Product Description
In this feminist investigation into the art of preaching—one of the oldest and least studied rhetorical traditions—Roxanne Mountford explores the relationship between bodies, space, race, and gender in rhetorical performance and American Protestant culture. Refiguring delivery and physicality as significant components of the rhetorical situation, The Gendered Pulpit: Preaching in American Protestant Spaces examines the strategies of three contemporary women preachers who have transgressed traditions, rearranged rhetorical space, and conquered gender bias to establish greater intimacy with their congregations.

Mountford’s examinations of the rhetoric inherent in preaching manuals from 1850 to the present provide insight into how "manliness" has remained a central concept in American preaching since the mid-nineteenth century. The manuals illustrate that the character, style, method of delivery, and theological purpose of preachers focused on white men and their cultural standing. Mountford uses the concept of rhetorical space to illustrate how even church architecture bears the mark of a masculine history, which has left contemporary women preachers searching for ways to accommodate themselves to the physicality of preaching.

Three case studies of women preachers who have succeeded or failed in rearranging rhetorical space provide the foundation for the volume. These contemporary examples have important implications for feminist theology and also reveal the importance of gender, space, and bodies to studies of rhetoric in general. Mountford explores the geographies of St. John’s Lutheran Church and the preaching of Rev. Patricia O’Connor who reformed rhetorical space through the delivery of her sermons. At Eastside United Church of Christ, Mountford shows, Rev. Barbara Hill employed narrative style and prophetic utterance in the tradition of black preaching to address gender bias and institute change in her congregation. The final case study details the experiences of Pastor Janet Moore and her struggles at Victory Hills United Methodist Church, where the fractured congregation could not be united even with Pastor Moore’s focus on theological purpose and invention strategies.

As the study of written discourse continues to dominate the humanities and social sciences, The Gendered Pulpit: Preaching in American Protestant Spaces emphasizes the role of physicality, space, and oral performance in rhetoric scholarship. Although rhetoricians have largely neglected physical components, this multifaceted ethnography highlights the importance of the material elements that constitute rhetorical space and performance, showing how theological purpose, arrangement, and style are all forms of spatial strategy. ... Read more

Product Description
The Earth is crowded and food is rationed, but a colony on Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, offers an escape for teenager Bill Lermer and his family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Old but still works on the young
Makes a good bedtime story for a Cub Scout who is respectful enough of Boy Scouts to give this story about their farming on Ganymede an attentive listen. The slang is dated but my youthful listener doesn't seem to notice or care. The details of trying to farm on a moon-planet with no soil of its own, an artificial atmosphere, and few trees holds both our attentions. When the quakes begin, the excitement builds. Doesn't hurt that we can now examine photographs of the real Ganymede and wonder if anything Heinlein imagined would be remotely possible.

FARMER IN THE SKY still timely enough
This was written in 1949, and it shows ... but the sharpness of Heinlein's observation of character is sufficient to overcome the time lapse.The relationship between father and son in the first few chapters is keenly observed and still rings true.

A short but interesting story
"Farmer in the Sky" is a relatively short but interesting story.

Oddly for a Heinlein story, it is the first few pages that really got to me.The Earth of the future is overcrowded.There seems to be a world government that rations food so Chinese peasants do not starve.Things are tight and the future does not look very bright. The main character is Bill and his father decides to emigrate, to Gandymede.This involves the widower father getting married again.So, we are treated to some teenage angst while things proceed.

Why Gandymede?I have no idea.Heinlein had done Mars and wanted a fresh challenge while staying within his Future History, I suppose.

On the other hand, Gandymede offers a chance to see some terraforming ideas that Mars would not have had.Combining a story of teenage angst with old fashioned 'hard science fiction', Heinlein delivers an interesting story.Though, I never have liked the ending because it is too contrived.

Uhh...This story was written more than fifty years ago.Among other things it mentions a slide rule within the story.So what?I used a slide rule in my work until the 1970s.For the last few years, I had picked up a simple plastic slide rule for, about, a dollar.That darn cheap model now sells on the internet for, about, $20.But, a 20 or 30 function calculator, which would have sold for a few hundred dollars in the 1970s now sells for less than that $20.Go figure!

Also, wording, conversations, attitudes, and etcetera reflect the average attitudes of the 1940s and 1950s.In other words, they seem outated, by 2008 standards.

Nevertheless, it is a fairly good story and I could not bear to rate it lower.

It ought to seem dated, but somehow it doesn't
This is among the set of "classic" Heinlein novels written in the 1950s for juvenile readers -- what nowadays we'd call "young adults." By definition, this was written for kids, so a parent can feel comfortable in handing the book to a child (even a bright 8-year-old... certainly I'd have read it at that age).

The book (or a shorter version) was commissioned for Boy's Life, the magazine of the Boy Scouts, so it has a huge thread of "scouting is great, you betcha!"

The protagonist, Bill, gets involved in starting a scout troop on the space flight to become a colonist on Ganymede, the Jupiter moon. The basic story is a modified "Hero's Journey" in which teenager Bill (and his father) emigrate as space colonists and must cope with all the challenges that entails. Although Heinlein later earned a reputation for tedious exposition, in this case it works very well. He goes through all the steps that would be necessary to terraform a moon (given some base assumptions/guesses about the evolution of science), for example, and how astrogation would work on the spaceship.

The result is that the young reader will learn (painlessly) that Science Matters; you might have a discussion with her about what did/didn't turn out to be true (not to mention, "So why *haven't* we colonized space?" -- good question, kid).

There are a few anachronistic giggles; for example, in the first few pages, Bill comes back from a consumer/scout airflight over California and his dad suggests he figure something out with his slide rule. It's likely that the one thing in the book that a child might need a definition for is that slide rule.

Farmer in the Sky isn't among the greatest of Heinlein's juveniles (much less his general fiction), but it's solidly good -- and holds up rather well, to my surprise. Heinlein was a master of just plain good taletelling, and can carry along anyone -- at least me -- with the thread of "And THEN what happened?!" to make me turn pages. ... Read more

Product Description
The Earth is crowded and food is rationed, but a colony on Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, offers an escape for teenager Bill Lermer and his family. Back on Earth, the move sounded like a grand adventure, but Bill soon realizes that life on the frontier is dangerous, and in an alien world with no safety nets, nature is cruelly unforgiving of even small mistakes. Bill’s new home is a world of unearthly wonders—and heartbreaking tragedy. He will face hardships, survive dangers, and grow up fast, meeting the challenge of opening up a new world for humanity and finding strengths within himself that he had never suspected existed.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent Juvenile SF
This book should be read for the first time only by juveniles, people reading to establish a base for Heinlein's later novels or people that have read a lot of period juveniles.The science is far outdated and the characters are straight out of a comic book, which makes it a good example of the genre.It is not his best juvenile, but it is a readable novel for a rainy day.

My favorite of the juveniles, though not without it's flaws
Farmer In The Sky is a story about an early attempt at extra-terrestrial colonization, which was a common science fiction theme in the 1950s. Heinlein writes a story that is usually compellingly inspirational about mankind moving beyond Earth.

Unfortunately, at least through the view of a more modern teenager, the main character is hopelessly immature, throwing 8 year-old hissy fits when he is supposed to be in his late teens.

Also, as this novel was originally (I believe) written for serialization in Boy's Life, it has a very strong Boy Scouts component. This is neither bad nor good, but it could have been written without it.

As I said in my title, Farmer In The Sky is generally my favorite of Heinlein's juvenile. I read it as a teen and still enjoy it. But you do have to ignore the protagonist's immaturity.

Thank you for the vision
Imagine it is 1950 and you are a (male) teenager. After reading Farmer in the Sky, you would probably go on and do one of the two following things:

1. Invent the microwave oven, portrayed amazingly accurately in chapter I.

2. Reach out for the stars.

Thanx for 2 and Sputnik, generations with a space vision grew up and paved the way for the stars. Alas, not exactly the stars and not the way Heinlein and all the other pioneers envisioned it (first manned mission to Ganymede in 1985?) but still with enough impetus to take humans to Luna.

So, thank you Dean for the vision, which is enough to forgive plot holes like the discrepancy between terraforming a planet and using 14th century science to farm. 3 1/2 stars.

Are you a SF lover and have not yet read this one? You will finish it quickly and with a smile on your face.

Are you are a (male or female) teenager? You `d probably find the Farmer naive and look elsewhere for space motivation. Where? I don't have a clue.

Loved it as a boy
I loved this book when I was a boy.I'm sure young readers today will like it just as well. ... Read more