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In this time of trouble (is there ever none?), I bury my nose in books and try to forget that the world is overrun with madness. One writer whose books I find most fascinating is H.V. Morton, the once famed English writer. Morton seems to be almost forgotten now, but in the 20th century, he was as famous as it gets for a writer. He was a trusted friend of Churchill, who invited Morton along to report when he met FDR in secret to discuss how to proceed together to save the world. Morton was a reporter, and a good one. He is best known, however, for books in which he brings the reader along on his travels, which ranged from London, his home, to Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt, and lots of places in between. He was intrepid, to say the least, and he had a gift with words that have few equals in the genre. Not only that, he was an expert photographer, carried a modern Leica camera, and filled his books with remarkable photographs. He wrote about photography too and extolled his Leica. The lenses he had then are still renowned. See my post below for several photos taken with a similar model.

So, what is this getting to? I received a new old volume of Morton today by post from England, that’s what! I had to buy it twice, due to the postal strike here. My first purchase was cancelled, but I bought the book again six weeks ago and today it landed on the doorstep, literally. Having read his previous volumes about the Holy Land, I am sure this one is going to be great. But why is this worthy of a blog post? Because now I have an autographed Morton. Morton held this very book in his hands and inscribed it to one HS Burgess (?), whoever they were, dated October 1936. So far I’ve read two of his travel yarns about the Near East; In the Steps of the Master, and Through the Lands of the Bible. Both were ripping great reads and totally relevant even now, just for the history that he brings to life. Much of what I learned from Morton was entirely new, even with four years of Sunday School! My wife, with a degree in theology, learned a great deal of background on the life of Jesus by reading Morton. One would expect this depth of knowledge from a Professor, but Morton was no such thing.

Morton was a devout man, and he wrote about the people of the Bible with remarkable insight on the times. Whether one is a believer or not, the writing is marvellous, informative, and not at all preachy. His sincerity comes though as deeply honest and often moving. He had the good fortune to travel in the Near East (his words) in times when it was possible to go there and not risk one’s life at every turn. How tragic that it is now impossible to do as Morton once did, or to go where he went in peace.

It ended not so good for Paul, but his name lived on, and nothing further has to be said. But I ask, where are the Saints now? We need them badly!