"The Searchers" by Joseph Loconte

Here is the book description:


Never before had they known such hope.

In a world drenched in violence and oppression, here was a man armed with a message of peace and freedom. Into lives nearly overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, he brought compassion and healing and the deepest joy. To people who felt like outcasts and aliens, he showed the way home. And then, in one devastating night, all their hopes collapsed.

This is where our story begins—in the valley of despair. It is a tale of two friends, a stranger, and a search for truth in a world gone mad with doubt.

Historian Joseph Loconte unlocks the meaning of their exchange, set in the chaotic days following the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. Drawing from literature, film, philosophy, history, and politics, Loconte shows how this biblical drama is an integral part of our own story.

Sooner or later, we will find ourselves among the searchers.

This is going to be one of those books that is just really hard to review. I guess I should start off with saying that I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of 20 as it can be a very difficult book to understand based on the way it is written. For me personally, this book discussed different things all while trying to tie them back to the encounter between Jesus and the two young men that were with him on the road to Emmaus. I think this book contained a lot of guess work. It has a lot of opinions in it of what might have happened or what might have been thought by the different men there that day and I think the book should have been a lot more factual. There were lots of things that were said in this book that I personally didn't agree with and they didn't match up with my views on God and the Bible. This book also tried connecting a lot of Biblical references to a lot of things that are related to today's world. Normally, this would be fine and even encouraged, but I found myself having to re read different sections and try to figure out how something related to "Where the Wild Things Are" has anything to do with scripture. Honestly, I wasn't even able to read through half this book. It was hard to understand from the beginning and the parts that I did fully understand, I didn't agree with the viewpoint. I'd encourage you guys to pick up this book and explore for yourself, but I'm going to have to go ahead and rate this book 1 out of 5 stars. It was not at all what I was expecting and I was rather disappointed in this book. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”