Wharton describes the evolving forms by which the city has been possessed in the West. She also maps those changing embodiments of the Holy City against shifts in the western market. From the gift-and-barter economy of the early Middle Ages to contemporary globalization, both money and the representations of Jerusalem have become progressively incorporeal, abstract, illusionistic, and virtual. 

"Selling Jerusalem "offers a penetrating introduction to the explosive combination of piety and capital at work in religious objects and global politics. It is sure to interest students and scholars of art history, economic history, popular culture, religion, and architecture, as well as those who want to better understand Jerusalem’s problematic place in history.

Author: Dino Rizzo
ISBN: 9780310287636
Pages: 208
Summary: There is a movement that is rumbling throughout the Body of Christ -- a revolutionary army of people ready to take up the mandate to pursue the lost, the forgotten, and the poor to show them a God who is passionately in love with them. Servolution is a revolution of serving others. The troops are followers of Christ, the companies of soldiers are churches, and the weapons are towels for service. Through the story of what God is doing at Healing Place Church, Servolution will inspire you to serve, and it will give you tons of practical ideas and strategies to get you started. Change your world - start a revolution through serving.
In "Servolution", Dino Rizzo shares the story of his relentless pursuit of ways to bless the lost, poor, and hurting people of his community in Jesus' name. You'll be amazed and inspired by the incredible ways God has used Healing Place Church to meet the needs of thousands of people. Each chapter includes practical suggestions and resources for use in any church.
Be encouraged by the testimony of how God's Spirit can use a simple passion to serve to revolutionize your approach to ministry. Wherever you are and whatever your gifts, you can play a vital role in this revolution through serving.

Author: George Barna
ISBN: 9781414324043
Pages: 256
Summary: In this groundbreaking new book, acclaimed researcher and author George Barna identifies, describes, and analyzes seven major “faith tribes” in America—documenting who they are, what they believe, how they vote, and what they are passionate about. Barna provides helpful insight into how these groups influence our economy, politics, and values—and what their potential is to change America. Through his in-depth study of all seven tribes, Barna has identified potential strategies that faith tribes—if they choose to—could employ to facilitate healing and restoration in American culture, and cultures across the world.
The seven tribes are as follows: Captive Christians, Casual Christians, Jews, Mormons, Pantheists, Muslims, and Skeptics.

Author: Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch
ISBN: 9781565636590
Pages: 236
Summary: Christendom is dying and needs to be removed from its life-support system. Starting with this frank assessment of the current church, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch present an alternative model for ministry in todayÂ’s postmodern world. Instead of mourning the demise of the Western church as the center of society, the authors explain how the church can be reborn through incarnational mission, messianic spirituality, and apostolic structure. Church leaders who heed the authorsÂ’ call will see death turned into new life through the creation of a vital, missional church.
[Frost and HirschÂ’s] contribution brings an in-depth theological reflection as well as providing a broad scope informed by their extensive reading in theology, culture and mission as well as their on-site visits to missional churches in the USA and the United Kingdom.
—Eddie Gibbs, Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary
This book is a bountiful multi-course meal, each serving presented with charm and class. It will satisfy even eclectic appetites, and please the most discriminating palates. Four Stars.
—Leonard Sweet, Drew Theological School, George Fox University

Author: James B. Twitchell
ISBN:
Pages: 336
Summary: Not so long ago religion was a personal matter that was seldom discussed in public. No longer. Today religion is everywhere, from books to movies to television to the internet-to say nothing about politics. Now religion is marketed and advertised like any other product or service. How did this happen? And what does it mean for religion and for our culture? Just as we shop for goods and services, we shop for church. A couple of generations ago Americans remained in the faith they were born into. Today, many Americans change their denomination or religion, sometimes several times. Churches that know how to appeal to those shopping for God are thriving. Think megachurches. Churches that don't know how to do this or don't bother are fading away. Think mainline Protestant churches. Religion is now celebrated and shown off like a fashion accessory. We can wear our religious affiliation like a designer logo. But, says James Twitchell, this isn't because Americans are undergoing another Great Awakening; rather, it's a sign that religion providers - that is, churches - have learned how to market themselves. There is more competition among churches than ever in our history. Filling the pew is an exercise in salesmanship, and as with any marketing campaign, it requires establishing a brand identity. Successful pastors ("pastorpreneurs," Twitchell calls them) know how to speak the language of Madison Avenue as well as the language of the Bible. In this witty, engaging book, Twitchell describes his own experiences trying out different churches to discover who knows how to "do church" well. He takes readers into the land of karaoke Christianity, where old-style contemplative sedate religion has been transformed into a public, interactive event with giant-screen televisions, generic iconography (when there is any at all), and ample parking. Rarely has America's religious culture been examined so perceptively and so entertainingly. "Shopping for God" does for religion what "Fast Food Nation" has done for food.

Author: Thom S. Rainer, Eric Geiger
ISBN: 9780805443905
Pages: 272
Summary: The simple revolution is here. From the iPod design to Google’s uncluttered homepage, simple ideas are changing the world.
Multi-awarded #1 national bestseller "Simple Church" guides Christians back to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required. Based on case studies of 400 American churches, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove the disciple-making process is often too complex. Simple churches thrive by taking four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus.
"Simple Church" examines each idea, clearly showing why it is time to simplify.

Author: Cathleen Falsani
ISBN: 9780310279471
Pages: 224
Summary: Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And grace is getting what you absolutely don't deserve.

Author: John Shelby Spong
ISBN:
Pages: 336
Summary: In the history of the Western World, the Bible has been a perpetual source of inspiration and guidance for countless Christians. However, this Bible has also left a trail of pain. It is undeniable that the Bible is not always used for good. Sometimes the Bible can seem overtly evil. Sometimes its texts are terrible.
Bishop John Shelby Spong boldly approaches those texts that have been used through history to justify the denigration or persecution of others while carrying with them the implied and imposed authority of the claim that they were the "Word of God." As he exposes and challenges what he calls the "terrible texts of the Bible", laying bare the evil done by these texts in the name of God, he also seeks to redeem these texts, hoping to recover their ultimate depth and purpose. Spong looks specifically at texts used to justify homophobia, anti-Semitism, treating women as second-class humans, corporal punishment, and environmental degradation, but he also delivers a new picture of how Christians can use the Bible today. As Spong battles against the way the Bible has been used throughout history, he provides a new framework, introducing people to a proper way to engage this holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Author: David Weinberger
ISBN: 9781903985366
Pages: 240
Summary: This really is an odd book. The best way that I can describe it is like Tom Wolfe revising a manuscript of which portions were written by Marshall McLuhan and others by Ray Kurzweil. The author, David Weinberger, brings his broad knowledge and reading into play: Descartes, Gaston Bachelard, John Searle, history, philosophy, etc. Likewise, he includes and interweaves technical information and figures such as Bob Metcalfe, one of the inventors of ethernet. Weinberger does an excellent job of showing connections between various small pieces of information, thus forming an analogy to the web within his explanation of it.



Yet, much of the book seems frivolous and pedestrian, so that it seems that a volume half the size would have conveyed the same information in a more satisfying, meatier meal. Overall, I think that the book is interesting, and contains several good ideas, but find the writing, while clear, a bit too slow moving. Moreover, there is a Jekyll and Hyde aspect to the way that Weinberger blends technical information with personal experience, leaving a feeling of disjuncture in the work.



If you are looking for new ways to approach the web, then this book will fall short. However, if you enjoy humanist responses to technology, found Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines interesting, and perhaps are a fan of Bachelard's The Poetics of Space, then Small Pieces should provide interesting, additional insight as well as a pleasant afternoon read.

Author: Diane Winston
ISBN: 9781602581852
Pages: 450
Summary: A pioneering study at the intersection of religion and media, "Small Screen, Big Picture" treats television as a virtual meeting place where Americans across racial, ethnic, economic and religious lines find instructive and inspirational narratives. An interdisciplinary "tour de force", this book describes how television converts social concerns, cultural conundrums and metaphysical questions into stories that explore and even shape who we are and would like to be--the building blocks of religious speculation.

Author: Alexandra Pelosi
ISBN: 9780743263047
Pages: 320
Summary: Alexandra Pelosi, creator of the Emmy award-winning film "Journeys with George" and of "Diary of a Political Tourist", makes her literary debut with an intimate look at the frenzied and grueling underbelly of presidential campaigning and the puppet role of the media. Pelosi went along on the campaign trail in order to, as she puts it, "document the absurd hazing rituals that our presidential candidates have to go through." With this savvy, well-connected, and fearless guide, it's a rollicking, breakneck journey unlike any other.
Pelosi's one-on-one time with the 2004 presidential candidates affords an up-close perspective on the highs and lows of campaign life: the genuine thrill of seeing America, the unrelenting grind of endless campaign stops, the hope and heartache of poll results. While the candidates try to stick to tightly constructed scripts, Pelosi's nonnetwork angle makes for revealing portraits of the men who wanted to be president.
But even more, Pelosi's approach reveals fundamental flaws in the media's election coverage. A former member of the campaign press corps, she turns her gimlet eye on the media, which are busy enacting their own election-time rituals: "Every election cycle journalists defy the theory of evolution, living sequestered on a bus, with no sleep, few showers, and tons of junk food, going town-to-town listening to the same speech over and over. You're stuck in this dysfunctional relationship between the news organization that has you there to do their bidding and the campaign that is trying to co-opt you."
And herein lies Pelosi's driving point: politicians and journalists don't trust each other, and so, in election coverage and in politics in general, the press is utterly hamstrung. Since the candidates never say anything unscripted and the journalists have to make nice in order to maintain access, modern presidential campaigns have become little more than media events. Politicians and journalists alike are going through the motions, and the voters have no idea who the candidates really are.
But Pelosi says the public are not fools: "Everyone knows that the media do not give them an accurate portrait of a person." No wonder people are apathetic. But whose fault is it? Are the candidates driving people away from the political process, or are the media keeping them out?
Probing, insightful, and lively, "Sneaking into the Flying Circus" exposes the election process for what it is: a three-ring gala production that comes to town every four years. As a nation and an audience, we're often willing to suspend disbelief -- and we often can't resist when the clowns try to get us in on the act. It is, after all, the greatest show on earth.

Author: Ruth Schwartz Cowan
ISBN: 9780195046052
Pages: 352
Summary: For over 250 years American technology has been regarded as a unique hallmark of American culture and an important factor in American prosperity. Despite this American history has rarely been told from the perspective of the history of technology. A Social History of American Technology fills this gap by surveying the history of American technology from the tools used by the earliest native inhabitants to the technological systems -- cars and computers, aircraft and antibiotics -- we are familiar with today. Cowan makes use of the most recent scholarship to explain how the unique characteristics of American cultures and American geography have affected the technologies that have been invented, manufactured, and used throughout the years. She also focuses on the key individuals and ideas that have shaped important technological developments. The text explains how various technologies have affected the ways in which Americans work, govern, cook, transport, communicate, maintain their health, and reproduce. Cowan demonstrates that technological change has always been closely related to social development, and explores the multiple, complex relationships that have existed between such diverse social agents as households and businesses, the scientific community and the defense establishment, artists and inventors. Divided into three sections -- colonial America, industrialization, the 20th century -- A Social History of American Technology is ideal for courses in American social and economic history, as a correlated text for the American history survey, as well as for courses that focus on the history of American technology. It offers students the unique opportunity to learn not only how profoundly technological change has affected the American way of life, but how profoundly the American way of life has affected technology.

Author: Jeffrey P. Zaleski
ISBN: 9780062514516
Pages: 284
Summary: A Catholic bishop silenced by the Vatican creates a vitural diocese to spread his message through cyberspace. Orthodox Jews and conservative Christians flock to the Internet to connect the most traditional of believers with the newest of technologies. Technopagans conduct a cyber-ritual to welcome the pagan god into cyberspace, and Buddhists seek enlightenment in electronic "sanghas". Artificial intelligences and life forms flourish online, undermining age-old ideas of what is sacred. Cyberspace is redefining religionand reshaping how the world prays, worships and believes.
In this groundbreaking book, acclaimed spirituality and cyberspace writer Jeff Zaleski charts the radical impact of technology upon belief. Exploring the profound challenges and promises cyberspace holds for religion, and examining the new Digital Crusades that are sending people of every faith surging through the online universe, Zaleski draws a stunning portrait of spirituality in the electronic age.
Online, on the Net, on the Web, religions both ancient and new have discovered the power of cyberspace to transform worship, ministry, communities of faith and our ideas of the sacred. Believers, theologians, spiritual teachers and philosophers are struggling to understand the radical effect of cyberspace on religion. "The Soul of Cyberspace," in a pioneering journey through religion's newest, strangest and most exhilarating frontier, reveals the new technological face of religion and explores the fascinating challenges posed by our colonization of cyberspace.
Taking readers on a tour of electronic faithto web sites established by Baptists and Buddhists, Mormons and Muslims, to virtual congregrations and Internet chaplaincies, cybermissionaries and virtual monasteriesZaleski introduces us to the trailblazing believers and the cautious faithful of cyberspace. He explores the profound questions raised by the new electronic faith: Will cyberchurches make ministers obsolete? Will communities of church, temple and mosque vanish? Can religious rituals take place on PC screens, and can sacred space be found in the midst of cyberspace's distractions and noise? Can we locate divinityeven electronic deitiesin the folds of cyberspace? In conversations with the new metaphysicians and critics of cyberspaceJohn Perry Barlow, Jaron Lanier, Mark Pesce and othersZaleski reveals fresh insights into spirituality, worship and the sacred.

Author: Christian Smith, Melina Lundquist Denton
ISBN: 9780195384772
Pages: 368
Summary: In innumerable discussions and activities dedicated to better understanding and helping teenagers, one aspect of teenage life is curiously overlooked. Very few such efforts pay serious attention to the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of American adolescents. But many teenagers are very involved in religion. Surveys reveal that 35% attend religious services weekly and another 15% attend at least monthly. 60% say that religious faith is important in their lives. 40% report that they pray daily. 25% say that they have been "born again." Teenagers feel good about the congregations they belong to. Some say that faith provides them with guidance and resources for knowing how to live well. What is going on in the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers? What do they actually believe? What religious practices do they engage in? Do they expect to remain loyal to the faith of their parents? Or are they abandoning traditional religious institutions in search of a new, more authentic "spirituality"? This book attempts to answer these and related questions as definitively as possible. It reports the findings of The National Study of Youth and Religion, the largest and most detailed such study ever undertaken. The NYSR conducted a nationwide telephone survey of teens and significant caregivers, as well as nearly 300 in-depth face-to-face interviews with a sample of the population that was surveyed. The results show that religion and spirituality are indeed very significant in the lives of many American teenagers. Among many other discoveries, they find that teenagers are far more influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their parents and caregivers than commonly thought. They refute the conventional wisdom that teens are "spiritual but not religious." And they confirm that greater religiosity is significantly associated with more positive adolescent life outcomes. This eagerly-awaited volume not only provides an unprecedented understanding of adolescent religion and spirituality but, because teenagers serve as bellwethers for possible future trends, it affords an important and distinctive window through which to observe and assess the current state and future direction of American religion as a whole.

Author: Alec Klein
ISBN: 9780743259842
Pages: 352
Summary: In January 2000, America Online and Time Warner announced the largest merger in U.S. history, a deal that would create the biggest media company in the world. It was celebrated as the marriage of new media and old media, a potent combination of the nation's No. 1 Internet company and the country's leading entertainment giant, the owner of such internationally renowned brands as Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, and "Time" magazine.
But only three years later, nearly all the top executives behind the merger had resigned, the company had lost tens of billions of dollars in market value, and the U.S. government had begun two investigations into its business dealings.
How did the deal of the century become an epic disaster?
Alec Klein has covered AOL Time Warner for "The Washington Post" since the merger. His reporting on the company led to investigations by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In "Stealing Time," he takes readers behind the scenes to show how a clash of cultures set the stage for a spectacular corporate collapse. AOL's Steve Case knew it was only a matter of time before the Internet bubble of the late 1990s would burst, grounding his high-flying company. His solution: Buy another company to keep his own aloft. Meanwhile, Time Warner's Jerry Levin was enamored of new technology but frustrated by his inability to push his far-flung media empire into the Internet age. AOL and Time Warner seemed like a perfect match.
But the government forced the two companies to make concessions, and during the yearlong negotiations technology stocks tumbled. AOL executives lorded it over their Time Warner counterparts, who felt they were being acquired by brash, young interlopers with inflated dollars. The AOL way was fast, loose, and aggressive, and Time Warner executives -- schooled in more genteel business practices -- rebelled. In the midst of clashing cultures and conflicting management styles, AOL's business slowed and then stalled. Worse yet, AOL came under government scrutiny, and when the company conducted its own internal investigation, it admitted that it had improperly booked at least $190 million in revenue. The Time Warner rebellion gathered momentum.
This is a riveting story of ambition, hubris, and greed set amid the boom-and-bust years of the technology bubble. It is filled with outsized personalities -- Steve Case, Jerry Levin, Bob Pittman, Ted Turner, and many more. Based on hundreds of confidential company documents and interviews with key players in this unfolding drama, "Stealing Time" is a fascinating tale of the swift rise and even swifter fall of AOL Time Warner.

Author: Phil Cooke
ISBN: 9781414005706
Pages: 268
Summary: Successful Christian Television: Make Your Media Ministry a Reality



First of all, I would like to personally thank Phil Cooke for taking the time to write this book, and to share his wealth of experience and expertise on running a successful television ministry. I found his book full of pragmatic wisdom and insights. In essence, it gave me an accelerated perspective into how to grow and manage a sustainable broadcast ministry in America. I highly recommend this book to every Christian who has a burning desire to learn how to leverage on the medium of broadcast to preach the Gospel of Jesus and to declare His finished work on the cross beyond the walls of the local church. Thanks Phil, you have been a blessing to our international television ministry.



Darren Sim

Director, Joseph Prince Ministries, www.josephprince.org

Author: John Piper, Justin Taylor
ISBN: 9781581349221
Pages: 192
Summary: Six of today’s leading pastor-theologians—John Piper, Voddie Baucham, D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and David Wells—have joined together to offer Christians a practical, biblical vision of Christ’s supremacy, so they will be better prepared to present the undeniable truth to a searching society. After grounding readers in the important truths of Christ’s deity and the gospel, The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World strives to help believers understand how to share these truths in a postmodern society. As readers begin to apply the lessons from this book, they will gain a practical, biblical vision of ministry for the twenty-first century.
“Many would have us believe that life is hopelessly fragmented and truth an elusive dream. The authors of this book beg to differ and enthusiastically point us to the cohesive centrality and absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ. Having heard these messages live at the 2006 Desiring God National Conference, I’m thrilled to see them now in print. Highly recommended!”
Sam Storms, founder, Enjoying God Ministries
“Over the past decade evangelicals have been divided over how to respond to the challenges of postmodernism. The options—which have ranged from naïve denial to unquestioned embrace—tend to suffer from the same fatal flaw: putting the emphasis on culture rather than Christ. This collection corrects that error by providing a fresh perspective that is pastorally sensitive and biblically sound. A timely, well-reasoned book that should be enthusiastically welcomed by the evangelical community.”
Joe Carter, blogger at www.evangelicaloutpost.com; Director of Communications, Family Research Council

Author: Thom S. Rainer
ISBN: 9780310286134
Pages: 288
Summary: A comprehensive study of the formerly unchurched explodes some common myths as to what it takes to reach people and provides insight into how the Christian church can develop effective approaches to reach the growing number of unchurched in North America.