Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days: 1 [Kindle Edition]

Tim LaHaye (Author), Jerry B. Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

An airborne Boeing 747 is headed to London when, without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane but also worldwide as unusual events continue to unfold. For those who have been left behind, the apocalypse has just begun.
A repackage of the New York Times best-selling novel Left Behind.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Piloting his 747, Rayford Steele is musing about his wife Irene's irritating religiosity and contemplating the charms of his "drop-dead gorgeous" flight attendant, Hattie. First Irene was into Amway, then Tupperware, and now it's the Rapture of the Saints--the scary last story in the Bible in which Christians are swept to heaven and unbelievers are left behind to endure the Antichrist's Tribulation. Steele believes he'll put the plane on autopilot and go visit Hattie. But Hattie's in a panic: some of the passengers have disappeared! The Rapture has happened, abruptly driverless cars are crashing all over, and the slick, sinister Romanian Nicolae Carpathia plans to use the UN to establish one world government and religion. Resembling "a young Robert Redford" and silver-tongued in nine languages, Carpathia is named People's "Sexiest Man Alive." (This reviewer, a former People writer, finds this plot twist plausible.) Meanwhile, Steele teams up with Buck Williams, a buck-the-system newshound, to form the Tribulation Force, an underground of left-behind penitents battling the Antichrist.

Ex-presidential candidate Pat Robertson briefly outsold Michael Crichton with his apocalypse novel The End of the Age (now available on audiocassette), and the similar The Third Millennium sells well, but the Left Behind series is the absolute champion in the race to make the Book of Revelation into racy thriller reading. --Tim Appelo

From Library Journal

On a flight from Chicago to London, several passengers aboard Capt. Rayford Steele's plane suddenly and mysteriously disappear. When Steele radios to London to report the situation, he discovers that the incident on his plane is not an isolated phenomenon but a worldwide occurrence. As Steele begins his search for answers, he learns that the Christ has come to take the faithful with Him in preparation for the coming apocalyptic battle between good and evil and that those who have been left behind must face seven dark and chaotic years in which they must decide to join the forces of Christ or the forces of Anti-Christ. Jenkins, writer-in-residence at Moody Press, and LaHaye (A Nation Without a Conscience, Tyndale, 1994) have written a gripping thriller that captures the anxiety and fear that interpretations of Revelation often inspire. For most libraries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• File Size: 1101 KB
• Print Length: 484 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0842329129
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Reprint edition (March 16, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004CYF3CU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,432 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Christian > Futuristic
  • #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • #5 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

343 of 389 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good "End-Times" Book for Christians February 5, 2001

By I. Hsieh

Format:Paperback

The idea of the book is great, though done before. The way this book is written though, basically, chronicals the events that take place in the "end-times" as described in the Bible.

The book revolves around some central characters. They all are involved with the church in one way or another. Eventually you see most of them "converted" into Christians. As they are they feel that their "mission" is to convert others. There also is some romantic "tension" thrown into the mix. The characters aren't all developed too well but I still felt a connection with them.

I enjoyed this book and think that many others will too. Although this book, I feel, was written mainly for Christians. There is no subtlety in the message. Everything is taken almost verbatim from the Bible. It doesn't give you a lot of "food for thought". For that I recommend James BeauSeigneur's "The Christ Clone Trilogy". "Left Behind" is pretty straight forward and a great beginning to the series. Highly recommended for Christians.

183 of 206 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Made-for-Television Apocalypse December 5, 2000

By J. Creamer

Format:Paperback

I tend to side with those reviewers who found the book rather light. With the exception of Rayford Steele, most of the characterizations lack depth and consistency. The authors occasionally drop off into mini-sermons that clash otherwise with the flow of the story. And as the events of Revelation unfold, the good and bad become too transparent, too black and white, and too obvious. As suggested by another reader, I read the first of the Christ Clone Trilogy and was much more impressed. In the end, Left Behind comes across as the basis for a television miniseries than a fully fleshed novel. I'm not as harsh as some critics, so I give it three stars for being readable, not too preachy, and interesting in its way.

546 of 640 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Illogical and uninspired September 8, 2001

By chris

Format:Paperback

This is the first in a very long (I think there a 10 so far!!) series of books that tell of the end of the world as foretold in the book 'Revelations' of the bible.
If you took the bible's apocalyptic prophecy. Put an unimaginitve spin on it. Added some 2 dimensional characterizations and truely ridiculous plot lines, (the russians launch an all out nuclear attack against israel because the israelis have developed a means to fertilize deserts, does that make sense to you?) then add some thinly veiled preaching and you have this book.

Having said that I found my curiosity helped me through this book. I was ignorant of the book of Revelations predictions. I was curious enough to see how events would unfold to keep reading thru the 1st 3 books. But the scenario unfolds painfully slowly if you find the characters dull and unbelievable.

In the 3rd book many pages are devoted to explaining things that I had already read in the previous books, that was very tedious. After the 3rd book my curiousity about the prophecies was not enough to overcome my boredom.

I have found "The Christ Clone Trilogy" much more enjoyable.