Fourteenth Point

by John Dudley Ball

This thoughtful and entertaining novel reveals what happens when a controversial Church of England bishop proposes a universal religion, convening leaders of all the world's religions in one place. What happens when the Orthodox Jews meet the Moslems, how the Christian Scientists get along with the Sunni sect of the Buddhists, what transpires when a strict young Anglican priest falls in love with a Buddhist Thai beauty, and finally, how the conference is shatteringly resolved - these are all parts of John Ball's provocative, inspiring and immensely exciting novel, The Fourteenth Point.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

John Dudley Ball writing as John Ball, was an American writer best known for mystery novels involving the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. He was introduced in the 1965 In the Heat of the Night where he solves a murder in a racist Southern small town. It won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and was made into an Oscar-winning film of the same name starring Sidney Poitier; the film had two sequels, and spawned a television series several decades later, none of which were based on Ball's later Tibbs stories. He also wrote under the name John Ball Jr..

Ball was born in Schenectady, New York, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He wrote for a number of magazines and newspapers, including the Brooklyn Eagle. For a time he worked part-time as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, was trained in martial arts, and was a nudist. In the mid 1980s, he was the book review columnist for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Ball lived in Encino, California, and died there in 1988.

Reviews

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book..The thesis was about a meeting of all world religions to unite them.The author quoted the sacred texts of all the religions and even the Dalai Lama was included. An epic effort.