Everything is Extraordinary by Cole Morton

'Brilliant book from a Christian writer and broadcaster offering insights into the lives of the famous, the infamous, the fascinating and the forgotten'

Everything is Extraordinary - True Stories About How We Live, Love and Pay Attention
By Cole Morton
Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN 978-1-399-80037-2
Reviewed by Robert Draycott

This is a brilliant book. It is a series of articles about, 'the famous, the infamous, the fascinating and the forgotten'. It is a 'book of stories', which are set out in three sections labelled 'Living', 'Loving', and 'Learning to fly'.

Each section contains six superbly written pieces. I had heard of Cole Morton, having heard him on Radio 2's Pause for Thought, but was not sure about this book, indeed I found that I didn't like it, I loved it.

Not knowing much about the author I dived into 'Ronnie and Reggie' (surprisingly in the second section) which gave me some idea of both where he came from and where he was coming from with this collection. One chapter was enough to convince me to recommend this, but I have dipped into other chapters starting with, what was for me the 'I was there' chapter about a race on 11 August 2012.

So no, I haven't read every word yet, that is a pleasure to look forward to, but I am writing hoping it might be posted in time to be purchased as a Christmas present: it's for those who are interested in people, who enjoy reading well written pieces about, among others, 'Tiger', 'Clive', 'Nelson', 'Philip', four names picked at random which illustrate the author's range. It's a range which includes sport, the media, politics and literature.

It also offers wisdom for all involved in pastoral conversations. For example 'there may be something deep inside that a person is dying to say,' ... 'be interested.' 'be present in the moment.'

Suppose someone were to ask - 'but is it a Christian book?' The answer is that it is written by a Christian who is not peddling a dogmatic line but offering insights into lives, life, love and learning to fly. Thoroughly recommended, a brilliant collection.

Robert Draycott is a retired Baptist minister (various pastorates here and in Brazil), and a former chaplain of Eltham College

Baptist Times, 01/12/2023

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