"A heartbreaking book"

The Christian Century ran a favorable review of "The Class of '65" this week, calling it a "heartbreaking book that confirms that we all have far to go and much to forgive." (Could I suggest that it might be a little heart-lifting as well?) The Century is among the oldest publications covering religion in America and is considered one of the most influential voices of mainline Protestantism. It wrote about the violence and boycott aimed at Koinonia during the 1950s, so in a sense, this is revisiting an old story with a new twist. "Local whites, unable to tell Christian communal life from Soviet communism and unwilling to countenance blacks and whites living together, tried to starve members out by refusing to trade with them," writes reviewer Lawrence Wood, a minister in Gulf Shores, Ala. "Several times Koinonia was bombed, its orchard was cut down, gunfire shattered windows. The children weren't sure whether to be angry at the townspeople or at their idealistic parents -- or even if they were permitted to be angry at all." Wood then says of the author: "Much of his story has the power to shock, but his telling is more powerful because he is unshockable." Perhaps it just looks that way. Here's a link to the review below: 

 

 

Source: http://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/20...