Rating: 
Summary: The Enfleshment of Redemption Analogy
Review: A very engrossing book, and a quick, light read- I finished it in basically one day. I loved how Richardson made his characters- real people- come to life in his description of the Sawi before the coming of Europeans and Canadians. Telling the first third of the book in second person Sawi-perspective is an effective literary device that allows us to really understand such a foreign culture from en emic (insider) perspective. The contrast of the two cultures is also engaging- I found myself often laughing as the Don and the Sawi tried to understand each other. I would have liked some way to track the different characters of the story, as there are so many they often get confusing. And it would have been nice to hear more of the mission work of Don's wife, Carol, as she was doing a lot, but you hear little of her story, or the story of the Sawi women from their perspective- something that would naturally need to happen from Carol's engagement with the Sawi. But it was exciting to hear these redemption analogies enfleshed, and to see ways that God's words can be brought to a people from within their own understanding, just as He came to the Hebrews, Hellenistic society, and the barbarian European tribes of my ancestors. I finished wanting the stories of Sawi life to continue.
Rating:
Summary: In Search of the key to unlock the Hidden Hearts
Review: Cannibalism among the Sawi Tribes of Irian Jaya, (formerly Netherlands New Guinea), was not necessarily survival, but the way of life, in which they used humans as prizes to demonstrate their arrogance, pride and strength. Civilized or uncivilized, there is one common ground in all people, all nations, which is the struggle for peace throughout the centuries. Yet the Sawi people were difficult, perhaps so stubborn, there are no other words in the English language to describe them other than accepting their primitiveness engrained by subliminal psyche. However, the husband and wife missionary team, Don and Carol Richardson without a doubt, understood this challenge. The Apostle Paul who brought the gospel to Europe, his account with the Greek Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in the Aeropagus in Mars Hill, Athens, applied "cross-cultural" approach in lieu of criticizing their pagan beliefs (the common mistake of the west) bearing the inscription of their "unknown" god (Acts 17, New Testament). The Apostle finding a parallel thereby used it as opportunity to present the gospel message to these Greek philosophers. The question among the Sawis that challenged them was likened to a hidden key? However, they too discovered a parallel like that of the Apostle, which provided them with the right approach and the right attitude. Through patience and perseverance, somewhere in the thick of the woods they unlocked its secret code, that breakthrough, in which they discovered within the hearts of the people. Trusting in a "temporary" child that never brought forth peace among the Sawi villages, not only the people discovered that peace was possible, they also discovered the "everlasting, eternal" child that brought them not temporary peace, but everlasting peace.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful
Review: For years, I have been fascinated with the question of how undiscovered, isolated groups of people would held accountable for their decision to accept or reject God. How could uncivilized people understand how God's message related to their lives? After reading this book, I found my answer! I realized that through what Don Richardson calls "redemptive analogies," God makes a way for ALL people to understand his loving message. Just as he ably used analogies that were particularly meaningful to the Jews and Greeks in the Bible, God is able to use analogies that are meaningful to cannibals and other isolated groups. Peace Child is Don Richardson's account of how he discovered the analogy that God had specially designed to make a cannibalistic tribe in New Guinea understand his love... and then of how he risked his life trying to share that analogy with those people.
This book chronicles one man's purposeful encounter with a group of people who had never come in contact with Godly principles. Perhaps because I'm a wife and mother of two, Richardson's decision to include his wife and two toddlers in his quest to share righteousness really made me understand his degree of commitment to God.
Richardson's powerful text outlines a sacrifice of earthly comforts for spiritual reasons and shows God's protection of the lives of people who actively seek to serve His purposes. While written by a very educated scholar, the text is very easy to follow. The careful reader will also notice that Richardson used a combination of both white collar and physical talents to convert members of the cannibalistic tribe. (To live and teach the cannibals, he was required to work not only as a carpenter and foreman, but also as a linguist and dictionary author.) That was a real revelation for me.
I want to emphasize, though, that this book is more than the masterpiece story of Don Richardson's experiences as a missionary. It is also a book that really convicts its readers to think about what their own roles should be in influencing the moral compass of people who have no social rules and no agreements about how to live together in groups - people with no Ten Commandments and no Magna Carta. There was a point at which I put this book down for a minute because tears were rolling down my face. I felt such an inward "call" to become more involved in sharing both the message of love and salvation and the principles of organized group behavior with the forgotten people of this earth, even if it meant sacrificing the comforts I am so used to. My brother-in-law read it years ago, and as a result, he started sharing the Christian gospel with prisoners in his hometown every Saturday morning. He still does that today.
Buy it and share it with your friends. It will change you inwardly and motivate you to inspire others.
Rating:
Summary: This is a must-read for both Christians and non-Christians
Review: For years, I have been fascinated with the question of how undiscovered, isolated groups of people would held accountable for their decision to accept or reject God. How could uncivilized people understand how God's message related to their lives? After reading this book, I found my answer! I realized that through what Don Richardson calls "redemptive analogies," God makes a way for ALL people to understand his loving message. Just as he ably used analogies that were particularly meaningful to the Jews and Greeks in the Bible, God is able to use analogies that are meaningful to cannibals and other isolated groups. Peace Child is Don Richardson's account of how he discovered the analogy that God had specially designed to make a cannibalistic tribe in New Guinea understand his love... and then of how he risked his life trying to share that analogy with those people.
This book chronicles one man's purposeful encounter with a group of people who had never come in contact with Godly principles. Perhaps because I'm a wife and mother of two, Richardson's decision to include his wife and two toddlers in his quest to share righteousness really made me understand his degree of commitment to God.
Richardson's powerful text outlines a sacrifice of earthly comforts for spiritual reasons and shows God's protection of the lives of people who actively seek to serve His purposes. While written by a very educated scholar, the text is very easy to follow. The careful reader will also notice that Richardson used a combination of both white collar and physical talents to convert members of the cannibalistic tribe. (To live and teach the cannibals, he was required to work not only as a carpenter and foreman, but also as a linguist and dictionary author.) That was a real revelation for me.
I want to emphasize, though, that this book is more than the masterpiece story of Don Richardson's experiences as a missionary. It is also a book that really convicts its readers to think about what their own roles should be in influencing the moral compass of people who have no social rules and no agreements about how to live together in groups - people with no Ten Commandments and no Magna Carta. There was a point at which I put this book down for a minute because tears were rolling down my face. I felt such an inward "call" to become more involved in sharing both the message of love and salvation and the principles of organized group behavior with the forgotten people of this earth, even if it meant sacrificing the comforts I am so used to. My brother-in-law read it years ago, and as a result, he started sharing the Christian gospel with prisoners in his hometown every Saturday morning. He still does that today.
Buy it and share it with your friends. It will change you inwardly and motivate you to inspire others.
Rating: 
Summary: Very gruesome but inspiring
Review: I would recommend this book for those over the age of ten. The first two or three chapters go into great detail as to how a cannibal catches his prey and then kills him and eats him. While the story itself is a great one, and very inspiring, the writing could be better. It gets a bit monotonous at times.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Richardson's personal experiences with the Sawi tribe in former Dutch New Guinea was moving, inspiring, and fascinating. God used Richardson and his family to bring the redemptive message of salvation through his son Christ to this tribe of cannibalistic people, a group that idealized treachery the way some idealize intelligence or artistic ability. Quite a daunting task. God showed Richardson that the answer to making the message come alive lie in the Sawi's own culture, the custom of the peace child. It is through this custom that Richardson is able to begin to connect the message of Christ into the hearts of the Sawi. This is an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping true story, spellbinding page-turner
Review: Talk about living on the edge, Don Richardson, his newlywed wife Carol and seven-month old son Stephen step from the 20th century into a stone-age cannabilistic cultural with gruesome and horrific practices. This book reads like the true adventure it is, starting with the narration of life, death, betrayal, parties where the honored guests become the special of the day. Enter this family of three into the midst of suspicious cannibals bringing three rival factions together each vying jealously for the knifes, steel axes, matches, machetes, mirrors and medicine, you get a powder keg with small to large explosions daily. Imagine living in a grass hut with your wife and baby huddled inside while fierce warriors and arrows fly throughout the sky. Imagine facing an entire clan beating and burning a man that the sorceress has declared to be a soul-less zombie and praying him back to life, only by a miracle of God. These and other adventures show what it's really like to walk by faith, trusting only God to protect you, and doing His will to win people to Christ. There are many hair-prickling turns in this story, leaving you at the edge of your seat, wondering if it'll all end in disaster. But the glory of the Lord is that He had left Himself a witness in the strange custom of the "Peace Child" that Richardson was able to use to point to the Perfect Peace Child, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, to bring the Sawi tribe to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. Truly awe inspiring. I am now reading the sequel "Lords of the Earth".
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful
Review: This adventerous account can keep anyone's attention, and gives you a new perspective on the dynamic ways you can share the Lord with people in a way they will understand. In addition, it's great to suggest to unbelivers too since its storyline tells those who read it about the Lord. I have been reading it with my teenage nephew who previously was not a christian (his parents are unbelievers and he was also just adopted into our family a couple years ago) and this book along with reading the gospel of John with him every night seems to really be getting through to him. As of yet we are only through reading Part I but along with the gospel of John, God is definitely using this book to catch the attention of my nephew and keeps him from reading so many of the fantacy/sorcery books he has been so into reading. I highly recommend this book if you are into true tales of adventure and missions work in the deep parts of unreached people groups.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in many ways
Review: This book is excellent on many levels. It is a fascinating and exciting read, and would interest anyone interested in different cultures or missions work. The main reason I love it is because it contains a startling spiritual sweetness; it demonstrates God's love for all people and clearly shows how He has a plan for the salvation of people from every tribe and nation. I would heartily reccomend it to anyone, and in particular, to those interested in mission work, as it teaches many profound lessons.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is wonderful book. Don Richardson has vividly described his life as a Sawi missionary. It is an unforgettable story and made me cry several times to see how God was in total control of situations!
If you're looking for a book that is easy to read and true to the letter about missionary life; this is it.
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