By E. William Fruge

Neighbors welcome a family of Syrian refugees to the small town of Grand Forks. Elderly Uncle Ahmad, still recovering from the trauma of civil war, rewards the kindness of his new friends with his prodigious wood sculpting talent. When a Black church displays his soul-stirring art in a fundraising event to support refugees, Ahmad’s skill becomes widely admired in the community. It also incites suspicion and islamophobia among local white nationalists. A proposal in the town council to remove a confederate statue, and the potential that a new industry will import dozens of ethnic families persuade fearful militants to take drastic measures. A struggle for dominance ensues. Will white supremacy prevail in civic life? Or will Ahmad’s artistic tributes to kindness inspire greater equality? The answers depend upon how the community sees itself.

 This is a must read, especially in today’s world that struggles to embrace diversity with compassion and understanding. Uncle Ahmad has much to teach each of us, and his toys are a perfect way to make that happen. Fruge has great character development and builds the story at a pace that keeps you involved and intrigued.

—Pat Ham

Author of Life Lessons

and, soon to released, Life Well Lived

 Extreme religious and personal prejudice meet reality in a fast paced, riveting series revealing the worst and best of individuals. And finally, we learn of Uncle Ahmad’s role.

—Jim B. Gilbert, PhD

Fort Worth, Texas

 Thanks to Eric for an involved, complicated, but genuine story of life. It is a perfect sermon for our times!

—Bill Thurman

Lexington, KY

 Uncle Ahmad’s Toys is not only a fictional accounting of our current society and culture, but a must-read for those seeking a wonderfully entertaining story in combination with a sense of understanding of a nationalism that we, individually, often ignore.

—T Vance, Ph.D.

Department of Mass Communications

Murray State University 

Murray, KY

  Uncle Ahmad is a compelling and winsome character and deserves a sequel. Keep writing, Dr. Fruge, and I will keep reading!

—Dwight A. Moody PhD

Author, podcaster, and host of TheMeetingHouse.

Although Uncle Ahmad’s Toys would also make for a terrific movie, the genre might be hard to peg. Drama? Action? Comedy? They are all in there, and blended just right.

—John T. Mitchell

Washington, DC

As you venture through Uncle Ahmad's Toys with its page-turner, eyeball-burner plot, you will meet unforgettable characters master story-teller Fruge employs to address systemic cultural evils with ruthless abandon—from a very real-world point of view. A must-read for anyone concerned with culture wars.

—Jana Gillham, author of The Art of Farewell

Video podcast host of Go.Be.Good!