Story of the Other Wise Man

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Summary: A Lifelong Influence
Review: I have known the story and read it since I was a boy. This is story has had a profound influence on my life, and can be one on others' lives too. It is beautifully written and represents the highest ideals of what Christmas and Easter are all about. Even today it brings tears to my eyes when I reread the familiar haunting passages. I think it especially poignant and appropriate this year, and I thought of it as I read of the everyday heroes of 9/11. I wish all children and adults had an opportunity to read it.

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Summary: The dream everyone dreams is lost and found here...
Review: It is the dream of every believer-to meet Jesus. To bow at his feet, to offer all you are to him, and hear him say "Well done my good and faithful servant." So it was for the other wise man. He, however, gives it up to help a dying man. He then, in turn, forfits his place with the other Magi at the birth of Jesus. This is the story of a man who spends his life hunting the dream of every christian on Earth. It is the single most touching story I have ever read. God was truly at work in Mr. Van Dyke.

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Summary: Inspiring and elegantly written
Review: Van Dyke is truly a great writer. Every word is carefully chosen. I will read this book every Christmas. His message is inspiring. I would like to recommend another holiday book I equally enjoyed: Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices, by John Allen. (Read my Amazon.com review.)

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Summary: "The Other Wise Man" brings a very special gift.
Review: When I was 12 years old, my Sunday school teacher gave me a book for Christmas. The book, written in 1896 by Henry van Dyke, was The Story of the Other Wise Man. It tells the story of a fourth Magi, Artaban. This "other wise man" saw the same heavenly signs that told his friends, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, of the arrival of the Christ Child. Artaban has his own gifts (a sapphire, a ruby and a pearl) to present to Jesus, but, while hastening to join his friends, Artaban stops to aid a dying man and is left behind. He spends the rest of his life in a search for Christ, but each time he comes close to his goal, he is sidetracked by the need to help another human being. Not much longer than a long short story, The Story of the Other Wise Man is the perfect book for reading aloud with the family this holiday season.