Thirty-five years after its publication, this book remains one of the best guides for responsible living. Live life abundantly, but don't forget to count the cost. And as with all good things Mennonite, this was to start in the home. It exhorted members across the world to give practical expression to their beliefs by cutting consumption by 10 percent. Purposefully simple, The More-with-Less Cookbook was compiled in response to a call from the Mennonite Central Committee in 1975.

They are pacifists in a country that thrills in its military might, and their self-willed alienation finds no truer expression than in a home economics bible that urges us all to use only what we need. Although not always as identifiable as their Amish cousins, Mennonites hold themselves apart from the society in which they live. Yet even where belief is shared, there are dissenters. Where faiths collide, even when we know we have God on our side, is there any hope that we will ever understand the other?īy Doris Janzen Longacre, paperback, 332 pages, Herald Press, list price: $19.99 But despite the admirable learning and intelligence at the heart of his endeavor, Russell does not spare Sandoz a terrible fate. The protagonist, Father Emilio Sandoz, is a Jesuit, so this is not proselytizing through the barrel of a gun or attempted conversion by suicide bombing. She weaves a tale of first contact that is relentlessly questioning, harrowing and unforgettable. The story may be as old as that of the first disciple proclaiming Christ, but Russell takes full advantage of the permission science fiction gives the brave writer (and reader) to cast aside the rules of physics and biology. A mission is sent to bring the word of God to a newly contacted alien race. In The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell takes the story of the adventuring missionary and hurls it far into the future.

The Sparrow By Mary Doria Russell, paperback, 408 pages, Ballantine Books, list price: $15

The sparrow mary russell