The On The Bookshelf Podcast

Will Hazelgrove returns with "Dead Air-The Night Orson Welles Terrified America"

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW writes--

"In this fine-grained account, historian Hazelgrove (Writing Gatsby) chronicles the mass hysteria that accompanied Orson Welles’s infamous 1938 radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds. Hazelgrove presents Welles as an actor of immense ambition and preternatural talent, noting that by age 22, he had put on headline-grabbing plays (the government shut down his 1937 production of The Cradle Will Rock, fearing its pro-labor themes would be incendiary) and traveled around New York City in a faux ambulance to move more quickly between his numerous radio and theatrical commitments. The author recounts the rushed scriptwriting process for War of the Worlds and offers a play-by-play of the broadcast, but he lavishes the most attention on the havoc Welles wreaked. Contemporaneous news accounts reported college students fighting to telephone their parents, diners rushing out of restaurants without paying their bills, families fleeing to nearby mountains to escape the aliens’ poisonous gas, and even one woman’s attempted suicide. Hazelgrove largely brushes aside contemporary scholarship questioning whether the hysteria’s scope matched the sensational news reports, but he persuasively shows how the incident reignited elitist fears that “Americans were essentially gullible morons” and earned Welles the national recognition he’d yearned for. It’s a rollicking portrait of a director on the cusp of greatness. "(Nov.)

I always love talking to William Hazelgrove about his non-fiction books , 14 times in all, including this one. He really gives you a sense of the mod of America, he talent of Orson Welles, and the brilliant ensemble that performed live that fateful evening. It changed radio forever (and I've been in the radio business sine 1972, and teaching radio at university level since 2007!)

 

Brook Taylor and co-authors create "The World Rejoices" Advent Devotional

The World Rejoices: The Good News of Christmas Devotional (New Growth
Press) is a practical resource for individuals and families,encouraging a slower December pace while counting down the days to Christmas.Christmas.. It’s no wonder that we often come into the Christmas season tired, anxious, and overwhelmed. For anyone who can relate, authors Eliza Huie, Cyndi Logsdon, Brook Taylor, and Ashley Arey invite you to take twenty-five days to focus on God’s promise that brings lasting peace, comfort, and joy.
 Each short daily devotional thought and Scripture reading from the
first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke guides readers toward a deeper
connection with Jesus and a meaningful understanding of the Christmas story.
“The need for this kind of resource reaches beyond our own church, so we are excited to offer it to churches and families everywhere. Our hope is that this book would be a simple resource to remind many that God was
faithful to fulfill His promise of a Savior and he will be faithful to fulfill all his promises to us today.”
The voices of four authors with varied backgrounds and experiences give the devotional a unique mix of perspectives that collaborate to tell the one main story. “Each of us is writing from a different season and situation in life, which makes The World Rejoices a more robust and applicable resource for all readers. It was written with all believers in mind so a single Christian, married couple, family, or any individual can find the
content relevant and engaging.”
The authors offer fresh insights and applications on stories of God’s faithfulness and the text from Luke in a way that will focus the heart on Jesus and inspire readers to embrace a season of anticipation, reflection, and preparation for the celebration of Jesus’s birth. There are also fun and engaging activities for a wide range of readers—young and old—interspersed throughout the book, offering the opportunity to unwind and enjoy the season for a few minutes. Because of its versatile design, The World Rejoices can be used for personal reading, small group study, or family devotions.

Marty Machowki brings another unique "upside down" devotional for families

 

For families looking for a resource to help them focus on the true meaning of the Christmas season, best-selling author Marty Machowski is releasing a new family devotional. Promises Made Promises Kept (New Growth Press) shows families how the birth and life of Jesus fulfilled God’s Old Testament promises of a Savior. Following the same format as Machowski’s popular Easter devotional Darkest Night Brightest Day, this “upside-down” book includes fourteen Bible stories. Families will begin the week before Christmas (on December 18) with the first side, Promises Made which has seven stories that explore the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. On Christmas Day, they will flip the book over and continue by reading Promises Kept with seven more stories that vividly illustrate how Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection and the beginning of the church fulfill God’s promises.‌  Written for families with preschool and grade school children, Machowski weaves the promises and fulfillments together into one harmonized story that will deepen the family’s faith in God’s power and control over all of history and their lives too. Each story also includes questions for the family to discuss together. This beautiful hardback book, illustrated by Phil Schorr, is sure to become a treasured family favorite to be used every Christmas as a reminder of how God keeps his promises to his people.

 

Dr. Geoffrey Chang created Advent Devotionals from Charles Spugeon sermons!

 

Charles H. Spurgeon was considered by many to be the greatest preacher of his generation and lived during the nineteenth-century revival of the celebration of Christmas in America and England. He loved Christmas and welcomed the holiday season as an opportunity for rest and being reunited with friends and family.

 

In A Wondrous Mystery: Daily Advent Devotionals (New Growth Press), Geoffrey Chang, curator of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has complied thirty daily devotions from the sermons of Spurgeon to help readers keep their hearts focused on Christ during the busy holiday season. Readers will be filled with the wonder of Christmas as the words of Spurgeon remind them of the incarnation to be marveled at all year round.

 

Chang writes, “Spurgeon loved Christmas! Preaching in London in 1855, he declared, ‘I wish there were ten or a dozen Christmas-days in the year; for there is work enough in the world, and a little more rest would not hurt laboring people. Christmas-day is really a boon to us, particularly as it enables us to assemble round the family hearth and meet our friends once more.’ On Christmas day, he would not only spend time with his family, but he would visit his orphanages and distribute gifts to the children.”

 

How can Christians properly celebrate Christmas today? Certainly, Christmas trees, gift-giving, family reunions, and many other customs can all be joyful traditions of the season. But Spurgeon would say that the primary way to celebrate Christmas is by faith in the incarnate, crucified, and risen Savior. That’s why A Wondrous Mystery exists: amid a busy holiday season, it is meant to be a daily reminder of why we celebrate.

 

In the words of Spurgeon, “And now wonder, you angels, the Infinite has become an infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe hangs, hangs at his mother’s breast; he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation, has now become so weak, that he must be carried by a woman! And oh, wonder, you that knew him in his riches, while you admire his poverty! Where sleeps the newborn king? Had he the best room in Caesar’s palace? Has a cradle of gold been prepared for him, and pillows of down, on which to rest his head? No, where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the manger, there the Savior lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children of poverty!”

A Wondrous Mystery is the first book in the Old Made New series, making the teaching of theologians and pastors who have left us a rich heritage of faith accessible for modern-day readers.

 

Annie Zaleski shares stories of 100 great love songs

Love songs are for everybody and so is this book. In We Found Love Song by Song, award-winning author and music journalist Annie Zaleski delivers a beautifully illustrated keepsake that tells the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories of the 100 most popular and cherished love songs of all time.

 

Pop the champagne, get the roses ready, and settle down in your favorite armchair. Love is universal to the human experience and love songs bring us joy and remind us of happy moments from our life. We all want it and we all crave it but it's not always easy to find. In this beautifully illustrated volume, We Found Love Song by Song tells the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories of the 100 most popular and cherished love songs of all time and their everlasting impact. From artists such as Fred Astaire and Nat King Cole all the way up to Whitney Houston and Harry Styles, this all-encompassing collection of love songs is sure to ignite the flame and inspire a new favorite playlist.

 What moving song did Paul McCartney pen as a love letter to his wife and record in one day? What iconic tune about cheating and piña coladas ends with a relationship being saved? What popular ballad was written from the perspective of Juliet and led to hundreds of in-concert proposals? Spanning musical genres and decades of classics and modern hits, featured songs include:

 Etta James, "At Last"

Elvis Presley, "Can't Help Falling in Love"

Sonny and Cher, "I Got You Babe"

Queen, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

Foreigner, "I Want to Know What Love Is"

Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

Tina Turner, "The Best"

Elton John, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

Shania Twain, "You're Still the One"

Rihanna, "We Found Love"

John Legend, "All of Me"

Taylor Swift, "Love Story"

and many more.

Annie Zaleski is an award-winning writer and editor who's contributed to NPR Music, Salon, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. She's also the author of multiple books, including an extensive look at Duran Duran's Rio for Bloomsbury's prestigious 33 1/3 series, and biographies of pop stars Lady Gaga and P!nk. She interviewed Cher ahead of her 2016 Las Vegas residency and praised the icon in a career-spanning 2021 Salon piece.