The Shepherd of the Hills is the classic story of the stranger who takes the Old Trail deep into the Ozark Mountains, many miles from civilization. His appearance signals intellect and culture, yet his countenance is marked by grief and disappointment. What is his purpose in taking on the lowly work of tending local sheep? And how is it that he befriends these simple hill folk, despite his coming from the world beyond the ridges? Mystery and romance envelop this gentle yet compelling story as the identity and purpose of the stranger-turned-shepherd is gradually unveiled.
"Morrow and Myers-Phinney excavate the beginnings of commercial tourism in the region and follow it through six decades as the influx of visitors who became familiar with the Ozarks and its investment opportunities brought capital, new commerce, and additional residents to the hills."--BOOK JACKET.
"But there is more to Branson's fame than just recreation. As Aaron K. Ketchell discovers, a popular variant of Christianity underscores all Branson's tourist attractions and fortifies every consumer success. In this study, Ketchell explores Branson's unique blend of religion and recreation. He explains how the city became a mecca of conservative Christianity - a place for a "spiritual vacation" - and how, through conscious effort, its residents and businesses continuously reinforce its inextricable connection with the divine."--BOOK JACKET.
"Deserves a spot on the shelf next to the most beloved children's classics—yes, even The Secret Garden." —Shelf Awareness, Starred Review Described as "reminiscent of the Chronicles of Narnia" in a starred review, The Secret Horses of Briar Hill shows readers everywhere that there is color in our world—they just need to know where to look. There are winged horses that live in the mirrors of Briar Hill hospital—the mirrors that reflect the elegant rooms once home to a princess, now filled with sick children. Only Emmaline can see the creatures. It is her secret. One morning, Emmaline climbs over the wall of the hospital’s abandoned gardens and discovers something incredible: a white horse with a broken wing has left the mirror-world and entered her own. The horse, named Foxfire, is hiding from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by colorless moonlight. If Emmaline is to keep him from finding her new friend, she must surround Foxfire with treasures of brilliant shades. But where can Emmaline find color in a world of gray? A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2016 "Endearing characters, metaphors for life and death, and a slow revelation of the horrors of war give this slim novel a surprising amount of heft."—Booklist, Starred Review "In clear, gripping, flawless prose . . . this exquisite, beautifully illustrated middle-grade novel explodes with raw anguish, magic and hope, and readers will clutch it to their chests and not want to let go."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review "Reminiscent of the Chronicles of Narnia, Elizabeth Goudge, or a child's version of Life of Pi. . . . Readers will love this to pieces." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "Magical, terrifying, and full of heart. Open these pages, and ride true."—Newbery Honor-winning author Kathi Appelt "A remarkable book. Astonishing!"—Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse
In this masterpiece of nature writing, Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world that can be breathtakingly beautiful at times and shockingly harsh at others. Her intense, poetic prose explores and records the rocks, rivers, creatures and hidden aspects of this remarkable landscape. Shepherd spent a lifetime in search of the 'essential nature' of the Cairngorms; her quest led her to write this classic meditation on the magnificence of mountains, and on our imaginative relationship with the wild world around us. Composed during the Second World War, the manuscript of The Living Mountain lay untouched for more than thirty years before it was finally published.
Hill-walking was Shepherd's great love; her single collection of poetry, 'In the Cairngorms', expresses an intensity of deep kinship with nature. They are poems written with the perception of one who has climbed the mountains and truly knows them.
In August 1956 a young shepherd, his wife, two-year-old daughter and ten-day-old son sat huddled in a small boat on Loch Monar in Ross-shire as a storm raged around them. They were bound for a tiny, remote cottage at the western end of the loch which was to be their home for the next four years. Isolation Shepherd is the moving story of those years. Set against the awesome splendour of some of Scotland's most spectacular scenery, Iain R. Thomson's classic book provides a sensitive, richly detailed account of the shepherd's life through the seasons and recreates the events that shaped the family's life in Glen Strathfarrar before the area was flooded as part of a huge hydro-electric project.
A best-selling writer of fiction, non-fiction, and essays during the first half of the twentieth century, Harold Bell Wright was a self-taught man who founded permanent churches in Missouri, California, and Kansas. He taught his religious principles through his many novels, which address moral and social problems. This trilogy gathers together for the first time Wright's three novels featuring the character Dan Matthews, based on Wright himself. The Shepherd of the Hills, originally published in 1907, is Harold Bell Wright's most famous work. The shepherd, an elderly, mysterious, learned man, escapes the buzzing restlessness of the city to live in the Ozarks. In the sequel The Calling of Dan Matthews, Dan Matthews becomes the new minister of the Midwestern town of Corinth. He battles his conscience about whether to be the spiritual puppet of the church elders or to prescribe a dose of heavy ministry to his ailing congregation. In the third novel, God and the Groceryman, Wright makes a plea for God's presence in all aspects of life and offers a criticism of churches run as morally bankrupt businesses. This novel is a call for the modern church to return to spirituality.
