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ERIC LIDDELL: PURE GOLD | 
 enlarge | Author: David Mccasland
Publisher: Discovery House Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $9.10
You Save: $5.89 (39%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 129222
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 1572931302
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9781572931305
ASIN: 1572931302
Publication Date: July 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Here's the story of a classic Olympic champion whose life away from athletic competition was even more compelling.
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| Customer Reviews:
 No wonder his chariot was of fire! December 9, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Are you sure it can't be done??? well, think twice and then read this man's biography. Eric Liddell immortilized worldwide in the 1981 Hugh Hudson's motion picture Chariots of Fire in its purest form is presented in this book. A story on courage, capacity and determination. You should not miss it. You shall want to go out jogging and be a better person to say the least!
From his birth on January 16, 1902 in Tientsin, China, to his unexpected death due to a brain tumor on February 21, 1945 in a japanese concentration camp in that same country, passing through his experiences at boarding school in the UK, his olympic victory, his religious commitments, his unbelievable determination, his beloved Florence ("Flo") and the beautiful love story that surrounded their relationship, the people who marked his life (his mother Mary, father James, brothers Rob and Ernest, sister Jenny, etc.). A book that brought out emotions from the beginning when I read about Florence (Eric's widow) watching Chariots of Fire and imagining her reactions, her feelings of pride... This book is a thoroughly rewarding experience!
 Good but not a Chariot of Fire June 9, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I fell in love with the movie "Chariots of Fire" when I was in college over 20 years ago. I also enjoyed the paperback of the same name. Recently I became interested in this true story again and found "Pure Gold" on Amazon.
This biography is slow-moving and tedious. I have never been to China nor do I have any interest in the Orient, so the setting of most of the book was not compelling. I was hoping that Eric's personality and dedication to Christian principles would pull me through when I was tempted to stop reading and give the book away.
I was inspired enough to finish it but "ho hum" is my response to the writing.
Maybe "Chariots of Fire" was a too "Hollywood-ized" version of the 1924 Olympics,(as Back Flash was to firefighting) but even if it was, I prefer it to this book.
Borders on hagiography April 14, 2007
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
Eric Liddell is an interesting & worthy subject for a biography but this one isn't it. The author did extensive research in primary documents, interviewed people who knew Liddell personally, & created an excellent bibliography. Unfortunately, the writing style is corny & some of the passages are fictionalized, particularly ones regarding Liddell's relationship with his wife Flo. The author puts thoughts in their minds that he couldn't possibly know. He so over-romanticizes his subject that he becomes almost unreal. Liddell was a great athlete & a great servant of the Lord, but the author so idolizes him that he becomes a kind of plaster saint. The main problem with this book is that it is explicitly written to be "inspirational," & so the reader is reminded over & over again what a great Christian role model Liddell was. This gets tiresome. Don't misunderstand me -- I am not knocking Liddell here at all, only the author's mode of presenting him. A less didactic book would serve Liddell better. His own words & actions speak for themselves.
An Excellent Biography August 23, 2005
50 out of 50 found this review helpful
Because of the surprise hit Chariots of Fire, the world knows the name Eric Liddell. Most people also know about the stand he made for his beliefs as he refused to run an Olympic race he was favored to win simply because the race was scheduled for Sunday. Those who have seen the movie know that it ends shortly after he wins an Olympic gold medal in an event in which he had barely trained. But in Pure Gold, a biography of Liddell weighing in at 333 pages, the race is complete by the ninety-eighth page. There is much more to Liddell than the movie portrays.
Eric Liddell is a man who was sold out to God. He regarded his own desires and his own comforts as secondary to God's. Raised as the son of a missionary, he grew up away from his parents, for in those days children were left in their native country to receive their training, often seeing their parents only once every six or seven years. There was a period of over a decade in Liddell's life where he was with his parents for only 100 days. Despite the seperation, he received strong training, primarily in the Bible.
While he grew both academically and spiritually, people also came to realize that Liddell had a gift for speed. He was fast. He was also uncouth, with a running style all his own. He would start like any other runner, but as he approached the finish line, he would throw his head back and his arms would begin to flail. Yet somehow, rather than slow him down, this gave him a burst of speed that often led him to victory.
Some of his exploits from his early days are famous, such as the time he fell in a 400-meter race, but managed to climb to his feet and work his way back into first place, making up a deficit of over ten meters. And as we know from the movie, he earned a position on the British Olympic squad at the 1924 Olympic Games where he came away with two medals, a gold and a bronze. He returned to his native Scotland a hero - far and away the best-known athlete in the nation. It was this fame that provided the springboard for his mission work. Despite being a shy and quiet man, he criss-crossed the country, speaking before hundreds of thousands of people, telling them about the Lord and encouraging them to give their lives to Him.
At the very pinnacle of his athletic success, Liddell laid it all aside to become a missionary to China, the country his father had served when Eric was a boy and the country he continued to serve to that day. Liddell counted his prestige as nothing and moved to the mission field. He served the rest of his life in China before his eventual death in a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. It is this period of his life that so few know about, yet this is where we see Liddell at his finest. It is here that we see the power and effectiveness of a life that is sold out to God.
This biography is well-written, inspiring and highly-recommended. It presents Liddell as he really was and helps the reader understand the foundation for his life. It portrays Liddell in his strength and in his weakness, through joy and sadness. It portrays the consistency of a man who lived in the same way when the eyes of the nation were upon him, or when he stood only before the eyes of the Lord.
While Chariots of Fire has done much to bring Liddell to the public eye, and while it presented the man accurately, it tells less than half the story. However, the race which forms the climax to the movie can well be seen as a metaphor for Liddell's life. He finished the race of life the same way he had finished so many races long before - with his arms flailing and his head turned to the sky, enraptured purely with the joy of running.
Moving and Informative February 26, 2003
42 out of 43 found this review helpful
I had always admired Eric Liddell from what I knew of his story from the movie "Chariots of Fire." This thoroughly researched and well-written account of his entire life (only a couple of chapters focus on the time surrounding the '24 Olympics) moved me to tears several times. He lived an honest and committed life--one that is inspirational for those of us coming after him. I highly recommend this book.
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