Angel Fire (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series) - Hardcover

Greeley, Andrew M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896212297 ISBN 13: 9780896212299

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 1989

Synopsis

Sean Desmond, a biologist abandoned by his wife and two sons, sets out for Stockholm to accept a Nobel Prize and finds himself tracked by would-be assassins and protected by a beautiful guardian angel, who teaches him to love again

About this title

About the Author

Priest, sociologist, author and journalist, Father Andrew M. Greeley built an international assemblage of devout fans over a career spanning five decades. His books include the Bishop Blackie Ryan novels, including The Archbishop in Andalusia, the Nuala Anne McGrail novels, including Irish Tweed, and The Cardinal Virtues. He was the author of over 50 best-selling novels and more than 100 works of non-fiction, and his writing has been translated into 12 languages.

Father Greeley was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. In addition to scholarly studies and popular fiction, for many years he penned a weekly column appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers. He was also a frequent contributor to The New York Times, the National Catholic Reporter, America and Commonweal, and was interviewed regularly on national radio and television. He authored hundreds of articles on sociological topics, ranging from school desegregation to elder sex to politics and the environment.

Throughout his priesthood, Father Greeley unflinchingly urged his beloved Church to become more responsive to evolving concerns of Catholics everywhere. His clear writing style, consistent themes and celebrity stature made him a leading spokesperson for generations of Catholics. He chronicled his service to the Church in two autobiographies, Confessions of a Parish Priest and Furthermore!

In 1986, Father Greeley established a $1 million Catholic Inner-City School Fund, providing scholarships and financial support to schools in the Chicago Archdiocese with a minority student body of more than 50 percent. In 1984, he contributed a $1 million endowment to establish a chair in Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Chicago. He also funded an annual lecture series, "The Church in Society," at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, from which he received his S.T.L. in 1954.

Father Greeley received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from the National University of Ireland at Galway, the University of Arizona and Bard College. A Chicago native, he earned his M.A. in 1961 and his Ph.D. in 1962 from the University of Chicago.

Father Greeley was a penetrating student of popular culture, deeply engaged with the world around him, and a lifelong Chicago sports fan, cheering for the Bulls, Bears and the Cubs. Born in 1928, he died in May 2013 at the age of 85.

From Publishers Weekly

Greeley (Lord of the Dance) has now written a murky "romantic mystery/fantasy" about a Nobel laureate who is astounded when a lissome guardian angel in couture garb comes to earth to protect him. Sean Desmond, a theoretical biologist, hasn't been luckyhis wife left him to go into "femtherapy" and then remarried. Professionally, Sean achieves glory by observing "sudden evolutionary leaps" in fruit flies, resulting in a new breed of hardy "superflies." In New York, which he visits en route to claiming the Nobel in Stockholm, gunmen nearly kill him before the angel Gabriella intervenes, posing as Sean's assistant. Greeley explains, somewhat ambiguously, that the assailants want to produce supermen and see Sean as an obstacle. Among his other foes are members of Project Archangel, a private English company trying to accelerate evolution for sinister purposes. Sean, predictably, adores Gabriella, and Greeley includes several endearing scenes between this unlikely twosome. Unfortunately, he also clutters the story with less engaging topics, such as the theory that angels are a species superior to humans in the evolutionary process. Gabriella voices startling sentiments for an angel, especially when she denounces the "despicable" Kennedys as "satyrs."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0896212297
• ISBN 13: 9780896212299
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 507