Reviews

Reviews

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Feb. 23, 2010

By Heather O'Roark

What would we need to do to make the world we live in a happier place for everyone?

What can you do, today, to make a heaven right here on earth?  John E. Wade II set out to find answers to these questions by collecting essays on the topic of heaven on earth from 101 great leaders, thinkers, and writers.  By reading these essays, we can all come to understand how the little things we choose to do in this world really have the potential to create a heaven on earth.

How To Achieve A Heaven On Earth (Pelican Publishing/ 2010) is a delightful, hopeful book that was a joy to read.  I personally have a tremendous amount of faith in humanity.  I believe that we each have the power to make changes in our own lives and the lives of others, creating a snowball effect that quite literally can change the world.  I don’t believe that I personally will make huge changes by myself, but as a society if every person makes one or two small changes, great results will occur.  So I was absolutely inspired by many of the essays I read in this book.

Some of the contributors to this essay collection will be very familiar to the reader:  Barack Obama, Nicholas Kristof, Al Gore, Tony Blair, Thomas Friedman, and Ted Turner, to name a few.  Others you may not be as familiar with, such as Alice Schroeder,Mike Farrell,Anne Teachworth, and Levi Ben-Shumel.  But known or unknown, I guarantee you that every single author featured in this book has something worthwhile to say.  I have to admit that I did not agree with every person’s perspective on what a heaven on earth would look like.  Some of their political views were contrary to my own, some religious beliefs different from mine, etc., but each essay caused me to really think about the issues presented within.  And the book helped me to formulate my own thoughts on what I can do, today, to help create a heaven in my own life.

One other thing I’ll say about this one is that it is a great book to read in snippets.  The vast majority of the essays are only two or three pages in length, so I would just read a few essays each time I sat down with the book, stretching it out over a couple of weeks of reading.  It isn’t a book I would have wanted to rush, as I enjoyed taking the time to digest every essay I read.

If you are interested in social issues, care about making the world a better place, or just enjoy reading essays, I would definitely recommend How To Achieve A Heaven On Earth. It is a sweet book about the little ways that we can all make a difference.

Spirituality Books How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth
Essays From World's Greatest Thinkers Edited by John E. Wade II
Feb 7, 2010 Sandra Williams

The essays explore how to promote peace, prosperity, ecological awareness and racial harmony. People from all over the world contributed their thoughts on world peace.

How To Achieve A Heaven On Earth: 101 Insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers are edited by John E. Wade II.

According to John E. Wade, God intended everyone to live in a heaven on earth. There are ten elements needed to achieve this. Each chapter is divided into these elements with essays expanding on each.

Ten Elements to Achieve Heaven on Earth:

  1. Peace
  2. Security
  3. Freedom
  4. Democracies
  5. Prosperity - Julie Burtinshaw, the editor for Reading and Literature at Suite101 contributed the inspiring essay "Ending Poverty One Loan at a Time: Dr. Yunus and the Grameem Bank".
  6. Spiritual Harmony
  7. Racial Harmony
  8. Ecological Harmony
  9. Health
  10. Moral Purpose and Meaning

It’s easy to see that all ten elements are necessary because prosperity without world peace won’t feel heavenly, and ecological harmony without racial harmony would still divide people.

People Who Contributed Essays in How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth:

Some of the famous people who contributed their thoughts include: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Marianne Williamson, Al Gore, Ted Turner, Chris Rose, Tony Blair and more.

Essays on Marriage
Anne Teachworth shares her ten commandments for couples in her essay entitled “How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth in Marriage”.

As an example, here’s Anne’s eighth marriage commandment: “Stay open, trusting and pleasant in your communication, reliable in your promises, truthful in sharing your feelings, admitting your mistakes, and giving feedback without criticizing, accusing, intimidating, abusing, lying, insulting or betraying each other’s confidences or secrets.”

Essays from Recovering Addicts
Addicts share their stories about their struggles with addictions along with their inspirational recoveries and how that led them to help others. Todd Crandell founded Racing For Recovery after his thirteen year struggle with addictions and focuses on preventing substance abuse and increasing health.

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth refers to the U.S. in the preface so that “our” and “we” seems more directed towards Americans. John E. Wade II promotes maintaining a strong military force in order to achieve world peace and combat genocide. Every essay that follows doesn’t necessarily reinforce this stance.

The intent is to achieve world peace, so a reader from any country would benefit from the essays. They are uplifting personal stories from all over the world that offer ideas to everyone about how they can contribute towards creating a heaven on earth in their own communities.

About John E. Wade II
John E. Wade is an author, anthropologist and retired accountant who founded the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love. Half of all the proceeds from How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth (Pelican Publishing Company, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-58980-597-2) will go towards the charity. Soldiers of Love promote the ten elements to create a heaven on earth. In the past they’ve partnered with Desire Street Ministries, Junior Achievement and Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

"I will try to love and help create a heaven on earth." – Soldiers of Love Pledge

Read more at Suite101: How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth: Essays From World's Greatest Thinkers Edited by John E. Wade II http://spiritualitybooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/how-to-achieve-a-heaven-on-earth#ixzz0iqvB5ilG
 

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth – Edited by John E. Wade II
Posted on: February 16th, 2010 By Rick Rhodes of Rhode's Review

“I will try to love and help create a heaven on earth,” so begins the premise of How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth.  The author breaks the book down into 10 sections:

Peace– This section contains various essays on working toward Peace discussing things such as Gandhi’s views on Peace, the U.N.s work in Darfur, etc.

Security – These essays contain among other things, looks at our fuel crisis and the war on Drugs.  The authors of these 2 particular essays seemed to make a lot of sense.  The section on Fuel choices covers Flexible fuel.  In Brazil, for instance, more that 80% of their new cars are flexible fuel vehicles.  A flex fuel vehicle can run on not only gas, but other things such as Ethanol and other fuels.  They state that by reducing our use of oil, and increasing the use of other fuels, we accomplish two goals.  One goal, is that the oil rich countries, some of which sponsor terrorism, would no longer have the financial resources.  The other benefit would be that poverty stricken countries that can produce corn and other fuel sources, would increase their sales of these products, and thus manage to lift themselves above the poverty levels.   In the War on Drugs, the basic premise is that much of our crime problem is due to the illegality of drugs.  These drugs, it’s argued are going to be purchased regardless.  By removing the illegal aspect, you cut down on costs for imprisonment and you break the profit motive for the dealers/importers.  The largest percentage of drug abusers in the U.S. are White, while the largest percentage of those incarcerated are African American.  I thought this was an interesting concept, but for both I am still trying to see how they could be carried out.

Freedom

Democracies

Prosperity – Some interesting essays here as well, one of them was on The Grameen Bank, a bank who makes loans to the poorest people living in the poorest countries.  What I found interesting was that they have almost a 98% payback.  People think if you make loans with no collateral, that the person would just take the money and run, but it didn’t seem to be the case here.

Spiritual Harmony

Racial Harmony – These essays look at racial issues.  One looks at Nelson Mandela, rather than have hatred about his treatment, he chose to rise above it and work for harmony among people.
Ecological Harmony – These essays are about all the different ways we can help out in Nature.  It’s not all Tree Hugging, save the cute Fuzzy animals stuff, but covers things like the Joy of Gardening, and how supporting your local farmer’s market, is not only healthier, but economically sound.

Health

Moral Purpose and Meaning
It’s kind of hard to review a compilation of essays.   Sometimes the essay is a little more powerful than other times.  That was the case here.  There were many, where I found myself wishing a group of my friends had the book to discuss the ideas.  There are many essays in here that would make great group discussion topics.  While some seemed far fetched, they never failed to make me think.  I think it’s a book that everyone should read.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican, Foreign or Domestic, you’ll find something in this book that will give you ideas on how you can make a difference in the world.  Creating a Heaven on Earth isn’t about a Utopian society, that can never happen.  But we can work on how we relate to the people and the world around us.

NOTE: If you click on the Amazon link above and purchase a copy of this book, our personal payments will be given to Soldiers of Love a charity formed by the author. In addition, half of all the editor’s royalties will go to this charity.

10 Ways to Achieve a Heaven on Earth

The underlying trends toward a heaven on earth are often obscured by the “noise” of the day, pessimism and cynicism. But I believe that with God’s enduring, steadfast love humankind will ultimately reach a heaven on earth. The ten elements that I believe are essential in this quest are as follows:

1) Peace: The major keys to peace lie in our ability to prosper and spread democracies worldwide. Going beyond toleration to respect of all loving faiths is also critical. Advancing to general acceptance and appreciation across racial lines will build peace within and between nations.

2) Security: We must strive to gain security from terrorism and crime. It is critical that we stop radical Islamics. History is replete with fanatics such as Hitler who somehow gain power with genocide and aggression. Recognizing the danger and acting internationally through winning minds and hearts without letting up on international pressure are essential to a victory over terrorism. For example see Paul Marek’s powerful essay, “A Look at Radical Islam” and James K. Glassman’s persuasive contribution, “How to Win the War of Ideas.”

3) Freedom: Freedom is prized by all humans whether they currently possess it or not. Implicit in the democratic ideal is that free individuals will generally act in their own best interests. And the sum of a free society’s actions will allow a greater whole than with nations who repress its people.

4) Democracies: Democracies worldwide in the long run would be the best kind of government for reaching and enjoying a heaven on earth, for they empower the individual and ultimately societies to make good choices. History has shown that democratic governments are less likely to make war with one another. Additionally, they discourage tyrants who are corrupted by power. Democracies provide for the orderly transfer of power. However, we must realize that elections don’t necessarily produce the best leader in every case.

5) Prosperity: Capitalism tempered with democracy and free, fair trade can lead to worldwide growth and wealth, which can benefit each of us and all of us to the degree that our own talents and resources permit. Preparation and opportunity go hand in hand with self-discipline and hard work. Each of us must strive for financial literacy and make it our business to know what we own. We have a responsibility beyond ourselves in our wealth. We are not meant to love money, but to treat it with respect and be generous toward worthy ends.

6) Spiritual Harmony: We must move beyond religious tolerance to real respect among all the world’s loving spiritual beliefs and practices. Even differing beliefs can lead to similar values, which in turn may lead to behavior that is acceptable to God. Loving religions teach us how to live our lives and how to cope with our own mortality. God’s enduring, steadfast love will empower us here, just as I firmly believe that love will allow all the other elements.

7) Racial Harmony: While the lack of racial harmony goes back to ancient times, that certainly doesn’t mean that we can’t overcome this obstacle. Our nation has moved forward largely by peaceful means over recent decades, including the election of an African American president. Many other nations have also advanced in this march toward racial harmony. In our country we owe much of this nonviolent racial progress to Martin Luther King, Jr. See “Where Do We Go From Here?” in that great leader’s own words. The Golden Rule is especially important in treating others with respect.

8) Ecological Harmony: We must tend to the world’s God-given environment — emphasizing natural beauty and perpetual conservation. Concurrently, we must achieve a balance between those worthy goals and the necessity of rescuing those in abject poverty as well as maintaining all nations’ economic progress.

9) Health: Technology and medical science are vital to advance the health of the world’s population. Additionally, our own physical, mental and spiritual habits must embody disciplines that promote good health. Death is inevitable until God acts to prevent it, but wholesome, active behavior can result in longer and longer lives as medical science, our habits and economic means progress.

10) Moral Purpose and Meaning:  Moral purpose and meaning is perhaps the hardest element to achieve. We do not always do the right thing day by day. Our DNA and environments are not perfect. We have weaknesses that can result in horrors such as the Holocaust. But our flaws do not mean that a nurturing environment can’t lead to success after success until God finally takes over and pulls us out of the misery of our human condition.

When you consider the above, think about this excerpt from the New Testament, Matthew 19:26, “with God all things are possible.”

The above is an adapted excerpt from the book How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers edited by John E. Wade II. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2010 John E. Wade II, editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers

*Disclaimer* A review copy of this book was provided by Julie at FSB Associates.  Thanks go to her for this book.  It didn’t affect my review in any way.

In How to Achieve A Heaven on Earth (Pelican Publishing), edited by John E. Wade II, 101 of our most prestigious thinkers, writers, artists, experts, and leaders consider their role and reflect on the ways they can make a difference.

March 8, 2010, TheDirtyShirt.com

A social mission and an inspirational anthology, How To Achieve A Heaven on Earth shows how to tackle the challenges that people face every day. I think your readers will really find this book inspiring and eye-opening, especially in the current economic climate.

  • Barack Obama
  • David Brooks
  • Ted Turner
  • Nicholas D. Kristof
  • Leonard Pitts, Jr.
  • Marianne Williamson
  • Chris Rose
  • Al Gore
  • George Bush
  • Dale Brown
  • Tony Blair
  • Thomas L. Friedman
  • George Rodrigue
  • Paul Prudhomme
  • Poppy Tooker
  • and more

Contributions from 101 of the most prestigious thinkers, writers, public figures, and other luminaries on a wide range of topics fill the pages of this meditation on how to make the world a better place. Focusing on the large problems of the world as well as the little challenges people face, How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth tackles the momentous question of what each of us can do to improve our community, our country, and our world, one step at a time.

Half of the editor’s royalties will go to Soldiers of Love, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving lives and communities by promoting essential elements — peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological soundness, health, and moral purpose and meaning — which combined help our society and humankind achieve a heaven on earth. For more information, please visit www.soldiersoflove.org.

John E. Wade II is an author, investor, philanthropist, and founder of the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love. An active member of his church and civic organizations in his area, Wade holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and has worked in a range of fields. His extensive travels, including visits to China, India, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Brazil, inspired him to collect the essays in this work. Wade lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This is a very interesting book and while I am not yet completely through it I have learned so much as each essay reflects and elaborates on one or more of the ten elements of a heaven on earth: peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony, and health, as well as moral purpose and meaning. In most, if not all, of these basic characteristics, positive results in one engender improvements in the others.

I enjoyed reading what I have so far and am looking forward to completing this intriguing book. I also recommend it to everyone.

Pooh's Corner, 2/23/10

We, are essentially trying to achieve Heaven on Earth. Although nothing will ever compare to the glorious Kingdom of Heaven, while we are here.... we want our life to count. We want to find beauty.

I am currently reading a {non Christian based} book called How To Achieve a Heaven on Earth. It is compiled of 101 essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders, and writers. How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth tackles the momentous question of what each of us can do to improve our community, our country, and our world, one step at a time.


TheMessenger.info
How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth edited by John E. Wade II.

What would it take to make this world a paradise? Tackling the momentous question of how individuals can envision and enact positive change, this collection of 101 essays from some of today's most notable thinkers, leaders, artists, and writers focuses on the large problems of society as well as the little challenges people face every day. Whether it is finding spiritual harmony, reducing carbon emissions, quelling hostilities among races, cutting taxes, or feeding the hungry, every single person has the capacity to change the world for the better. The essays explore variations on the themes of peace, security, freedom, democracy, prosperity, spiritual and racial harmony, ecology, health, and moral purpose and meaning, encouraging readers to find meaning in their own lives and share it with others for the betterment of humanity.

"Powerful, engaging, inspiring! This diverse collection of essays makes real the possibility of heaven on earth." --Meagan O'Nan, author, Creating Your Heaven on Earth "How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth is an inspiring and uplifting book. It is a thoughtful compilation of essays and other works that address the key elements of life in today's world." --Peter Ashenden, president/CEO, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance "This book is a miscellany of experiences and ideas from well-known people such as Mother Teresa and Warren Buffett as well as ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences. They will inform and inspire you . . . and perhaps lead you to become one of those people who creates solutions for others and for the world instead of just complaining about the problems." --Michael Norton, author, 365 Ways to Change the World Contributions from 101 of the most prestigious thinkers, writers, public figures, and other luminaries on a wide range of topics fill the pages of this meditation on how to make the world a better place. Focusing on the large problems of the world as well as the little challenges people face, How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth tackles the momentous question of what each of us can do to improve our community, our country, and our world, one step at a time.

How To Achieve A Heaven On Earth Area Events
Do you want to help make this world a paradise?

March, 2010 www.NewOrleans.com

This spring, local philanthropist and investor, editor John Wade will appear throughout the New Orleans area to sign copies of his newly released HOW TO ACHIEVE A HEAVEN ON EARTH, as he is joined by other local contributors to talk about how to improve the world.

Even before the recession, it was clear that there was plenty of room to improve our world. Though many were living large, we still had more than our share of poverty, racism, religious persecution, disease, genocide, environmental deterioration, and international conflict.

Every single person can help make the world a better place. In HOW TO ACHIEVE A HEAVEN ON EARTH, 101 of our most prestigious thinkers, writers, artists, experts, and leaders consider their role and reflect on the ways they can make a difference.

As much a social mission as it is an inspirational anthology, HOW TO ACHIEVE A HEAVEN ON EARTH tackles that momentous question by focusing on the large problems of the world and the little challenges people face every day.

Topics range from carbon emissions to homelessness to tax cuts –but every essay seamlessly captures how everyone can contribute to a better world.

Pieces from New Orleans area locals, including Chris Rose, Times-Picayune columnist Chris Bynum, slow food activist Poppy Tooker, artist George Rodrigue, pastor David Crosby, journalist Renée Peck, and dozens more appear alongside contributions from Barack Obama, Tony Blair, Nicholas Krisof, George W. Bush and Al Gore.

Cuckleburr Times 3/5/10

This Be My Guest Author Article is by John E. Wade II, Editor of the book How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers.

We are currently in the innovation age as demonstrated by the fact that humankind’s knowledge is doubling every ten years, and probably more so in technology.  America can thrive in an age like this. Why? Let me give you ten good reasons.

America is a nation of immigrants who came here for a better life for the most part. Therefore they have the genes to initiate changes in business, education, computers, the Internet and practically all the fields of human endeavor that require reason.

America has a wonderful system of secondary education which can hatch ideas of all sorts from biochemistry to ecological science to anthropology. You name it and somewhere in the country there is a secondary school or schools that can make you proud.

Social entrepreneurs are a new area catching on as demonstrated by Nicholas Kristof’s wonderful article, “The Age of Ambition.” Kristof writes about how the young people who are engaging in start-up enterprises like Teach America are revolutionizing whole industries, not just teaching people to fish.  He calls this phenomenon “the 21st-century answer to the student protesters of the 1960s.” He writes about colleges who are now offering classes in social entrepreneurship.  It is my ambition that Soldiers of Love, which will receive half my royalties from How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth, will become a leading charity within the age of ambition.

While I hesitate to point to our government as a leader in innovation, our democracy does have a resilience and ability to change without violating our basic formula of capitalism tempered with democracy.

We are in tough economic times but we have the ability to innovate, worker by worker, company by company, and ultimately even within local, state and federal government. Thus, I believe we will prosper in this age of new ideas. If times were really good, we would not have to change careers or search for new jobs or endeavors. In my own case, I am much happier and fulfilled as a self-employed author, investor and philanthropist than the later part of my career as a certified public accountant with the government. During my 29-year career as a CPA in public accounting, private accounting and government accounting I lost my job a number of times and had to come up fighting for another job, at times within bad economic surroundings. Now I am in a life fulfilling career that only became my calling a few years ago. I am now 64. Life is a pursuit that requires continual growth, especially in the Innovation Age.

Wisdom is something that can be gained through reacting to negative life experiences in a positive manner. There are two essays in the book related to wisdom, “The Centrality of Wisdom” and “We Urgently Need an Academic Revolution.” These explain the nature of wisdom and how it can and should be taught.  Wisdom is the combination of knowledge, values, problem solving, imagination and resilience that can make a real difference in how one approaches adversity in times such as this.

While it might not come to mind right away, we are all made up of mind, body and spirit and it is important to change and innovate in all these areas over time as situations evolve slowly or overnight such as a job loss. Healthy diet and exercise are to a great degree within our own control. In almost everything we do, self discipline is a given for the optimum result. That’s a tough call when you loose your job, your spouse, anything or anybody that’s important to you. But we must cope regardless of the challenge. Story after story in this book tells of successes such as “With Sobriety Anything is Possible” by Todd Crandell who went from a thirteen year struggle with drugs and alcohol to founding a nonprofit foundation to cure or prevent addiction through a lifestyle of fitness and health.

We can even innovate in sex. Stella Resnick writes about how ” . . . lack of sex in marriage is a reliable measure of whether or not the relationship will last.” She says the lack of desire among both men and women in sex is the most important sexual problem in America. This is where couples can innovate on their own and improve their lives whether they are employed or not. It may be more difficult, or it may provide a diversion from the other difficult circumstances faced.

We can innovate with expanding our horizons in racial attitudes, both emotional and intellectual bias. Just look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech abstract dated August 16, 1967 (”Where Do We Go From Here?”) and you will be amazed how far America has traveled along the road to racial harmony. We have elected an African American president. But we must continue to innovate, and I’m speaking about racial attitudes in all directions from all sources.

We can innovate in our own personal fiscal habits. This means such things as knowing what you own and financial literacy in general. I prepare a brief net worth statement practically every day. Perhaps that’s obsessive, but my father, who was a superb investor, followed his stock, AFLAC, and a few other much smaller holdings on a daily basis. I find this distressing at times and sometimes I outsmart myself. But investing is a growing, lifelong pursuit which I would encourage in so many people who are not in poverty and have sufficient monetary assets (generally 4 to 6 months of expenses) and have maximized there tax deferred (401(k) or IRA) plans. I must explain that I am an independent investor, not a trader.

Follow your dreams, but don’t quit your day job until you can really plan a prudent way to navigate your way to fulfillment of your next niche, a niche that will probably evolve in fits and starts over time.

Copyright © 2010 John E. Wade II, Editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers

John E. Wade II, Editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers, is an author, investor, philanthropist, and founder of the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love. An active member of his church and civic organizations in his area, Wade holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and has worked in a range of fields. His extensive travels, including visits to China, India, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Brazil, inspired him to collect the essays in this work. Wade lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Beth's Book Review Blog

Review: How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth edited by John E. Wade II
This collection of inspirational essays from 100 of the world's leading thinkers, statesmen, artists, and theologians addresses the question of how to make the world a better place. Contributors include Al Gore, David Brooks, Tony Blair, Thomas L. Friedman, George Bush, Nicholas D. Kristoff, Leonard Pitts Jr., James K. Glassman, Ted Turner, and many more.

The articles were divided into the following sections: Peace, Security, Freedom, Democracies, Racial Harmony, Ecological Harmony, Health, Moral Purpose and Meaning, and Individual Paths to Heaven on Earth.

This one gets three stars. While I did not agree with all the authors, the essays were intriguing to read. There was a nice selection of pieces, although many of the articles were not unique to the book (magazine reprints, etc.). The essays were the perfect length, each only a few pages, to read in one quick sitting. Overall this was quite well done and interesting and everyone should be able to find at least a few of the essays enlightening.

★★★☆☆= Liked It

Spirituality Growth Review of How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth

101 Insightful Essays from the World's Greatest, ed. John E. Wade II
Feb 17, 2010 Paym Bergson

Soldiers of Love founder John E. Wade II presents the reader with 101 essays which show how the human spirit continues to rise, no matter what. 

There's an old adage that says, "it takes a village to raise a child." John E. Wade II, founder of Soldiers of Love (a charity whose mission is to guide the world to a heaven on earth), believes the world can take that adage one step further.

As a whole, some believe that a heaven on earth can be achieved by helping others – in effect, it takes the world to raise humankind to its full spiritual potential (not Mr. Wade's words). How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth: 101 Insightful Essays from the World’s Greatest Thinkers, Leaders and Writers does just that.

Soldiers of Love
The book was developed to get the word out and promote the mission of Soldiers of Love. But something happened along the way. Mr. Wade himself acknowledges that what he sought — a heaven on earth — actually has been achieved to a degree – "I was thinking in terms of each of us...the whole of humankind. Yet as the essays came in, I realized that is has been and is quite possible to achieve a heaven on earth individually.....This does not mean that we can reach perfection, but rather something spiritual and meaningful...full of purpose." (p.17)

The Ten Elements of Soldiers of Love, and Creating a Heaven on Earth
The basic tenancy of both the book and Soldiers of Love revolves around ten elements: Peace, Security, Freedom, Democracies, Prosperity, Spiritual Harmony, Racial Harmony, Ecological Harmony, Health, and finally, Moral Purpose and Meaning (doing the right thing with regard to word and deed). (p. 13) The book also adds in a final section titled "Individual Paths to Heaven on Earth."

The reader will note the contributing authors read like a heavyweight of winners. No surprises that President Obama and Past President George Bush both have contributions under Democracies, and of course Al Gore submitted under Ecological Harmony. Yet actor Mike Farrell contributes to Spiritual Harmony; and Chef Paul Prudhomme writes in the Freedom section (understandably with a title of “The Lost Art of Family Meals.” All of the articles are definitely uplifting.
 

Book Addiction Feb 24, 2010

What would we need to do to make the world we live in a happier place for everyone?  What can you do, today, to make a heaven right here on earth?  John Wade set out to find answers to these questions by collecting essays on the topic of heaven on earth from 101 great leaders, thinkers, and writers.  By reading these essays, we can all come to understand how the little things we choose to do in this world really have the potential to create a heaven on earth.

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth is a delightful, hopeful book that was a joy to read.  I personally have a tremendous amount of faith in humanity.  I believe that we each have the power to make changes in our own lives and the lives of others, creating a snowball effect that quite literally can change the world.  I don’t believe that I personally will make huge changes by myself, but as a society if every person makes one or two small changes, great results will occur.  So I was absolutely inspired by many of the essays I read in this book.

Some of the contributors to this essay collection will be very familiar to the reader:  Barack Obama, Nicholas Kristof, Al Gore, Tony Blair, Thomas Friedman, and Ted Turner, to name a few.  Others you may not be as familiar with, such as Alice Schroeder, Mike Farrell,  Anne Teachworth, and Levi Ben-Shumel.  But known or unknown, I guarantee you that every single author featured in this book has something worthwhile to say.  I have to admit that I did not agree with every person’s perspective on what a heaven on earth would look like.  Some of their political views were contrary to my own, some religious beliefs different from mine, etc., but each essay caused me to really think about the issues presented within.  And the book helped me to formulate my own thoughts on what I can do, today, to help create a heaven in my own life.

One other thing I’ll say about this one is that it is a great book to read in snippets.  The vast majority of the essays are only two or three pages in length, so I would just read a few essays each time I sat down with the book, stretching it out over a couple of weeks of reading.  It isn’t a book I would have wanted to rush, as I enjoyed taking the time to digest every essay I read.

If you are interested in social issues, care about making the world a better place, or just enjoy reading essays, I would definitely recommend How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth.  It is a sweet book about the little ways that we can all make a difference.
 

March 2010, ConservativeMonitor.com

How to Achieve Heaven on Earth, by John E. Wade II
Review by W. J. Rayment / ConservativeBookstore -- It should first be noted that "How to Achieve Heaven on Earth" is not a religious tome. Yes, it contains elements of religiosity, but what it really is about is making the world a better place. It is a collection of essays from a large variety of thinkers, writers, economists, and politicians. They include Barack Obama, George Bush, Thomas L. Friedman, Ted Turner, and a host of others. There are 101 essays.

The editor, John E. Wade II, appears to make an effort to be balanced in his choice of authors, but truthfully, he fails in this regard. Yes, there is an essay by George Bush, but it is mere fluff, as is the essay by Barack Obama, which it turns out is his Christmas letter to his daughters. It manages to be self-serving and devoted to the advancement of mankind at the same time. But some of this should be expected in a volume that is all about making life better for everyone on the planet. There is going to be some of the starry-eyed pollyanna stuff.

I was pleased to see that there were some essays with hard-headed viewpoints. For example, Paul Marek's "A Look at Radical Islam", was quite interesting, pointing out that though most people who are Muslim are peaceful, the leadership is violent. Unless the average Muslim does something about their leadership, the Mullahs are going to drag all of those of the Muslim faith into a war with civilized society, much the way that most German's were not Nazi's during WWII, but were dragged into brutal conflict willing or un-.

The editor proposes that there are ten areas that need to be addressed in achieving a Heaven on Earth: peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony, health, and moral purpose. Each of these factors are addressed by five or ten authors. Luckily the margins on the pages are wide. It gave me plenty of room to make notes, and I tried to sum up many of the essays at the end in my review copy. There was plenty of scribbling by the time I got half way through the book, mostly on the impracticality of the implementation of the ideas being propounded because the ideas were based on a fundamental flaw in basic assumptions.

For example, human nature is left entirely out of many ivory tower essays. There is a presumption that global warming is a fact, when it certainly is not, as much recent evidence shows. I don't think most of the writers have any concept of economics and the efficiencies induced by the market system. So many demand government dictation as a solution. They don't seem to see government action as a root of many of the problems. Thomas Hohenleitner, in his essay entitled "Society's True Wealth" whines about limited resources, when in point of fact resources in the universe are limited only by our imagination on how to get to them.

All this is not to say that the book is not thought-provoking. It certainly got my intellectual juices flowing. I even considered taking the book essay by essay and firing out a blog entry on the same subject. I may still do some of that. I found the essays on prosperity interesting, especially the one by Alice Schroeder on how Buffet made his billions and can be an example to other Americans. I was surprised that Friedman's essay was eminently reasonable, and apropos.

The book plays to the spiritual crowd, whether that be one of the established religions, or "progressives", or marxists. It is high on heaven and low on practical solutions. Pragmatists will find it useful as a reflection of what the "thinkers" are thinking.

March 2010, RubyBayan.com

Is it too much to ask? A heaven on earth? Not to the 101 contributors of this book, “How to Achieve A Heaven on Earth”, edited by John E. Wade II. These writers come from all walks of life--politicians, world leaders, philosophers, scientists, authors, motivational speakers, artists, businessmen and visionaries--all humans, all citizens of the world.

Wade gathered insightful essays focusing on a simple concept: we can achieve heaven on earth if we really wanted to. The essays, however, reveal the painful fact that it’s not as simple as it sounds. There is no single, simple how-to formula to follow.

Because achieving a heaven state requires a major confluence of countless factors and variables, Wade defined the basic pre-requisites for mankind’s ideal world. He listed the ten elements that are essential to achieving heaven on earth and grouped the essays accordingly.

The ten essential elements are bordering on the nebulous. But when you delve into the thoughts of the contributors, you will note that despite the seemingly unfathomable mission of building a heaven on earth through world peace, democracies, racial harmony, or moral purpose and meaning, among others, simple solutions abound. Fortunately, these small and simple solutions have the capacity to proliferate and create a global impact.

More than a hundred minds poured wisdom and advice into this book. Many are saying the same things, looking at the same dilemmas, offering the same solutions. Many spout religion, while some trust in the intrinsic goodness of man. Their message is one: heaven on earth –can- be achieved. John E. Wade II published this book to inspire all of us to do our part. 

March 2010, RainbowAtlantis.com

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth
101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders, and writers.
by John E. Wade II

This 347 page creative collection was a pleasure to review. One focus with many voices, all straightforward and deeply concerned about Mother Earth and all that inhabit her. My heart just filled so full it felt like it was gonna burst as I read one blessed essay after another, kinda like spiritual candies. I loved the format, it was simple and broken down into topics like peace, security, spiritual harmony, freedom, health and many more.

It was so cool to go to the section on democracies and hear Marianne Williamson's views on public office and our leaders. I then got whisked away to the prosperity section and have King Duncan tell me about child labor and focus on how we need to help our children. I learned through deep thoughts and personal experiences oh so much, and I got into this rhythm of reading and digesting a couple stories at a time. I feel asleep with precious ideas and imaginative ponders. I would recommend this magnificent and majestic masterpiece to anyone who wants some powerful words on some tough topics. Thanks John, for bringing us this major labor of love.

March 2010, A Mom After God's Own Heart

This was a wonderful compilation of many well known people, such as Barack Obama, George Bush, Al Gore and Ted Turner. Social issues of all kinds are discussed in such a way that the I could use the information to formulate my own opinions on the issues, and how best to make a difference in my little corner of the world! While I did not agree with all positions made, this was a wonderful read. Instead of reading right through, I broke it up over a week, which is not hard to do with essay style writing. If you are interested in social issues, and how you can make an impact in today's world, this is the book for you! I highly recommend it!  If you check out the How To Acheive website, you will also find some great resources.

March 2010, GeekGirlReview.com

This is a collection of essays from some of the most profound people on earth today.

  • Barack Obama
  • David Brooks
  • Ted Turner
  • Nicholas D. Kristof
  • Leonard Pitts, Jr.
  • Marianne Williamson
  • Chris Rose
  • Al Gore
  • George Bush
  • Dale Brown
  • Tony Blair
  • Thomas L. Friedman
  • George Rodrigue
  • Paul Prudhomme
  • Poppy Tooker
  • and more

As I was reading the essays, I was thinking this could easily be a textbook for some classes. I am working towards one of my many dreams of being a teacher. I will use this one in class for inspiration. I am the geeky type and I loved this one!

One of the ways we can achieve heaven on earth is by..

Freedom:Freedom is prized by all humans whether they currently possess it or not. Implicit in the democratic ideal is that free individuals will generally act in their own best interests. And the sum of a free society’s actions will allow a greater whole than with nations who repress its people.

 

March 2010, LifeTwo.com

Look past the title. This book isn’t a cosmological manifesto. Nor is it a roadmap to a celestial earth populated by winged angels, humble saints and endless pitchers of cold lager. Instead, editor John Wade II cracks open an intellectual piñata and shares 101 easy-to-digest ruminations on physical and spiritual progress, each offering a way for the reader to make the planet a better place. Wade includes a diversity of world views, sharing works by, among others, George W. Bush, Al Gore, Thomas Friedman, David Brooks and Chef Paul Prudhomme.

Wade groups the essays into ten categories, representing what he calls the ten elements necessary for achieving a heaven on earth:

1. Peace 2. Security 3. Freedom 4. Democracies 5. Prosperity 6. Spiritual Harmony 7. Racial Harmony 8. Ecological Harmony 9. Health 10. Moral Purpose and Meaning

Whereas Maslow outlined the steps to individual self-actualization, Wade seeks to define a path to society’s self-actualization. It’s a bold undertaking, especially given the challenge of melding so many different voices. There is the occasional feeling of a landscape painted with water colors, acrylics and oils. The mixing of mediums can intrude on the vision. In this case one wonders and hopes to see how effectively Wade synthesizes these ideas into his own treatise.

In the meantime, “How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth” merits praise for raising the question of how each of us can live purposefully. It’s one of those increasingly rare books that promotes introspection, and it’s the kind of book that you can gleam insight from whether you take it off of the shelf for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours.
 

March 2010, OneMoreFoggyNotion.com

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth
101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers,leaders and writers
Edited by John E.Wade II
How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth is a compilation of essays from 101 of the most prestigious thinkers, writers, public figures, and other luminaries on a wide range of topics which focus on the problems and challenges facing the people of the world today. How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth tackles the momentous question of what each of us can do to improve our community, our country, and our world, one step at a time.

Essayists include:•Barack Obama•David Brooks•Ted Turner•Nicholas D. Kristof•Leonard Pitts, Jr.•Marianne Williamson•Chris Rose•Al Gore•George Bush•Dale Brown•Tony Blair•Thomas L. Friedman•George Rodrigue•Paul Prudhomme•Poppy Tooker•and more.

Each essay will reflect and elaborate upon one or more of the ten elements of a heaven on earth: peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony, and health, as well as moral purpose and meaning. In most, if not all, of these basic characteristics, positive results in one engender improvements in the others.

This information and more was taken from and is available on the book's website. Please take a moment to check it out and read an excerpt of this tremendous book.

About the Author

John E. Wade II is an author, investor, philanthropist, and founder of the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love. An active member of his church and civic organizations in his area, Wade holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and has worked in a range of fields. His extensive travels, including visits to China, India, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Brazil, inspired him to collect the essays in this work. Wade lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

My Thoughts

I found this book to be very inspirational...I suppose that isn't the exact word I want to use. The book IS inspirational but it is more than that to me. It is comforting and it is challenging. How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth is comforting to me because, despite having despairing thoughts regarding what seem to be so many hopeless situtations in the world today, I was able to find such hope in the various essays. Hope for peace...hope for harmony between the people of the world...hope for prosperity. How easy it is,while reading the morning paper or listening to the evening news, to become so depressed or feel so hopeless and helpless. Yet, within the pages of this book are messages of hope...directions for achieving what would indeed be a heaven on earth. Therein lies the challenging part. The essays in How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth do not, for me, offer up "pie in the sky" ..."have a cup of tea and don't worry" solutions for what ails us. Rather, they challenge us to THINK...and to take action to make the world a better place for all. I have a little saying ...which I often say to myself..it is "Pray for a good harvest...but don't put down your hoe".  Reading the essays in this wonderful book reinforced that for me. Whenever I get disheartened now or feel like tossing my hoe in the ditch...I know that there will be a message for me in How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth. I sincerely thank Mr. John E. Wade II for this marvelous work.

Take up your hoe...buy this book...read this book...keep it close by...once you have it you will pick it up again and again and always find a message of hope, comfort and challenge.


March 2010, Rundpinne.com

About the book:

  • Barack Obama
  • David Brooks
  • Ted Turner
  • Nicholas D. Kristof
  • Leonard Pitts, Jr.
  • Marianne Williamson
  • Chris Rose
  • Al Gore
  • George Bush
  • Dale Brown
  • Tony Blair
  • Thomas L. Friedman
  • George Rodrigue
  • Paul Prudhomme
  • Poppy Tooker
  • and more

Contributions from 101 of the most prestigious thinkers, writers, public figures, and other luminaries on a wide range of topics fill the pages of this meditation on how to make the world a better place. Focusing on the large problems of the world as well as the little challenges people face, How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth tackles the momentous question of what each of us can do to improve our community, our country, and our world, one step at a time.

My review:

John E. Wade II has edited a fantastic booked filled with 101 brilliant, insightful and inspirational essays from some of the world's greatest minds. In his book, How To Achieve Heaven On Earth, Wade II has compiled essays from the greatest minds from around the world to help tackle some of societies toughest issues. The book is divided into eleven sections; Peace, Security, Freedom, Democracies, Prosperity, Spiritual Harmony. Racial Harmony. Ecological Harmony, Health, Moral Purpose and Meaning, and finally Individual Paths to Heaven on Earth. In the preface, each of the ten main sections definitions is described in detail and as the book unfolds one reads essays from deep personal lessons, personal growth, as well as philosophical essays. Each one of the 101 essays is not only well written but also intriguing and insightful. I highly recommend How to Achieve Heaven on Earth to anyone looking for an insightful look at many of the major issues facing society today or merely to read some rather brilliant essays.

About the Editor:

John E. Wade II is an author, investor, philanthropist, and founder of the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love. An active member of his church and civic organizations in his area, Wade holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and has worked in a range of fields. His extensive travels, including visits to China, India, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Brazil, inspired him to collect the essays in this work. Wade lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information, please visit www.HeavenOnEarth.org.

I received a complimentary copy of How To Achieve Heaven On Earth Edited by John E. Wade II from FSB Media. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

Change Therapy www.moritherapy.org
April 5th, 2010

aaaah, book reviews. let’s start with the bad parts: how to achieve a heaven on earth is full of conservative christian overtones, quite a few of the articles have a bit of “chicken soup for the soul” feel, and at times i thought i was dealing with an aborted e-book. but there were clearly good intentions behind the book, and if you’re looking at “101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers”, you’re bound to come across some good stuff.  for example, changing the game at work by christine barnes

don’t wait for the CEO to build a culture of engagement but begin by creating heaven on earth for your employees now. ask questions such as

do you know what’s expected of you at work?
do you have the materials you need to do your work?
do you have the opportunity to do what you’re best at, every day?
in the past seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

i’m very happy to say that my part time work at mcc gives me all of this.what about you?

 

3/1/2010 ReadingAtTheBeach.com

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth by John Wade II

"What would it take to make this world a paradise?" That's what this book is about. This is a collection of 101 essays from today's most notable thinkers, leaders, artists and writers.

There are a number of topics and each have essays from several contributors. Examples for each topic are:

Peace: Thomas R. McFaul
Security: Walter Wink
Freedom: Debra Rosenman
Prosperity: Peter J. Tanous
Spiritual Harmony: Chris Beneke
Racial Harmony: Martin Luther King Jr.
Ecological Harmony: Jana Carvalha
Health: Poppy Tooker
Moral Purpose and Meaning: Nicholas Maxwell
Individual Paths To Heaven On Earth: Sat-Kaur Khalsa

Each of us has the ability to take on one of these topics and apply it to our lives. If we did, it would not only make us feel better about ourselves, it would make a huge impact, making the world a much better place to live and raise our children.

Everyone who cares about the state of the world should take the time to read this book.

Inspirational Words of Wisdom

How To Achieve A Heaven on Earth   
Wow4u.com 
An Inspirational Book Review
How To Achieve A Heaven on Earth
101 insightful essays from the world's greatest
thinkers, leaders, and writers
Edited By John E. Wade II
Reviewed by Catherine Pulsifer
Is there truly such a thing as heaven on earth? Is it something that is achievable? These two questions came to mind as I started reading this book. This book contains essays on many topics: peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony, health, moral purpose and meaning, and individual paths to heaven and earth. And as you read these essays, written by people from all walks of life, you will start seeing how heaven can be achieved on earth.

Is a heaven on earth possible? John