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Few record collections remain untouched by Brian Eno's aesthetic: from ambient soundscapes and world-music hybrids to cut'n'paste vocal samples and amniotic chill-out rooms, Eno is all around us. A sonic alchemist to the stars, his address book is a veritable who's who of rock and his credit adorns an outrageous number of albums. Tellingly, Eno's work with Roxy Music, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, U2, and Coldplay has coincided with those artists producing their most critically revered work. This is the first serious, critical examination of the life and times of Brian Eno. David Sheppard has interviewed key collaborators like David Byrne, Robert Wyatt, John Cale, Bryan Ferry, and Gavin Bryars. But more importantly, Sheppard has had considerable assistance and input from Brian and Anthea Eno themselves, while retaining an edge and independence in keeping with his subject.--From publisher description.

Steps Along Hope Street relates the life of David Sheppard, famous for being the keen sportsman who gave up a career in international cricket to become a vicar. He went on to pioneer the Church of England's social work in the inner city and wound up as the Bishop of Liverpool. Sheppard's book also reflects on the enormous changes within the Church of England in the last 50 years. Sheppard recounts his middle-class childhood and his privileged education at Sherborne and Cambridge. At Sherborne he found cricket and at Cambridge he found God. He soon became a keen member of the Christian Union and Evangelical camps for public school boys. Sheppard relates his second conversion to the needs of inner city Britain as he worked for 20 years in London before going on to Liverpool. At Liverpool he teamed up with the Catholic archbishop Derek Warlock. By this time Sheppard had undergone a third conversion--to a fervent commitment to ecumenism and the church's responsibility to the urban poor. It is easy to see both of these ideals as hopelessly naïve; indeed, Sheppard's own writing style comes across as somewhat naïve and innocent. But Sheppard's book shows that Liverpool, with its inner city blight and history of sectarian rivalry, was precisely the place for such idealism to be pursued. At the heart of Liverpool, Hope Street links the city's two cathedrals. The book, like Sheppard himself, is not a heavyweight, but it shows that lasting good can still be accomplished by people who pursue their beliefs with passion and simplicity.

The burden of uemployment and disadvantage falls unequally on our divided society. It hits the urban poor most sharply. These people are robbed of choices which God wills for all human beings. The Gospel is both about changing people from inside out and changing the course of events to set people free. David Sheppard spent many years at the centre of urban life. He writes from first-hand experience from his ministry in London and Liverpool, offering still valuable insights into ecumenical partnership, race relations, the problems of policing and the future of work. Bias to the Poor remains an invaluable contribution to the ongoing debate about justice and Christian responsibility.

In the late 1980s, David Sheppard and Derek Worlock formed an alliance of genuine Christian unity in Liverpool, then a city of strong sectarian loyalties and bitter deprivation. Their partnership was tried and tested in the furnace of an inner city close to bankruptcy. Working together as Anglican and Roman Catholic, the two bishops found a void at the heart of the city in crisis, a gap that had to be bridged by hands reaching not only across the torn community but also upwards to God. The story of the bishops'fight for their city is uplifting and heartening, and remains a courageous and inspiring plea for Christian unity and practical action within one nation.

Since David Sheppard and Derek Worlock's previous book, Better Together published in 1988, six years in Merseyside had brought many about many changes. However, their unique partnership continued to deepen to their commitment to the gospel, to Liverpool and to social justice. With Hope In Our Hearts is in a fascinating insight into their combined thoughts on then contemporary issues, including ecumenism, urban regeneration, the tragedies of Hillsborough and James Bulger, apartheid and unemployment.