A Father for All Seasons

by Bob Welch

Book Overview

Finding himself halfway between the poles of fatherhood and sonship, award-winning journalist Bob Welch takes a contemplative look at the lifelong love between fathers and sons. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0736900292
• ISBN13: 9780736900294
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

As good as it gets

Bob Welch destroys the myth that most Christian books are fluff....this is quality writing by the best writer in the Christian market today....one of the finest writers in the secular field as well....

Must reading for all Dads

Bob Welch has done an excellent job of describing in story form the journeys of men, boys, and fatherhood. One paragraph has you laughing, the next can have you in tears. As you remember your childhood growing up, Bob also reminds you what is like to be a father and to watch your children break away and gain their freedom. This is a must-read book for anyone who is serious about being a Dad. Also nicely done is his easy-going witness of his Christian faith. You will not be disappointed with this book.

That "in between time" from birth to death...

There are few resources written in "laymen's" terms about that relationship that exists between a father and son. But Bob Welch has changed all that with his book, "A Father for All Seasons." The book addresses that "in between time" from birth to death. Welch illustrates the stages of the father/son bond using the seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and a Second Spring. The Second Spring is "... a side of fatherhood you don't find on greeting cards." ("A Father..." page 218) Welch's book draws back the vail of sacredness in the father/son relationship by using his own life experiences in the role of father and son. His ability to tie into the range of emotion from sorrow to joy in using tragic experiences as well as his gift of humor is masterful. Welch is the "Erma Bombeck" of fathers. The reader will be drawn into the mind of a father and son thus exposing thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions that are part of that bond. Using his skills to create detailed "mind images" Welch helps the reader reach a deeper understanding of that special bond. In the chapter "Firsts," Welch writes of the first major league game he took his son to. Welch writes, "... sports can bind together a father and son like the lacing of a well-made mitt." ("A Father..." page 49) This book dares to toss out the stereotypical view of the father/son relationship as being a "guy thing" and ventures into the sustenance of that relationship. If you want to know what that special and sacred attachment is, you will have to read the book. "A Father for All Seasons" is NOT a book for men only! It can be a gift for first time parents, Christmas, birthdays, Fathers' Day, Mothers' Day... by all means Mothers' Day! What better way to show you care then by giving a gift that expands a mother's understanding of the family unit. There is no "right" season to give this book to someone. With Mothers Day and Fathers Day right around the corner... search no further for the "just right" gift. "A Father for All Seasons" is sure to hit the mark.

Heartwarming & humorous view of father & son relationships

I am neither a father nor a male, and yet I found myself captivated and enchanted by Welch's father-son stories. Though he focuses on dads and their boys, the lessons are universal. Those lessons (and this book) are for anyone who cares about human relationships. At times it's sad, at times delightfully funny, but always engaging. I will be at the front of the book store line when Welch's next book is published.

This is a book about touching the lives of others

Bob Welch's love of family, his warmth and gentle humor and his ability to help us feel relationships and find the meaning of them in our own lives makes him a rare and wonderful writer. I blinked back tears at a father's estrangment from his son one moment and then laughed out loud at the timing of a ten year old's insights the next. As a writer myself of both fiction and non-fiction, I find Bob to be a master weaver: of story and realtionship, of feeling and faith. I bought five copies. They're precious gifts given to the fathers and sons I care about in my life. I hope they'll discover the value of those relationships in this book that encourages and teaches. Well done, Bob Welch, well done.