"Alexander Whyte preached a series of sermons on prayer in which Luke 11:1, "Lord, teach us to pray," was combined with some other text to exhibit some aspect of the life of prayer. . . . Some of these were later published in the book 'Lord, Teach us to Pray,' which is not only quintessential Alexander Whyte, but the finest work on prayer I have ever read. Sell your shirt to buy Whyte if you ever have the opportunity in some used book store."
~ Dr. Robert S. Rayburn
Very sad to hear that Slovak author Peter Pišt'anek is dead, having reportedly: "left the world in silence and voluntarily"; see, for example, the report in The Slovak Spectator.
His Rivers of Babylon-trilogy is a must read for all behemians and deserves to be far better-known so try to taste Peter over this Easter long weekend ...
“I remember my own childhood vividly… I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn’t let the adults know I knew. It would scare them.” I heard the story of Oscar Schindler even before Thomas Kenneally dd ...
Well I hadn't heard of Juan Pujol nor any of this 28 other names but Webster, who has been writing fiction and non-fiction about Spain for over a decade, claims that he was a double agent who played a crucial role in the success of D-Day. I'd need to read on to see if I agree with him but I am tempted to do so because he spins a decent yarn so far 29 Names as you start work on 29 November 1982
Born in Poland, Gabinet moved with his family to Chicago as a boy Tribute to Professor Leon Gabinet, 65 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 1-23 (2014)
Rather (over-)dramatically, Owen Matthews asks: Is Russian Literature Dead ? at Foreign Policy.
The focus turns out to be more on the dismal sales-figures of -- and limited public interest in -- contemporary Russian literature abroad. Of course, Matthews sets the bar rather high, noting, for example, that since The Gulag Archipelago "no Russian writer has enjoyed true breakout American celebrity". Well, yeah ... but given the limited number of foreign authors who achieved that (sure, Roberto Bolaño, Karl Ove Knausgaard ... but there really aren't that many) maybe the measure of success should be slightly more down to earth.
