Product Description

Dick Falkner’s childhood consisted of poverty and abuse from an alcoholic father. Recognizing his life for what it was, he ran away from his home, but he could not run away from all of his problems.

Sixteen years later he found himself hungry of body and empty of spirit in a small Midwestern town. He was determined to make something of himself and to not be controlled by alcohol.

Initially, he finds no help in this so-called Christian town. Eventually, he is taken in by George Udell, a local publisher and a kind-hearted man. George Udell gives the young man a job, and something more important: spiritual support. Through hard work and Christian morals, the man who becomes known as "that printer of Udell’s" rises above his past to a new life with God, inspiring those around him along the way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #192256 in Books
• Published on: 1996-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 346 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781565541214
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"(A) thoroughly good novel" -- --The Boston Globe

"Decidedly interesting" -- --The New York Times

"This is a book that will appeal to both men and women. It should have a place in church libraries." -- --Church and Synagogue Library Association

About the Author
Harold Bell Wright, born in Rome, New York, in 1872, did not lead a life of luxury. He was a self-taught man who had to overcome many challenges, including his constant fight against tuberculosis. While still young, Wright traveled extensively. Being a religious man, he decided to spend his time as a traveling minister, eventually settling down with permanent churches in Missouri, California, and Kansas. His religious practices led him to write the first of many books, all of which address particular problems. His main goal for writing lay within his desire to write about the goodness of mankind.

Customer Reviews

Essential to understanding Ronald Reagan
Any political junkie or political scientist who wants to understand Ronald Reagan the man and the politician must start with this book. Young Reagan read it when he was 11 years old and promptly decided that he wanted to become an evangelical Christian, informing his Mother that he wanted to be baptized. Reagan obviously identified with the protagonist of this story who like Reagan was the son of an alcoholic father who through the power of faith became a better man and works to change his community through his church. The book concludes with his marching off to Washington to assume a political career. Sound familiar?

Don't miss this book!

Standard HBW Quality
Another salutary story showing how Harold Bell Wright earned the sobriquet of "Storyteller to America." I did not know but am not surprised by the previous reviewer's observation that Ronald Reagan read this work as a boy and was profoundly touched by it. There is something so American about Mr. Wright's works and this upright, exciting tale is no exception. Fleshed out characters populate a fast-paced allegory where true Christianity is venerated while those who are Christian in name only are seen to be lacking.

This release was one of Mr. Wright's first -if not his actual debut novel, and it made a promise that his prolific career kept.

Good Wright Book
Another story by Christian writer Harold Bell Wright set in the state of Missouri at the turn of the century. The story is set in the city of Boyd, a bustling center. A homeless man, Dick Falkner, arrives in town in search of work and food. He wants to work but has had a string of hard times hit upon him. He finds work at Udell's print shop, after many rejections by the supposed "Christian" folk of the town. He is found to be a competent worker and is honest and of strong character. He becomes involved with a church in the town, who pastor wants to create a YMCA of sorts of homeless people. This is not taken well by the other preachers nor some of the members of the church. However, the pastor does create a YMCA with the help of the young people of his church. Falkner's reputation grows and he eventually joins the church and participates in the formation of the group. It is the first church he has ever joined because he has viewed Christians as those who go to church, look holy, and then leave unchanged and impassive to the world's poor. During the course of the story he gets involved with a rich man's daughter and they have an on again - off again relationship (due to societal circumstances and her father's rejection of their friendship). This story is billed as one on Practical Christianity. Wright wrote many Christian novels that are part romance, part western, and part literature. This one was syrupy at times and I felt that the organizing of the YMCA-like organization was lost in the development of Dick Falkner's relationship with Amy Goodrich. There are also many others characters that make this story colorful and interesting. However, it was a bit like the other Wright book, The Calling of Dan Matthews, so the ideas were a bit redundant. However, the crux of the book is that being a Christian is more than going to church once a week, but following and implementing the teachings of Christ.