The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition
We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of Paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.

So how do we find ourselves again—rebuild our connections to each other, the earth, maybe even God? In search of an answer, Rathbun drives cross-country to the Salton Sea and takes a trip to China's Great Wall, interspersing his traveling revelations with engaging musings on Madame Mao's Gang of Four, Grandpa Webb's family secret, the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel, and a host of other subjects that grab his attention.

With cheeky wit and sharp insight, Rathbun uncovers a way of finding ourselves and the deep connections we long for in an increasingly complex world.
"1123918804"
The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition
We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of Paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.

So how do we find ourselves again—rebuild our connections to each other, the earth, maybe even God? In search of an answer, Rathbun drives cross-country to the Salton Sea and takes a trip to China's Great Wall, interspersing his traveling revelations with engaging musings on Madame Mao's Gang of Four, Grandpa Webb's family secret, the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel, and a host of other subjects that grab his attention.

With cheeky wit and sharp insight, Rathbun uncovers a way of finding ourselves and the deep connections we long for in an increasingly complex world.
16.49 In Stock
The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition

The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition

by Russell Rathbun
The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition

The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition

by Russell Rathbun

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Overview

We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of Paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.

So how do we find ourselves again—rebuild our connections to each other, the earth, maybe even God? In search of an answer, Rathbun drives cross-country to the Salton Sea and takes a trip to China's Great Wall, interspersing his traveling revelations with engaging musings on Madame Mao's Gang of Four, Grandpa Webb's family secret, the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel, and a host of other subjects that grab his attention.

With cheeky wit and sharp insight, Rathbun uncovers a way of finding ourselves and the deep connections we long for in an increasingly complex world.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781467445825
Publisher: Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date: 01/13/2017
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 205
File size: 835 KB

About the Author

Russell Rathbun is a writer, speaker, and blogger who brings his irreverent sense of humor and curiosity to often-overlooked subjects. A founding pastor of House of Mercy in Saint Paul, Minnesota (once named "the Best Church for Non-Churchgoers"), he has been regularly featured on Minnesota Public Radio and is also the author of Post-Rapture Radio.

Table of Contents

Foreword Nadia Bolz-Weber xi

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 1

The Monumental and the Missteps…

Irrigating the Desert…

The Deluge…

A Very Big Beaver Dam…

Creation as Separation…

Riffing on the Rabbis…

Longing to Catch a Glimpse of God…

Chapter 2 17

Grandpa Webb and the Salton Sea…

A Smaller Dream…

Mildred de Stanley…

Men of Renown…

A Ruined Creation…

California Riviera…

The Audacity of Ambition…

A Cadaverous Stench…

Chapter 3 30

Too Close, Too Soon…

Deng Xiaoping's China…

The Great Tower of Babel…

The Making of Madame Mao…

An Endless City of Shining Towers and Crumbling Buildings…

Chapter 4 45

Ever Get the Feeling You've Been Cheated?…

An Illusion Masking Our Desire for Real Connection…

The Orbiting Self…

The Pioneers Park Museum…

The Colorado River Stopped Draining into the Desert…

Chapter 5 58

The Day God Learned Forgiveness…

A Sort of Lyrical World-Dominating Superpower…

This Massive Miscalculation…

Al J. Kalin, 1888-1951: Pioneer, Cattleman, Farmer, Innovator, Builder, Visionary…

Chapter 6 79

Getting Sold on Facebook…

S. O. S., S.O.S…

"That Old Owl Put Up Quite a Fight"…

Resting Place of Souls, Misguided or Otherwise…

Mao's "Fat Elvis" Years…

Chapter 7 94

Post-American Empire Ruin Porn…

Seeing China in a Haze…

Visiting Grandpa Webb…

Circumnavigating the Salton Sea…

Joe Stopped Speaking Chinese…

Chapter 8 116

The Glamour Capital of the Salton Sea…

The Assuredness of Future Growth…

Chairman Mao and His Madame…

The New Recreation Capital of the World…

The Only Fish Found in the Salton Sea…

Chapter 9 137

Lamenting the Internet…

Finding Ourselves at the Salton Sea…

Inching toward the Great Wall…

"Don't Think about the Way Down"…

First Aggression, then Deterioration…

Let's Call Them Ripple Effects…

Chapter 10 162

The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge…

Deeper into the Desert…

"So You Really Believe in Love, Then?"…

The Remains of Bombay Beach…

The Ruins of Empire…

Finding Myself at an Intersection…

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