Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
August 30, 2010
Mother Teresa at 100by David Van BiemaTIME Books. 96p $19.95 (hardcover)

In recognition of the centennial of the birth of Mother Teresa of Calcutta on August 26, we thought this new book would be a welcome addition to everyone’s home library. In “Unconditional Love,” the book’s introduction, the noted pastor Rick Warren pens these stirring words: “Don’t just read this book. Let it change the direction of your life. Let it cause you to investigate the One who so transformed Mother Teresa that she was able to walk away from everything we spend our lives trying to attain.”  Up front is a double-page spread of small images, a timeline that captures highlights of this holy woman, who founded the Missionaries of Charity some 50 years ago.

Biema is the primary author, but the book includes contributions from James Martin, S.J., author of—among other works—My Life With the Saints,  Susan Van Houte (one of Mother Teresa’s infant “rescues”) and Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., who is postulator for the cause of Mother Teresa’s canonization. In Chapter Four, “Mother to the World,” Biema writes of the Missionaries’ first forays beyond India and eventual outreach and missionary work all over the globe, drawing from a variety of sources—journalists and filmmakers who documented firsthand the challenges—even danger—the Sisters faced with unflinching purpose, dedication and fortitude.

The book is printed on glossy stock with an open, airy and appealing design. The story is familiar to many readers, but is rendered here with a freshness and perspective that readers will welcome. The volume is studded with color as well as black-and-white photos—some of which are unfamiliar to us, despite the plethora of illustrated books about the saintly nun. Time Books has put together a beautiful commemorative package indeed.

Purchase TIME Mother Teresa: The Life and Works of a Modern Saint, with introduction by Rick Warren from amazon.com.

The latest from america

In 'Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel, Edwin Frank explores how reality has been presented and even transformed through the way it is molded in fiction—and how the novel evolved from the 19th century novel to that of the 20th century.
There is joy and heartbreak in Father Charles Strobel's memoir, 'The Kingdom of the Poor,' but mostly joy.
Joe PagettaApril 17, 2025
If what we need now is the kind of story that restores wonder to the world, Tara Isabella Burton's 'Here in Avalon' provides one avenue to that destination.
Katy CarlApril 17, 2025
In 'The Last Manager,' John W. Miller marries stories and statistics in a fascinating account of the life of Earl Weaver, the diminutive, cantankerous skipper who is the winningest manager since the moon landing.
Clayton TrutorApril 01, 2025