Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith

Buechner's three popular ""alphabet books"" (""Wishful Thinking,"" which explored theological terms; ""Peculiar Treasures,"" which looked at the spiritual dimensions of ordinary words; and ""Whistling in the Dark,"" which examined various biblical characters) are gathered here in a single alphabetical devotional, with 366 entries, from Aaron to zero. Buechner has updated the entries from his three beloved classics and added some new ones, making this devotional one-stop shopping for the literary Christian. Like its three predecessors, this book is arranged from A to Z, featuring the expected (sin, salvation, Easter, Joseph) and the whimsical (children's books, story, loneliness). Buechner's folksy, unforgettable writing style puts him in a class by himself. Concerning Peter's denial of Christ, for example, Buechner describes ""the old cock's wattles trembling scarlet as up over the horizon it squawked the rising sun, and the tears running down Peter's face like rain down a rock.""