Vicar of Bisbee [Paperback]

Gordon McBride (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2009

Bisbee and neighboring ranches are threatened with destruction by a range fire in this sequel to Gordon McBride's Flying to Tombstone. But the challenges for Father Jerry and his friends are not limited to natural disasters. Human perfidy also shows up in many ways. Trade in young girls as sex slaves across the Mexican border, the exploitation of illegal immigrants and migrant workers, and a fanatical and unprincipled religious fundamentalism all challenge Jerry's values and hopes. Internal conflicts in his little congregation also give Jerry fresh problems to resolve as he struggles to work out his personal doubts. A new romance, one on hold that finally blossoms, and the collapse of a third combine to make the human drama come alive as the story of Cochise Country, Arizona, and its former mining towns, Tombstone and Bisbee, continues. Matters of personal faith and the vision of what the Church in the twenty-first century can become are lingering subtexts of the story.
The Vicar of Bisbee is the second of a three-book series following Father Jerry and his community.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gordon McBride was trained as an English historian, has a Ph. D. from the University of Cincinnati, and is an Episcopal priest. He is married to women's studies professor Kari Boyd McBride, and lives in Tucson, Arizona. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Academy Press (September 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590922131
• ISBN-13: 978-1590922132
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,075,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent sequel, May 24, 2010

By 

F. J. Masterman "The PlanetCare Discoveries" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vicar of Bisbee (Paperback)

In this well-constructed and well-written sequel to Flying to Tombstone, the author continues the saga of Father Jerry Hanning, a widowed Episcopal priest, who pilots his plane between Tucson and his two parishes in Bisbee and Tombstone. Father Jerry must combat both natural disaster (as a range fire threatens property and people) and a host of interpersonal and biting social problems. The difficulties associated with the Arizona-Mexico border-- illegal immigrants, migrant farm workers, and the reactions of people in his congregations and communities-- give this book both an urgency and relevance which is treated with fairness and sensitivity for all involved. As his congregations face a number of liberal challenges to their innate conservatism, Father Jerry seeks to guide them to new and compassionate understandings. Also, Father Jerry discovers and must deal with information about an unusually successful non-denominational pastor, whose right wing idealism masks a resident evil posing a terrible threat to the community. These many strands of conflict are woven into a story that is very engaging, as well as being highly accurate in all matters presented, as very believable characters struggle towards peace in their personal lives and that of their communities. These many events are portrayed against the backdrop of the love story of Jerry and his fiancée Maddie Gronek. Their relationship deepens throughout the book, providing a small hint of what may transpire in the final installment of this trilogy. As with the first book, and doubtlessly true of the third, The Vicar of Bisbee is a compelling story of present-day life in southern Arizona, with its joys, sorrows, and above all hope for a better future.