My first completed book of the year is Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman. Despite all the criticism of the book, I thought it was superb. They say it was a draft. May I be so blessed as to write such drafts! If Lee announced she had a forthcoming volume of scrap stories about Jean …
2015 was marked by the death of three teachers who have had significant impact on my life. First, on June 10, Dr. Louise Bentley died. Dr. Bentley taught me Arts in Western Civilization and has ever since been a model to me for what a teacher ought to be- love of the subject matter, love …
The recently published Fortress Commentary on the Bible: New Testament contains 22 pages of commentary, written by Deborah Krause, devoted to each of the Pastoral Epistles. With Fortress one expects a more critical direction from the commentary. The introduction to the whole volume makes this explicit with its endorsement of feminist, liberation and queer interpretation. …
I saw this morning that Peter Hitchens’ book, The Rage Against God, is available on Kindle for $1.99 for a limited time. This is such a powerful, beautiful book on so many levels, and I fear many people have missed this book because they didn’t realize what it is. The marketers promoted it as a …
The Man Who Was Greenmantle: A Biography of Aubrey Herbert, Margaret Fitzherbert (John Murray, 1983) This was my first “just for fun” read of the summer, and it was worthwhile. I purchased this book because I have so enjoyed the novels of John Buchan, especially his Richard Hannay series which I discovered while we lived …
I have previously commented on my family’s deep appreciation of Douglas Bond’s historical novel, Duncan’s War. Just recently I have had the privilege of rereading the book, this time with my two younger children. I reaffirm all the positive things I said about the book last time. This time it was fun and very encouraging …
Continue reading ‘“Father, why did so many good men die?”’ »
I have been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to finally announce that this book is now available: Soaring Higher: Itinerary of a Fifty Year Flight of Faith. The “blurb” I wrote for the book is pasted in below. Not only have I enjoyed- been challenged, helped, and encouraged by- this book, but I have read significant …
I just finished reading The Travels of Marco Polo with my older sons for school. The historical value of the breadth of information it contains about the eastern lands where Polo travelled is undeniable, but the telling itself is not very compelling. I expected a bit more narrative. While some stories are told, it is …
When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir, Bob Kerrey (Audio version, Audible Studios, 2014) I was offered a free review copy of this audio book and accepted knowing I had the semester break to listen. I recognized the author as a politician, decorated war veteran, whom I thought had run for but not received …
Continue reading ‘When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir, Bob Kerrey’ »
Each year I keep a list of the books I read all the way through, typically with brief notes, as a way of tracking my thoughts and a way to look back on each year and see some of what influenced me. So, in this post I have drawn from that list some of the …